33026-Syndicated-RichardSpegal

0:00 The following is brought to you in part by MFC Studios. The views of the shows host and guests do not necessarily reflect those of the management, owners or staff of this radio station. And now it came from the radio. Yapper toy and welcome once again to It came from the radio, The official show The Vega of a Con.

0:43 This is your host, Mark Torres. Speaking with me via virtually distancing is none other than M Con's Kelly Gordon. Hello everyone, thank you for inviting me. On this week's show, we're going to be talking to with and about Kelly for the second time because he actually was a guest at our 102nd live show. I believe it was yes. Yes, definitely. So we're going to be talking more with Kelly and get deep dive into the MCON. But before we do any of that, we have to take it away at the news. The news is brought to you in part buddy. Fine folks at sci-fi dot radio that is sci-fi for your Wi-Fi. So also fine folks at the Big Apple Con which we are the official radio show of.

1:27 Celebrate over 26789 years of pop culture in this and comic book stuff. For more information go to www.bigapplecc.com. The next convention is scheduled all the way in November, the 21st of this year. Tickets are not on sale now. Also, I mention a shout out for all Patreons of which they are Danny Grillo, Water Wing Director Jared Burrell, Newsday famous media shadow rabbit art. Yeah, it's going to write the Huracan and Millie Portez. You want to have your own little shout out, go to our website www.akanefornail.com. There's a little button on tear takes you right to our Patreon page. Also on the IT came from the radio website is my book designated a book about two warring alien races fighting over a newly discovered power source. War finds this way to planet Earth and as a result, some humans gain abilities. Issue 1 is on sale right now and issue 2 in theory should be on sale next month.

2:12 Also on this week's show, in addition to us talking about to with and about Kelly, we also have element Danny Fell, the interview author Isabel Zinman and also Ailman Jenny Feldy interviews author Richard Spiegel. All right, so as normally we have a sad news, but we have no sad news because it's all about Kelly. So Kelly, we've known you for quite some time and you've been part of the of our show and a part of the Eastman Ohio library and part of the M Con for a number of years. So I guess the first question is how did you get started at the library and how did that form into the M Con? You said many years, yes. So I definitely have to say I'm definitely a veteran at this. It's like been 16 years.

2:53 This will be our 16th annual M Con at the East Meadow Public Library on Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and the 26th. Well, basically, I'm a huge fan of anime. I'm a huge fan of a lot of pop culture things, movies, TV's, the works. And it was given, it was skipped. This task was given to me by the higher ups at the library. They wanted to do an event back in 2011, and they asked me if I had any ideas of coordinating a New York Comic Con version for the library. And I just, I've been going to places like New York Comic Con and other conventions of things of that nature. I figured, yeah, why not? I could definitely do so. I'm very heavily in the artist community, me being an artist myself. So I figured, yeah, I'll take on the task. And basically I found a few artists in my in my circle and found a few talents, did one day event and then basically scheduled panels and then ended off with a cosplay contest and it went, it went so well.

3:53 That was very successful. We had a good amount of people to our target audience that enjoyed the event. We decided to do it this annually and not only just not do the one day, we actually double up and double down. I should say really and do a 2 day event, which I could only say I have to boast about is that we're the only library event convention on Nassau and Suffolk County actually do a 2 day event. Full day panels, workshops, artist alley, professional performances, cosplay, the works. And the best part about it? It is free. That's right, free convention, which is an awesome thing and it's a real it. And what I think about one of the things of the M Con is that it can rival a media to a small convention that you pay for.

4:36 So that's really a pat on the back for you, if you think about it. Thank you, Mark. I appreciate that. Yeah, I figured, you know, like bringing something to a Pacific target audience that enjoys anime and pop culture. I figured it would be a great thing for the, you know, for the library to do is being the central hub for education and community is to bring in something where that you don't have to go all the way down to the city for and spend money on transportation and also entries to a big con. You can get a taste of that right in your hometown. This is actually a blessing for everybody. They want to come down and enjoy themselves and just or for those who are curious of how conventions are like me, special artists and people, whatnot, that's their among their peers and be able to network with authors and other artists. This is a greater event to go to and actually come in as a newbie or someone who's just really enjoy these kind of events. So I if that is the best of both worlds on that tape. One of the things I find most interesting because we've been doing this show for we just celebrated our 24th anniversary this year and we've had a lot.

