Book Realities

Join author Chelsea Banning in conversation about her Arthurian fantasy novel, Of Crowns & Legends, her writing style, her love of Renaissance and Medieval fairs (Renfaire) and how a book signing with 2 people in attendance became a viral moment on Twitter that catapulted her into being a full-time writer.

Join musician, songwriter, author, writer of musicals and poet, Mark Fryday, in conversation with Ian as they discuss a love of words, a knack for inventing beer names, how to plan (or not) your book, the beauty and attraction of the British Pub and the propensity of repressed feelings and emotions within Great British (and further afield) society! All that and a few serious reflections on RUOK and CALM.For further information on Mark - visit: https://markfryday.com/

Angeline King is (​from September 2020 to September 2023) the Writer in Residence of Ulster University whilst completing a PhD in creative writing. A multi-talented fiction and non-fiction writer she has a passion for story-telling and a love of language, in many guises. Join Angeline and Ian in conversation about Ulster Scots, the business of writing, why she used to write in the mornings, how walking and thinking is essential for her creative processes and an overview of the many and varied projects Angeline has been involved with.

Join author Gabriella Lang in conversation about her memoir Food and Freedom, her love of Russian history and how, on 17 July 1998, she found herself at the interment of the last of the Romanov Czars, Emperor Nicholas II, his family, Dr Botkin and their three faithful servants in St Petersburg´s Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Join Ian in conversation with author, podcaster, motivational speaker and business woman, Sana Turnock.Sana has been described as honest, enthusiastic and someone who dares to be different in her approach. Her ability to really listen creates connection and trust with the audience. She holds space for meaningful conversations and the ability to provide a safe space for people to share and be vulnerable. Located in the beautiful Busselton-Margaret River Region in Western Australia, Sana is a motivational keynote speaker on courage-related topics and she facilitates individual and workplace programs on A Healthy Mind in Business and Holism & Mindset in Business: The new success currency. In this episode of Book Realities she discusses why she wrote the Courage Journal and also how she is dealing with a recent medical revelation in her life. You can follow Sana at : https://courageunravelled.com/about/And listen to her Courage Unravelled Podcasts at: https://courageunravelled.com/podcasts/

Join Ian and the author of the excellent Clement Wisdom series of mystery thrillers, V M Knox (Vicky) in discussion. Covering why she was mistrustful of indie publishing initially, her operatic background, her love of all things to do with code breaking and cryptography, and how that led to a very short-sighted teenager asking her, "Did you used to do that in World War II?"....

A special pre-launch interview with Mark Anthony, author of the Fantasy trilogy, LIT and specifically the second book in the series, Ascent.Discover more at https://bookreality.com/project/mark-anthony/

Join Ian in conversation with Dean P.R. Buswell, author of the Urban Fantasy novel, The Order of Elysium.Dean was born in Perth, Western Australia. Growing up in the southern suburbs of Rockingham he cultivated a small but close group of friends who shared his love for gaming, reading, and eventually writing. For as long he could remember, Dean has always loved the idea of writing a book, often writing fan fictions that never got past five chapters, or original ideas that never got past one.Eventually one stuck, and what was originally a half-formed concept he came up with for him and his friends to play around with, evolved into an ongoing project that would go on to see the light of day as his first book, The Order of Elysium. Influenced by Nordic and many other myths and legends, Dean has woven these into a stunning lore of his own.

Join Ian Hooper in discussion with Lee Gaitan, a contributor to the Book Reality anthology, Forgiveness is the Hardest Thing.In 2020, US-based author, Rica Keenum, suggested the possibility of an anthology based on the topic of Forgiveness. As the world ground to a halt under the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic the idea took a back seat, but in 2021, during the prolonged lockdowns, twenty-one women from across four continents were invited to write about their experiences of forgiveness through the medium of poetry or prose, fiction or non-fiction. The result is an anthology that lays bare the shared need to forgive or to be forgiven. Featuring the writing of multiple-award winning authors, hailing from Las Vegas to Florida, from South Africa to Northern Ireland and from near Perth in Scotland to near Perth in Western Australia, Forgiveness is the Hardest Thing is an inspiring collection to draw from when you too are wondering, how can I forgive?.One of the authors who submitted a piece for the anthology was, Lee Gaitan. An award-winning author of four books, including the Amazon #1 Bestseller My Pineapples Went to Houston, First Edition, and Lite Whines and Laughter, which garnered three international book awards and for which she was named a First Place Winner for Georgia Independent Author of the Year. She has authored chapters in several bestselling books and award-winning anthologies. Her work has been featured on The Huffington Post, Erma Bombeck Humor Writers’ Workshop, The Good Men Project, Mothers Always Write, Enchanted Conversations, and Bella Grace among others. Her blog entries have earned a first-place win and honorable mention from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, and she is a winner of the Nickie’s Prize Writing Competition. Her 2021 release, My Pineapples Went to Houston, Second Edition, has already won two awards.