THE TRUMP TAPES by Bob Woodward

THE TRUMP TAPES, from the publisher: “The Trump Tapes is the intimate and astonishing audio archive of Bob Woodward’s 20 interviews with Donald Trump. Featuring more than eight hours of Woodward/Trump conversations, The Trump Tapes is as historically important as the Frost/Nixon interviews. In this up-close, unvarnished self-portrait of Trump and his presidency, listeners will hear Trump as Woodward did: profane, incautious, divisive, and deceptive, but also engaging and entertaining, ever the host and the salesman, trying to sell his presidency to win Woodward over. Relying on familiar devices—airing grievances, stoking divisions, repeating himself to a staggering degree, as if saying something often and loud enough will make something true—Trump uses his voice as a concussive instrument, pounding in the listener’s ear. In new commentary created exclusively for The Trump Tapes, Woodward at times breaks frame from the interviews to provide essential context or clarification. But for the most part the interviews proceed uninterrupted, fulfilling Woodward’s goal of presenting Trump’s voice and words for the historical record, and offering listeners the chance to hear and judge and make their own assessments. As relevant as ever to the task of understanding Donald Trump, The Trump Tapes reveal Trump in his own words—a man consumed by the past and clinging to his grievances, unable to understand his responsibilities as president or address the crises affecting the country.” Woodward also wrote OBAMA’S WARS,among others.

Review: This audiobook reveals to listeners a Donald Trump that few really know.  Trump trusted Woodward more than any journalist, even through he hadn’t read another book on Trump by Woodward.  Trump tends to change the subject often, his mind wandering, with Woodward constantly bringing him back to the subject at hand.  Trump believed he could solve all problems, on his own. World leaders knew they had to placate him—even another narcissist, Kim Jong-un. Trump got 11 letters from Kim and Woodward is shown them and photos never released to the press. This 11 hour audiobook, released today, answers many questions too numerous to name here. It is mind boggling. Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio Originals for a download so fascinating I listened late into the night! Trump is smart, media savvy, with perfect memory and an inability to apologize for anything. “I’m always right,” he says. “And people hate me.” Woodward, for his part, knows how to probe, with vast experience and perfect memory too. This is why Trump liked him: S&S is right in saying this is the equivalent to the Frost/Nixon interviews. Recommended for anyone with an interest in politics and Presidential history. It is the best book about Trump out there because it is Trump himself exclusively, in his own words. A print edition would make no sense to those who want to hear the inflections, the tone, and the personality behind the words.

(J. Lowe is author of Fame Island, which became Lottery Island in 2018, the partly true story of John Caldwell, developer of Palm Island in the Grenadines. Trump once looked into buying, but was told, “Why should I sell? Every time my wife and I meet that’s a board meeting!” A Trump quote in the novel is, “People are impressed by fame. Think big,and live large.”)

Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

 

Richard Chizmar is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author. He is the co-author (with Stephen King) of the bestselling novella, Gwendy’s Button Box and the founder/publisher of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than 35 anthologies and his short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including multiple editions of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustee’s award. Chizmar (in collaboration with Johnathon Schaech) has also written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, Showtime, NBC, and many other companies. He has adapted the works of many bestselling authors including Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Bentley Little. Chizmar is also the creator/writer of the online website, Stephen King Revisited. His fourth short story collection, THE LONG WAY HOME was published in 2019. With Brian Freeman, Chizmar is co-editor of the acclaimed Dark Screams horror anthology series published by Random House imprint, Hydra. His latest book is CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN.  THE GIRL ON THE PORCH was released in hardcover by Subterranean Press, and WIDOW’S POINT, a chilling novella about a haunted lighthouse written with his son, Billy Chizmar, was recently adapted into a feature film. Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor. 

CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN: Richard Chizmar has written a fascinating book superbly narrated by the matter-of-fact voice of Chris Andrew Cilulla. The concept of putting himself into the narrative makes for a startlingly delicious and offbeat audiobook treat guaranteed to enthrall listeners and keep them listening. I can’t recall having heard such a unique account of a true crime as a thriller, and it’s told from the point of view of the author! The mix of fact and fiction takes the listener by surprise and makes for a jarring interpretation of events that walks us nimbly on the edge of comprehension and fascination. The book is part documentary, memoir, and serial killer tale told with bravery and market savvy. Recommended for anyone looking for something different. (INTERVIEW:)

Jonathan Lowe) What are the details of your relationship with Cemetery Dance magazine, and with Crossroad Press?

