Posted on

Intelligence Expert & Bestselling Author Bob Baer on The Fourth Man

Intelligence Expert & Bestselling Author

Anyone who is a spy history buff will know that American Intelligence caught three high-profile Russian spies in the 90s: Aldrich Ames and Edward Howard from the CIA, and Robert Hanssen from the FBI.  But did you know that there have always been rumblings that there was a fourth man?

Bestselling author and intelligence analyst for CNN, (one of the most accomplished officers in CIA history), Robert Baer says it’s time to talk about The Fourth Man (the title of his new book!) – someone who may be the greatest traitor in American history – and who may still be alive.

In our chat we find out how the intelligence organizations discovered the three moles within, and why there is credible belief that there was a fourth mole – the Fourth Man – and how these spies allowed Putin to come to power. In addition, we discover why people become spies, what the state of US spycraft is today, and what is the biggest danger in the world today. Plus – how he made ME part of the spy story!

Click the player below to hear the chat with Pam and Bob

About Bob Baer
Robert Baer, one of the most accomplished officers in CIA history, is a bestselling author and intelligence analyst for CNN. Over several decades, he served everywhere from Iraq to New Delhi and was awarded the Career Intelligence Medal for his efforts. Baer is the author of four New York Times bestsellers, including his first book, See No Evil, the basis for the Academy Award-winning film Syriana. He is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Middle East and frequently appears on all major news outlets. Baer has contributed to TIME, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
For his book, The 4th Man: Click here

Posted on

Bestselling Author Michael Farquhar Shares More Bad Days in History!

Think You’ve had a Bad Day?
Michael Farquhar Delves into the Day-to-Day Saga of
Ignominy, Idiocy, and Incompetence in History

I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much in an interview – especially one that included carbuncles, cannibalism, and Thomas Jefferson’s rear end. Bestselling author Michael Farquhar shares More Bad Days in History and reminds us that history is not all black and white – that complexities exist – and that we are all pretty much the same.

Michael tells us how General Patton’s widow put a Hawaiian curse on her husband’s mistress, how Joe DiMaggio gave Florence Kotz a doozy of a day, and how Colonial Massachusetts had some terminal consequences for disobedient children.

Having a bad day? You won’t feel so bad after listening to our chat!

Click on the player below to hear the chat with Michael Farquhar and Pam

About Michael Farquhar

A former writer and editor at The Washington Post, Michael Farquhar is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the critically acclaimed Behind the Palace Doors and Secret Lives of the Tsars, as well as the popular Penguin “Treasury” series: A Treasury of Royal Scandals, A Treasury of Great American Scandals, A Treasury of Deception, A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans. His latest titles are Bad Days in History: A Gleefully Grim Chronicle of Misfortune, Mayhem, and Misery for Every Day of the Year, and its sequel More Bad Days in History: The Delightfully Dismal, Day-by-Day Saga of Ignominy, Idiocy, and Incompetence Continues. He lives in Washington, D.C.

​

For more from Michael Farquhar: Click here

Posted on

Never Kiss a Chicken – Bottom of the Sky Author William C. Pack has a Children’s Book!

William C. Pack – Bestselling Author of
The Bottom of the Sky
Writes about Kissing Chickens in his New Children’s Book!

How do you go from the crazy world of Wall Street to the chicken coops of Montana, and write a sweet book for children, after you have a bestselling novel for adults?

William C. Pack explains why he wrote “Never Kiss a Chicken” after the success of his adult novel “Bottom of the Sky.”  We talk divisiveness, niceness, kindness (both active and passive) and why one should never kiss a chicken.

And, it turns out, we both speak chicken! A delightful conversation with an interesting man.

Click on the player below to hear the chat with William and Pam


Photo Credit: Mallory Regan Photography

About William C. Pack

Wlliam C. Pack Photo Credit: Melanie Nashan Photography
Wlliam C. Pack Photo Credit: Melanie Nashan Photography

William C. Pack is a multi-award winning author. Born and raised in rural Montana, Bill left home at an early age and worked a variety of jobs from truck driver to cook before earning his GED and, at age 21, joined a major Wall Street firm. He rose to become the youngest Executive VP/Divisional Director of the largest investment firm in the world while simultaneously acting as CEO of a private food manufacturing company affiliated with Beatrice Foods and served a prestigious 3-year appointment with the NASD (now FINRA) in creating and enforcing rules and regulations on Wall Street.

