My guest today, Kit Karson, is the author a series of books, The Anderson Chronicles: A Sheriff Elliott Mystery, which currently comprises five novels, including: Land Grab, Innocence Slain, Justice Rendered, Nefarious Intent, and Savage Malice. All five take place in a small Montana town. Interestingly, as prolific as Kit is as an author, writing is not her principal occupation.

Born and raised in the mountains of western Montana, Kit spent her childhood traipsing around forests, streams, and meadows, either on foot or horseback, exploring, fishing, and shooting.

After earning undergraduate degrees in Medical Technology and professional Microbiology, she ultimately earned a Master of Science from the University of North Dakota. Subsequently, Kit spent more than 3 decades under a microscope as a medical technologist and lab manager for various medical, hospital, and health care facilities. She’s currently a laboratory director at Granite County Medical Center.

I’ve read Nefarious Intent, the 4th book in the Anderson Chronicles Mystery series, and can tell you it’s an engrossing, page-turning thriller that kept me wanting to know how the intricate puzzle would unravel. If you like mysteries set outside of urban landscapes, I highly recommend Kit’s books to you.

Kit's website: https://www.kitkarson.com

Facebook: facebook.com/kitkarsonauthor

Twitter: twitter.com/kitkarson11

Alexandra Hainsworth is a British Australian pop artist distributing directly with The Orchard, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music. Her last single, 'Fighter', hit 1.46 million Spotify streams. Collectively, Alexandra has over 330,000 social media followers.

Alexandra is an animal advocate for Four Paws Australia. And she has postgraduate qualifications in psychology.

She’s also now a novelist. Alexandra's evocative debut book, Kingdom of Flight, details a dystopian vision of Earth's last remaining island. Victor Paul is the co-author of Kingdom of Flight, which is published by Austin Macauley Publishers in London.

https://alexandrahainsworth.com/

YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music

Alexandra Hainsworth: TO FLY

Alretha Thomas has found career success in the second half of her life as an award-winning novelist, playwright, and actress.

A resilient survivor of childhood trauma, Alretha is a former model who, as an actress, has appeared in numerous films, TV series, and commercials. She also appeared on two iconic soap operas, Days of Our Lives and General Hospital. Currently, she’s a series regular, playing Anastasia Devereaux, on Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living, which is in its fifth season on BET.

As a playwright, Alretha has won accolades and awards for her plays Civil Rites, A Shrine to Junior, Mommie and Clyde, Sacrificing Simone, and Grandpa’s Truth. She also wrote One Woman, Two Lives, that starred Kellita Smith (of The Bernie Mac Show), and was directed by four-time NAACP Image Award Best Director recipient, Denise Dowse.

Alretha, who holds a degree in journalism from USC, has written 15 novels, over a half-million of which have been sold and downloaded, receiving glowing reviews from readers, book clubs, and critics. Her first novel, Daughter Denied, was launched in 2008. A four-book series, Cass & Nick, spawned from her novel, Married in the Nick of Nine, was acquired by Soul Mate Publishing. And she was awarded the Jessie Redman Fauset Literary Award for her Indie Novel, For Ladies Only.

Her latest book, The Daughter Between Them, was recognized by Kirkus Reviews as one of the top thriller indie books of 2024. I’ve read The Daughter Between Them and was completely drawn in by the wonderfully complex, unfolding mystery thriller as told through Alretha’s masterful storytelling and her deeply compelling characters.

She’s had several videos go viral, including three that have received more than 2 million views.

www.alrethathomas.com

https://www.instagram.com/athomasforreal/

Doug Besterman is a much in-demand orchestrator, arranger, and composer whose works span Broadway, film, television, and concert stages. Doug’s been nominated for the Tony Award six times, winning for The Producers, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Fosse. With a career that includes numerous other iconic productions such as Young Frankenstein, Sister Act, and Anastasia, Doug has helped shape the sound of modern musical theater. Recent Broadway credits include Death Becomes Her, SMASH, and BOOP! Internationally, his work has been heard in London, Berlin, and Hamburg in productions such as Rocky, Sister Act, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Guys and Dolls.

Doug’s film and TV orchestration credits include Mary Poppins Returns, the live action films of Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid, Chicago, Frozen,Smash, and Schmigadoon. He’s contributed to countless live broadcasts and awards shows, including the Oscars, Tonys, Emmys, and Kennedy Center Honors.

As a composer, Doug has written scores for Breathe, Little Did I Know, The Big One-Oh, and the new musical Crumbs.

His arrangements have been performed by extraordinary artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Beyoncé, and by ensembles including the Boston Pops and the U.S. Military Academy Band. Doug continues to champion musical storytelling across all media, including through the Arrival Arts Initiative.

Doug's Website: https://dougbesterman.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DougBestermanMusic/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougbesterman/

Arrival Arts:

Website: https://www.arrivalartsinitiative.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577010220015

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arrival_arts_initiative/

This is Tim Quinn’s second time on StoryBeat. An author, editor, and manager, Tim was born and raised in Liverpool, England, the home of The Beatles.

He began his show business journey as a clown at Blackpool Tower Circus followed by working as a scriptwriter for various comedians of the period.