5:41 Of. Regulations. Thank you. Thank you. We've had a lot of convention organizers on this show and either they had the idea, the inspiration that they want to do it, that they feel that there's money in it, that there's whatever reason. But you, my friend, are the only person who was told to make a convention. Do you find that because you were told to do it, it made it easier or made it harder to make it happen? You know, if you had told me this like 20 years ago that I'll be like conducting and running a convention, I probably wouldn't believe it. I mean, I probably can't just leave a little bit of it. Back in the days, I was actually part of the event crew where we used to do like small events, you know, block parties and DJ music events and, and booze cruises, you know, before I actually work at the library.

6:27 So it's a it's funny how something like this actually falls on my lap where it's still, you know, for me to exceed my, my something like this. I have to say that conducting this, it's it's not always easy. It's easier now since I got the mechanics down packed. Now it's been passed, like I said, this our 16 year, but it is challenging on the part. It's like they keep trying to keep it fresh and new for for our followers and people who dedicate themselves coming into this event every year and keeping them among us to say at least that, you know, we know they can stay with us and then come in and inspect something, think different and new. Also give them those oohs and ahs at the moment, you know, when it comes down to it.

7:11 So I'm trying, you know, so that's mostly the challenging part is to keep in the audience and basically keeping them in the the atmosphere of M Con at the East Middle Public Library. One of the other things is that is at a working library and the library does not shut down. I mean many of times people. Just walk. In getting a book and then like what's going on, that's another thing. Now, how do you manage to have that balance between actually having a con and still keeping the library operational during that time? Well, I have to say, I mean, I can't do it all by myself here. I got a great team on my hands, power regulations and the administration, the staff and everyone else. I mean, they're all on board of what we do here. I remember back in, it's just a short little story real quick and I'll keep it quick.

7:54 I remember back in like say 2012 when we second started, we used to have this Tai Chi master before our revision. We used to do all performances right in the lobby of the library, right in front of the check in and check out books, desk, front desk. He will be right there surrounded by our audience and he would do something called the drunken sword dance and how that work. If you ever seen those comfortable place where you know they doing like a drunken Kung Fu style, instead of that, add a sword into it and this guy will be flipping around, bouncing, walking wobbly with a sword, flipping around, doing all this kind of craziness just in front of a live audience.

8:34 And also while you're checking in your book, I will see people hurting their heads like what is that? And that part get them intrigued to say, OK, special event at the library. I get it. Maybe I should look more into it. I mean, yeah. But again, just answer question is basically, you know, it's a whole whole team effort, you know, trying to keep the library functioning as is why we're having this great event going on at once. You know what not I can't take all to take on to that. Everybody just on board. We have meetings, planned meetings at different departments and then we all trying to get it together and make sure everything is straight. And we also got a great team Advisory Board that actually part of a, a group that in our YA section that, you know, they bought help volunteer.

9:18 It's all together. It's a one team, one goal. What about the people who just want to use a library in a quiet space? I mean, having a conventional library seems to be two polar opposites because like library generally, generally speaking is a very quiet, mundane, calm place. Old school, Mark, that is old school. No, no, no, we're not. You know, we're not the same 1950s beehive hairstyle, glasses wearing, librarians going SH Why you know, there. I mean, this is a library has a whole new skin right now in the game, you know, right now. I mean, we're offer like Tai chi, meditation, easy exercise programs, you know, lectures, programs, the works. I mean, basically we're you know, we're not just like a library, not just books.

10:01 You know, we're basically a Community Center now basically, you know, yeah, out there to help out the community. And basically, you know, it's a whole new ball game when it comes to. We're not the old school library where you have to be quiet. Yeah, there's a few people that come in and want to say we do have study rooms. They're more than happy to go into there during the event, you know, they can study whatnot. But when all this craziness is happening with the cosplay and artists and music and performances, why you want to study? How about you play hooky for a little bit and hang out with us and then enjoy the the the cosplay smell? Another thing about the convention being that it's free and being as I mentioned earlier, it is on par with a small medium sized convention. Do you find that because there is an abundance of conventions and events and shows on Long Island that is it a competition or is it like a complimentary to it? How do you feel about that?

