Welcome to episode 23 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

This time, we talk with Warren Ellis, who has a huge following in the graphic novel world. His first prose novel, Crooked Little Vein, is just out in paperback. It's part detective story, and part grand tour through the cultural underbelly of America.

Crooked Little Vein is available now at bookstores and online retailers. Visit the author's website, warrenellis.com

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

Welcome to episode 22 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

Ross Raisin joins us this time, to talk about his debut novel, Out Backward. This character study of Sam Marsdyke, a lonely, disturbed young man living in an English farming community is immersive and thought-provoking. Sam's haunted past, and his skewed perceptions of the people and events around him, slowly build to a page-turning climax.

Out Backward is available now at bookstores and online retailers.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

Welcome to episode 21 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, we talk with Jessica Anya Blau about her new novel, The Summer of Naked Swim Parties. It's the story of fourteen-year old Jamie, who faces normal teenage anxieties which are sometimes compounded by her parents. When your house is known as "the party house," and your parents swim naked and refuse to give you a curfew, what can you count on for safety?

The Summer of Naked Swim Parties is available now at bookstores and online retailers.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

Welcome to episode 20 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

Singer-Songwriter and Author Willy Vlautin returns to the podcast to discuss his new novel, Northline, and its accompanying soundtrack CD.

Northline is the story of Allison Johnson, a troubled young woman struggling to leave an abusive relationship behind as she starts a new life in Reno. Her imaginary conversations with Paul Newman are perhaps her only comfort.

Northline is available now at bookstores and online retailers.

Visit the official Northline website.

Listen to our podcast about Willy Vlautin's first novel, The Motel Life.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. All music in this podcast is copyright Willy Vlautin, used with permission.

Karen Dawn's new book, Thanking The Monkey looks at animal rights activism from a fresh new perspective, and presents a plethora of options for anyone seeking to make more cruelty-free choices.

Welcome to episode 19 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, we talk with Larry Doyle about his novel I Love You, Beth Cooper. It's a teen comedy that will resonate with anyone who's survived their teenage years.

High-school geek Denis Cooverman, in his valedictory speech to his graduating class, blurts out "I love you, Beth Cooper." Beth is the school's head cheerleader, who has only a vague idea of who Denis is. And, as the book jacket says, "complications ensue."

I Love You, Beth Cooper is available now at bookstores and online retailers.

Visit the official I Love You, Beth Cooper website

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Graduation speech excerpt is copyright Larry Doyle, used with permission. Music created with Garage Band.

Welcome to episode 18 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books. In this episode, we look at two recent Harper Perennial releases:

We Disappear, by Scott Heim is a novel about a man who struggles to discover the truth about his mother's life as she succumbs to a long battle with cancer. There are threads of memoir woven through the novel, as Scott wrote much of it while his own mother was dying.

Serpent Box, by Vincent Louis Carrella, tells the story of Jacob Flint, a small boy of great faith living in a community of Pentecostal serpent-handlers in Appalachia. Vincent brings his own faith to the novel, and found that writing it shaped that faith anew.

Both We Disappear and Serpent Box are available now at bookstores and online retailers.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page. All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

Welcome to episode 17 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, we talk with Larry Smith, co-founder and Editor-In-Chief of SMITH, an online magazine devoted to everyone's story.

SMITH invited its readers to submit their life stories in six words. Thousands of six-word memoirs rolled in, and the staff of SMITH has compiled them into a new book, Not Quite What I Was Planning.

Not Quite What I Was Planning is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Visit SMITH online.

Also, be sure to visit Harper Perennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, Olive Reader.com, and thea href="http://www.myspace.com/harperperennial" target="new">Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright Harper Collins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

Welcome to episode 16 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

We look at two new Harper Perennial releases in this podcast:

One Day The Soldiers Came chronicles Charles London's account of his years spent interviewing children in war-torn regions around the world. he shares their stories and drawings, and paints a heartfelt picture of young lives changed by conflict.

The author is donating a portion of proceeds from this book to Refugees International.

Visit Charles London's website: calondon.com.

In The Hot Zone is journalist Kevin Sites' memoir of a year spent reporting from combat regions all over the globe for Yahoo! News. His work, presented online as video, text stories, and still photographs, tells a poignant story of war from a human perspective.

The author is donating a portion of royalties from this book to three organizations:

CIVIC: The Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict

International Rescue Committee

Save The Children

Visit Kevin Sites' website: kevinsitesreports.com.

Both One Day The Soldiers Came and In The Hot Zone are available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including Craftypod. She teaches blogging, podcasting, and zine-making classes in Portland, and organizes creative community groups.

Ken Lyman has a background as a disc jockey, radio news caster, radio actor, is a and producer of radio commercials and books on tape. He is an avid reader and also enjoys community theater, travel, and an occassional attempt at writing fiction.

Welcome to episode 15 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

We look at two new Harper Perennial releases in this podcast:

Under a Flaming Sky is Daniel James Brown's gripping account of a little-known American story: the Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894. Daniel's own great-grandmother and grandfather narrowly escaped this raging forest fire. Having grown up hearing their stories, he was finally compelled to write about them.

Truck: A Love Story is Michael Perry's warm and funny memoir about a busy year in his life: attempting to get his old International truck running, and trying to grow a garden. Unexpectedly, after 39 years of bachelorhood, he also met the woman who changed everything.

Both Under a Flaming Sky and Truck: A Love Story are available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including Craftypod. She teaches blogging, podcasting, and zine-making classes in Portland, and organizes creative community groups.

Ken Lyman has a background as a disc jockey, radio news caster, radio actor, is a and producer of radio commercials and books on tape. He is an avid reader and also enjoys community theater, travel, and an occassional attempt at writing fiction.