Comic books came next as Tim worked as a writer and editor for Britain's top periodicals followed by a long stint at Marvel Comics.

Alongside his comics work, Tim conducted interviews for newspapers and magazines with stars from the entertainment world followed by many years creating documentaries for London Weekend Television’s South Bank Show. During that time, he was also working as an editor for The Saturday Evening Post.

Tim and his wife, Jane, created the publishing company, Quill Publications, and a music business, Mighty Quinn Management.

Tim’s latest novel, Bigger than the Beatles, tells the story of a Liverpool boy who picked up a guitar in 1957 and went on to global success with his band, the Dream Daffodils. We follow his story across the years until his Final Death Tour in 2025. Many of Tim and Jane's real-life experiences in the music business are incorporated in the book.

I’ve read Bigger than the Beatles and can tell you it’s all that you’d expect from a Tim Quinn book: exceptional, incisive writing that’s filled with a huge helping of clever humor about the Liverpool music scene. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bigger than the Beatles, and highly recommend it to you. It’s the second book of Tim’s that I’ve had the pleasure to read; the other being The Jolly Bloodbath. Tim has also published his autobiography, Argh, which I encourage you to check out.

https://sites.google.com/view/mightyquinnmanagement/home

Teddie Dahlin was born in Norway and graduated from Business School in Gothenburg, Sweden with a degree in International Marketing and Economics. She has worked as a freelance music journalist for several magazines in the UK, most notably Vive le Rock, and she’s written 5 published books.

In 2012, after a bad experience with a UK publisher, Teddie established New Haven Publishing to put out her book, A Vicious Love Story: Remembering the Real Sid Vicious, which is her account of being the 16-year-old translator for the Sex Pistols during a leg of their 1977 Scandinavian Tour. It was New Haven’s first book.

A Vicious Love Story takes us through Teddie’s unique encounter with Sid Vicious and the Sex Pistols, including a fascinating cast of characters surrounding the band, such as Neon Leon, Eileen Polk, Peter Gravelle, Kenny Gordon, and Howie Pyro.

I’ve read A Vicious Love Story and can tell you I was thoroughly engrossed by Teddie’s description of what it was like for her at such a young age to be tossed into the middle of a fairly wild scene with such dynamic punk rockers, especially as she became quite close to Sid Vicious.

Since 2012, New Haven Publishing has grown substantially, now representing 200 authors with a catalogue of 250 books that are heavily anchored in the music and entertainment industry. New Haven also has several imprints: Phoenix Press Kids books, Viking Press Comics, Portland Press Novels, and in the United States, New Haven Publishing US.

For the record, Teddie and I have known one another for several years as I’ve had the privilege of interviewing numerous New Haven Publishing authors, including Tim Quinn, Jimmy Ryan, Jon Kremer, and the one and only Suzi Quatro.

https://www.newhavenpublishingltd.com/

New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning author, Wanda E. Brunstetter, is considered one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre. Wanda’s written more than 100 books, with over 12 million copies sold, and her work has been translated into 4 languages. Wanda’s stories consistently earn spots on the nation’s most prestigious bestseller lists.

Wanda’s ancestors were part of the Anabaptist faith, and her novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Her books are read and trusted by many Amish people, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding of the Amish and their customs.

Martha Bolton is a prolific author of 89 books, a nominee for an Emmy, Writers Guild Award, and Dove Award, and a co-author of three NY Times bestselling books. She was also Bob Hope’s first full-time female staff writer and wrote for his primetime TV specials as well as during 15 years of his personal appearances and special events, penning lines for a virtual Who’s Who in entertainment, sports, and politics. She also co-authored the award-winning Dear Bob...Bob Hope's Wartime Correspondence with the GIs of WW2.

Martha’s stage work includes writing the script for the musical “The Confession,” based on Beverly Lewis’ bestselling Confession trilogy. She also co-wrote “Half-Stitched” with director/composer Wally Nason, which is based on Wanda’s bestselling book The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club. Martha also wrote the shows Josiah for President and The Home Game for Blue Gate Musicals, both of which have accompanying novels written by Martha.

Wanda and Martha collaborated on their recently released book, The Rise and Fall of Miss Fanny’s Biscuits: A Cozy Amish Mystery, which I’ve had the pleasure to read and can tell you it’s an absolute gem of a mystery novel. If you like clever stories set in a world that I think most folks don’t know in detail, then I highly recommend Miss Fannie’s Biscuits to you. Of note, The Rise and Fall of Miss Fannie’s Biscuits has also been adapted into a stage musical.

Qin Sun Stubis is a newspaper columnist, poet, and author of the award-winning historical saga, Once Our Lives, the remarkable true story of four generations of Chinese women who struggled to survive war, revolution, and the eerie power of an ancient superstition that seemed to change their lives for nearly 100 years.

Born in the squalor of a Shanghai shantytown, Qin overcame poverty, starvation, and the political persecution of her family to win admission to a prestigious Chinese university and emigrate to the United States where she became a successful writer. With more than 200 published works, she strives to strengthen the bonds of understanding and humanity that connect us all.

Qin writes beautifully and movingly about her family and their struggles to endure extraordinarily difficult conditions. I highly urge you to check out Once Our Lives.

www.QinSunStubis.com