In her new novel Pigs, Johanna Stoberock has written a lyrical fable about an island that receives all the world’s garbage. That garbage, both physical and psychological in the forms of dreams and memories, is consumed by six enormous, voracious pigs. < Back Pigs Johanna Stoberock October 31, 2019 In her new novel Pigs (Red Hen Press, 2019), Johanna Stoberock has written a lyrical fable about an island that receives all the world’s garbage. That garbage, both physical and psychological in the forms of dreams and memories, is consumed by six enormous, voracious pigs. Four filthy, starving children wearing rags and living in squalor are responsible for sorting the trash, feeding the pigs and taking care of each other, while the island’s adults indulge in fantasies, gorge themselves, and live in the comfort of a huge mansion. Although this isn’t the first time that pigs are depicted in literature, it is probably the first time their presence forces readers to consider how much trash we create, how difficult it is to dispose of it, and how we are going to cope with a world in which recycling is too expensive, refugees are treated as disposable, and the earth is facing the crisis of climate change. Originally from New York, Johanna Stoberock completed her undergrad education at Wesleyan, earned an MFA in Fiction at the University of Washington, and lived in NYC until moving with her family to Walla Walla in 2005. Author of the novel City of Ghosts , she has received many honors, and in 2016 was named runner-up for the Italo Calvino Prize for Fiction. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Best of the Net anthology, and Catamaran, among others. When she is not writing, Stoberock teaches academic writing, is an avid duplicate bridge player and loves watching large birds like herons while out walking in her area of rural Eastern Washington. She also loves owls, which can be spotted in her neighborhood only in winter. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

Sarah Kennecott is a brilliant young doctor who cares deeply about justice for murder victims after her own family is murdered. She’s not like other people; she doesn’t like noises and smells, she doesn’t understand chit chat, and she cannot interpret inflection or nuance. < Back Into the Suffering City Bill LeFurgy July 28, 2020 In Bill LeFurgy's Into the Suffering City: A Novel of Baltimore  (High Kicker Books), Sarah Kennecott is a brilliant young doctor who cares deeply about justice for murder victims after her own family is murdered. She’s not like other people; she doesn’t like noises and smells, she doesn’t understand chit chat, and she cannot interpret inflection or nuance. It’s 1909, and the city of Baltimore is filled with gilded mansions and a seedy corrupt, underworld. Sarah struggles to be accepted as a doctor. After getting fired for looking too closely into the killing of a showgirl, she refuses to back down from the investigation and joins forces with a street-smart private detective who is able to access saloons, brothels, and burlesque theaters where Sarah isn’t allowed. Together, they unravel a few secrets that could cost them their lives. Bill LeFurgy is a professional historian who has studied the seamy underbelly of urban life, including drugs, crime, and prostitution, as well as more workaday matters such as streets, buildings, wires, and wharves. He has put his many years of experience into writing gritty historical fiction about Baltimore, his favorite city. Bill has graduate degrees from the University of Maryland and has worked at the Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore City Archives, National Archives and Records Administration, and the Library of Congress. He has learned much from his children and grandchildren, including grace, patience, emotional connection, and the need to welcome different perspectives from those on the autism spectrum or with other personality traits that are undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or unexplained. Bill has published many books and articles about U.S. history and history sources, including for the Library of Congress, Maryland Historical Magazine , and the U.S. Department of Energy. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

Personal and insightful stories about our connections to each other and the world, our attempts to weave the past and present into a meaningful future, and our varying ways of seeking redemption. Unforgettable characters encounter gorgeous landscapes, nasty betrayals, shocking technology, a heartless future, and a decaying city neighborhood. < Back Grace: Stories and a Novella Dan Burns December 5, 2019 Personal and insightful stories about our connections to each other and the world, our attempts to weave the past and present into a meaningful future, and our varying ways of seeking redemption. In Dan Burns ’ latest book, Grace: Stories and a Novella (Chicago Arts Press, 2019), unforgettable characters encounter gorgeous landscapes, nasty betrayals, shocking technology, a heartless future, and a decaying city neighborhood. Burns is also the author of the novels A Fine Line and Recalled to Life and the short story collection No Turning Back: Stories . He is an award-winning writer of stories for the screen and stage, resides with his family in Illinois, and enjoys spending time in Wisconsin and Montana, where he stalks endless rivers in pursuit of trout and a career as a fly fisherman. When not writing or spending time outdoors, Burns plays guitar in his pursuit of rock and roll greatness (or to learn how to play all the memorable rock songs of his youth). Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

