It's cold and snowy outside, so cuddle up by the fireplace and let a little Love warm your heart this post-Valentine's season.  Paul Stokstad, writer, tennis pro, webmaster, marketing director and poet is here to talk love and tattoos with Writers' Voices host Monica Hadley (Caroline will be staying indoors herself this week due to the snowstorm).  Butterfuly Tattoo is Paul's third published book, and somewhat of a deprature from "How To Be Your Own Best Tennis Pro" and "How to Start Your Own Improv Comedy Group."  

As of 2011 over 235,000 books have been self-published, and the growing trend towards e-books makes this an even more feasible option for authors. But what would make a traditionally-published author decide to go independent?  Join Monica and Caroline on Writers' Voices this week as they discuss this with Sabrina Ricci, whose essay, "Why Traditionally Published Authors are Going Indie" recently appeared on Huffington Post.  

Ricci is a freelance writer whose own self-published novella, "The 13th Cycle" is widely available online.  She was also the co-founder and publisher of FictionBrigade, a micropublisher of flash fiction ebooks. FictionBrigade's ebook "Espresso Fiction" is an award-winning finalist in the 'E-book: General Fiction' category of The 2012 USA Best Book Awards, sponsored by USA Book News. Previously, Ricci worked for traditional publishers Random House and Simon & Schuster.

Whether you are interested in reading or writing e-books, you won't want to miss our conversation with Sabrina Ricci.

For most writers, going from concept to finished product is a mostly solitary pursuit, and getting across the finish line is largely dependent on your own efforts.  With the sefl-publishing technology available today, you don't necessarily need anyone else in order to publish your work. But for a screenwriter, getting the script finished is only half the battle - if that.  What does it take to get a movie made?

Join Monica and Caroline on Writers' Voices this week as they talk to Caterina Titus, of www.rubystarproductions.com to learn more about the screenwriter's journey.  Caty is the co-writer of “Pyaar” - a social political feature film (with Stuart Tanner,) and romantic dramedy "Between Worlds" (with actor/director Ruben Pla.) Her goal is to create films that address the issues of globalization. For the last five years she has been developing a valuable network of contacts in the film industry as she focuses on getting her movies made.

Writers' Voices brings two Fairfield authors to the air this week with their debut books.  First, Tony Kainauskas, the long-time proprietor of Fairfield's sorely missed 21st Century Bookstore, will discuss his memoir "A Time of Innocence: My Personal Memories of Viktoras Kulvinskas and the Transcendenal Meditation Community." Tony's cousin, Viktoras is known as the Father of the Raw Foods Movement, and publishing and distributing Viktoras' first book, "Survival into the 21st Century" helped launch Tony's lifelong career in books. Tony also shares his memories of the early days of the TM movement.

For the second half of the show, essayist Chris Hallinger will join Monica and Caroline in the studio to talk about his hilarious, Dave-Barryish book of essays, entitled "Life on Earth" and to discuss how he and Monica may be related through Hans Herr, the original leader of the settlement of Lancaster County, PA.

"That Reminds Me: A Conversational Memoir" by Norman Zierold, takes the reader on an exuberant journey, both outward and inward, from pre-Depression-era Iowa (the Amana Colonies), to Europe, NYC, Hollywood, and back again to Iowa (Fairfield, that is.) Join Writers' Voices hosts Monica Hadley and Caroline Kilbourn to learn from Norman the inside stories that only the author of such Hollywood biographies as "Garbo", "The Child Stars", and "The Moguls" would know.  How did a boy from the Amanas come to rub elbows with the rich and famous of the mid-20th century?  And what brought him back to Iowa?

"That Reminds Me" will be released on Amazon January 12, 2013.

Welcome Monica Hadley back to live radio this Friday as she and guest host Bob Ferguson interview Peter Fusaro, noted speaker and author of 16 books including “What Went Wrong at Enron.” His three most recent books have been “Cut Carbon, Grow Profits,”  “Energy & Emissions: Collision or Convergence” and “Energy & Environmental Hedge Funds: The New Investment Paradigm.”  

Peter is an energy industry thought leader noted for his keen insights in emerging energy and environmental financial markets. He has been on the forefront of energy and environmental change for over 30 years focusing on oil, gas, power, coal, emissions, carbon trading and renewable energy markets.

Catch this preview of Peter’s upcoming visit to Fairfield, co-sponsored by KRUU-FM.  On Tuesday, January 8th, Peter will be in town to lead two lecture/discussions on the new energy economy. He'll be at Cambridge Investment Research at 3pm and the Sustainable Living Center on the MUM campus at 7:30pm. The workshops are free and open to the public.

It's time for Writers' Voices Annual Christmas Show! This year Monica Hadley and Caroline Kilbourn are joined by Stephen Parker of Burlington. Stephen is the national voice for McGruff The Crime Dog, star of the National Crime Prevention Council’s Public Service spots. Stephen became the voice of McGruff in 2006 after a nation wide contest. 

Stephen, a retired Sheriff's Deputy Sergant of over 35 years, helps share holiday stories, songs, and conversation.

Join in for a wonderful hour of holiday fun and inspiration!

Epiphanies. They are the sudden realizations that can change lives.

This week on Writers' Voices, we will be speaking with Elise Ballard about her book, "Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage, and Transform". Elise Ballard had an epiphany and set out to find out if others have also experienced such a moment. They have. Her book is a collection of over fifty stories from people from all walks of life. From Deepak Chopra, Dr. Oz, Ali MacGraw, and Barry Manilow to teachers, missionaries, homemakers, and more, they all share about how one sudden moment of insight has the power to change lives.

Elise Ballard has worked as an actress, independent filmmaker, and film producer. She lives in Los Angeles and is working on the film and website for the Epiphany project.

This week is a rebroadcast of a discussion Cheryl Fusco Johnson had with Dan Buettner. Dan is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Zones and the author of "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest".  In 2004, Dan worked with National Geographic and some of the world’s top longevity researchers to identify places around the world where people lived measurably better. His research proved the basis for "The Blue Zones" book. Dan has also written "Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way" and used a similar approach to find the areas with the happiest people.

Michael Perry, who once worked as a roller skating Snoopy, is a humorist and the author of the best-selling memoirs Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time, Truck: A Love Story, and Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting. He's written for Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, Outside, Backpacker, Orion and Salon.com and is a contributing editor to Men's Health. Off Main Street is a collection of his essays, and his latest memoir is Visiting Tom: A Man, A Highway, and the Road to Roughneck Grace. Michael's also performed and produced two live audience humor recordings (I Got It From the Cows and Never Stand Behind a Sneezing Cow), and he performs regularly with his band the Long Beds. Michael and his family live in rural Wisconsin, where he remains active with the local volunteer rescue service. Look for him online at www.sneezingcow.com and tune in to KRUU for what's likely to be a lively, funny, and thoughtful discussion.