RADAR TALK INTIMATE

A few weeks ago, I drove to Austin with a friend to record a podcast in front of a live audience at Sahara Lounge. My guests are the authors Andrew Hilbert and Max Booth III. My friend Marc Dulang of the band M.D. And The Bids, invited me to be the opening act. We had a great time. Thanks for listening. Peace & Love, François

Show Number 2 of 2020 Slow start to the new year, however great guests so far! Author, poet, and wrestling expert, Reyes Ramirez came over to my place last week for a visit. Reyes recently had a short story published in "Houston Noir" edited by Gwendolyn Zepeda (Akashic Press 2019), and since I read his story last year, I've been wanting to talk with him about what he's doing, and his writing. We had a wonderful conversation where we talk about mixing languages into creative writing, curanderas, and so much more. Please go say hello to Reyes on his website: ReyesVRamirez.com Thanks for listening, have a great week! Peace & Love, François

Happy New Year! This is my first show of 2020, and my guest is poet, performance artist, and teacher, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton. Her book "Newsworthy" (Bloomsday Literary 2019) is available, and you should go buy it at your local bookstore. You can learn more about Deborah by visiting her website, LiveLifeDeep.com. It was such a pleasure to talk with Deborah. We had a wonderful conversation where we talk about her new collection of poems, her experience as a teacher, and so many other things. Please listen, share with your friends, and tell me what you think. Peace & Love François

Author and ex-US Marine came to visit me in my studio in West Houston. He drove down from Waco, Texas, for our conversation, and I'm so glad he did. We talked mostly about his book, "Behind Friendly Lines: Memoirs of a US Marine in Chile" (Lucid Books 2019), and we also talk about learning and using a second language, and translating from English to Spanish. Thank you for listening. You can find my show on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify, as well as featured once per month at Lone Star Literary Life. Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Merry Festivus! Whatever! Have fun, be merry, be nice, and party all night long! See you in 2020 Peace & Love François

Mark Haber came over for a visit earlier this week. He brought a copy of his first published novel, "Reinhardt's Garden" (Coffee House Press 2019). Great conversation. Mark tells us about his influences, his writing choices, and how he goes about creating a story. I loved his book, and we had plenty to talk about You can find his book at Brazos Books in Houston, Texas. Thank you so much for listening! I'd love to hear from you my listeners: What do you think? Please comment, share, and tell me what you think. You can find RADAR TALK INTIMATE on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and featured once per month at LoneStarLiterary.com.

Miranda Ramirez dropped in to see me last week. She is a writer of poetry, non-fiction, and short stories. She's also the founder of Defunkt Magazine. We had a wonderful conversation about why she decided to start a new magazine, about her life as a mother, an artist, and a student, and so much more. We had a lot of fun, and I'm so grateful for her visit. I hope you enjoy my show. You definitely should check out DEFUNKT MAGAZINE, and go find out more about Miranda on her WEBSITE. Tell me what you think and please share with your friends! Peace & Love François

The performance artist Courtney Frances Fallon came to visit with me at my new digs in West Houston all the way from Brooklyn, NY! We had such a good time recording our conversation, I hope you have just as much of an amazing time listening to us. We are both taking part in Revolution! Scholars & Artists Rethinking Political Action in 2020. She as an artist, me as a moderator, and I can't wait to see more of Courtney in action. You can learn more about Courtney, by visiting her website: CourtneyFrancesFallon.com Thank you for listening! Please share with your friends, and please please please tell me what you think, leave comments, and be merry! François

The author of RULE OF CAPTURE (Harper Voyager 2019), Christopher Brown came to visit with me at my studio in the Heights of Houston, Texas this week. And this is our conversation. Chris is a really cool guy. He's easy to talk with, full of insight, and always intelligent. Oh, and his novel is a fun roller-coaster ride that you won't be able to put down until you are done reading. And when you do put it down, you'll continue thinking about the story, because it might just scare to bejesus out of you. In a good way. Also, please go to my Kickstarter where I am selling copies of my book SONGS OF THE ROLLIN CHATEAU, as well as posters with the incredible artwork of Brian Wootan. Thank you for listening, for sharing, and for telling me what you think!