At 43, due to an illness, Bill left Wall Street to pursue lifelong goals. Bill took the SATs and earned a slot at Stanford University as the oldest undergraduate on campus. In 3 years he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with distinction and high honors. His thesis received the Annual Reviews Prize in Anthropological Sciences and Bill became the chief archaeologist of Stanford’s Greater Yellowstone Archaeological Site Survey.

Bill’s greatest dream was to be a novelist. He was a Lucas Artists Fellowship Writer in Residence and in 2007, his first short story was published. Soon after, his debut novel, THE BOTTOM OF THE SKY, a rags to riches family saga published to great critical acclaim. The novel was a finalist for the National Best Book Award and a contender for the Pulitzer Prize. THE BOTTOM OF THE SKY was also chosen for the prestigious One Book Billings Award and has been taught in advanced university literature and creative writing classes.

Bill has been featured on NPR affiliates, the PBS-syndicated show Between the Lines, Face the State, Forbes Personal Best, and a host of local and regional radio and television shows.

Bill has used his book sales to raise money for women’s and children’s charities, including: Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse in SF, The Nevada Women’s Fund, the Angel Fund in MT, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Reach Out and Read CO, Reach Out and Read AZ, Babcock Elementary in Sacramento, Rafael House in Portland, and others. Bill was a Board member of the Institute of the Americas, solving energy issues in the Americas, and of other charities.

Bill Pack is married with grown children and delightful grandchildren. After residing in Northern California for many years, Bill and his wife returned to Montana, where he enjoys hanging out with his big dogs and even bigger wildlife. NEVER KISS A CHICKEN! is Bill’s first children’s book.

  • Photos courtesy of Mallory Regan Photography and Melanie Nashan Photography

For more about William C. Pack: Click here
For his book, Never Kiss a Chicken: Click here
William C. Pack on Facebook: @williamcpack

Posted on

Microbiologist Dr. Bill Sullivan Discusses “Pleased to Meet Me”


Author Bill Sullivan Discusses Bestseller Pleased to Meet Me
Genes, Germs, and the Curious Forces That Make Us Who We Are

Can we change how our genes act? Do genes influence behavior and personality? Does the environment actually change our genes? We tackle these topics and more with professor of microbiology Dr. Bill Sullivan, author of Pleased to Meet Me.

We also cover epigenetics, gene editing, methylation and the microbiome. Bill tells us how our socio-economic position affects our genes, how DNA is getting tweaked in the womb, and how dopamine affects eating and alcohol use.

Plus – find out what Iceland is doing to combat violence, how our bacteria affects our happiness, and how the brains of conservatives and liberals are different!

Click on the player below to hear the chat with Bill Sullivan and Pam

 

About Bill Sullivan

I’m a Professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana, where I live with my wife and two kids. I received my Ph.D. in Molecular & Cell Biology from the University of Pennsylvania in the year…let’s just say I was listening to a lot of Toad The Wet Sprocket back then. My Ph.D. thesis described my discovery of a few genes responsible for drug-resistance in Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite so fascinating that I continue to study it to this day.

I then enjoyed working at Eli Lilly & Co. for two years, but decided to return to academia so I could wear jeans and T-shirts to work again. If you are interested in our research, check out our laboratory website.

I have written for a number of popular science outlets including Scientific American, Scientific American  MIND, Salon.com, COSMOS magazine, GotScience.org, What Is Epigenetics, and more. I am an editor and writer at PLOS SciComm, a blog site dedicated to the art of science and medical communication. In 2014, I co-founded my own popular science blog called THE ‘SCOPE, which aims to talk about science in a lighthearted and entertaining way.

I enjoy giving presentations about a variety of science-related topics to all age groups – contact me for topics and booking information. I also serve as a board member for The da Vinci Pursuit, an organization focused on connecting science, art, and community. My love for the arts goes back to my graduate school days: I would science all day, but I would rock out all night with my band, Open Cage.

Why do I do all this? Communicating science is essential for progress and our well-being, but it is not an easy task. The language can be intimidating and the concepts involved take years to master. I made a commitment to do my best to bring science to the people in a way that won’t put them to sleep or make their head implode. I love to laugh and I love to learn; I hope my writing does that for you in equal measure.

