Welcome to episode 8 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, we speak to Canadian author Heather O'Neill about her new novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals. The book chronicles the adventures of Baby, a twelve year-old being raised by her father in a down-and-out section of Montreal. Baby's life is filled with challenges: poverty, drugs, foster homes, prostitution. And yet, this novel is no mere hard-luck story, because Baby -- and the other children in the novel -- possess the almost magical ability to perceive wonder even in the darkest of situations.

Heather O'Neill was raised by her father in similar circumstances to her young heroine, and draws heavily on childhood memories to give this novel its fresh, authentic voice.

Lullabies for Little Criminals is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

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

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

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. 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 7 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

Australian author Emily Maguire discusses her new novel, Taming the Beast in this episode.

This is a novel that raises challenging questions about passionate, all-consuming desire. Many novels and films have portrayed obsessive love as grand and wonderful, but is it? What happens to people when they begin to feel that they exist only in relation to their lover? What happens to friendship, to ambition, to life when desire becomes so overwhelming?

Taming the Beast is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

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

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

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. 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 6 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, Robert Westfield talks about his new novel, Suspension -- a funny and insightful story about being swept up in events beyond your control and regaining your foundation afterward.

Written in the months following September 11th, Suspension draws on Robert's own experiences living in New York, and his great affection for the city. The story weaves together the lives of protagonist Andy Green, his family, his friends, and complete strangers, revealing that all are interconnected, dependent upon one another -- like the components of a suspension bridge.

Suspension is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Visit Robert's Website -- RobertWestfield.com.

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

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

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. 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 5 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, we speak to Catherine Hanrahan, author of Lost Girls and Love Hotels.

Set in Tokyo, this novel tells a story of running away from painful memories, to a place so strange and maze-like, it both disorients and somehow points the way back home. The novel draws heavily on Catherine Hanrahan's own experiences living in Japan.

Lost Girls and Love Hotels is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

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

All music composed and performed by Alternarama, from The Kyoto Connection. All music is copyright by author, and used with permission.

All content and audio copyright HarperCollins Publishers.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. 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 4 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, we speak to Bryan Charles, author of Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way.

This novel follows seventeen year-old Vim Sweeney as he navigates the uncertain period right after high school, just before adulthood. Bryan discusses his process of writing during another uncertain period -- right after leaving the corporate world, just before launching himself as an author.

Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

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

All content and audio copyright HarperCollins Publishers.

All music by The Judy Lumpers, and used with permission. All music is copyright Bryan Charles.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. 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 3 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, we speak to John Baxter about his memoir, We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light.

Baxter shares his unique perspectives on Parisian love in all its guises -- the love of art, culture, and food, the amazing world of brothels, and the strong ties of French families. Interwoven with all these tales is his own romantic story of moving halfway around the world for the woman he loved.

We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

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

All content and audio copyright HarperCollins Publishers.

Here's where to find the music you heard in this podcast:

Garmoshka: music by Ljova, performed by Ljova and Michael Ward-Bergeman
From the CD "Vjola: World on Four Strings", Kapustnik Records
www.Ljova.com

La Cicada: written by Leo Glass, performed by Romaniacs
www.go.to/romaniacs
www.artistlaunch.com/romaniacs

Honeymoon in Cancun, by Skeebo Knight
www.cdbaby.com/skeebo

All music is copyright by author, and used with permission.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. 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 2 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, we feature two historical books, with two very different approaches to history:

Holy Skirts, by Rene Steinke -- a novel based on the life of Baroness Elsa von Freitag-Loringhoven. The Baroness was an outrageous and legendary figure in art and poetry circles in the early 1900's. A woman unafraid to sew tinfoil to her clothing, shave her head, and paint it purple -- long, long before punk rock culture existed. Marcel Duchamp once said of this woman, "She is not a futurist. She is the future."

The Children's Blizzard, by David Laskin -- a narrative account of a sweeping disaster: the massive blizzard of January 12, 1888. This book intertwines the stories of dozens of American prairie families who stood against the storm, and a fascinating account of how a blizzard of this magnitude forms. Although this is a tragic story in many ways, it's also an inspiring narrative of ordinary people in the face of extraordinary events.

Both books are available at bookstores and online retailers now.

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

All content and audio copyright HarperCollins Publishers.

Here's where to find the music you heard in this podcast:

A Cool Day, by Russ Bryant Trio
www.russbryant.com

From Atop Corcovado, by Elika
www.elikamusic.com

White and Cold, by Alive and Living
www.myspace.com/aliveandliving

Hearts And Minds, by Dig Trio
www.digtrio.com

All music is copyright by author, and used with permission.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. 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 the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, produced and hosted by Diane Gilleland and Ken Lyman, we feature I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell.

Kilmer-Purcell discusses the experiences that led him to write this memoir -- a story that might seem outlandish on the surface, but is at heart a universal story of love and humanity.

In addition, we'll hear from Maureen O'Brien, an Executive Editor at HarperCollins, about how this book rather serendipitously found her.

I Am Not Myself These Days will be available in bookstores and through online retailers on February 7th. Pre-order the book now.

Learn more about the book at HarperCollins.com. Visit the official book website, IAmNotMyselfTheseDays.com.

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

All content and audio copyright HarperCollins Publishers.

Here's where to find the music you heard in this podcast:

Midnight World, by Machine Love

A Cool Day, by Russ Bryant Group

Innocence, by Spero

One For The Box, by Monika Herzig Acoustic Project

All songs are used with permission of the artist. Songs are copyright the respective artists.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. 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.