Who doesn't love freshly baked chocolate chip cookies? < Back Peanut or Almond-Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies July 2, 2019 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 12 Minutes Serves: 24 Servings Tags: Gluten Free, Vegan, Cookies and Brownies About the Recipe p.156 Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery “Everyone approached the gigantic tray and chose a cookie or two. After much study, the children took two or three each and scattered to the back bedrooms. Everyone munched while LaTonya continued taking pictures. Tinley was first to comment. “I love this chocolate-chocolate chip cookie,” she said. “Mine is coffee-flavored,” said Bill, making a face. “I hate coffee.” Tinley smacked him on his shoulder. “Does everyone need to know what you don’t like?” Alene wanted to hug her. Lydia said she loved her cinnamon cookie and wondered if it was gluten-free but nobody responded. She nibbled a few bites before passing it to Theo, who said, “Crunchiest cookie I’ve ever tasted.” Cal and Mitzi wanted to taste more flavors, so they shared plates. Neal blurted across the table, “This one is kind of buttery almond. Did you use real butter, Ruthie? I thought you were vegetarian.” Ruthie smiled while Alene imagined an imaginary bubble above her head that said, “Of course there’s no butter, you dingbat. Vegans don’t use animal products.” What Ruthie actually said, in the same voice she used to speak to her eight-year-old son was, “I’m vegan, and we don’t use animal products in anything, Neal. Which cookie did you like best?” Neal muttered, “They’re both good, I guess.” Ingredients 1 cup Almond or Peanut Butter (smooth or chunky) ½ to 1 cup packed dark brown sugar (optional, really) 1 egg (or a flax egg, or whip up half the liquid from a can of chickpeas) 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 package semisweet vegan chocolate chips Preparation Line two baking pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper Preheat oven to 350 degrees Stir first six ingredients together with a spoon Stir in chocolate chips Place unformed globs of batter about 2″ apart on greased baking pan Bake about 12 minutes until they are slightly browned and puffy Cool on pan and then transfer to a rack They store well and are great cold from the fridge Previous Next

In Side Effects of Wanting (Main Street Rag, 2022), author Mary Salisbury spent nearly twenty years gathering together the pieces of humanity she saw reflected in the lives around her and distilled them into a poetically written, beautifully curated short story collection. < Back Side Effects of Wanting Mary Salisbury February 14, 2023 In Side Effects of Wanting (Main Street Rag, 2022), author Mary Salisbury spent nearly twenty years gathering together the pieces of humanity she saw reflected in the lives around her and distilled them into a poetically written, beautifully curated short story collection. In this debut, small-town stories speak of love and belonging, longing and regret. The people who populate these tales yearn for companionship and comfort, but face the trauma of fractured relationships and the ache of not quite becoming the person they hoped to be. Mary Salisbury’s short fiction and essays have been published in Fiction Southeast , The Whitefish Review , Flash Fiction Magazine , Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts , and Cutthroat’s Truth to Power . Her chapbooks Come What May and Scarlet Rain Boots were published by Finishing Line Press , and her poetry has appeared in Calyx: A Journal of Art and Literature by Women . Salisbury is an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship recipient and a graduate of Pacific University’s MFA in Writing Program. She is passionate about spending time with her two grandchildren. Monroe is almost four and Roscoe is one and a half—they play hide and seek and read picture books together. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