10:57 I will say this, I, I'm not going to say I was the birth of Long Island conventions when it comes to the library, things of that nature, but I will say that I find that I'm very inspirational into the game when it comes to like spreading love out of this Grand Tour of basically of anime pop culture events. When it comes to it, I look at it as a more of a flattering deal. I mean, I have people coming to me all over. I mean, I'm talking about from like, you know, from from New York to the Long Island and Suffolk County. They come through and they check out the event. They hear about the event, they curious about starting their own library convention and whatnot. And it's, you know, not only that, you know, it's firing to me, but also it helps out more of the community by, you know, networking with the artists and authors and people who does performances locally here to be able to spread out and to new venues and whatnot.

11:51 You know, it's pretty much, you know, everybody's getting a little piece of the pie. And when it comes down to it, everybody get to enjoy and also expand on to that. I don't have no things against that. I actually find that's actually a good thing, especially just spreading the love for everyone that comes to the Eastman Library for M Con. Speaking of which, now, right now I'm going to be doing a library panel with a few other librarians who actually had done library great conventions like I have. And we're going to be doing a program for nationwide library intake and Intel to basically how to start your own library con sometime in May. I'm very honored that they they asked me to join. So we're going to, we're going to be educating other libraries, not just as us, but everyone on the nation that basically how to start their own library con and also bringing people into the doors. And so basically, not only is this going to be local, this is going to be straight down all across the country when it comes down to it.

12:48 So it's just going to keep growing. So is this going to be an in person event? Is this going to be a virtual thing? Can people? It's going to be a virtual thing. It's only, just, just for only librarians only. It's going to be a virtual thing on Zoom only. It's going to be me and I believe three or four other librarians that's been in the game. And shout out to Marissa Lieberman. She's also, I'll say, one of the granddaddy's masters of it all, because she also started way before me, like a year before me on Tasha Khan in the Rockville Center library. Now she's in New Jersey and I got to witness that through her or how this kind of event can actually work out. So, you know, so she's gonna be with me on the panel And and three, I think two or three other librarians that that's been new in the game, but they're gonna help out and, you know, to discuss how to start your own event. Well, that's really great.

13:36 Hopefully that will turn into a thing. And I guess my final question is, what is the end goal for the library? You're going to have like a a jet plane flying over. You're going to have like balloons outside the library. What is the end for the M Con? Because it's your stagnant place. You can't expand beyond the building or or are you? What's the plan? I, I always say that we at Eastmont Library, we offer a safe space area for everyone to come in and enjoy. It's family based. You know, it's it's it's nothing where you know, it's just only for certain amount of like adults or age group. Anything like that is for everybody. We're not going to be spanning out on the streets. We're not going to be dancing in the streets like this is fame.

14:16 All right, So we everything's going to be inside cooped up into the building. Long as everybody smiles and enjoy themselves and no one gets hurt. That is the end game goal of it all, you know, and then to have people even to follow our old followers and then gaining some new followers. We can still grow, make growth from it all and expand on to the intake. And during this free event, things went, you know, after the pandemic, our numbers kind of dwindled down a little bit since we reopened the library. We started M kind of believe sometime in 2021-2022. So our numbers kind of dropped down back in our peak years between 2016 and 2018, we used to bring in fourty 800 people within the whole 2 day event.

14:59 Now things kind of like we're down a little bit, but we're hoping that, you know, once people get more here at that where, you know, this is happening, this is still going on and this is the event that the library offers. We're hoping to, you know, get our numbers up and yet allow more people to come in to enjoy such an event like this. All right, so that's my end game. All right, so final bit. What day is it? What time is it? Where can I find out more information? All right, So basically it's going to be Saturday, Sunday, April 25th and the 26th. Saturday hours is from 10:00 to 4:30. Sunday hours is from 1:00 to 4:30. You could fall. You always go to our our website at the East Miller Library at WWW dot emeadow.info again, www.eastmeadow.info, go to event calendar, go straight to the date. We have the schedules up and everything. I just saw a few programs you can register for so you can you can keep your spot safe and open for yourself. And if you want more information too, you can also follow us on our Facebook page.

