People who are passionate about the stories and the topics....

At the beginning of Realgoodwords I do my introductions and I say "Each week we get the chance to talk with authors and writers about the stories and the topics that they are passionate about".

It's almost always the truth. But this week it is REALLY true. And it's a very different kind of show.

Justine Sharrock is one of my guests - her book "Tortured - When Good Soldiers Do Bad Things" has been called:

“An extraordinary book that explores the ugliest underbelly of war. Sharrock takes the discussion of torture and prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo into new territory, delving into the lives of the soldiers on the ground assigned these brutal tasks. Throughout the book, Sharrock maintains a balance between empathy and tough reporting as she examines the anguish and denial of men who participated in what can only be described as acts of evil but who do not believe themselves to be evil.” Thomas B. Edsall, Political Editor, Huffington Post

I also talk to bestselling historical novelist Brenda Rickman Vantrease about her latest "The Heretic's Wife".

"Cardinals and bishops, servants and merchants, ship captains and noble-born ladies and lords: it's a marvel of authorial engineering that Vantrease can keep so many characters separate while she is at the same time weaving together their stories into such a comprehensive and complex whole. There's an elegance to Vantrease's writing, a sense of great respect for the history she explores, coupled with a determined, truth-seeking creativity. In The Heretic's Wife, she renders for her readers a world as fully realized and alive as it is for the characters--both real and imagined--of whom she writes." --from a review by Lacey Galbraith in Chapter16.org, reprinted in The Nashville Scene.

there is always something new to learn

This week's Realgoodwords was kind of a stretch for me. One of the featured books was about immigration laws in the United States, the other was a novel considered historical fiction or inspirational fiction. Both things I don't read every day. So what did I learn you ask?

I've always wondered when I hear people talk about "illegal" citizens in the United States - they suggest that it is easy to become a citizen. Most of the time the people who are saying this know what they are talking about, because they became U.S. citizens themselves. The difference is, all they had to do was be born.

When I talked with author Helen Thorpe about the four young Mexican students she profiles in her new book "Just Like Us" and asked her why the two undocumented students haven't filled out the paperwork to become citizens she finally explained things to me.

These young women were brought to the United States illegally by their parents. When you come into the United States illegally, you do not have the option of filling out the paperwork to become a citizen. You have to go back to your country and apply. It could take decades for this to happen. And in the meantime they would be back in a country that they chose to leave because of severe economic situations. These girls are in a no-win situation.

If you missed the conversation, check the Realgoodwords archive here.

I realized when I talked with MN author Julie Klassen that I tend to read the same kinds of novels, and don't really seek out new and different kinds. I am a contemporary reader. In fact, there are many classics that people can't believe I haven't read. For that reason I might have passed right by Julie's novel "the Silent Governess" because it would have been in either the historical fiction or the inspirational fiction section. Because she was nominated for a MN Book Award I decided to take a chance. And I found a strong storyteller that pulled me out of my contemporary rut to Jane Austen-era England.

This week I realized why I read. There is always something new to learn.

MN authors featured - Nicole Johns and Scott Muskin

Nicole Johns and Scott Muskin have some things in common - they both are writers - they both live in Minnesota - they both graduated with MFAs in creative writing from the University of Minnesota - and they are BOTH on Realgoodwords this week. I happen to think the last similarity is the most important :)

That being said, their books are very different. Nicole Johns "Purge: Rehab Diaries" is remarkable in its honesty. She writes of her experience with and recovering from an eating disorder. Here's an excerpt:

An eating disorder is driving to a gas station in the midst of a blizzard and writing a bad check to buy dozens of stale doughnuts because they are being sold at the day-old discount price and you are ravenous because you have been starving yourself, again. Your car gets stuck in the middle of an intersection, your tires churn up wet snow, you're going nowhere as you cram doughnuts into your mouth, sugar circling your lips and chin, granules of sticky sugar on the steering wheel, and you don't care that there is oncoming traffic, a light is about to change, and the tires are spinning. All you care about is making it back to the apartment before your roommate gets off work, in time to stick the index finger of your right hand down your inflamed throat so that doughnut pieces will heave their way up your esophagus and plummet into the toilet bowl.

Scott Muskin's first novel, "The Annunciations of Hank Meyerson, Mama's Boy and Scholar"is up for a 2009 MN Book Award for Fiction. This is what the book jacket says of it:

Hank Meyerson isn’t the whiny sort of mama’s boy. He’s more the wry, shaggy, chubby sort—an over-thinker, a ranter, and sometimes a crier. He adores Emily Dickinson. He kibitzes. He has the audacity to fall in love with his sister-in-law.

Plus, he mentions KAXE on his webpage!

Minnesota is such a great state for creativity and especially writers, like the two newer voices you'll hear on Realgoodwords this week. Got a MN author to recommend? Email me!

the RUSSIANS are COMING the RUSSIANS are COMING!!!

Ever seen that movie? With Alan Arkin? And Carl Reiner? Me too.

Russia is certainly in the news a lot lately - and is ALWAYS in the mind and books of Minnesota author Robert Alexander. His third historical fiction novel in his trilogy is "The Romanov Bride" (previous books were The Kitchen Boy and Rasputin's Daughter).

"The Romanov Bride" (see a cool video/movie of the book here) is the story of the Grand Duchess Elisavyeta who is ensconced in the most lavish court in the world - the Romanovs. In that same city, Pavel is a simple village man who is moved to overthrowing the Romanovs when his young bride is killed during a peaceful political demonstration.

I asked Robert about the current climate of Russia and President Obama's trip there. He told me,

"There are 4 things to remember about Russia. 1. they are hard negotiators 2. in Russian NO is the BEGINNING of negotiation 3. They are drama queens from the get-go. 4. Russians are fearful of us; there is a central premise that the U.S. has a hidden agenda to destroy Russia."

He went on to explain this assumed agenda,

"That was sort of played up in the cold war era and in early 90's it faded away.... but after the collapse of the Soviet Union we didn't do much to help it get up. In fact, we offered NATO membership to 1/2 of central Europe and 1/2 of the former allies of Russia... but we haven't offered NATO membership to Russia itself."

Tune in for our conversation this week - about the book - about the various names he writes under and his mix-up with Robert Zimmerman late at night on the phone.