Alene pulled out her old blender and made an edamame/avocado dip followed by a kale and parsley... < Back Edamame – Avocado Dip November 19, 2019 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 3 Minutes Serves: About 2 Cups of Dip Tags: Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Dips and Sauces, Vegan About the Recipe p.220 Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery Alene felt stunned that Kacey was back in rehab and ashamed that she’d been so impatient with Frank, who said, “There’s a crazy person on the loose and I think all of you need to be cautious right now. Can you make sure your staff is on the alert for anything unusual and try not to be alone? Also, could you do me a personal favor and check your phone more often? You do have me on speed dial, right?” She nodded as Frank and Jack left. He didn’t have to speak to her as if she were a child, she thought glumly. She turned away, instead of admiring Frank’s muscular back and confident stride. She sat down and added him to her speed dial after her father, Ruthie, Lydia, and Brianne. Grabbing an apple from the counter, she headed to her office. It was the end of the month and she had to finish ordering and to work on payroll. She holed up in her office for a few hours, drank more decaf espresso with almond milk, and ate a raw kale Alene pulled out her old blender and made an edamame/avocado dip followed by a kale and parsley dip for the next morning. She grumbled to herself because the dips weren’t as smooth and fluffy as those made with the blender whose base was in police custody. Ingredients 12 oz frozen bag raw edamame (Trader Joe has them) 1 avocado ½ cup lemon juice About 2 tsp mixed herbs (basil, parsley, oregano – whatever you have) ½ tsp dry garlic or a fresh garlic clove ½ tsp salt ½ tsp pepper Preparation Cook edamame and garlic in the microwave about 1 -2 minutes Let it sit and cool for a few minutes Toss everything into a food processor or professional blender Taste for seasonings and add more salt, pepper or lemon as needed Previous Next

Discover irresistible cookie and brownie recipes that will delight your taste buds. Explore G. P. Gottlieb's cookie and brownie recipes now! Cookie & Brownie Recipes to Die For Cookies and Brownies Chocolate Passover Cookies Only 4 ingredients and great for last minute cookies anytime of year, but I make these during Passover, when we don't use flour or leavening of any kind. Read Recipe Gluten Free, Cookies and Brownies Pistachio Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies It's hard to resist snagging these from the cookie sheet while they cool! Read Recipe Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Baking, Cookies and Brownies, Vegan Ginger-Molasses Cookies G.F. V. "Would you like a pot of chamomile tea?" Read Recipe Gluten Free, Vegan, Cookies and Brownies Peanut or Almond-Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Who doesn't love freshly baked chocolate chip cookies? Read Recipe All Recipes Baking Breakfast Cakes, Pies, & Icing Cookies & Brownies Dips & Sauces Entrees Gluten-Free Muffins & Breads Soup Vegan Vegetarian Load More

< Back Battered Is Back On the Shelves! G. P. Gottlieb Sep 11, 2025 My books have found a new home at Anamcara Press. When café-owner Alene Baron finds the body of a friend and neighbor, everyone in her life becomes a suspect. Was it a down-on-her-luck employee whom Alene was giving a second chance? Her disloyal and untrustworthy ex-husband? Her neighbor’s greedy wife? And there’s another mystery closer to Alene’s heart: Is the lead Chicago PD detective going to take her seriously, or will he turn out to be as untrustworthy as her ex? Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery is back on the shelves! With thanks to Anamcara Pres s , you can purchase the new edition on Amazon , Barnes & Noble , and everywhere else books are sold. Previous Next

