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In this final episode in the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Suzanne Mattaboni discusses her debut novel, ‘Once in a Lifetime’, and shares excerpts from the story.Set in 1984, where punk reig…

In this final episod…

In this final episode in the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Suzanne Mattaboni discusses her debut novel, ‘Once in a Lifetime’, and shares excerpts from the story.Set in 1984, where punk reigns and Andy Warhol rules, 20-year-old art student Jessica longs for a life beyond her reach. Dreaming of an avant-garde study program in London, she’s stuck waitressing and navigating drama with her boyfriend Drew, who wants to date others. Life takes a turn when she meets Whit, a magnetic guitarist, and dives into a post-punk scene full of quirky characters—cheating waiters, mystics, a milita…

We’re talking nonfiction in this bonus featurette crafted entirely by Season 4 Production Intern Major LeGoullon. Major shines a spotlight on Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan’s 2012 autobiogra…

We’re talking nonf…

We’re talking nonfiction in this bonus featurette crafted entirely by Season 4 Production Intern Major LeGoullon. Major shines a spotlight on Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan’s 2012 autobiography, ‘It’s So Easy: And Other Lies’, drawing connections to Rock is Lit Season 2, Episode 18. That earlier episode featured Melissa Ragsly discussing her short story collection, ‘We Know This Will All Disappear’, including the Guns N’ Roses-inspired story "Mannequin," which references their song “Rocket Queen.” The episode also included a deep dive into Guns N’ Roses, especially …

In this episode of the Rock is Lit Season Four Reading Series, Sarah Seltzer joins the podcast to discuss and read an excerpt from her USA Today bestselling novel, ‘The Singer Sisters’.Set in 1996…

In this episode of t…

In this episode of the Rock is Lit Season Four Reading Series, Sarah Seltzer joins the podcast to discuss and read an excerpt from her USA Today bestselling novel, ‘The Singer Sisters’.Set in 1996, the novel follows alt-rocker Emma Cantor as she navigates the highs and lows of a rising music career while grappling with the Legacy of her mother, Judie, a 1960s folk legend. Emma’s journey is marked by revelations about her family’s past, her complicated relationship with Judie, and the sacrifices women artists often make for success.Sarah shares the musical inspiration behind her book, r…

In this special episode of Rock is Lit, host Christy Alexander Hallberg hands the mic to teacher, podcaster, and DJ Andrew Smith, who interviews his friend Peter Werbe about Peter’s debut novel, ‘…

In this special epis…

In this special episode of Rock is Lit, host Christy Alexander Hallberg hands the mic to teacher, podcaster, and DJ Andrew Smith, who interviews his friend Peter Werbe about Peter’s debut novel, ‘Summer On Fire’. Peter also reads an excerpt from the book.Peter Werbe is a veteran of Detroit’s alternative and commercial media scene, as well as a political activist. A member of the editorial collective of ‘Fifth Estate’ magazine, his work appears in its online archive. His radio career spanned Detroit's major rock stations—WABX, WWWW, WRIF, and WCSX—where he hosted Nightcall, WRIF…

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Michael T. Fournier shares an excerpt from his debut novel, ‘Hidden Wheel’ (2011), and explores the musical influences behind the bo…

In this installment …

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Michael T. Fournier shares an excerpt from his debut novel, ‘Hidden Wheel’ (2011), and explores the musical influences behind the book, along with his experiences as a musician with the bands Dead Trend and Plaza.About ‘Hidden Wheel’: When an art scene takes root in a pop-up colony called Freedom Springs, micro-visionary Ben Wilfork promotes the giant, autobiographical 600 square foot canvases of former chess prodigy and high end dominatrix Rhonda Barrett using his Hidden Wheel as a bridge to the future before pre-Datastro…

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Eric Jay Sonnenschein discusses and reads from his novel ‘Rocked and Rolled’, a story set in New York’s ’70s and ’80s New Wave…

In this installment …

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Eric Jay Sonnenschein discusses and reads from his novel ‘Rocked and Rolled’, a story set in New York’s ’70s and ’80s New Wave scene that follows a young writer-turned-musician navigating the cutthroat music industry while balancing ambition with creative integrity.‘Rocked and Rolled’ conveys the perpetual human struggle to express, invent, and reinvent oneself amid scarce opportunities, annihilating competition and a recording industry that raises barriers at every turn to make artists fail.Eric Jay Sonnenschein is …