Nick Zaccaria and Scott Karliner came by my studio in the Heights a couple of weeks ago, to talk with me about their new album coming out, HALF DRUNK, and their upcoming tour in the North West. We play two songs by Nick, Half Drunk and Back In Those Days, and we close with a song by Scott, Summer Breeze. Please check out their work. And please go to Kickstarter, and look for my my project SONGS OF THE ROLLIN CHATEAU, we're in the very last stretch, and I need you to buy some books, posters, and t-shirts. Thank you!

Poet Mike Alexander came over to my studio in the Heights of Houston, Texas a couple of weeks back. We did what I tend to do when people come visit me, we recorded a conversation. Mike is a poet, a translator, and the host of Poetry Fix, a poetry reading that happens almost every other week at Fix Coffeebar in the Montrose neighborhood, just east of Montrose Blvd on Tuesday evening. We talk about all things poetry, and Mike read a couple of poems, including a translation! We had fun, and I hope you will enjoy our conversation, share it with your friends, tell me what you think, and go visit with Mike at Fix Coffeebar for Poetry Fix. Thanks for listening, and please visit my Kickstarter page, where the artist Brian Wootan and myself have a project that we are funding. The project is already completed, we just need the money to go to press, and that's where you come in. Thanks for pledging!

Kelby Losack came over to my studio in the Heights of Houston, from Lake Jackson! We talk mostly about his new book, "The Way We Came In" (Broken River Books 2018). We cover a lot of ground in this conversation. What exactly is a novel? What is a movie? "The Way We Came In" is a no bull shit, super lean short novel that you can read in an afternoon. It's a window into the lives of two brothers trying to make it one day at a time. Also, I'm right in the middle of my Kickstarter Campaign to print my upcoming book "Songs of the Rollin Chateau" (New Belleville Press 2019). Go to my KICKSTARTER to buy books, posters, and t-shirts. Thank you!

Chris Flakus and Nick Ramirez from Defunkt Magazine came to visit with me at my studio in the Heights of Houston, Texas. They've got a brand new Houston based magazine where they plan to publish poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and art from around the world. The first edition is coming out on August 1st 2019, and they're already looking for submissions for their second edition. I know I'm going to submit my work to them, will you? Please listen to my show, tell me what you think, reach out to me and my guests, we'd love to hear from you. Thank you!

Parish Conkling and Joy Harris came by my studio in the Heights of Houston to talk about "Revolution! Scholars and Artists Rethinking Political Action" a conference they're putting together in partnership with Houston Community College's Philosophy Department and Experimental Action. You can find more info at philevents.org or on experimentalaction.com. We have a wonderful conversation where we go over everything about the conference, what it's about, what Parish and Joy's goals are, and everything else. I had fun learning about Revolution! and I hope to be part of this conference in 2020, as I hope you will take part in it as well, either as an artist, a scholar, or as an audience member! As always, thanks for listening, thanks for sharing, and thanks for telling me what you think!

Sarah Rafael Garcia, came to visit with me in my studio in the Heights of Houston, Texas, all the way from Santa Ana, California! Sarah is a writer, a teacher, a traveler, an activist. She's amazing. She has founded several organizations which contribute to our community. In 2010 Senator Lou Correa honored Sarah with the “Women Making a Difference” award, and in 2011 she was awarded for “Outstanding Contributions to Education” by the Orange County Department of Education in California. We have a wonderful talk about what she's currently working on. She is the recipient of the 2019 Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts-Project Row Houses. The reason she's been traveling to Houston so much recently. Thanks for listening! Please share with your friends, and tell me what you think. Thank you!

Siobhan O'Loughlin and Jeromy Barner came by my studio in the Heights of Houston, and we have a wonderful conversation mostly about Siobhan's one woman show that she's touring across the country, BROKEN BONE BATHTUB. I saw the show on Tuesday for its Houston preview, and we talked on Wednesday morning. Thanks for listening, for sharing, and for telling me what you think!  

