Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Rachel Howzell Hall , author of the fantasy novel The Last One. Best known for writing crime fiction, Hall was approached by a publisher to write a fantasy novel series, which resulted in her new book. In the interview, Hall discussed how writing the fantasy novel required her to build an entire world from scratch, including creating new languages, creatures, religions, and social structures. She said it was very different from writing crim...
Dec 07, 2024•41 min•Ep. 308
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Fabienne Josaphat, author of Kingdom of No Tomorrow. Kingdom of No Tomorrow is a historical novel that delves into a the Black Panther Party from 1968 to 1969 through the perspective of protagonist Nettie Boileau. She volunteers at the Black Panthers' Free Health Clinics in Oakland and develops a romantic relationship with Melvin Mosley, a defense captain in the Black Panther Party. Their move to Chicago to assist in founding the Illinois c...
Nov 29, 2024•42 min•Ep. 307
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Leonard Pitts Jr., author of the novel 54 MILES. Continuing with characters from his earlier work, THE LAST THING YOU SURRENDDER, set during World War II, "54 Miles" is a historical novel that unfolds during the crucial weeks of the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965 in alabama. The story revolves around characters grappling with past trauma. Pitts delves into the challenges of weaving these characters' stories into the larger tapestry of th...
Nov 26, 2024•34 min•Ep. 306
Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed, Wanda Morris, the author of WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND. In her novel, a woman returns to her hometown to restart her career and her life, only to stumble upon a group of individuals whose ruthless ambitions threaten the lives of people in her community. Wanda Morris is the award-winning author of Anywhere You Run and All Her Little Secrets. You can find out more about Wanda at wandamorriswrites.com . Diverse Voices Book Review Social Me...
Nov 11, 2024•28 min•Ep. 305
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Rudy Ruiz , author of the novel THE BORDER BETWEEN US . Set in Brownsville, Texas, the novel follows Ramon Lopez's life from fifth grade to college, exploring themes of family dynamics, immigration, and coming of age. Ruiz draws heavily from his own experiences, fictionalizing real events and characters, such as his grandmother and a chili-selling story from his childhood. He emphasizes the importance of mentors and the universal themes of ...
Nov 03, 2024•47 min•Ep. 304
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Ruben Reyes, Jr. , author of the short stories collection THERE IS A RIO GRANDE IN HEAVEN . THERE IS A RIO GRANDE IN HEAVEN, Reyes's first book, blends speculative fiction with themes of Salvadoran immigration. Reyes describes his book as speculative fiction about Salvadoran immigrants, ranging from domestic family dramas with weird elements to stories set on Mars. In the interview he shares how he was influenced by writers like Michael Cri...
Oct 13, 2024•29 min•Ep. 303
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Ken Krimstein , the author of the graphic narrative EINSTEIN IN KAFKALAND: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came Up with the Universe . During the year that Prague was home to both Albert Einstein and Franz Kafka from 1911-1912, the trajectory of the two men's lives wove together in uncanny ways-as did their shared desire to tackle the world's biggest questions in Europe's strangest city. In stunning words and pictures, Einstein in ...
Sep 29, 2024•30 min•Ep. 302
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Megan Kimble , author of CITY LIMITS : Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America’s Highways. CITY LIMITS examines the impact of urban highways on American cities. In the interview, Kimble discussed how highways were sold as progress in the 1950s and 60s, driven by car companies and oil industries. She argues that highways often disproportionately affect black and brown communities, citing examples like Houston's Fifth Ward. She ...
Sep 21, 2024•35 min•Ep. 301
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Gabino Iglesias , author of the novel HOUSE OF BONE AND RAIN . In the interview, Iglesias explained how the novel was inspired in part by his personal experiences as a teen in Puerto Rico. The story follows a group of friends seeking revenge after a friend's mother is killed. Iglesias highlights the complexities of masculinity and the impact of colonialism, using Hurricane Maria as a metaphor for systemic issues. He emphasizes the deep bond...
Sep 08, 2024•39 min•Ep. 300
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Attica Locke , the New York Times Best Selling author, about her latest novel, GUIDE ME HOME , the final installment in her Edgar Award-winning "Highway 59" trilogy. Set in east Texas, the novel explores themes of race, integrity, and family dynamics through the character Darre Matthews, a black Texas Ranger. In the interview, Attica reflects on the impact of the evolving political landscape on her writing and the themes of her Highway 59 t...
