Posted in Events, Writing

The Michael & Debbie Double Act Strikes Again!

bcfm logoI always love doing radio, especially when the show’s presenter is a great friend. Today I was pleased to be the studio guest of Michael MacMahon, one of BCfm Silver Sound’s hosts.

About Michael and Me

Cover of The Wedding Speech HandbookI’ve known Michael for quite a few years now, having met through our shared interest in writing. Although Michael writes non-fiction books and I write mainly fiction, we get on famously and are often helping each other out in practical ways. Michael is a popular fixture at my Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival, renowned for his rendition of Prospero’s speech from the Tempest at our closing ceremony. I’ve chaired his launch events for both of his books, and each time it has been great fun.

The most recent of these launches was just last month, for The Wedding Speech Handbook, when we dressed up as if for a wedding, complete with buttonholes, wedding cake, and in my case my best wedding hat!

Celebrating Michael’s new book about weddings in style (he’s seated, left in his DJ) 20181127 – Photo @JonCraig – 07778 606070

What We Talked About on the Show

Today on the Silver Sound show, we were talking about how and why people shouldn’t think in terms of retirement, but instead of how to reinvent themselves, as indeed both he and I have done with our writing careers. I was very interested to hear about Michael’s plans for his next book, interviewing people who have reinvented themselves in retirement – including my dad, who, as I mentioned on the show, embraced multiple artistic hobbies after a career in computer engineering.

How to Listen to the Show

If you’d like to hear our wide-ranging conversation, you can catch up with it online via BCfm’s website  www.bcfmradio.com/silversound Just click on “Silver Sound” in the programmes list, then on today’s date (20/12/18). We’re on for the first hour from 10am, chatting from about four minutes into the show, after the news at the top of the hour.

Post-Script Coincidence

After the show, we parted company, but a little later an email from Michael pinged into my inbox. “I get dozens of emails every day, but this was the first one I opened when I got home,” he wrote, forwarding the one he’d received to me:

screenshot of Amazon ad

I think Jeff Bezos must be watching us…

What’s Next for our Double-Act?

We’re hoping to stage a joint event on a wedding theme in the new year, involving both his Wedding Speech Handbook and my collection of short stories, Marry in Haste. More news to follow in due course!
For more information about Michael, his multi-faceted reinvention of himself, and his excellent books, visit his website, www.michaelmacmahon.com – or tune in to Silver Sound to catch his show!
 
Posted in Type 1 diabetes, Writing

The Silvery Sounds of Radio Voices

A quick post to point you in the direction of my most recent radio appearance

Debbie Young standing outside the studio
Outside the BCfm studio on Friday

As regular readers of this blog will know, I love being a guest on radio shows. (I know, what a show-off!) I’m a regular guest on BBC Radio Gloucestershire, and an occasional guest on BBC Radio Bristol and 10Radio in Somerset.

It’s an added bonus when the host of the programme is an author whose work I know and respect. So I was honoured when last Friday I was invited to be the guest on award-winning historical novelist Lucienne Boyce‘s new SilverSound show, part of the Bristol community radio station BCfm.

All About SilverSound

BCfm’s SilverSound programme, which Lucienne hosts once a month, is aimed at older listeners audience. Lucienne wanted to focus on my involvement with community publishing projects.

We therefore talked about projects such as:

  • the Monument to Hawkesbury social history books
  • my two books of collected columns that I’ve written for the last six years for two local magazines, the Tetbury Advertiser (book title: Young By Name) and the Hawkesbury Parish News (book title: All Part of the Charm)
  • my memoir aimed at the diabetes community, Coming to Terms with Type 1 Diabetes, particularly topical as World Diabetes Day is coming up on Monday 14th November

Cover of All Part of the Charm

Cover of Young By Name book
Available in paperback and ebook
Cover of Simon Bendry's book
A role model for communities nationwide

I was also pleased to have the opportunity to give a shout-out for an excellent local history book written and published by my friend Simon Bendry. Hawkesbury at War – The Roll of Honour, his biography of all the people commemorated on the Hawkesbury Upton war memorial, plus all of the villagers who survived active service in the wars, is an inspiring example for communities everywhere. Again, a topical choice, with Remembrance Day imminent.

Fun Fellow Guests

But the show wasn’t only about me, nor was it as serious as I’ve perhaps made it sound. Fellow guest George talked about the latest movie he’d seen (I, Daniel Blake), and Gerard contributed a very entertaining quiz, specially written to match the guest of the week. This time, the quiz was about famous Debbies, Youngs, and cosy mystery detectives. Why the latter? We also managed to squeeze in some jolly conversation about my current work-in-progress, a new cosy mystery novel, kicking off with Best Murder in Show, the first in the Sophie Sayers Village Mystery series.

How to Listen to the SilverSound Show

Lucienne’s blogged about the show on her own author website here. Her post includes her own take on the broadcast, and while you’re over there, take a look at all her other activities including her excellent books and talks.

Here’s a direct link to the show, to which you can “listen again”, by the magic that is the internet, up to three months after the date of the broadcast. Just scroll down to the 10am slot on 4/11/16.

How to Listen to My Latest SoundCloud Appearance

Headshot of Suzie Grogan
SoundCloud presenter, historian and author Suzie Grogan

By chance, I’ve also just received a link to my latest appearance on Suzie Grogan’s fab Talking Books show on 10Radio, which you can listen to ad infinitum on SoundCloud. Here’s a link to Suzie’s Soundcloud channel where you can catch not only my appearance on her show back in July, but also a more recent one with Lucienne Boyce, who’s a great guest as well as an excellent writer and presenter.

Another post will follow soon sharing my first appearance as a performer at the Cheltenham Literature Festival – but that’s another story, in every respect!

To find out more about my fiction books, click here.

To find out more about my non-fiction books, click here.