In the latest Season 4 episode of the Rock is Lit Reading Series, author Thomas Calder takes us into the heart of his poignant novel, ‘The Wind Under the Door’. Set against the vibrant backdrop of…

In the latest Season…

In the latest Season 4 episode of the Rock is Lit Reading Series, author Thomas Calder takes us into the heart of his poignant novel, ‘The Wind Under the Door’. Set against the vibrant backdrop of contemporary Asheville and the majestic North Carolina mountains, the story follows Ford Carson as he navigates love, family, and artistic reinvention. At forty, Ford has forged a new life as a visual artist in the mountains of North Carolina. A chance meeting with Grace Burnett leads to a burgeoning love affair. But the romance is complicated by Grace’s estranged husband and the unexpected arr…

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Sarah Tomlinson discusses the inspiration for and reads from her debut novel, ‘The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers’.‘The Last D…

In this installment …

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Sarah Tomlinson discusses the inspiration for and reads from her debut novel, ‘The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers’.‘The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers’ synopsis: Anke Berben is ready to tell all. A legendary model and style icon, she reveled in headline-grabbing romances with not one but three members of the hugely influential rock band the Midnight Ramblers. The band members were as famous for their backstage drama as for their music, and Anke is the only one who fully understands the tangled Relationships, betray…

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, O.F. Cieri reads an excerpt from her novel ‘Backmask’ and discusses the inspiration behind the story and the music that shaped it.In…

In this installment …

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, O.F. Cieri reads an excerpt from her novel ‘Backmask’ and discusses the inspiration behind the story and the music that shaped it.Inspired by pop music history and written in the style of ‘60s horror pulp, ‘Backmask’ is the fake history of a conspiracy theory surrounding the Satanic agenda to control children’s minds. Nicholas Hush, 1960s record producer, has a vision for the future of pop music. After a series of prophetic dreams, he wants to combine occult imagery with upcoming trends to create a new, groundbreaking …

In this episode, Philip Cohen joins the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series to share a few chapters of his novel ‘Conflict in the City’. Mixing and blending the genres of detective noir and music,…

In this episode, Phi…

In this episode, Philip Cohen joins the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series to share a few chapters of his novel ‘Conflict in the City’. Mixing and blending the genres of detective noir and music, ‘Conflict in the City’ takes place in greater Los Angeles, home to both classic and modern fictional LA detectives like Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe and Michael Connolly’s Harry Bosch, and music legends like the Doors, Van Halen, and The Mamas and The Papas.It’s in this world that we find Johnny “Whoops” Watson and Billy Bates, young guitarists/singers and their band, Conflic…

In this episode, Matthew Fiander joins the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series to discuss and read from his debut novel, ‘Ringing in Your Ears’. Set in a Boston suburb during the early ‘90s, the…

In this episode, Mat…

In this episode, Matthew Fiander joins the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series to discuss and read from his debut novel, ‘Ringing in Your Ears’. Set in a Boston suburb during the early ‘90s, the story follows Louise “Blue” Cleary as she navigates the emotional aftermath of her sister Christine’s mysterious death. Already struggling to fit in as a girl barred from playing baseball and an umpire facing hostility from local parents, Blue’s Grief sends her on a journey to uncover truths about her sister—and herself. With Christine’s cassette tapes as clues, Blue’s search reveal…

Congratulations to the winner of the first Bill Hallberg Rock ‘n’ Roll Short Story Contest in the general submissions category, Mark Baumgartner! Listen to Mark read his winning story, “Last Cha…

Congratulations to t…

Congratulations to the winner of the first Bill Hallberg Rock ‘n’ Roll Short Story Contest in the general submissions category, Mark Baumgartner! Listen to Mark read his winning story, “Last Chance for a Slow Dance,” in this episode.Mark D. Baumgartner’s fiction has been published in many literary journals, including ‘The Southern Review’, ‘Confrontation’, ‘Best of Ohio Anthology’, ‘Bellingham Review’, ‘Silk Road’, ‘Yemassee’, ‘Wisconsin Review’, ‘Phoebe’, and ‘Tampa Review’, among others. His story, “The Great Siwash Shoe War,” won the 201…