Richard Chizmar) I'm the owner of Cemetery Dance Publications, both the magazine and the book imprints. I started the business in 1988 when I was a senior in college at the University of Maryland. Crossroads Press is run by Dave Wilson, who was an early contributor to the magazine and Cemetery Dance novella series. He's a fine writer, editor, and publisher, and I'm fortunate to have a handful of titles with his press. 

Q) Was reading that you’re a screenwriter of indie films, and with at least one based on a Stephen King story about a girl who gets trapped in the woods. What’s the genesis of this, and with your collaboration on a book with King?

A) Steve had seen and enjoyed a couple of the short films my oldest son, Billy, and I had made. We talked about doing one together one day, but time is always an issue. He came up with the basic idea of TRAPPED and sent it my way. I turned it into a short treatment, and he expanded it and made it better. From that detailed outline, I wrote the script and Billy directed it. All involved were really pleased with how it turned out. As for the books, that was a happy accident. Steve and I were emailing one afternoon, and the conversation turned to collaborations. He mentioned a story he hadn't been able to finish...and the rest is history. It was a dream come true. 

Q) Do you listen to audiobooks in your car, or on an iPhone? I know some authors, like Terry Brooks, who stick with print. I assume, with all your writing, you don’t have a lot of time to read.

A) I have pretty limited experience with audiobooks. Most of my books are print copies. But I've listened to and really enjoyed a few while driving and mowing the lawn. 

Q) What does your typical day look like?

A) My days are rarely typical, which is a big plus in my eyes. It helps to keep the work fresh. Some days all I do is write. Other days I'm at the office helping out with the day-to-day publishing duties, and then back home answering emails and doing press. 

Q) What narrators impress you most, and why?

A) I miss Frank Muller. He did some wonderful work.

Lowe) Frank narrated my first novel as “Postal,” but his performance, which won an Earphones award, was lost in the Dove audio mess! What’s next for you?

Chizmar) Next for me is a double book with Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan, coming out in March 2023. Fashioned after the old Ace Double science fiction books. After that, the sequel to CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN, which will be out next October. 

(Update Dec. 2022: Chizmar is winner of an INFLUENCER AWARD given by Audiobooks Today yearly starting this year in the category of Horror, along with David N. Wilson.)

Can you guess?

Interview with Lawrence Block

 

LAWRENCE BLOCK was born in Buffalo, New York in 1938. He attended Antioch College in Ohio then went to work in the mailroom of a New York publisher. His first story was published in 1957 and he has gone on to write more than thirty novels and countless stories and articles, not just under his own name but also as Paul Kavanagh. Indeed Lawrence Block has had several pseudonyms having learned his writer's art crafting erotic literature as Andrew Shaw, Sheldon Lord and Jill Emerson! In 1994 Lawrence Block won the Mystery Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and has also won Edgar, Shamus, and Maltese Falcon awards for his work. In 2004 Lawrence Block was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for a lifetime's achievement in crime writing. I interviewed him once before, long ago. This is new, and I’ve awarded Block an Audiobooks Today INFLUENCER AWARD for 2022 in the category of Mystery.

Jonathan Lowe) What is the takeaway from your new book?

Lawrence Block) Perhaps that there's nothing more dangerous—to himself and others—than a Writer with an Idea. I was sure I was done writing about Bernie Rhodenbarr, a burglar and bookseller who'd been put out of both businesses by the twin forces of modern surveillance cameras and online booksellers. Then I asked myself a question that started with What if, and I thought of a WHAT MAD UNIVERSE, a novel by Fredric Brown, a book I'd read sixty-plus years ago. I refreshed my memory and knew I'd found a way for Bernie to keep doing what he does best. And then I had no choice but to put my shoulder to the wheel, and the result is The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown.

Q) How many series now?

A) It depends how you count. I've written eighteen books about Matthew Scudder, an ex-cop and unlicensed private detective; eight with Evan Tanner, an international adventurer and permanent insomniac; half a dozen with Keller, a professional hit man and enthusiastic philatelist; four with Chip Harrison, a sort of Lecher in the Rye; and the new book is the thirteenth with Bernie Rhodenbarr. But there's also Martin H. Ehrengraf, the criminous criminal lawyer who's been in around a dozen short stories. And I could make the case that THE SPECIALISTS, while only a single novel, can be labeled a one-book series.

