Alexander, Shana;
Ager, Milton, 1893-1979;
Journalists - United States - Biography;
Musicians - United States - 20th century - Biography
Shana Alexander discusses her autobiography, “Happy Days.” She begins by explaining that she is the daughter of famous composer Milton Ager, and her mother was a screenwriter for MGM Studios. She talks about her early life and how her parents...
Allende, Isabel - Family; Allende family; Authors, Chilean - 20th century - Family relationships
Isabel Allende discusses her book, “Paula.” Allende says that the book is a memoir about the death of her 28-year-old daughter, Paula. She shares stories about her family’s exile and living in Lebanon and Chile. Allende goes on to discuss...
Authorship; Fiction - Authorship; Novelists, American - 20th century - Biography; See, Carolyn - Authorship
Carolyn See discusses her book, “Making a Literary Life.” She begins by explaining that the book's target audiences are aspiring writers and dreamers. She wrote the book in an effort to teach them how to live their dreams. The book is a...
Cathy Scott discusses her book, “Murder of a Mafia Daughter.” She begins by explaining that prior to this book she had also written biographies on the murders of rappers Christopher George Latore Wallace (Notorious B.I.G.) and Tupac Shakur. ...
Jonathan Kirsch discusses his book, “King David.” He begins by explaining that the book is the story of King David from the Bible. He goes on to discuss the extensive research that he conducted in order to write this book. In this interview,...
British - Arizona - Fiction; Fathers and daughters - Fiction; Deserts - Fiction; Arizona - Fiction
Susan Elderkin discusses her book, “Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains.” She describes the characters, Theobald, an overweight mama’s boy from England, and Jersey, an oddball that meets Theobald in Arizona. Elderkin also describes Tibor, an...
Jennifer Allen discusses her book, “Better Get Your Angel On,” which consist of a series of short stories. Jennifer is the daughter of the famous football coach George Allen, who taught her resilience. Jennifer spent much time alone as she...
Chinese American families - Fiction; Chinese Americans - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; California - Fiction; China - Fiction
Amy Tan discusses her book, “The Kitchen God’s Wife.” Tan talks about the mother, daughter, and aunt characters in the book. She goes on to describe the mother’s abusive husband and the hardships women face when trying to leave abusive...
Cixi, Empress Dowager of China, 1835-1908 - Fiction; Empresses - Fiction; China - History - Guangxu, 1875-1908 - Fiction
Anchee Min discusses her book, “Empress Orchid.” She begins by explaining that the book is historical fiction and follows the life of Tsu Hsi, also known as, Orchid. Orchid was born a poor girl in rural China, later she became a royal concubine...
Clar, Reva Howitt; Dancers - United States - Biography; Vaudeville - United States - History
Mimi Melnick discusses her mother Reva Howitt Clar’s autobiography, “Lollipop.” She begins by explaining how her mother was a vaudevillian ballerina for the Fanchon and Marco vaudeville company and that her stage name was Lollipop. Melnick...
Cookery, American - Western style; Motion picture actors and actresses - United States - Miscellanea
Cheryl Rogers-Barnett discusses her book, “The All-American Cowboy Grill.” Cheryl Rogers-Barnett, daughter of Dale and Roy Rogers, explains that coming from such a large family they did a lot of cooking, which led her to compile this cookbook,...
East Indian American women - Fiction; Women - Employment - Fiction; Women immigrants - Fiction; Married women - Fiction; Beverly Hills (Calif.) - Fiction
Kavita Daswani discusses her book, “The Village Bride of Beverly Hills.” She begins by describing her protagonist, Priya, who is a newly married Hindu bride who is faced with very traditional in-laws, a husband who is controlled by his mother,...
Ex-convicts - United States - Biography; Baseball - United States - Biography; McLain, Denny
Denny McLain discusses his book, “Strikeout.” He begins by explaining that the book is an autobiographical account of his life. He discusses how he got involved in baseball and how difficult it was to make the transition from being a major...
Fathers and daughters - Fiction; Young women - Fiction; California - Fiction
Peter Craig discusses his book, “Blood Father.” He begins by explaining that when he created the characters in the book he thought of them each having a fearful response to something. He discusses how the mother in the novel appears tough, but...
Florida - Fiction; Saudi Arabians - United States - Fiction; Sex-oriented businesses - Fiction; Life change events - Fiction; Older women - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Stripteasers - Fiction
Andre Dubus discusses his book, “The Garden of Last Days.” He begins by discussing the central character of the book, April. April is a single mother who works in a strip club to support her and her daughter. The plot thickens when April...
Ford, Allegra Charlotte, 1972-; Learning disabled children - United States - Biography; Learning disabled children - Family relationships - United States; Parent and child
Anne Ford discusses her book, “Laughing Allegra: The Inspiring Story of a Mother’s Struggle and Triumph Raising a Daughter with Learning Disabilities.” She begins by explaining that the book is about her family’s struggle with having a...
Fox, Paula; Love, Courtney, 1965-; Psychotherapists - United States - Biography; Mothers and daughters - United States - Biography
Linda Carroll discusses her book, “Her Mother’s Daughter: A Memoir of the Mother I Never Knew and of My Daughter, Courtney Love.” Carroll says she was adopted when she was ten days old and that she had dysfunctional parents. She talks about...
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820 - Family; Charlotte, Queen, Consort of Frederick I, King of Wurttemberg, 1766-1828; Augusta Sophia, Princess, daughter of George III, King of Great Britain, 1768-1840; Elizabeth, Princess of England,...
Flora Fraser discusses her book, “Princesses.” She begins by describing the kingship of King George III of England and his six daughters. She shows all 6 girls’ portraits from the book and gives background information on each of their...
Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940 : San Francisco, Calif.) - Fiction; Women composers - Fiction; Jazz musicians - Fiction; San Francisco (Calif.) - Fiction
Rupert Holmes discusses his book, "Swing: A Mystery." The story takes place in San Francisco circa 1940. All of the locations mentioned in the book were (and are) real locations. The main character is a band leader named Ray. He is involved...
Grant, Cary, 1904-1986; Motion picture actors and actresses - United States - Biography
Marc Eliot discusses his book, “Cary Grant.” He begins by discussing Grant's early childhood in Victorian England during which he was called Archie Leach. He then shares that when Grant first came to New York and was trying to get parts on...