16:00 EMPL&M con anime fest, again, EMPLM con anime fest. That's E as in Edward, excuse me, E as in East MSN Meadow. So you can get, you know, you can go there or just type in M Con Anime Fest on Facebook and you should be able to find us. All right, so we're almost out of time. So everybody make sure you go go check out the M con. We've been promoting it for a long time. It's a really good convention. And the fact that it's free isn't even like the little cherry on top, because even if I would say even if this was a paid convention, it's a pretty darn good convention to go to. But the fact that it's free makes it should be your number one priority to go there. Support these Middle Public Library portal of artists that are there, and I will be there as well.

16:44 In theory, my book should be there and I will be hosting a panel there as well. All right, so with that, we're going to take a break and we'll be right back with more. It came from the radio. Hi, you've heard my voice. Open and close the show. Now we want to hear your voice. If you have a business or product, you can record a commercial here. We offer 30 and 60 seconds spots. For more information contact Mark at mfc_studios@hotmail.com cosplayers. Exhibitors and celebrities. Oh my standby. Connecticut Dragon's Rum Comic Con is coming March 21st, 22nd at the Danbury Sports Dome located at 25 Shelter Rock Lane.

17:24 It will be Danbury's only premier comic convention. This event is your one stop shop for everything pop culture, featuring celebrity meet and greets, exhibitors selling the coolest products, various discussion panels, a gaming area and of course cosplay contests. Tickets will be sold at the door or get them onlineviaticketspice.com Link for tickets are on our. Facebook and Instagram pages. Visit drcomiccon.com for more. Hi guys, this is Xenia Seberg who plays Zev on the show. Lex and you're. Listening to it came from the radio. BKG Productions, LLC, your ultimate audio transformation partner. That audio that needs a magic touch. I am here to elevate your content. Specializing in professional audio editing, I can clean up background noise, plosives and pesky S sounds. Some podcasts to songs.

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19:06 Step into the fantastic world of cool kids, comics and toys at 2055 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow, NY Discover Comic Con exclusives, the latest Funko Pops, and a treasure trove of new and vintage toys and comics. Whether you're a collector or a first time visitor, we got something to spark your imagination over here. Visit cool kids comics and toys today. Which event should begin? Huh. Hi, I'm Elena Watko. I play Hyrel on Star Trek Discovery. And you're listening to It Came from the Radio. Comic Books for Kids is the largest charity in the US for comic books, toys, and pop culture items to children in hospitals and cancer centers. Donations of toys, books, action figures, phone call pops, or anything pop culture related can be made to this organization. Find them at cb4k.org.

20:06 Hi, this is Amy Jo Johnson, writer, director from the film The Space Between and You're listening to It came from the radio. This is Carrie Seller from In the Girls Corner and you're listening to It Came From the Radio. Now back to our show you're listening to. It came from the radio. Today we have Isabel Zinman. She's a published writer and a retired librarian. Welcome to the show, Isabel. Thank you for having me. Now, let's get right into it. Now, you worked at a Public Library for, I don't know, decades, right? Like there like like 3 decades over. Years. And you taught kids of all ages, so what's one thing that you learned from your students? That they love to be listened to and they love it when you and joke.

20:58 When you joke. You might be as you can. You can relay the message and give instructions, but as long as you have a sense of humor about it, the more loving you are, the more receptive they are. You know what, that's a really good tip because sometimes I manage this real estate place. And the last time I was there, I did not answer anything with jokes or humor or smile or anything playful, which I often do. I was like, wow, everyone's like responding with an attitude today. I feel like, I feel like everyone was kind of like bitter. So I'm going to keep that in my head, be a little bit more smiley, maybe joke around a little bit more and don't be so serious, you know, 'cause they, they come to me with a very serious demeanor and usually I joke back.

