Woodbury Writes
Season 2 was recorded during the spring and summer of 2023.
Guests include Bruce Coffin (1 and 2), John Opalenik (3), Gioia Diliberto (4), Steve Parlato (5), Stephen Bowling (6), Paul Hensler (7), William Steele (8), Carl Baker (9), Sylvia Crunden (10), Jackson Kuhl (11), Helene Stapinski and Bonnie Siegler (12), Thomas Tessier (13), Jennifer Covello (14), Katie Carroll (15), Chris Belden (16), Julia Bower Richard and Rick Richardson (17), David Bibbey (18), Richard Seltzer (19), Anne Howard (20), Tracy Bittner (21), SJ Valentine (22), John Opalenik (23), and Stephanie Klose (24).
EPISODE 24,
SEASON 2
Stephanie Klose, member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) in Connecticut, is a freelance writer and book reviewer. Formerly, she was horror editor for Library Journal.
Books Stephanie mentioned: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz; the HWA anthology Don’t Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark; Tales to Keep You Up at Night by Dan Poblocki; This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko; Graveyard Girls series by Lisi Harrison and Daniel Kraus; Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting by Roseanne A. Brown; The Visitors by Greg Howard.
A couple of additional recommendations from Stephanie: The Clackity by Lora Senf; Ravenous Things by Derrick Chow; A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow.
And more: Nominees for the first middle grade Bram Stoker Awards, Summer Scares resources, and suggestions for middle grade novels to adults.
EPISODE 23,
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. His books are available either online or in person through River Bend Bookshop in Glastonbury and West Hartford, Connecticut, as well as on Amazon. Visit his website to learn more about his work and to find links to his various social media presences.
Check out the reading list discussed in this episode.
Listen on YouTube | Listen on You Tube to the first chapter of John Opalenik's The Primeval Part II
EPISODE 22,
SEASON 2
S.J. Valentine is a voice and piano teacher, preschool music educator, and full-time substitute teacher. Before beginning The G Girls in 2006, her primary writing experiences were as an undergraduate and then a graduate student of musicology. S.J. earned her bachelor of arts degree from Wesleyan and her master's degree from Smith College. The G Girls: A Frenemy Who-dunnit is available on Amazon or directly from Stephanie by contacting her via email at sjvalentine2222@gmail.com. S.J. hopes to make an audio version with herself as the reader. She also hopes to have a forum where teen girls can discuss their experiences with each other or with her directly.
EPISODE 21,
SEASON 2
Tracy Bittner is an experienced companion-animal licensed veterinary technician. Although she mostly practices Western-based medicine, she has a special interest in integrative medicine. Tracy is a Holy Fire III Karuna Reiki Master, a Certified Equine Sports Massage Therapist, and a Certified Professional Pet Sitter. She has also been trained in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, and therapeutic-grade essential oils for animals. She started her own energy healing and pet sitting company, Wind Moon Wellness, LLC, in 2010. She lives in a multi-species household near Richmond, Virginia. The Forgotten Nurses is available on Amazon.
EPISODE 20,
SEASON 2
Anne Howard has been a practicing attorney for 20 years, including two years as a judicial decision writer for the federal government. Howard holds a bachelor of arts degree in English literature from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
In addition to writing Escape From Mariupol: A Survivor's True Story with Adoriana Marik, Howard has also written His Garden: Conversations with a Serial Killer. She wrote The Ghost in Her, Book One in the Ungilded Series, under the pen name Anika Savoy. Proceeds from the sale of Escape will benefit Adoriana. She will be discussing her work at The Norfolk Hub, 2 Station Place, Norfolk Historic District, Connecticut, on Aug. 8, from 6 to 7 p.m.
Co-author Adoriana Marik will have an art exhibit at The Norfolk Hub Sept. 3, from 2 to 5 p.m.
EPISODE 19,
SEASON 2
AuthorRichard Seltzer lives in Milford, Connecticut, where he writes novels, essays, and comedy full-time. Richard graduated from Yale and earned a master of arts degree in comparative literature from the University of Massachusetts. At Yale, he had creative writing courses with Robert Penn Warren and Joseph Heller. He has written and published two dozen books, which are available on Amazon.
EPISODE 18,
SEASON 2
David is a talented Emmy winning writer, producer, and broadcast TV host, known for Connecticut's Cultural Treasures (2013) and All Things Connecticut (2015). Skilled in front of and behind the camera, he also is known for bringing out the best in people, capturing the ‘on camera’ moments, ‘telling the tale’ with pith, wit, charm and empathy. A British citizen with ability to work in Europe and USA, David has lived in Connecticut since 2009.
EPISODE 17,
SEASON 2
Justice Southbury is a social justice initiative organized by local volunteers.
Julia Bower Richardson is the founder of Justice Southbury. She is an undergraduate student at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, majoring in Human Development and Psychology and minoring in Inequality Studies. Julia is a lifelong resident of Southbury, graduating among the top ten students of her class from Pomperaug High School in 2019. She has always been passionate about social justice movements, specifically racial equality, women’s healthcare rights, and gun control.
Rick Richardson is a partner in the Woodbury law firm Giuliano Richardson Sfara LLC. He focuses his practice in the areas of divorce, custody, family law, and representation of victims of serious injuries. Rick is a member of the American Association for Justice, the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, the American and Connecticut Bar Associations, and Fellow of the American and Connecticut Bar Foundations. He is past president of the Waterbury Bar Association Family Law Committee, president of the Woodbury Business Association, and a member of the Southbury Business Association.
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.