Their new play SPEEDING MOTORCYCLE inspired by and based on the work and life of Daniel Johnston is opening on June 28th. Last week I crashed their rehearsal, and recorded several short interviews. We start the show with Jason Nodler and Tamarie Cooper. They're co-directing, and Jason created the show. Then the whole cast performed four tunes for me, which was wonderful since I was the only audience member. The second half of the show, I get to talk briefly with some of the cast members: Kyle Sturdivant, Joe Folladori, Greg Cote, Bryan Kaplun, Brittny Bush, and Alli Villines. Great big thank you! to the whole cast and crew of The Catastrophic Theater for having me over as a guest in their world. I had a blast and hope to do it again.

My friend, Robert Stikmanz invited me into his home a couple of weeks ago, and this is the result. We had a wonderful conversation. We talk about his books, currently available: "Prelude to a Change of Mind, the author's edition," and "Dvarsh, an introduction." We also talk about the difference between writing poetry and fiction, and so many other cool subjects, such as for example, how he went about creating a brand new language with its very own alphabet! Please listen, share, and tell your friends. Thank you!

I met up with Jennifer duBois at the Central Library in Austin, Texas last week. We had a wonderful conversation. Mostly, we talked about her novel "The Spectators" (Penguin Random House 2019), though we also talk briefly about her other two books, "A Partial History of Lost Causes" and "Cartwheel." An alumna of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and Stanford University's Stegner Fellowship program, duBois is the recipient of a Whiting Award and a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing grant. She teaches in the MFA program at Texas State University. It was fun meeting Jennifer, and I can't wait to read her next book so that I can talk with her again.  

What a fun show, fun conversation. John Wayne Comunale is a writer, a musician, a podcaster, and an overall good guy who happens to like weird gory stories, and punk music. He was on the panel of my very first show that I did with this podcast, and it's really cool of him to come back and record a more intimate conversation with me. We talked mostly about his writing, though we covered a lot of ground. John Wayne brought his guitar and performed three original songs for us. Thanks for listening!

Guerrilla filmmaker, Jaraad Gordon, came over to my studio in the Heights of Houston, Texas, for a visit, and we had a wonderful conversation. We talked about filmmaking mostly, the nitty gritty, being a PA, dealing with all kinds of folks, and of course, making movies. Jaraad is currently working on a feature length documentary film in and out of Houston about a BBQ truck being built from the ground up. Thanks for listening! Please share, and please tell me what you think! 

My guest this week is Sean Penalber. We had a great meandering conversation about everything! That's right. We covered it all. Sean came back to visit with me after one year. This is our second conversation, and we plan on recording them every year for as long as we're in proximity and or alive. That last part helps. Sean is a man about town, an artist who works in several mediums. He's a musician, an improve actor, a photographer of ceilings, and he's a fun guy to talk with. Please listen, share, and tell me what you think! Thanks!

Robert Dean, bad-boy of the Austin literary scene, was in Houston for a reading the other night, and he took the time to come visit with me at my studio in the Heights. We had a fun conversation about everything from looking for a literary agent to proper pizza. Robert is a novelist, a journalist, and an essayist. Thank you for listening to my show. Please tell me what you think. Thank you!

This was such a fun show. Conner Clifton and Ned Gayle are fun, funny, intelligent, quirky guys, and we had a great time talking about everything. We start out talking about FCC regulations, and quickly made it to more serious subjects like fart jokes and NASA. Please listen, and tell me what you think. Share my show with your friends, and let them know about RADAR TALK INTIMATE. Thank you!

Jonathan Fleissner came by my studio in the Heights the other day to talk about his new album that's coming out with his band Tender Gents. We play three of the tracks on the show. We also talked about his new gig at Comedy Hub Houston, his latest project. Thanks for listening, and please tell me what you think.

A couple weeks ago, I travelled to East Houston to visit with Scotty Peterson. Scotty is currently building a food truck for his up and coming BBQ business: That's It BBQ. Scotty is also a stand up comedian, and hosts several open mics around Houston. This conversation was a bit all over the place, however it was great fun. We kept getting interrupted, and somehow all the interruptions work perfectly, so I kept the show with almost no edits. As is. Please enjoy the show, tell me what you think, and share with your friends.

