EPISODE 664 - Susan Sloate - The Power of Music Captured in Story - Scenes From a Song

Susan Sloate is the best-selling, award-winning multi-genre author of more than 25 books. She’s also a publisher, former podcast host and ghostwriter, and never met a good story she didn't love!

Major Works

Susan's latest novel is Scenes From a Song, the emotional saga of a 1960's band that achieves monstrous success, and a special song from their catalogue that changes the lives of its listeners. It went live as a Kindle book on Amazon in August 2025 and in its first 24 hours became the #1 New Release in TWO of its book categories, the fastest-launching book she's ever had!

Susan also co-authored (with Kevin Finn) Forward to Camelot: The Final Edition (2024), a time-travel thriller about the JFK assassination, which was re-published in 2013 as the 50th Anniversary Edition before its current 2024 edition. Recently declassified JFK assassination documents confirm that Susan and Kevin's original theory about the identity of the assassination planner--who appears as a major fictional character in the novel--was, in fact, actually true.

Stealing Fire is a passionate May-December romance set against the backdrop of Broadway musical theater. The audiobook version, narrated by actress Mapuana Makia, is also available on Audible and Amazon

Susan also co-wrote (with Ron Doades) Realizing You, a 2013 release that pioneered a genre: the self-help novel. Blending a fictional story with exercises designed to teach you more about yourself and your dreams and goals, the book received glowing reviews from both critics and readers and continues to inspire those on personal-growth journeys.

Publishing and Podcasting

For two years, pre- and post-pandemic, with her author friend Kelly Fitzgerald Fowler, Susan co-hosted Talk Jam, a podcast potpourri exploring topics from the Bible to pop culture, history and conspiracy. With nearly 100 episodes recorded, the show was an international fan favorite and further showcased Susan’s gift for lively storytelling.

She is the founder/owner of Covfefe Press, her independent publishing imprint, and also serves as editor/project manager for the Kyle & Corey middle-grade mystery series by author Joe Stephens. Susan has also been featured in a 2009 MysteryQuest special on The History Channel, exploring the mysteries of Alcatraz, based on her children’s nonfiction book Mysteries Unwrapped: The Secrets of Alcatraz. She is the author of 17 published young-adult books. She's also ghostwritten projects for a number of prominent historians and businesspeople.

Creative Work and Coaching

Susan has also written two produced stage plays, both of which she co-directed in their world-premiere runs. Two of her original screenplays have also been optioned for film development. She is currently adapting a long-forgotten novel into a musical play, writing both book and lyrics, which is a whole new adventure for her!

In 2007, Susan founded a local authors festival to promote literacy in local schools, reaching over 10,000 students in a single day. In 2014 she launched The Writers Workshop, which brought together playwrights, actors, and directors to develop new works through staged readings and collaborative feedback.

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podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/

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EPISODE 663 - Tad Crawford - A Woman in the Wild - A revealing and memorable portrait of a woman boldly facing her demons in pursuit of a meaningful life

Tad Crawford is an author, attorney, and publisher.

He grew up in the artists’ colony of Woodstock, New York. Interested in writing both fiction and nonfiction, he majored in economics at Tufts College and graduated from Columbia Law School. After clerking for a judge on New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, Crawford worked for a small general law firm in New York City while writing and teaching writing and literature at the School of Visual Arts.

Finding few resources to help artists deal with legal matters such as copyrights, the sale and licensing of art, gallery and publishing contracts, income taxes, moral rights, and estate planning, Crawford initiated a “Law and the Visual Artist” course at the School of Visual Arts and wrote Legal Guide for the Visual Artist. Legal Guide now has well over one hundred thousand copies in print and is in its sixth edition (co-authored with M.J. Bogatin).

Crawford followed Legal Guide with numerous other books to help professionals in the creative disciplines. The Legal Affairs editor and a regular columnist for Communication Arts magazine, he also wrote for journals such as American Artist, Art in America, Confrontation, Family Circle, Glamour, Guernica, Harper’s Bazaar, The Nation, and Writer’s Digest.

He served as general counsel for the Graphic Artists Guild, lobbied as legislative counsel for the Copyright Justice Coalition (which had many artists’ groups as members), and volunteered as Chairman of the Board for the Foundation for the Community of Artists. In addition to testifying before the Senate subcommittee on behalf of artists’ rights, he drafted a package of state laws which he presented to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This presentation led to the enactment of laws favorable to artists in a number of states, including New York and California.

The National Endowment for the Arts selected Crawford as a grant recipient to write on the topic of artists’ rights. He also received the Graphic Artists Guild’s Walter Hortens Distinguished Service Award.

In 1989 Crawford founded Allworth Press to offer the practical information needed by creative professionals such as artists, photographers, designers, and authors. He knew firsthand the issues such creative people face each day and envisioned a spectrum of books to help them survive and grow professionally. Beyond these efforts for creative professionals, he also wrote The Secret Life of Money: Enduring Tales of Debt, Wealth, Happiness, Greed, and Charity; A Floating Life: A Novel; and On Wine-Dark Seas: A Novel of Odysseus and his Fatherless Son Telemachus.

Allworth Press, which today has hundreds of titles in print, became an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing in 2011. Crawford is a partner in Skyhorse Publishing and remains the publisher for Allworth Press.

https://tadcrawford.com/

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podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/

Coffee Refills are always appreciated, refill Dave's cup here, and thanks!
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EPISODE 662 - JMD Reid - Ghost Writer and Fantasy Indie Author - What Masks Hide, The Storm Below Series and more

Hi, I’m JMD Reid, a fantasy indie author working on my third fantasy series, What Masks Hide. I have published the widely praised The Storm Below Series and a releasing my second series, Secret of the Jewels.

For my day job, I’m a ghostwriter. It gives me great deal of freedom to work on my fantasy. It’s my passion, and I hope that will shine through.

I have a lot of stories in my head and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you.

https://www.jmd-reid.com/

Support the show

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https://livingthenextchapter.com/
podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/

Coffee Refills are always appreciated, refill Dave's cup here, and thanks!
https://buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca