Charlotte Readers Podcast Debuts
As a recovering trial lawyer, I wanted make room for writing, reading, and learning new things. So I came up with the idea of a podcast for readers and writers, focused on Charlotte-area authors. The result is the Charlotte Readers Podcast which hits the scene in early October.
I’ve always loved to read. In my twenties and thirties, I read historical fiction, Louis L’Amour’s westerns, most of John Grisham, and any number of thrillers, but as time went on, I began to read any fiction that sounded good to me. Lately, I’m reading books by authors I’ve met, classics, and as before, anything that sounds good.
Four years ago, my reading life and my writing life merged when I wrote a Christmas story for my family about a lawyer who saves Christmas. Two books later, I had a trilogy. Along the way, I joined writing groups, took classes at Charlotte Lit, served as co-chair of the speaker program for Charlotte Writers Club, and had the pleasure of meeting many talented Charlotte-area authors.
It struck me that Charlotte is full of quality authors with great stories to tell. This medium—this podcast thing—can connect authors and their voices to listeners who enjoy good stories and poems. So with my retirement from the law firm coming at the end of this year, I said to myself: Why not do this? I’d talked about it a year ago with Kathie Collins and Paul Reali. They liked the idea, so I stored the thought away until I made the decision to retire from the law firm and got the courage to try something technologically uncomfortable.
I call this Charlotte Readers Podcast because it’s a show for Charlotte-area authors (and those who visit the Queen City) to read their work and for listeners to hear great stories and poems that have been published or won awards or contests.
We’ll tape the show in different places. Sometimes, in a studio. And sometimes, on the road—perhaps in a library or book store.
And we’ll make it easy for people to listen on their devices or their computers, with information on our website about how and where to find the episodes.
The format will be simple. We’ll start with a story or poem, then meet the author and talk about their work. Most of the time, we’ll have complete stories and poems. You know, the kind that have a beginning, middle and end. But don’t worry, because as you know, many good stories and poems start closer to the middle, where the action is. Authors tend to skip “Once Upon a Time” and start with that “Dark and Stormy Night.” And much of what you hear on this show will be just that, stories and poems that pull you in from the beginning.
The author episodes for Season One will run from early October through December and feature eleven Charlotte-area authors, with connections to Charlotte Lit and Charlotte Writers Club. Charlotte Lit co-founders Kathie Collins and Paul Reali appear on the show, along with a number of Charlotte Lit instructors, including Paula Martinac, Judy Goldman, and Tracy Curtis. All the authors have been published and won awards, including contests at Charlotte Writers Club. I’ve been very impressed with the quality of the stories and poems in Season One and have enjoyed the on-air conversations with the authors about their work. I’m already thinking about Season Two.
I hope you’ll consider listening to the podcast and sharing it with others. Think of it like an open mic night you can carry in your phone or on your computer and listen whenever it suits you.
The backstory episode is now live and available on Apple Podcasts and wherever you like to listen to podcasts. In that episode, I read a short story, discuss the mission of the podcast and introduce the speakers for Season One.
You can find out more on at: www.charlottereaderspodcast.com and www.facebookcom/charlottereaderspodcast.
Read on,
Landis
Landis Wade is a Charlotte attorney and author who starts each day walking Gus and Lori, two rescue dogs named after characters in Larry McMurtry’s classic western, Lonesome Dove. His third book—The Christmas Redemption—won the Holiday category of the 12th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards. He won the 2016 North Carolina State Bar short story contest for “The Deliberation” and received awards in 2017 and 2018 for his non-fiction pieces, “The Cape Fear Debacle” and “First Dance.” His essays have been published in The Charlotte Observer and the Bearing Up anthology by Daniel Boone Footsteps, and his writing craft article inspired by best-selling author Craig Johnson appeared in Writersdigest.com in June 2018. When Landis doesn’t have a dog leash, keyboard or digital recorder in his hands, he’s probably holding a fly-rod, a golf club or a cold beverage at a Carolina Panthers or Charlotte Knights game.