21:46 But you know, sometimes I'm not in the mood. And when I'm not in the mood, then it becomes this serious reaction. All right, next question. What's a funny thing a kid said to you? Well, it was in kindergarten Garden. It was a kindergarten class and I was teaching about the seasons and a kid piped up, Oh, I know all about that. That has to do with Mother Nature and I, they're right. And then another kid said, oh, I know who Mother Nature is. That's God's wife. Well, the next thing I know, I get a call from a mother telling me that I am teaching religion in a secular school. Figure that out.

22:29 Until I realized that the kids were the ones who were talking about it. So when as soon as I explained it to the mother, she was OK with it. I think that was one of the things that brings my attention, you know, that I think about. Well, one thing I think about often, and I refer to it because you told me the story at least once that you were in the hallway, I think, talking to the school principal and a kid came up to you and said, Miss Zigman, are you having a bad hair day? OK. So let me explain how that happened. I was talking to my principal about something very seriously. And this little boy came by and tugging at my pants.

23:12 And we told this little kid that he has to wait. So finally the principal said to him, OK, So what is it that you want to say that's so important? He said, Miss. And he had a lisp. So he said, Miss Zinman, you're having a bad hair day today, aren't you? And one day that I decided not to, to wash my hair and just let it go naturally because I had. And he thought, and it was so important. That. Interrupt the conversation to let me know never to wear my hair like that again. Well, well, The thing is this hairstyle, if you're watching this, this is, this is not very deep, but it's funny to me. The hairstyle you have now is very smooth. But this happened like 10-15 years ago. And I remember you said to me, oh, I came up with this hairstyle to do my hair anymore.

24:05 It just takes 5 minutes or a couple minutes. I just put mousse in it and I scrunch it and I go, and I said, yeah, it looks like you put your finger in an electric socket. You kept saying how great it was. And I'm like, all right, you know how to look electrocuted. So now you got you got your answer because kids will tell you the honest truth. And he? Was only six years. Old Well, Speaking of honesty, I know you have a story about not hanging up the phone because nowadays, you know, everything is through phones and cell phones, You know, if you don't use landlines. So a lot of people me when I take calls in the shower because I take calls in the shower to save time. And it works well. It's better for listening than talking. But you know, if you put your phone in a safe place, it's a really great way to save time if you guys shout a lot and you don't really hang up your phone a lot. So, you know, tell us about.

24:52 This situation that happened with someone who didn't hang up the phone. This is a great story and I'll try to make it very short. I was very friendly with this person for a long time. She and I would go out every Friday night with for dinner and then I don't know, COVID came and we just lost community vacation. I bumped into her at a store and we had a wonderful conversation. I had my dog with me. She loved my dog. So the next day I decided to call her up and just let her know how nice it was to bump into her. When I called her she was on the phone with somebody else.

25:33 For some reason she didn't hear me but I could hear her and all I heard was Oh my God here she is calling me now what do I do? Oh I don't want to ever see her again She looks terrible her she wears her hair the same way she always did. Oh my God what am I going to do? She went on and out on how miserable she felt about me. I have no idea what I did, so I kept trying to tell her that I could hear everything she. Said but she attacked me. You were texting right?

26:13 Or you were on the phone saying it. Finally I. Decided to text her and while she was on the phone with this other person I heard her say she's texting me right now. There she is now what am I going to do? And my text to her was, I heard everything you said, don't worry, you won't have to hear from me again. I don't know what I did to you, but I'm whatever I did. I'm very sorry. And I will never ask that for dinner again or whatever. That was the strangest thing I've ever experienced. Yeah, you better make sure you're hanging up the other line before you're talking about someone. You know, that's the lesson in that she even just don't talk.

26:54 I don't know. I don't even think she knew that I was on the other line. I don't know it was. So did. You borrow anything from this situation. Any takeaways? Haven't learned one thing. All I know is just hang up your phone. All I know is that people are very, very sensitive and think anything that you say that you don't even mean can can drive them up the wall. That's it. I don't know. Well, Speaking of pharma, do you believe in karma? And if so, any stories about karma? Any witnesses? You know someone getting karma, for better or for worse. I can't tell you the whole story, but I can tell you that I truly believe that the truth always comes out, that you always get caught.