What pleases me most, beyond the numbers, is that all of these series, and all of my other books, way back to my beginnings in the genre of Midcentury Erotica, are available today—as ebooks and paperbacks. And almost all of them are also presently available in audio. 

Q) Do you listen to your audiobooks, and what do you think of your new narrators?

A) I'm glad you asked, although the question does make me the least bit uncomfortable. On the one hand, I'm a big fan of audio as a publishing medium. I've watched it grow from botched abridgements that were hard to find outside of truck stops to the phenomenon it is today, and I'm confident this growth is nowhere near complete. That's led me to embrace audio self-publishing, which I've been doing for several years now in partnership with a number of fine narrators; that's how I've managed to have so much of my extensive backlist in audio.

But at the same time, I have to confess that I'm not a consumer when it comes to audio. Just as audiobooks are a godsend for people who have difficulty absorbing information from the printed page, so are they no fun at all for someone like me, who is not at all good at absorbing and retaining information that comes in through my ears. When I try to listen to audiobooks, my mind inevitably wanders—andmore often than not I pick up something to read.

Of course I listen to my own narrators, not at great length but to get a sense of what they bring to the material. The commercial publishers I work with—Recorded Books, Tantor, Blackstone—always choose talented and professional voice artists, and I've had the further good fortune to connect with some superb narrators for my self-publishing ventures.

Right now I'm still reeling from the shock of the very recent death of Richard Ferrone, the long-serving Voice of Bernie Rhodenbarr; he lived only two or three weeks after a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown must have been one of his very last audiobooks. I've already heard from fans who'd listened to it, and they all agree it's superb—which is no surprise. He'll be missed.

Lowe) I didn't know that! Met him once at the Audie awards. Sorry to hear it.

Craig Morgan and Chad Brock Interview

 

Country music icon, army veteran, father, outdoorsman—Craig Morgan shares all aspects of his life, revealing stories even his most avid fans don’t know. Written with Jim DeFelice, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller American Sniper. In 1989, as US news outlets declared an end to Operation Just Cause, Craig Morgan was part of an elite group of military operatives jumping into the jungle along the Panamanian border on a covert operation. Fans know the country music star from his hit songs and acclaimed albums, but there’s a lot more to him—a soldier who worked with the CIA in Panama, an undercover agent who fought sex traffickers in Thailand, and a dedicated family man who lives the values he sings.

Jonathan Lowe, reprinted from Porthole Cruise Magazine:

I hit the open seas in search of a little relief from home’s Arizona heat. I didn’t bring cowboy boots or a cowboy hat, but I did pack a western shirt for a country cruise aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Grandeur of the Seas.
      The headliners were Chad Brock and Craig Morgan, courtesy of local Arizona radio station KIIM-FM in Tucson, which sponsors a country cruise each year as part of a promotional event.
      For his part, Brock — whose hits Ordinary Life and Yes made the Top 40 — wore a Hawaiian shirt, sandals, and a beret. Morgan — whose self-titled CD, Craig Morgan, explores life and love in situations both personal and universal—wore a cowboy hat on board.
Max Morgan, a DJ for KIIM-FM’s “Max & Kris” morning show in Tucson, said they have been organizing country theme cruises for five years, aboard Royal Caribbean, Holland America Line, and Carnival Cruise Lines ships. They typically advertise the cruises on the air, and a few lucky listeners get to cruise for free. On one previous cruise they had artists Kevin Sharpe and Keith Urban, and they planned an Alaskan cruise.
Throughout the week, in which Grandeur of the Seas visited Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta, we were treated to several informal country music performances by Brock and Morgan.
      Both artists made their performances enjoyable to non-country fans as well, by mixing things up with humor and supplying the personal context behind their songs. 
      “People are always trying to decide what’s country and what ain’t,” Morgan said, “but I think it doesn’t matter — not even the boots and hat — so I wrote a song about that.”
      Between songs Morgan talked about his past careers as an EMT, a paratrooper, a Special Forces soldier, a police officer, and a Wal-Mart employee, leading up to that fateful day when he learned that he had a recording contract.
      When I asked him what he thought of his first cruise, he said he wasn’t a big ocean freak, and had thought that a purser was “somebody who made women’s purses.” After a taste of the country cruise, though, he said he’d discovered that the service was “the best I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve eaten in many fine restaurants, all over the world.” It was rare for him to be traveling with his wife, too, which was “better than sharing a room with my guitar, believe me!”
      Brock could also qualify as a stand-up cruise comic. A big man, formerly a wrestler, Brock sees country music as a landscape of the heart, and therefore the music works, even at sea, drinking a margarita and wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
      “Emotions are universal,” he said, “and I like keeping things simple, although nothin’ stays the same. We’re all changed by all our experiences. Like being in the Navy or havin’ a baby.”
      After the motion of the ship inspired some hilarious antics on stage, Brock concluded “the only thing they ever gave us in the Navy for this was crackers and a bucket.”

