Woodbury Writes
Hosted by Sandy Carlson, poet laureate of Woodbury, CT, this podcast features Sandy's conversations with local authors about the art of writing, the books they produce, and the passion that drives them.
Woodbury Writes is produced in collaboration with the Woodbury Public Library. Marla Martin and Ron Fairchild of WPL are executive producers. Production edits by Ed Dzitko.
Season 2 episodes are below. Check out seasons 1 and 0.
Where Can I Find Woodbury Writes?
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EPISODE 16,
SEASON 2
Chris Belden was born and raised in Canton, Ohio. He is the author of Shriver, a satirical novel soon to be a major motion picture titled A Little White Lie, starring Michael Shannon and Kate Hudson. He attended the University of Michigan, where he received a BA in Film & Video Studies. After college, he worked lousy day jobs for several years while playing drums in the band The Slang. He later moved to New York City, where he worked in the publishing industry and started writing fiction in earnest. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including American Fiction, SN Review, and Skidrow Penthouse. He is coauthor of the feature film Amnesia, and has also written extensively for the stage. He received an MFA from the Fairfield University MFA Program, and has taught writing at Fairfield University, as well as at such nontraditional venues as senior centers, soup kitchens, and a maximum-security prison. Belden lives in Connecticut with his family.
EPISODE 15,
SEASON 2
Katie L. Carroll is an award-winning author who has published seven novels over the past 10 years. Her young adult fantasy Elixir Bound was the winner of the 2019 Connecticut Indie Author Project award. She is a Library Board member, and she loves to present writing and publishing workshops to students and adults. Her books are Elixir Bound (Elixir Chronicles book 1), Elixir Saved (Elixir Chronicles book 2), Pirate Island, Witch Test, Mommy's Night Before Christmas, The Bedtime Knight, and Selfies From Mars: The True Story of Mars Rover Opportunity (releasing in February 20223). You can purchase her books there as well as from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org.
EPISODE 14,
SEASON 2
Jennifer Covello is an award-winning author with more than 30 years of marketing and communications expertise in the development and execution of integrated marketing communications, copywriting, editing, and strategic marketing. Jennifer holds a B.S. degree in Management Information Systems from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, an M.B.A. in Marketing Management from Pace University (NY), and a bachelors in Theology from Life Christian University. A native of Long Island, New York, Jennifer resides in Fairfield County, Connecticut.
EPISODE 13,
SEASON 2
Author Thomas Tessier has been a journalist and publishing director. Born in Waterbury, Conn., Tom lived in Dublin for six years and in London for seven. Over the course of his career, he has written novels, novellas, short stories, poems, and plays. His books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ebay, Audible, and Apple Books.
EPISODE 12, SEASON 2
Hear some of the story of The American Way: A True Story of Nazi Escape, Superman, and Marilyn Monroe. with best-selling author Helene Stapinski and co-author Bonnie Siegler.
I read The American Way by Helene Stapinski and Bonnie Siegler in two days. I am not bragging; I couldn’t help it. The story drew me in: I had to know how things would play out for the Schulbacks and the Donenfeld crew once they got to America. I put lesson planning, exercising, and real-world grown-up responsibilities aside to experience the story of Holocaust survivors and refugees who do everything they can to get to America and to make lives for themselves.
Marilyn Monroe’s place in the story surprised me. I grew up with Marilyn in the air, a cultural icon nobody needed to know much about–a part of the scenery. She was the pretty blonde who somehow gave “being blonde” a bad name. In contrast, Stapinski and Siegler paint a portrait of an Orphan Annie who took notes every time life delivered a lesson and made the most of her learning to come out ahead of the game. Their Marilyn is a woman of our time–fearless, driven, unapologetic, lonely.
The American Way chronicles the experiences of Jewish refugees and how they found their place in American culture and how we understand ourselves. This is our biography, our memoir. Read it and learn that we might better care for our new neighbors as we deepen our understanding of what it means to be American. The book is available everywhere and on Amazon.
EPISODE 11,
SEASON 2
Jackson Kuhl is a writer and author specializing in American history, biography, and historical fiction. His novel A Season of Whispers (Aurelia Leo) is a gothic mystery set in a 19th-century utopian commune. Kirkus Reviews called it “a slim but delightful tale of terror set in transcendentalist New England.” Kuhl’s first book, Samuel Smedley, Connecticut Privateer (The History Press), is a biography of the American Revolution’s most daring sea captain. Kuhl has spoken about pirates and privateers at bookstores, libraries, historical societies, museums, and private clubs. Kuhl has written for Atlas Obscura, Electric Literature, Journal of the American Revolution, National Geographic News, the New York Post, and other publications. For more than a decade he contributed to a pair of children’s magazines about archaeology and history. He also wrote a regular column on dinosaurs.
Kuhl lives in coastal Connecticut. He has contributed to local outlets such as Connecticut Magazine, Fairfield County Weekly, Fairfield Minuteman, and the Stamford Advocate. His historical fiction has appeared in Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology, Love Letters to Poe, and other anthologies. Kuhl has also ghostwritten a number of memoirs and worked as a freelance web producer in the field of education. Jackson’s work is available on his website, Goodreads, where you can find alternative retailers such as Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, IndieBound, and more. He will be appearing with other members of the Connecticut chapter of the Horror Writers Association at events throughout Connecticut.