Sep 03, 2024•33 min•Ep. 299
Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed, May Cobb , the author of THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT. In her novel, a young writer works as a personal assistant to a wealthy Hollywood couple, but through an ironic twist of fate, she finds herself caught in the middle of a story that she cannot escape. May Cobb is award-winning author of The Hunting Wives, My Summer Darlings, A Likeable Woman, and Big Woods. You can find out more about May at maycobb.com . Diverse Voices Book Review ...
Aug 28, 2024•34 min•Ep. 298
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Nicola Yoon , author of ONE OF OUR KIND . Yoon describes her novel as "somewhere between a thriller and a horror. It's about a woman named Jasmine who, along with her husband and young son, moved to a suburb of Los Angeles that builds itself as a black utopia. And when Jasmine gets there, she expects to find safety and community, and at first, she does, but then things quickly shift..." Nicola Yoon is the #1 New York Times bestselling autho...
Aug 24, 2024•38 min•Ep. 297
Diverse Voices Book Review host interview Frank Andre Guridy, author of THE STADIUM: An American History of Politics, Protest, and Play . In this book, historian Frank Guridy recounts the contested history of play, protest, and politics in American stadiums from the Democratic National Convention at Madison Square Garden in 1924 to the Colin Kaepernick protest at Qualcomm Stadium in 2016. Moving between the field, the press box, and the locker room, this book recovers the hidden history of the s...
Aug 20, 2024•39 min•Ep. 296
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed John Vercher , author of the novel DEVIL IS FINE . The novel is described by its publisher: "Still reeling from a sudden tragedy, our biracial narrator receives a letter from an attorney: he has just inherited a plot of land from his estranged white grandfather. He travels to a beach town several hours south of his home with the intention of selling the land immediately and moving on. But upon inspection, what lies beneath the dirt is far m...
Jul 29, 2024•30 min•Ep. 295
Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed, Renee Watson, the author of skin & bones . Through a series of profound vignettes, her new novel tells the story of a woman who tries to live and thrive in a world that never truly sees the beauty that she has learned to love within herself. Renée Watson is also the author of the young adult novel, PIERCING ME TOGETHER, which received a Coretta Scott King Award and Newbery Honor. You can find out more about Renee at reneewatson...
Jul 22, 2024•26 min•Ep. 294
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Larry Tye , author of THE JAZZMEN: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America. From the publisher: This is the story of three revolutionary American musicians, the maestro jazzmen who orchestrated the chords that throb at the soul of twentieth-century America.. What is far less known about these groundbreakers is that they were bound not just by their music or even the discrimination that they, like nearly all ...
Jul 18, 2024•33 min•Ep. 293
In 2014, Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Danielle Allen about her newly published book, OUR DECLARATION: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality . Featured on the front page of the New York Times, her book publisher writes in its description of the book: "Our Declaration is already regarded as a seminal work that reinterprets the promise of American democracy through our founding text. Combining a personal account of teaching the Declaration wi...
Jul 04, 2024•25 min•Ep. 292
Diverse Voices Book Review host interviewed Walter Mosley about his latest Easy Rawlins novel, FAREWELL, AMETHYSTINE . Set in 1970 finds Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, LA’s premier Black detective, at 50 years of age despite all expectations. He has a loving family, a beautiful home, and a thriving investigation agency. All is right with the world… and then Amethystine Stoller, his own personal Helen of Troy, arrives. Her ex-husband is missing. A simple enough case. But even as Easy takes his first ste...
Jun 30, 2024•39 min•Ep. 291
In June 2024 Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Meg Gardiner , author of the thriller SHADOWHEART . It’s now available in paperback. SHADOWHEART is the fourth book in Gardiner's UNSUB thriller series featuring FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix. In the thriller, Hendrix is tracking a serial killer that appears to be following the modus operandi of a jailed serial killer. In the interview Gardiner discussed the vulnerability of her protagonist, how she drives the pace of her novels...
Jun 26, 2024•39 min•Ep. 290
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed award winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed, author of ON JUNETEENTH. In the interview, Gordon-Reed discussed the historical significance of Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas. She also shared her personal experiences and perspectives on the holiday's origins, evolution, and cultural significance. Born and raised in Texas, Annette Gordon-Reed is a history professor at Harvard University and the ...