I love making "pantry" soups with what I've got on hand plus whichever vegetables I have in the fridge. I thought I was making my old Black Bean Edamame soup until I saw that I was out of the frozen edamame. Cooking, like jazz, is all about improvisation! < Back Black Bean Mushroom Carrot Soup May 11, 2023 Prep Time: 10-15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes plus an additional 10 minutes if you add farro Serves: 4 as a meal, 6 as a first course Tags: Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian About the Recipe No time to go to the grocery store today - what am I going to make for dinner? A protein and vegetable packed soup that takes 10 minutes of chopping and 20 minutes of one-pot cooking. And if I happen to have a bag of shelled edamame in the freezer, I toss that in with the beans for even more protein. It's also good without the mushrooms if you're not a fan. Ingredients 2 TBSPS olive oil 1 red or yellow onion, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 1 cup mushrooms, chopped 14oz can of black beans (not rinsed or drained) 1 small red pepper, chopped 2 tsps dijon mustard 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/8 tsp (or more if you like heat) black or cayenne pepper Juice of one small fresh lime or lemon 2 empty black bean cans worth of water Optional: 1/2 or 1 whole cup of farro Preparation saute chopped onion for about 5 minutes, until translucent add mushrooms and carrots, stir and cook about 2 minutes add red pepper, mustard, and the entire can of black beans fill the empty can with water and empty it twice into the pot, stir add the lime/lemon and spices, stir again and bring to a boil add the optional farro if desired and let it simmer about 10 additional minutes turn off the heat and let the pot stand until ready to serve pour into serving bowls and sprinkle each one with chopped scallion Previous Next

The message essentially parentless Sandi Donovan learns after being dumped first at an inattentive aunt’s and then at a bootcamp for delinquent teenagers, is to never put her destiny in anyone else’s hands. After her mother dies, her father uses her for cons but can’t be bothered to raise her. < Back Sandstorm Joyce Yarrow August 24, 2021 Today I talked to Joyce Yarrow about her new novel Sandstorm (D.X. Varos, 2021). The message essentially parentless Sandi Donovan learns after being dumped first at an inattentive aunt’s and then at a bootcamp for delinquent teenagers, is to never put her destiny in anyone else’s hands. After her mother dies, her father uses her for cons but can’t be bothered to raise her. She’s fifteen but passes for twenty, and the man who takes her in after she escapes the bootcamp teaches her how to create and sell counterfeit goods. She already knows how to reinvent herself and is surprised at how easy it is to lie. She’s a quick study but struggles with wanting to live a legitimate life rather than continuing to be the grifter and con artist she was raised to be. No matter how good her intentions, everything she does triggers a sandstorm in this heartwarming, fast-paced coming of age tale. Joyce Yarrow was raised in the Southeast Bronx, but escaped to Manhattan, where she wrote poetry while riding the bus through the Lower East Side. The Bus Poems were published, and her writing career was launched. She graduated from Antioch University in L.A. with a combined degree in Music and Communications – two lifelong interests. In addition to five published novels, Joyce's short stories and essays have appeared in numerous national publications, and she is a member of both the Authors Guild and Sisters in Crime. When she’s not writing, Joyce loves gardening, and when the pandemic is over, she plans to return to singing with the world music vocal-with-percussion ensemble, Abráce. They sing in 20 languages, and she’s great at memorizing lyrics but terrible in foreign language conversation. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