Congratulations to the winner of the first Bill Hallberg Rock ‘n’ Roll Short Story Contest in the undergraduate college student category, Senami Kugblenu! Listen to Senami read her winning story, …

Congratulations to t…

Congratulations to the winner of the first Bill Hallberg Rock ‘n’ Roll Short Story Contest in the undergraduate college student category, Senami Kugblenu! Listen to Senami read her winning story, “Goat and Pearls,” in this episode.Senami Kugblenu is a Nigerian-American writer, Johnston scholar, and Honors student at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is majoring in English & Comparative Literature and French and minoring in Information Systems. Her main interest is in fiction writing, but she has also explored copywriting as a copy staffer at ‘The Daily Tar Heel’, technical writing, and print an…

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Karen Green discusses and reads an excerpt from her novel, ‘Yellow Birds’.‘Yellow Birds’ synopsis: Set in a time just before the…

In this installment …

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Karen Green discusses and reads an excerpt from her novel, ‘Yellow Birds’.‘Yellow Birds’ synopsis: Set in a time just before the digital revolution, Kait is a young woman searching for identity and community. A group of outcasts called the Yellow Birds take her town to town on what they refer to as the Open Road Tour. One night, when Kait is feeling kinship with this group of Birds, a man sits beside her who alters her fragile plans for the foreseeable future. Filled with sex, drugs, music, and cults, readers won’t be ab…

In this episode of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Staci Layne Wilson reads her short story “I Don’t Wanna Go to Remus,” featured in the anthology ‘28’. The collection imagines an a…

In this episode of t…

In this episode of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Staci Layne Wilson reads her short story “I Don’t Wanna Go to Remus,” featured in the anthology ‘28’. The collection imagines an alternate reality where members of the infamous 27 Club, such as Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, and Amy Winehouse, live beyond their tragic ends. In Wilson’s story, Amy—a talented but troubled musician known for her refusal to seek help—faces a surreal twist. After a life of chaotic partying comes to an abrupt halt, Amy finds herself in an otherworldly rehab facility . . . on another planet. The …

In this episode of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Brendan Gillen reads from his debut novel, ‘Static’, and offers insight into the story’s themes, characters, and music. The novel foll…

In this episode of t…

In this episode of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Brendan Gillen reads from his debut novel, ‘Static’, and offers insight into the story’s themes, characters, and music. The novel follows Paul, a struggling musician in New York City who resorts to theft—of objects, opportunities, and even voices—just to survive and fuel his creative ambitions. As Paul battles heartbreak, band tensions, and family crises, he becomes desperate to hold his life together and make music that matters. ‘Static’ paints a vivid picture of a young artist navigating the challenges of modern life, …

In this episode of Rock is Lit, Stephen Shaiken delves into the inspiration behind his rock novel, ‘Queensborough Rock’, sharing how the music, culture, and grit of the late ‘60s and early ‘70…

In this episode of R…

In this episode of Rock is Lit, Stephen Shaiken delves into the inspiration behind his rock novel, ‘Queensborough Rock’, sharing how the music, culture, and grit of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s shaped the story. The bulk of the episode features a captivating reading from the novel, immersing listeners in a time when the music industry was as tough and unpredictable as the city itself.Stephen Shaiken was born and raised in New York City. He spent over three decades as a criminal defense lawyer in San Francisco. Before he became a lawyer, he earned an MA in Creative Writing from San Fran…

In this episode of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, host Christy Alexander Hallberg celebrates the third birthday of her novel, ‘Searching for Jimmy Page’. She delves into the evocative im…

In this episode of t…

In this episode of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, host Christy Alexander Hallberg celebrates the third birthday of her novel, ‘Searching for Jimmy Page’. She delves into the evocative imagery and central characters that drive the novel, while reflecting on the three previous Rock is Lit episodes centered on Led Zeppelin and ‘Searching for Jimmy Page’. Join Christy as she revisits the poignant journey of Luna Kane, an 18-year-old on a quest to uncover her deceased mother’s secrets.Set in the winter of 1988, ‘Searching for Jimmy Page’ follows Luna from her family’s farm…