(Note: Morgan’s new book is GOD, FAMILY, COUNTRY out in hardcover and on audio with him narrating, from Blackstone Publishing and Blackstone Audio. Ask them for an update to this interview. And check out ROBIN MASTERS TO THOMAS MAGNUM on Amazon for a series mystery story first published in Porthole.)

Interview with Narrator Michael Crouch

 

Michael Crouch is a New York City based actor specializing in voiceover. His audiobook narration has earned Audie Awards, multiple Earphones Awards, and AudioFile Magazine’s Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Honor. He can also be heard on national commercials, cartoons, video games, industrials, and the animé series Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon.

 

JONATHAN LOWE) How did you get started narrating audiobooks? What did you do beforehand?

MICHAEL CROUCH) I’ve been acting since I was a kid. Lots of theatre. Shortly after graduating college I realized I didn’t want to pursue a career on the stage. But I still felt an itch to act in some form. That’s when I started exploring the art and business of voiceover. I began taking commercial and animation classes and eventually began working in the field. At that point I was still a stranger to audiobook narration.

In late 2013 I enrolled in a narration course taught by Grammy-winning producer and director Paul Ruben. I found the work frustrating and fascinating. The class met once a week for six weeks, and around the third week my agent sent me an audition for an audiobook for Random House. I applied the techniques I’d been learning in Paul’s class, and right after the course ended I found out I got the job! The timing was amazing. Still, it took another two years of persistence and patience before I started working consistently.

Q) How many audiobooks have you done so far, and what is your preferred genre?

A) If you include full cast projects, I've done about 330 audiobooks in total. It's hard to pick a preferred genre. It's all about the writing. When it's good it's good! Some of my personal favorites are more literary in style and contain dark subject matter. A perfect example is the audiobook I most recently finished, I Am the Light of This World by Michael Parker.

 

Q)  Favorite authors and titles?

A) Well, definitely the one I just mentioned. I Am the Light of This World by Michael Parker. Here are a few more highlights off the top of my head: THE GREAT BELIEVERS by Rebecca Makkai, a Pulitzer and National Book Award Finalist. Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick. Simon vs. Homo Sapiens Agenda, which is a movie. And Wink by Rob Harrell, about surviving middle school, Soar by Joan Bauer, about a kid who loves baseball, and Groundskeeping by Lee Cole, a coming of age story about a wannabe writer who moves in with his Trump loving uncle.

Q)  Congratulations at your recent boost in exposure as a narrator. Have you done any writing yourself, and where have you been featured?

A) I have not done any writing. I'll leave that to the pros!

 

Q) What is your advice for new listeners and for upcoming narrator wanna-bes? And what's next for you?

A) For new narrators, I would remind them to take it easy on themselves. Audiobooks are not easy. You are going to mess up. A lot. It's okay. That's what editing is for. You're being asked to record tons of material in a very short period. And you're making artistic choices throughout, not just spewing words (at least I hope you're not). To me, the best narrators are sensitive readers--meaning they open themselves up to every shift and turn in the text and let it affect them. It's a moment by moment experience.

Next up for me: A new Animorphs audiobook and a thriller entitled CHANCE by Matthew FitzSimmons.

Lowe: Thanks much for your time. You are a very talented and versatile voice actor with a great future! I hope your listeners share and comment here. BTW, I was surprised to see your photo in Audiofile below Perdita Weeks. She’s on the Magnum PI Reboot (and narrated Circe, among others.) I am admin for the private Facebook group with 7100 members, and am posing the best questions by members for a Robin Masters book.