The Pearlsong Letter

Conversation with The Giving Season author Rebecca Brock

Click here to listen to and/or download the 50-minute mp3 recording of today's Pearlsong Conversation with Rebecca Brock, author of the newly released rubenesque romance The Giving Season -- and lover of all things zombie.

Yes, you read that right. In this chat with publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D., Rebecca (Becky) Brock shares how and why she writes both horror and romance -- in particular, romance featuring women society might deem "overweight."

She and Peggy also have fun discussing the current literary trend of mashing up classics with horror -- Pride & Prejudice and Zombies, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn & Zombie Jim, etc.. Thank goodness Pat Ballard was also on the call to remind everyone that The Giving Season will be enjoyed by people who have no interest in zombies -- like her.

For more information on the Pearlsong Conversation series of free teleconference call chats with Pearlsong authors, click here.

A Conversation with author Judy Bagshaw

Click here to listen to and/or download the hour-long mp3 recording of today's Pearlsong Conversation with Judy Bagshaw.

Judy chatted today with Pearlsong publisher Peggy Elam about her works and her adventures in writing, publishing and promoting fat friendly fiction. Fellow authors Lynne Murray and Pat Ballard also participated in the teleconference call.

Judy's short story collection At Long Last, Love was published by Pearlsong Press in 2007. She has also written several novels and contributed to three anthologies. Her free e-serial, Desperate Hearts, can be read online at http://desperatehearts.homestead.com/. Join her fan club here.

Rebecca Fox interviewed on WGLT radio

Rebecca Fox, co-author (with husband William Sherman) of the novel Measure By Measure, was featured on WGLT radio's Datebook last weekend.

Listen to the four-minute interview by GLT Arts Reporter Laura Kennedy here.

Fox talks about how they wrote Measure By Measure as a Tales of the City for the fat and fabulous after being inspired by a NAAFA (National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance) convention in Chicago.

WGLT Is an NPR affiliate that broadcasts in Central Illinois from the Old Union Building on the campus of Illinois State University. Its audience approaches 30,000 listeners a week.

Join a Pearlsong Conversation on creating fat friendly fiction Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Join Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. and several authors in a free teleconference call at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central Wednesday, August 12, 2009 as we discuss creating and publishing fat friendly fiction. It'll be a continuation of our July 8, 2009 Conversation, with an emphasis on creating fat positive characters.

You can listen to or download an mp3 recording of the July discussion here if you wish. But you don't have to have heard the first call to participate in this one.

We'd love to hear from you! This is your chance to let us know what YOU want to read -- or give feedback to authors and publisher.

We plan for this month's featured Conversationalists to include: Lynne Murray, author of the Josephine Fuller mystery series, whose new book Bride of the Living Dead will be published by Pearlsong Press;

Pat Ballard, Queen of Rubenesque Romances and author of 10 Steps to Loving Your Body  (No Matter What Size You Are);

Frannie Zellman, author of FatLand and editor and co-author of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society;

Charlie Lovett, author of The Program;

Ellen Frankel, author of Beyond Measure: A Memoir About Short Stature & Inner Growth and co-author of The Diet Survivors' Handbook & Beyond A Shadow of A Diet;

and Rebecca Fox & William Sherman, authors of Measure By Measure.

Clockwise from top left to right: Pat Ballard, Lynne Murray, Charlie Lovett, Rebecca Fox & William Sherman, Frannie Zellman & Ellen Frankel

Email pearlsongconversations @ pearlsong.com for the call details (phone number, access code, date, time). If you don't feel comfortable speaking up during the teleconference ― which will be recorded ― then you can email your questions or comments to me at peggyelam @ pearlsong.com if you wish.

The line will handle up to 96 participants―first come, first served. There's no cost for the calls other than your usual long distance charges.

We are recording these Pearlsong Conversations and making them available for listening online or downloading after the calls. You can find links to the previous Conversation recordings on the Pearlsong Conversations webpage.

See http://www.pearlsong.com/pearlsongconversations.htm for more info.

Pearlsong Press Authors & Publisher Chat About Fat Friendly Fiction

Click here to listen to the 50-minute mp3 recording of today's Pearlsong Conversation on Creating & Publishing Fat Friendly Fiction - Part 1.

In this teleconference call Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. chats with authors Lynne Murray, Frannie Zellman, Charlie Lovett, Ellen Frankel, Rebecca Fox & William Sherman about why and how they wrote fat characters in their work, reader reactions, and their anticipation of a time in which there is as much need for a "fat friendly fiction" publishing niche as there currently is for "white friendly fiction."

Murray is the author of the Josephine Fuller mystery series. Her new book, Bride of the Living Dead, will be published by Pearlsong Press. Zellman is the author of FatLand and editor & co-author of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society. Lovett is the author of The Program. Frankel wrote Beyond Measure: A Memoir About Short Stature and Inner Growth and co-authored The Diet Survivor's Handbook & Beyond A Shadow of A Diet. Fox & Sherman are co-authors of Measure By Measure.

Mark your calendar for the continuation of the Conversation on Wednesday, August 12, 2009. Pat Ballard (Queen of Rubenesque Romances & author of 10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are) was unable to participate in this July Conversation due to phone trouble, but plans to join the August call.

Email pearlsongconversations @ pearlsong.com for August call-in details or visit the Pearlsong Conversations webpage for more information.

Rebecca Fox & William Sherman interviewed on BlogCritics Radio

Measure By Measure authors Rebecca Fox & William Sherman were interviewed on  BlogCritics Radio earlier today.

