In 1997, I was honored to present a prestigious radio industry award to one of my heroes in the business, Casey Kasem. The sordid drama that unfolded around his death made headlines around the world. As author of the national bestseller WHEN I … [Read more...]
A Meeting with Maya Angelou and Unexpected Gifts
I interviewed Maya Angelou for the Greensboro News & Record's Go Triad arts section in the fall of 2010. She lived in the next town over, Winston-Salem, NC, and was releasing a cookbook for the holidays. I was nervous meeting an icon whose work I … [Read more...]
Q&A: Teresa Engebretsen, the Sabbatical Chef, on How to Speak French and Indulge Your Inner Francophile
Teresa Engebretsen has been teaching French to middle school students at Durham Academy in Durham, NC, for over 30 years. Often she takes her students on field trips to France. Her blog The Sabbatical Chef began when she took a sabbatical from … [Read more...]
Shirley Temple: The girl, the woman, the dolls
I’ve now been in the doll adoption business about 18 months. If I had to pick the one with the most universal, indestructible appeal, it would be Shirley Temple in all her various sizes and outfits. Barbie is too polarizing. Madame Alexander dolls … [Read more...]
MY DANCE WITH ONLINE DATING
My P.O.V. on online dating after trying it for a year. Published in the Northwest Observer 1/17/2014. UPDATE 4/14/2014: The very last man I met online has become the best guy friend ever. No regrets! Click on the image twice then enter Ctrl+ to make … [Read more...]
Q&A WITH TOMMY HAYS on WHAT I CAME TO TELL YOU
Tommy Hays is the author of the 2006 novel The Pleasure Was Mine which was selected for several community-wide reading programs in various cities and counties, including … [Read more...]
AUTHOR 2 AUTHOR: JO MAEDER’S Q&A WITH SUSAN CRANDALL
The new novel from Susan Crandall is a departure from her previous books and yet pure Susan: rich characters and dialog and a can't-put down story. Thank you Nicki Leone, Authors Round the South "Author 2 Author" series, Wanda Jewell and SIBA. And, … [Read more...]
PISSALADIERE RECIPE – THE QUICK AND EASY (ALYCE) WAY
Hi. This is Alyce speaking. Or Al-ees, as the French say. I chained Jean-Luc to his computer to write. Also so he can’t see me make my E-Z pissaladiére (or the spelling of easy). Pissala is a fish paste made from sardines and anchovies. I've left it … [Read more...]
AUTHOR 2 AUTHOR: SUSAN CRANDALL’S Q&A WITH JO MAEDER
From Lady Banks Commonplace Books ("Front porch literary gossip from your favorite Southern bookshops") where I explain the difference between a Yankee and a Damn Yankee, and more. This is part of the Authors Round the South's "Author 2 Author" … [Read more...]
SOCCA!
Somewhere in my Opposites Attack research of foods popular in the South of France, I read about socca, a flat bread/pancake/crêpe made from chick pea (a.k.a. garbanzo bean) flour. It sounded more like a Latin-American dance than something you would … [Read more...]