Jun 16, 2024•32 min•Ep. 289
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Abir Mukherjee , author of the new thriller Hunted . Hunted , Mukherjee's sixth novel, follows the paths of a terrorist group in the U.S. planning and executing bombings in the U.S., the efforts of the FBI to stop them, and the search for two of the young adults in the group by their parents who hope to prevent catastrophe. The novel has a multicultural cast of characters providing points of view from a U.S. and international perspective. I...
Jun 06, 2024•53 min•Ep. 288
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed historian Manisha Sinha , author of The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920 . In the interview, Manisha explained her decision to focus on Reconstruction as the central theme, tying it to various other historical events and movements including the women's suffrage movement, the destruction of indigenous sovereignties, the Industrial Revolution, and labor conflict. Manisha Sinha is the James L. and Shirle...
May 27, 2024•50 min•Ep. 287
Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Chaitali Sen interviewed Gemini Wahhaj , author of the debut novel The Children of this Madness . In The Children of this Madness , Gemini Wahhaj pens a complex tale of modern Bengalis, one that illuminates the recent histories not only of Bangladesh, but America and Iraq. Told in multiple voices over successive eras, this is the story of Nasir Uddin and his daughter Beena, and the intersection of their distant, vastly different lives. Gemini Wahhaj is a Ba...
May 24, 2024•38 min•Ep. 286
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Steven Han, author of Illiberal America: A History . In the interview they discussed the realities behind American history's myths, touching on progressive thinking's complexities, wealth concentration, and public good concepts. They also examined the impact of political strategies like the Southern strategy, and the Supreme Court's role in economic rights protection and the aftermath of Obama's election. Steven Hahn is a Pulitzer Prize–win...
May 20, 2024•45 min•Ep. 285
Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed, Kellye Garrett, the author of Missing White Woman, her latest novel. Her new book tells the story of a young woman who becomes an unwilling participant in a mystery that not only captures the attention of the public, but also forces her to face her past while fighting for her future. Kellye Garrett is also the author of the award-winning book, Like A Sister, and the co-founder of the Crime Writers of Color. You can learn more about...
May 11, 2024•28 min•Ep. 284
Diverse Voices Book Review host interviewed George Pelecanos , author of the story collection Owning Up . In the interview they discuss the significance of storytelling in addressing social issues, particularly racial injustice, historical trauma, and violence. They highlight the emotional connection that stories can provide, allowing readers to empathize with characters and learn from their experiences. George Pelecanos is the bestselling author of twenty-two novels and story collections set in...
May 04, 2024•48 min•Ep. 283
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Marie Arana, author of LatinoLand. LatinoLand is an all-encompassing overview of Hispanic America based on personal interviews, deep research, and Marie Arana’s life experience as a Latina. At present, Latinos comprise 20 percent of the US population, a number that is growing. By 2050, census reports project that one in every three Americans will claim Latino heritage. Marie Arana draws on her own experience as the daughter of an American m...
Mar 30, 2024•48 min•Ep. 282
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Ayana Mathis, author of the novel The Unsettled. "The Unsettled is a spellbinding portrait of two fierce women reckoning with the steep cost of resistance: What legacy will we leave our children? Where can we be free? Learn more about the novel at The Unsettled — Ayana Mathis . Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media : Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevo...
Mar 25, 2024•47 min•Ep. 281
In celebration of Women's History Month, we're featuring an interview conducted by Teens Choice Book Show host Maya Hay in January of 2021 with Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross, authors of A Black Women's History of the United States. The book is described as "an empowering and intersectional history that centers the stories of African American women across 400+ years, showing how they are—and have always been—instrumental in shaping our country." At the time of the interview, Dr. Berry w...
Mar 16, 2024•29 min•Ep. 280
In 2020 Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Koritha Mitchell, author of FROM SLAVE CABINS TO THE WHITE HOUSE. As part of our continuing recognition of Black authors for Black History this year, I'm reposting this interview that was originally posted on the podcast site on October of 2020. In the book Dr. Mitchell argues that it is Black success that is most likely to draw the ire of white mobs. Using characters in literature by black female writers from Zora Neale Hurston to ...
Mar 03, 2024•28 min•Ep. 279