Listen to or download the show (while the mp3 link is up) at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bcradio ... they'rein the second half of the show, following the interview with members of the band Sugarwall.

Listen to a Pearlsong Conversation with Rebecca Fox & William Sherman, authors of the romantic romp Measure By Measure

Click here to listen to a 50-minute mp3 recording of Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. chatting with Rebecca Fox & William Sherman, authors of the novel Measure By Measure (Pearlsong Press, June 15, 2009).

In this June 10, 2009 Pearlsong Conversation Fox and Sherman discuss their collaborative writing process, the creation of Measure By Measure's many and varied characters (and who they're based on), what it's like to publish a serial storyline (Measure By Measure first came to life in the late 1990s as a serial in Dimensions magazine online), and the importance of fat-positive fiction.

Their robust. comic romance fleshes out the truth about soap opera: It's not just for the rich and slender. Measure By Measure is a Tales of the City for the fat and fabulous!

The Pearlsong Conversations series are monthly free teleconference calls in which Dr. Elam chats with Pearlsong authors and readers. If time and technology permit, participants/callers can ask questions and join in the conversation. Each teleconference is recorded and the recording made available for listening online or downloading at the Pearlsong Press website. (For links to archived recordings of previous Pearlsong Conversations, as well as a schedule of future teleconference calls, visit the Pearlsong Conversations webpage.)

Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of the Conversation with Becky & Bill here.

Fat poetry, fat pride, & the Fat Poets' Society -- A Pearlsong Conversation with the authors of Fat Poets Speak

Hear the five co-authors of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society share the poetry and process of fat embodiment in this hour-long Pearlsong Conversation with publisher/psychologist Peggy Elam, Ph.D.

The teleconference call featuring Kathy Barron, Anne S. Kaplan, Corinna Makris, Lesleigh J. Owen & Frannie Zellman was held May 13, 2009 as one of a monthly series in which Elam chats with Pearlsong authors and fans have the opportunity to listen live, comment and ask questions. (For more on the series, including archived recordings of previous Conversations, click here.)

In a sociocultural climate in which fat bodies are considered diseased and blamed for everything from rising medical costs to global warming, it takes courage for fat women, especially, to express anything but shame about their bodies. Fat Poets Speak is part of and intended for the growing movement reclaiming "fat" as a valid way to exist in the world.

The Fat Poets' Society was born during the 2006 annual convention of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), a civil rights organization. The authors are donating the royalties from Fat Poets Speak to NAAFA.

A Conversation with Charlie Lovett, author of The Program

In today's Pearlsong Conversation, Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. chatted with author Charlie Lovett about his suspense novel The Program and the writing process

Listen to and/or download the 28-minute mp3 recording of the Conversation clicking here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

Charlie Lovett is writer-in-residence at Summit School in Winston-Salem, NC. His plays for children have been seen in over 1,000 productions in all 50 states and 5 foreign countries. He is the author of 11 previous books, including the acclaimed memoir Love, Ruth. The Program is his first novel.

A new weight loss clinic in New York City has an offer for you -- give them $5,000 and they'll make you as thin as a supermodel. You can eat whatever you want and you'll never gain an ounce. Tempted? Fledgling journalist Karen Sumner would be -- if only she had $5,000.

When Karen finally walks through the blue and gold doors of The Program, she's on the trail of the hottest story of her career. If she and her friends are right, The Program is doing something even worse than creating an army of unnaturally thin women.

Will they be able to stop The Program in time?

For more info on Pearlsong Conversations and links to the mp3 recordings of past Conversations with authors Frannie Zellman (FatLand), Pat Ballard [10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are)] & Linda Wisniewski {Off Kilter: A Woman's Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, & Her Polish Heritage), click here. Or click on the "Pearlsong Conversations" category in the lefthand colum of this blog.

The free teleconference calls are held on the second Wednesday of the month, beginning at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central. The May 2009 Conversation will feature the Fat Poets' Society, authors of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society.

Join a Pearlsong Conversation with author Charlie Lovett Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Update 4-8-2009: Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of the Conversation with Charlie Lovett by clicking here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

Join Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. in a free teleconference call Wednesday, April 8, 2009 for a Conversation with Charlie Lovett, author of the chick-lit-meets-Stephen King thriller The Program.

Charlie Lovett is writer-in-residence at Summit School in Winston-Salem, NC. His plays for children have been seen in over 1,000 productions in all 50 states and 5 foreign countries. He is the author of 11 previous books, including the acclaimed memoir Love, Ruth. The Program is his first novel.

The hour-long teleconference will start at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central. For call-in details (teleconference phone number & access code), send an email to pearlsongconversations@pearlsong.com. You will receive an automated response with the phone number and access code for the call. There is no charge for the call, other than any long distance toll that your phone service might apply.

A new weight loss clinic in New York City has an offer for you -- give them $5,000 and they'll make you as thin as a supermodel. You can eat whatever you want and you'll never gain an ounce. Tempted? Fledgling journalist Karen Sumner would be -- if only she had $5,000.

When Karen finally walks through the blue and gold doors of The Program, she's on the trail of the hottest story of her career. If she and her friends are right, The Program is doing something even worse than creating an army of unnaturally thin women.

Will they be able to stop The Program in time?

Join us in chatting with Charlie Lovett next Wednesday!

For more info on Pearlsong Conversations and links to the mp3 recordings of past Conversations with authors Frannie Zellman (FatLand), Pat Ballard [10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are)] & Linda Wisniewski {Off Kilter: A Woman's Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, & Her Polish Heritage), click here. Or click on the "Pearlsong Conversations" category in the lefthand colum of this blog.