Uncorking a Story

Meet Hannah MaryMcKinnon Hannah Mary McKinnon was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland and moved to Canada in 2010. Her suspense novels include THE NEIGHBORS, bestsellers HER SECRET SON and SISTER DEAR, YOU WILL REMEMBER ME, and NEVER COMING HOME. She joined me on Uncorking a Story to chat about her career and latest novel, The Revenge List.  Key Topics How the failure of her business led to an...

Adam Mitzner is the critically acclaimed Amazon Charts bestselling author of Dead Certain, Never Goodbye, and The Best Friend  in the Broden legal series, as well as stand-alone thrillers A Conflict of Interest, A Case of Redemption, Losing Faith, The Girl from Home, A Matter of Will, and The Perfect Marriage. He joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about his latest novel, Love Betrayal Murder. ...

Dementia is something that has touched my family in a terrible way. My mother, whose memory was always sharp as a tack, has been battling dementia for years. While her long term memory is still very much intact, she struggles to remember anything in the recent past. When given the opportunity to interview Dr. Gary Simonds, a neurosurgeon who is an expert on Alzheimer's Disease and dementia, I jump...

Who would play Lion-O in a live action adaptation of Thundercats? Today’s guest, Sara Staggs, needed the eye of Thundera to help answer that question, but you didn’t come here for 80’s cartoons, did you?  Meet Sara Staggs Sara is an epileptic who had to leave her job as a civil litigator in Portland, Oregon as the lifestyle associated with that career triggered her seizures. As such, she had to cl...

Jenell Jones and her family opened up their home to foster, and later adopt Mercy, an eight year old girl in need of a home. Mercy came with a secret, though—her traumatic past. The traumas experienced by this young child started to manifest itself in behavioral problems that caused her adoptive family to shatter, that that is where our story begins. Meet Jenell Jones Jenell is an author and early...

I love hearing how authors come up with the ideas for their books and today’s guest, bestselling author Lindsay Cameron, doesn’t disappoint. Listen in to hear about how the Ashley Madison data breach and Lindsay’s own experience on a neighborhood parenting forum influenced the story behind her latest book, No One Needs to Know. Meet Lindsay Cameron Lindsay Cameron worked as a corporate lawyer for...

I’m thrilled to welcome Andrea Bartz back on Uncorking a Story. This time we discuss her latest novel, The Spare Room, and a big revelation! Meet Andrea Bartz Andrea is a Brooklyn-based journalist and the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese's Book Club pick WE WERE NEVER HERE. Her second thriller, THE HERD, was named a best book of 2020 by Real Simple, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, C...

When I was a kid, my brother Jimmy and I would watch wrestling all the time. The colorful characters, soap opera like drama, and high flying action had us hooked on the WWF like most of its superstars were hooked on Colombian marching powder. When offered the opportunity to interview author Charlie Jenkins about his book American Wrestling 1989, I leapt at the chance like Jimmy Snooka off the top...

What happens when "in sickness and in health" becomes "in sickness"? Today’s guest, author Suzanne Marriott addresses that question, and many others, in her memoir Watching for Dragonflies: A Caregiver’s Transformative Journey. She joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about that, and so much more! Meet Suzanne Marriott Suzanne Marriott is a memoirist and deep-travel writer who shares her transfo...

I’m thrilled to welcome author and executive Emmanuel Probst on Uncorking a Story. Emmanuel’s background combines over 16 years of market research and marketing experience with strong academic achievements. He joined me to discuss his career and latest book, Assemblage: The Art and Science of Brand Transformation. Key Topics 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:29 The Fulfilling And Compelling World Of Mar...

In this podcast episode, Mike interviews author Hanna Halperin about her latest novel, I Could Live Here Forever.  Meet Hannah Halperin Hanna is the author of Something Wild, which won the 2021 Edward Lewis Wallant Award and was a finalist for the 2021 National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction. She joins me today to talk about her latest book, I Could Live Here Forever. Welcome to Uncorking a S...

On today's episode of Uncorking a Story, Author Shannon Duncan discusses the use of psychedelics as a tool for healing trauma, particularly childhood trauma and complex PTSD. The conversation revolves around the idea that psychedelics can be used to unlock the subconscious and help individuals process their trauma in a way that traditional talk therapy may not be able to achieve. The speakers caut...

