Hi! I am
Carolyn Howard Johnson, your trusty New Book Review blogger and author of the
multi award-winning
HowTo Do It
Frugally Series of books for writers. This blog has heretofore been
exclusive for reviews but I thought I’d do a special series of interviews after
I chatted with Jeanie Loiacono, President of
Loiacono Literary
Agency – Where ‘can’t’ is not in our vocabulary! I
thought sharing the interviews would help the many subscribers and visitors to
this New Book Review blog, including authors, reviewers, and, of course, readers
who just might find a new favorite author among the featured books and
authors.
So, today
welcome Dr. Bob Blackwood.
Dr. Bob Blackwood earned a Ph.D. in English Literature from Loyola
University in 1972 with a dissertation on Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus.” He taught
English, Literature, Film Study and Photography at Wilbur Wright College in
Chicago until 2000, when he took an early retirement. For over forty years, he
has continued to review books on film criticism and film history for Choice, the magazine of the American Library
Association.
His nonfiction, From the Silent Era to “The
Sopranos”: Italian American Gangsters in Trend-Setting Films and Television
Shows (Publish America,
2006), contains critical commentary on the major Italian-American gangster films
and TV shows and biographical data on the actors from The Black Hand (1906) to The Sopranos (1999-2005). Early 1930s sound films
include Little
Caesar, Scarface; from the
1940s—Kiss of Death, Key Largo; from the
1950s—Guys and Dolls and Some Like It Hot; and from
the1960s—The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and The Brotherhood…among many
others. Special chapters were needed for Martin Scorsese’s films (Mean
Streets, Goodfellas, Casino) and Francis Ford
Coppola’s films (The Godfather trilogy, The Cotton Club). The
analysis includes seventy-seven contemporary films, such as: Thief, Prizzi’s Honor, Miller’s
Crossing,Married to the Mob, True Romance, Bugsy, Out for Justice, Bullets Over Broadway, Get Shorty, Gotti, Donnie Brasco, Analyze This, and A History of Violence.
Mentioned television shows include The Untouchables, Crime Story, Wise Guy and The Sopranos with an episode guide.
Since 1965, Blackwood has been writing film reviews for
various publications, such as The
Chicago Seed, Kosmozodiac, La Parola del Popolo, The Leader Newspapers, The Near North News from 1995-2002, and The Columbia River Reader (Oregon/Washington) from 2008-today. At
Wilbur Wright College, he created the Literature and Film course. In addition,
he has worked as a photojournalist and correspondent for Fra Noi (Chicagoland’s Italian American Voice) from
1989-2004. Blackwood served as President of the International Press Club of
Chicago for 2006 & 2007. He was also the editor of the College Union Voice, the newspaper of the Cook County College
Teachers Union, AFT Local 1600, and the union’s webmaster and head writer/editor
& photojournalist 2001-2012. In the last fifteen years, he has attended,
moderated and participated in panels on film and/or literature at various SF and
fantasy conventions throughout North America. Bob began reading the James Bond
novels in the 1950s and is a life-long devotee of Ian Fleming. He has also
co-authored two books with Dr. John Flynn: Everything I Know About Life I
Learned From James Bond and Future Prime: Top Ten Science Fiction
Films (Library
Tales Publishing, 2015).
1. What is your
genre? Is it fiction or nonfiction? Nonfiction
2. What made
you want to be a writer? I’ve worked as a reporter and public relations
person.
3. Of all the
authors out there, who inspired you most? Hemingway, Hunter S.
Thompson.
4. What is your
writing style? Do you outline? Linearly? By scene? Why? I
outline.
5. Do you write
every day? How much? How long? No.
6. Do you think
reading is as important to writing for an author? Why? You need inspiration
when your own fails you.
7. What are
some of the things you would like to share with budding authors? The need to
stay with a project.
8. Do you have
any marketing and promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to
share? Get a good agent; I’m lucky.
9. Do you think
conferences are beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which ones do you
frequent? They are an opportunity to strut your stuff.
MORE ABOUT THE SPONSORING AGENT
Jeanie Loiacono, President, Loiacono Literary
Agency
A facilitator of dreams, Jeanie Loiacono represents over eighty authors. Her
forte is mystery, romance, thrillers, historical/military/southern fiction, and
all quality fiction/nonfiction. Her passion is to see her authors
succeed.
“There is nothing more rewarding than to hold one of my author’s books and
know I helped bring it to fruition. I am so blessed and privileged to be able to
work with some of the most talented writers in the world.”
Jeanie.L@llallc.net www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
IF YOU WOULD
LIKE TO SEE MORE INTERVIEWS--TO FIND GREAT READING OR TO NETWORK WITH
AUTHORS--PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG. YOU ARE A WELCOME ADDITION TO THIS
FAMILY WHO LOVES BOOKS! YOU'LL FIND A WINDOW TO DO THIS AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG
PAGE.
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning
HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at
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