So excited, this is my first one-on-one show of 2019, and I got to talk with professor David R. Dow. He's an amazing guy who's been representing death row inmates in Texas for the last 25+ years. He's also written several non-fiction books, as well as his latest book: "Confessions of an Innocent Man" (Dutton April 2019), his first novel.  We had a great conversation about everything you've ever wanted to know about the death penalty but were afraid to ask.  Please listen, tell me what you think, and most importantly, buy David's book.  

For our second show of 2019 at Rudyard's British Pub, I talk with four guests from Experimental Action International Performance Arts Festival, which takes place every other year. This year goes from February 21-23, and you can learn more at https://www.experimentalaction.com/.  During our conversation, we talked at one point about "Empathy and Prostitution" by Abel Azcona. You can watch a video of the performance here: https://vimeo.com/89459627 Thank you for listening, for telling me what you think, and for reaching out to me if you would like to be a guest on my show. I record a show in front of a live audience every first Thursday of the month at Rudyard's British Pub in Houston, TX. I also record more intimate one-on-one conversation from my studio or from your home. Thank you!

For our first show of 2019 I had the pleasure of talking with Jeremy Barber, Marcus Pontello, and Cidette Rice who are all part of an immersive theater show called LIONSHARE, produced by Dinolion. If you're reading this and listening to my show, you get a 50% discount on tickets to the show which is playing the last two weeks of January 2019, starting on Tuesday January 22nd. Go to: https://lionshare.brownpapertickets.com/ And enter your Discount Code: RadarTalk Thanks for listening, sharing, and please tell me what you think!

For our second show recorded in front of a LIVE audience at Rudyard's British Pub, we invited three chefs to talk about their lives in and out of the kitchen. Jordan Economy, Scotty Peterson, and Jeff Kimbro, were all incredibly funny. This conversation, though rather colorful, was so much fun, that we will record another conversation with other chefs in the spring. 

This is such an exciting show, because it's my first of I hope many shows recorded at Rudyard's British Pub in front of a live audience, with audience participation. Every First Thursday of the month, doors open at 7pm. My first guests for this show are actors from The Catastrophic Theater, where, among many other subjects, we talk about their new play FIRST SUBURB, by Chana Porter, directed by Kyle Sturdivant. My guests for this show are Tamarie Cooper, Kyle Sturdivant, and Jeff Miller. Please tell me what you think. Thank you!

This weekend, Mark Falkin, author of "The Late Bloomer" was in Houston. He stopped by my place to say hello and have a chat with me. This is the result. We had a fun conversation where we talked about his latest book, as well as his work as a literary agent in Austin, among many other subjects. Please listen to our conversation, share with your friends, and tell me what you think. Thank you!

On Sunday, the artist, sculptor, and welder, James Cioselk, invited me to his studio in north Houston. It's a really large space with every massive tool set you can imagine, several kilns stacked in the corner, and all kinds of metal, plastic, and other scraps of material. There's also lots of art. Lots of large beautiful sculptures made from bullet-ridden scrap metal, colorful lights, and smaller sculptures with metal frames wrapped in magically burnt plastic  that can actually fit in your living room. James is an easy-going guy with a large beard who likes to laugh, have a beer, and play on his guitar. Also, he works really hard at his art. Please listen to our conversation, and tell me what you think.

A couple of weeks ago, I drove to Austin to meet up with Katja Straub, who was in town from Berlin, Germany, to shoot a short film. We met up at her producer's office, who was kind enough to let us use the space. We sat on the concrete floors, hate danishes and cinamon rolls, drank coffee, and had this really fun conversation. We talk about filmmaking of course, but also about our perception of reality. Please listen, and tell me what you think. Thank you!

Last week, I met up with Karren Lovelady of Lovelady's Pop-Up restaurant. She came over to my studio in the Heights of Houston, and we talked about all kinds of cool stuff. We had a wonderful conversation about food, poetry, performance art, and so much more. Please listen, and tell me what you think. Also, you should definitely go eat Karren's food. You can find out where she's setting up her pop-up by visiting her FB page, Lovelady's. Thank you!  