Explore captivating global fiction author interviews with G. P. Gottlieb. Discover diverse stories in our global fiction author interviews podcast. NBN Podcast Episodes Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb Global Fiction May 12, 2026 Marriage to the Sea Sarah Stone Six years ago, Katya Zamarin’s mother was murdered by a stranger who also maimed her Aunt Julia. More recently, her father died of a heart attack. Listen to Episode Buy Book May 5, 2026 The Violet Hour James Cahill A wealthy, old art collector always wants more, a successful gallery owner finds herself alone, and a famous painter at the top of his game might have been involved with the mysterious death of an art gallery employee. Listen to Episode Buy Book April 21, 2026 And The Ancestors Sing Radha Lin Chaddah Starting in the late 1970s, three women navigate post-Cultural Revolution China. Listen to Episode Buy Book February 24, 2026 Dog Yishai Ishi Ron Told through the eyes of an Israeli combat officer who’s haunted by the trauma of fighting in Gaza, Dog (Soncata Press 2025) is a gritty story about PTSD, the effects of war, and resilience. Listen to Episode Buy Book February 17, 2026 Swiss Vendetta Tracee de Hahn Agnes Luthi is a police officer in Lausanne, Switzerland who transfers from financial to violent crimes just in time to investigate the death of a young art appraiser in a magnificent mountain chateau. Listen to Episode Buy Book White: A Novel Aviva Rubin Sarah Cartell, who grew up in a White Supremacist family controlled by a violent grandfather who preaches hate and violence, learns from books and a kind librarian that there’s another way to see the world. Listen to Episode Buy Book November 19, 2025 If the Owl Calls Sharon White As the Sami community (Norway) struggles to protect ancestral lands from the building of a damn in 1979, Oslo detective Hans Sorensen arrives in the north of the country to investigate sabotage on a damn. Listen to Episode Buy Book November 11, 2025 Happy New Years Maya Arad After finishing her teaching degree in Israel, Leah emigrates to the U.S. for a teaching position that she thinks of as temporary. She ends up staying for 5 decades. Listen to Episode Buy Book November 4, 2025 Simone in Pieces Janet Burroway Simone Lerrante is a Belgian orphan whose memory is damaged by the trauma of her father being shot by Nazis and her subsequent escape to England. Listen to Episode Buy Book September 30, 2025 Isabella's Way Barbara Stark Nemon In early-seventeenth-century Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany, dangers are plentiful—especially for those of Jewish heritage. Non-Catholics have been expelled from Spain, and the Inquisition has come to Portugal to impose its prohibitions. Listen to Episode Buy Book September 9, 2025 Mona's Eyes Thomas Schlesser Mona’s Eyes (Europa Editions, 2025) is an enchanting debut novel written by art historian Thomas Schlesser. It tells the story of a 10-year-old girl living in Paris who briefly loses her vision. Listen to Episode Buy Book August 26, 2025 Go On Pretending Alina Adams Rose Janowitz is surprised to get a production job with a radio soap opera and stunned to fall in love with the show’s African American leading man. Listen to Episode Buy Book August 12, 2025 The Dime Museum Joyce Hinnefeld The Dime Museum is a novel told in stories that span from the 1920s, when Dime Museums were a way for people to gawk at human differences, through 2020, during the ravages of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Listen to Episode Buy Book June 24, 2025 The Palace at the End of the Sea Simon Tolkien Theo Sterling is eleven when his grandfather kidnaps him, just for the afternoon. He learns that his father had shed his Jewish identity, married a very Catholic woman from Mexico, and stopped talking to either of his parents. Listen to Episode Buy Book March 11, 2025 The Immortal Woman Su Chang Lemai never forgets the humiliation of her teachers and the burning of books during the Cultural Revolution. Listen to Episode Buy Book Load More

Katherine recalls being young and friendless. While growing up in the 40’ and 50’s, she remembers when her mother packed up and left, her father remarried, and she was left to focus on her studies – she was an exceptional mathematician. But she’d been wrong about her family – she later learned that the woman who gave birth to her had been murdered by the Nazis during WWII. < Back The Tenth Muse Catherine Chung January 12, 2021 Katherine recalls being young and friendless. While growing up in the 40’ and 50’s, she remembers when her mother packed up and left, her father remarried, and she was left to focus on her studies – she was an exceptional mathematician. But she’d been wrong about her family – she later learned that the woman who gave birth to her had been murdered by the Nazis during WWII. In graduate school pursuing a doctorate in mathematics, Katherine gets involved with her brilliant teacher and travels to Germany for a year of research and introspection. She follows a few clues about her mother, most with dead ends, and discovers snippets of the truth. Nothing is as it seems, and she is nearly derailed time and again. The Tenth Muse (HarperCollins, 2019) is an engrossing tale about identity and the passion for knowledge. Catherine Chung earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics at the University of Chicago and an MFA at Cornell University. She has worked at a think tank and has gotten encouragement from a number of foundations and family members. Recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and a Director’s Visitorship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. she was a Granta New Voice and won an Honorable Mention for the PEN/Hemingway Award with her first novel, Forgotten Country , which was a Booklist, Bookpage , and San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2012. Chung has published work in The New York Time s, The Rumpus, and Granta . She lives in New York City. Before the pandemic, she loved traveling, skiing, hiking, and eating foods prepared by other people. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next