EPISODE 10, SEASON 2
Sylvia Crunden, who has been teaching for 21 years at Colebrook Consolidated School, is a first-grade teacher. She holds degrees in psychology, early childhood education, and elementary education. Sylvia, whose family and friends are very important to her, has volunteered as a firefighter for 13 years and is a certified EMT. She has many hobbies, including playing volleyball and softball and helping her florist friend by creating floral designs. Her books include Please Don't Pop My Bubble and Bullying is Never Okay! Find out more about Sylvia on her website, where she posts her schedule of fairs and other appearances. Join her on Facebook at Sylvia Crunden and Instagram @SylviaCrundenBooks. Her books are available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
EPISODE 8, SEASON 2
Dr. William Steele (Willie) is a professor of English and editor of NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture. He is also co-director of the NINE Spring Training Conference. Willie, formerly a cross country and track coach, was featured in the Fox Sports documentary If You Build It: 30 Years of Field of Dreams. He is working on a book about baseball in the aftermath of 9/11 in Portland, Oregon. His works include A Member of the Local Nine: Baseball and Identity in the Works of W.P. Kinsella (McFarland Books); Going the Distance: The Life and Works of W.P. Kinsella (Douglas & McIntyre). Find out more about Willie on his website. His books are available on Amazon.
EPISODE 7, SEASON 2
Paul Hensler worked for many years in information technology. A lifelong Connecticut resident, Paul is a baseball enthusiast of the period from the 1960s to the 1980s. His publications include Pride of the Greyhounds: Ray Legenza and 64 Straight Wins By Connecticut’s Best High School Baseball Team (2022); Gathering Crowds: Catching Baseball Fever in the New Age of Free Agency (Rowman & Littlefield 2021); and “Swagger Comes to Town: The Evolution of Attitude at Shea Stadium in the 1980s,” in David Krell, ed., The New York Mets in Popular Culture: Critical Essays (McFarland Publishers 2020), Bob Steele on the Air: The Life of Connecticut's Beloved Broadcaster (McFarland Publishers 2019); “Mr. October: Cheers, Reggie! Everybody Knows Your Name!,” in David Krell, ed., The New York Yankees in Popular Culture: Critical Essays (McFarland Publishers 2019); The New Boys of Summer: Baseball's Radical Transformation in the Late Sixties (Rowman & Littlefield 2017); and The American League in Transition, 1965 – 1975: How Competition Thrived When the Yankees Didn’t (McFarland Publishers 2012). His books are available on Amazon.
EPISODE 6, SEASON 2
Stephen G. Bowling runs a non-profit organization called The Prometheum Foundation that has a high school program called the Franklin Forum. The program teaches civility in civil discourse and the ability to disagree and still be agreeable even in a passionate exchange of views. Steve's children's books are Calvin the Christmas Tree, Simon's Tree Party, Simon's Search for the Scary Dragon, and Simon's Rocket to the Moon. Steve’s next book, Grandma’s Haunted House, is coming out soon.
EPISODE 5, SEASON 2
Poet, author, artist, and professor Steven Parlato has taught all levels of English and writing at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Connecticut, for more than 20 years. He also teaches Intro to Drawing at the school, where he started as a teacher of graphic design. He has two gritty, realistic young adult novels, The Namesake and The Precious Dreadful. He has also had poetry published by several journals, including Freshwater, Peregrine, Borderlands, and Margie. His collage series, They Are Not Disposable, has been exhibited in Connecticut and Ohio.
A lifelong Connecticut resident, Steve lives in Middlebury with his wife, artist and writer Janet, and his grown children, Ben and Jillian. Steve has been involved in theater productions throughout Connecticut, playing roles ranging from the Scarecrow to Macbeth. His novels are available through Simon & Schuster and can be purchased via most online booksellers.
Steve will be the February Artist of the Month at Waterbury’s Silas Bronson Library, where his collage series will be displayed during Black History Month.
EPISODE 4, SEASON 2
Gioia Diliberto of Woodbury, CT, is the author of three historical novels, four biographies, and a play. Her writing, which focuses on women's lives, combines rich storytelling and literary grace with deep research to bring alive worlds as varied as Jazz Age Paris and 19th century Chicago, Belle Epoque Paris and disco era Manhattan. Her books have been translated into several languages, and she has been a judge for prominent literary contests. As a journalist, Gioia has written for many publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian, Town & Country, and Vanity Fair. She also teaches writing and has taught at the Savannah College of Art and Design and DePaul and Northwestern Universities.
EPISODE 3, SEASON 2
John Opalenik has released four books, including the novellas The Primeval and The Primeval II, The Blue Beneath the Mountain, and Among the Willows & Other Strange Tales, a collection of horror western short stories. John is an active member of the Horror Writer's Association. Outside of writing, he is a teacher and lives with his wife, their dog Zoey, and their son Ben. Order his books online or in person through River Bend Bookshop in Glastonbury and West Hartford, CT, as well as on Amazon. Visit his website to learn more about his work and to find links to his various social media presences, and even listen to the first chapter of The Primeval II. Stay tuned: John and the HWA are working on a few events, including some halfway-to-Halloween events.
EPISODE 2, SEASON 2
Bruce Coffin is the author of The Long Light of Those Days, which since its first publication in 2005 has become a New England classic, and Among Familiar Shadows. He was raised in Woodstock, Vermont, and enjoyed a long career as a teacher in independent schools in England and America. For many years, until his recent retirement, he was a member of the English department at Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut. He is married with two grown children, and he divides his time between Connecticut and Vermont. Read more about Bruce’s book at Swallowtail Press and on Amazon.
EPISODE 1, SEASON 2
Bruce Coffin is the author of The Long Light of Those Days, which since its first publication in 2005 has become a New England classic, and Among Familiar Shadows. He was raised in Woodstock, Vermont, and enjoyed a long career as a teacher in independent schools in England and America. For many years, until his recent retirement, he was a member of the English department at Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut. He is married with two grown children, and he divides his time between Connecticut and Vermont. Read more about Bruce’s book at Swallowtail Press and on Amazon.