Michael Zagst, novelist, screenwriters, and actor, visits with me in my Houston, Heights studio. We talk about his journey and struggles with books, movies, and his writing. We talk about the movie "Divine Access" now available on Prime, based on his screenplay, where he also plays a small but pivotal role. Fun conversation. Please listen, and tell me what you think.

James McWilliams came to visit with me at my studio in the Heights of Houston, Texas a week or so ago. This is our conversation. James is a historian, professor, and journalist. He also happens to be a friend of mine. We talked about his latest book, "Eating Promiscuously" as well as his ideas on food, food distribution, restaurants, and so much more. At the end of our talk, he tells us about his new project. Fun conversation. Please take a listen, and tell me what you think. Thank you!

In this episode, Weasel comes to visit with me at my studio in the Heights. Weasel is an author and publisher, and we talk about the joys and harships of indi and self publishing. Wonderful conversation. Please take a listen, and please go visit Weasel on his website WeaselPress.com. His new book is "We Don't Make it out Alive, Back Alley Poems"

While staying at my folks up in Liberty Hill the other week, I went to visit Jodi McCumber on her farm, Jackass Honey Farm. Wow, I didn't know anything about bee-keeping, or about honey for that matter other than I like eating it. Now, I'm ready to suit up and go to work! Jodi went from the medical profession to bee-keeping. She takes us through her journey, and explains what you should look for when you're buying honey. Wonderful conversation. Thanks for listening!

Novelist and radio host, Martha Louise Hunter invites me into her very color-coordinated home in West Austin, and talks with me about the creative life. Martha is the main host at Writing on the Air which is recorded live every Wednesday on 91.7 FM KOOP.org. We go back and forth, not being able to figure out who is interviewing whom, and we have a great time doing it. Thanks for listening!

Mark Rashap invites me into his home in East Austin, and we talk about how he became Austin's top wine educator. We have tons of fun with this conversation. Mark has traveled all around the world, in more wine regions that I can count on my fingers and toes conbined. I've known Mark for years, and it's always good to see him, and to talk with him. Good show. If you like wine, you're going to like this. Thanks for listening.

Rae Wilson invited me into her home in South Austin where we drank some pink wine, and talked about her being and becoming a winemaker. Wonderful conversation. Rae is at the forefront of the Texas wine scene, and her Dandy Rose is so good, I could drink it all summer long. Thanks for listening!

Last week, I drove to south Austin to visit with my friend the author and podcaster Andrew Hilbert. He invited me into his beautiful home, and we talked about a million things, though we did attempt to stay on subject: the act of podcasting, and all that it entails. Please listen, share with your friends, and tell me what you think.

YA Novelist Carolyn Cohagan comes to my studio in Houston to visit with me about her new novel, the second volume of the Time Zero Trilogy, Time Next. Such a good conversation. Thanks for listening!

May edition of RADAR TALK LIVE, our 5th! With guests Josiah Hall, musician, Chris Wise, poet, and Joshua Stokes, comic. Fun show!

Mlee Marie and her son visit with me at my Houston studio. Mlee plays two songs live, and we end the show on "Hours" by Hearts of Animals from their latest album "Human Size."

Jordan Brady joins us to talk about his new musical projects, and shares four of his songs with us. Fun show. Take a listen!

Fun show at Under the Radar with guests, Nick Colunga, Christopher Flakus, Michelle Laird, Jon Martin, and Ronald L. Jones.

Jacob talks with me about his documentary film, "Vanishing Heartbeat." 

"Blue Jay Ate Bat" episode #6, Jonathan and Francois introduce themselves and this new podcast, Radar Talk (both Intimate & Live versions of the show).

Michael Noll comes to chat with me at my Houston studio. We talk about his new book, "The Writer's Field Guide to the Craft of Fiction" (A Strange Object 2018), and the act of writing fiction in general. I do a lot of name-dropping... because why not! Really fun conversation. Take a listen.

Sean Penalber is an artist, a poet, and a musician, discovering his way through the maze of the big city. Fun interview. We'll talk with him again in one year to see what he's found.