For more about Bill: Click here
For his book, Please to Meet Me: Click here
Follow him on twitter: Click here

Posted on

Bestselling Author Sandra Brown

Bestselling Author Sandra Brown

Back with us for another chat, Sandra Brown talks Thick as Thieves, her latest bestseller. She tells us what sparked the idea the book, how her characters create themselves, and how the story already exists – it’s just her job to excavate it.

She also shares a surprising struggle she deals with (it will be familiar to many of us), how she builds her plots and twists and turns, and how her subconscious theme has always been the abuse of power.

It’s her most vulnerable interview with us to date.

Click on the player below to hear the chat with Sandra Brown and Pam

About Sandra Brown

Sandra Brown is the author of seventy-one New York Times bestsellers, including Outfox, Tailspin, Seeing Red, Sting, Mean Streak, Friction, Deadline, and Rainwater.

Writing professionally since 1981, Brown has published over eighty novels and has upwards of eighty million copies of her books in print worldwide. Her work has been translated into thirty-four languages.

Her episode on truTV’s “Murder by the Book” premiered the series in 2008. She appeared in 2010 on Investigation Discovery’s series, “Hardcover Mysteries.” Television movies have been made of her novels French Silk, Smoke Screen, Ricochet, and White Hot.

Brown holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University, where she and her husband Michael Brown, have instituted the ELF, a scholarship awarded annually. She has served as president of Mystery Writers of America, and in 2008 she was named Thriller Master, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other honors include the Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She has gone on two USO tours, to Afghanistan and Cuba.

For more about Sandra: Click here
For her latest book, Thick as Thieves: Click here
Follow her on twitter: Click here
Join her on Facebook: Click here

Posted on

Bestselling Author Jeffrey Deaver is back with The Steel Kiss!”

Do you trust your refrigerator? Maybe you shouldn’t…
Bestselling suspense author Jeffery Deaver is BACK!

We’re back with our favorite bestselling suspense author Jeffrey Deaver for his latest installment of the Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs series: The Steel Kiss. It’s quite a an unsettling novel as advances in technology create quite the scary scenario!

Jeffery shares what the impact of cloud monitoring has on your everyday appliances, and how on earth your refrigerator may have been a spambot! He also gives insight into the skirmish between Apple and the FBI for control of the infamous San Bernardino iPhone several years ago, and why this time it’s different.  And find out why New York taxi services dropped 5% after The Bone Collector movie came out!

Click on the player below to hear the chat with Jeffery and Pam

About Jeffery Deaver

A former journalist, folksinger and attorney, Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one bestselling author. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the New York Times, the Times of London, Italy’s Corriere della Sera, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and have been translated into over twenty-five languages. He has sold 50 million books worldwide.

The author of over thirty-five novels, three collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, and a lyricist of a country-western album, he’s received or been shortlisted for dozens of awards around the world. His The Bodies Left Behind was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller The Broken Window and a stand-alone, Edge, were also nominated for that prize, as was a short story. He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and the Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers’ Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Readers Award for Best Short Story of the Year and a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. Solitude Creek and The Cold Moon were both given the number one ranking by Kono Misurteri Ga Sugoi in Japan. The Cold Moon was also named the Book of the Year by the Mystery Writers Association of Japan. In addition, the Japanese Adventure Fiction Association awarded the The Cold Moon and Carte Blanche their annual Grand Prix award. His book The Kill Room was awarded the Political Thriller of the Year by Killer Nashville. And his collection of short stories, Trouble in Mind, was nominated for best anthology by that organization, as well.

Deaver has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention and by the Raymond Chandler Lifetime Achievement Award in Italy. The Strand Magazine also has presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Deaver has been nominated for numerous Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony, a Shamus and a Gumshoe. He was shortlisted for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Best International Author. Roadside Crosses was on the shortlist for the Prix Polar International 2013.

His book A Maiden’s Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.  In 2019, NBC picked up a series called “Lincoln,” based on the books. Lifetime aired an adaptation of his The Devil’s Teardrop. And, yes, the rumors are true; he did appear as a corrupt reporter on his favorite soap opera, As the World Turns.

He was born outside Chicago and has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University.

Jeffery Deaver was President of the Mystery Writers Of America organization in 2017 and 2018.

For more about Jeffery, click here for his website.
For Jeffery’s facebook page, Click here
Follow him on twitter: Click here