Pattiann Rogers has published fifteen collections of poetry and two book-length essay collections, The Dream of the Marsh Wren and The Grand Array: Writings on Nature, Science, and Spirit. She is the recipient of two NEA grants, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2005 Literary Award in Poetry from the Lannan Foundation, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Missouri, College of Arts an...

In this podcast episode, Mike interviews Karen White, a successful author of Southern women's fiction with a paranormal twist. Karen shares her journey as a writer and how she got started in the industry. She emphasizes the importance of reading and writing consistently to improve one's craft. Karen also talks about the influence of her fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Anderson, who encouraged her to pur...

Have you ever felt like, at times, you are the black sheep of your family? You know, those times when you question why you are so different from everyone else in your life or even your community? Many of us who turn to the arts have a little bit of the outcast in us for a variety of reasons, but I think the most common are that we just see the world differently than others and that we experience o...

If there is one thing I’ve noticed that all pastors share in common, it’s the ability to tell a story, and Rev. Kenneth Nixon is no different. Kenneth joined me to talk about his debut memoir Born Into Crisis in which he discusses the necessary steps to healing and breaking free from the cycles of family traumas. Drawing from his own experience with dysfunctional family dynamics, Kenneth uses his...

When she was in high school, Brittany Butler didn’t have dreams of working for the Central Intelligence Agency—she was a cheerleader and was in beauty pageants. Nevertheless, she had a successful career at the CIA and is now working hard to promote human rights for Afghan women and girls while also setting the record straight of what it's really like to be a female spy. Meet Brittany Butler Britta...

Jane Healey isn’t just a successful author, she also has great taste in TV. During the course of this entertaining conversation, I uncorked her love for The Greatest American Hero, which took us on a fun tangent. Believe it or not, I was walking on air after that. Meet Jane Healey Jane is the author of The Secret Stealers and The Beantown Girls, a Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller. When...

Like many people of my generation, I grew up watching Hogan’s Heroes in reruns. Also like many people of my generation, I was shocked that Bob Crane, Colonel Hogan himself, met such a violent end, likely a result of his extracurricular hobby of documenting every aspect of his life on camera—any by every aspect, I mean EVERY aspect. This guy was ahead of his time when it came to documenting (consen...

Just like the classic Let it Be by The Beatles, author Lauren Destefano shares many words of wisdom for authors in today’s episode of Uncorking a Story. Meet Lauren DeStefano Lauren DeStefano lives in Connecticut, where she was born and raised. When she’s not writing thrillers, she’s listening to true crime podcasts and crocheting way too many blankets. She joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk a...

Susan and I have three things in common; we are authors, we have a great sense of humor, and we both root against Duke basketball regardless of who they are playing against (Sorry John Nardone and Brent McGoldrick but that buzzer beater by Laeettner against UConn in 1990 cemented my dislike of your alma mater).  Meet Susan Reinhardt Susan’s book Chimes from a Cracked Southern Belle won the Indepen...

I’ve interviewed many authors who were signed to muti-book deals very early in their careers—typically two or three book deals. Today’s guest on Uncorking a Story, Audrey Carlan, must be an overachiever because her book deal was for twenty-seven. You read that right—nine times the size of a “good” book deal. Nine Times! Take that Mrs. Bueller.   Meet Audrey Carlan Audrey Carlan is a #1 New York Ti...

Many of us define wealth by what we can quantify in our bank accounts, but today’s guest on Uncorking a Story, Tom Suvansri, thinks that’s way too limiting. His story is a wakeup call for anyone who thinks wealth can be measured solely in dollars and cents. Meet Tom Suvansri Tom graduated from Penn State University with an MBA in Finance after earning his BA in Biology from the College of New Jers...

Charlotte Maya’s life was turned upside down when she arrived home from a hike with her children to find a police officer and priest waiting at her home. They took her aside to tell her that her husband committed suicide and that’s where this story begins. Meet Charlotte Maya Charlotte writes about suicide loss, resilience, and hope on her blog, SushiTuesdays.com. Widowed at thirty-nine, when her...

Rose Patruno grew up in a very patriarchal society where her brother enjoyed many more freedoms than she did. Over time, this impacted her mental and physical health and she had no choice but to leave her home in Puglia, Italy to find love and work in Paris. After finding both, her health turned around and she is Tutto Bene, or “All Good.” Meet Rose Patruno When still a teen, Rose decided to becom...