27:40 You will not ever get away with anything. I truly believe that it it you will be found out. Nothing cannot get away with anything because I believe that the universe watches you and then for some reason tells other people and just tell the truth, be honest and always do the right thing and then that's it. And, and predictions, any, you know, Speaking of this psychic stuff, have you ever like met someone? You're like, oh, this is going to happen and then it happens. My dream sometimes comes true. I'm very spiritual and I just truly believe that the universe, if, if you're in, if you're in contact with the universe, it will take care of you. But always give thanks.

28:33 Always, always show appreciation. Always understand that there's something more powerful than you. What if you had a friend that never said thank you? Would you still be friends with this person? I've never had a friend who never said thank you, so I have no experience in that. I I have, I actually caught them. Yeah, no. I most of my friends, I've never had anybody. The people that haven't shown appreciation are not my friends. Let's put it down. If they don't show appreciation for who I am, they're not worth having as friends. That's true. All right. Next, Speaking of appreciation and attitude, do you believe in having a positive attitude and not complaining? You even went through chemo during the pandemic and I didn't catch you complaining at all.

29:21 I definitely would have been complaining for sure. So what are some things that you know people can do or or you did to have a positive attitude and not complain? Well, I used the time very wisely. I brought my computer with me. I was still teaching at the time, remote, and I had to do lesson plans, grade papers. So I used all that time in my chair doing my school work, whereas I would watch other people doing absolutely nothing, Right? Right. Not kidding. Nothing. And it was during COVID, so you really couldn't have a visitor with you. So the people sat there for four hours doing nothing, maybe sleeping, looking at their watches. I mean, what a waste of time.

30:15 So I, and I think I was the only patient there, that when they told me that my time was up and they had to take the IV out of me, I was the only one that stayed maybe 10 minutes longer because I still had to want to finish my work. Because when I got home I wanted to just veg, knit, do whatever I wanted to do. I didn't want to do any school work. So I got everything accomplished. So what are some other ways people can have a good attitude if they just feel like they lost all hope? Let's say they had a breakup, you know, that's getting you down and they're not appreciated. And maybe they got in a car accident and, you know, maybe their insurance rates went up.

30:58 You know, everything just seems like it's raining on them. But let's say you get a car accident and you're in the hospital makes with the nurses. Make friends and understand the caring that these people have for you and appreciate it. I keep a journal and at the end of every day I give thanks for something and always look forward to something the next day. Even if it's a 10 minute or a 15 minute thing to look forward to, find something in the day that's going to bring you joy and happiness. Penis. Yeah, that's.

31:39 Always something OK, I have a random question for you because this is a personal question. Let's say you cast an actor or an actress and they do this theater yelling, which I, I don't do. I, I mean, you've known me for quite a while and I don't think you've ever heard me go, well, I'm going to do this. But that's, that's how some theater actors, they say they're lying. Let's say the line is what do you think happens after you die? They go, well, what do you think happens after you die? And let's say you cast them and they're doing this whole theater actor BS, which I can't stand. How would you nicely tell them? Can you lower your voice and not yell all your lines?

32:20 Can you play it back to them to show them what it's like? I think they like this style. But they have to listen They. Like this style, but how, how would you say it? How would you tell them to stop screaming and everything? Because you have more tact than I do. I think I mean, not all the time, but sometimes I'm very direct and I would want to hear it directly. I. Was a director of a movie. Yeah, what would you do and. I didn't like the way they said the line. Yeah. I would I would then say to them, I am the director. I think that this can be done a different way. Let's try it differently. Soften your voice and let's see what it sounds like in a different tone.

33:06 You're a sister. You can do this. You can do this Many, many ways. Let's try it. Bye way. All right. What would you do? Last question. What would you do if I decided to scream everything I said every time I saw you? Wow. Hello there. Isn't it a beautiful day? My my mother was like that sometimes and I would just stop. I would just. Stop. I wouldn't say a word nothing. I brought away nothing and I would just I would just pause and then say it my way or not respond if it I you know, just this is this is their.

33:52 Problem We're at the end of the interview, so just give us your final thought before we close out. Oh, I just think that people can change attitudes very easily if they have strategies. Find something good in everyday, find something to look forward to and learn something new. When you meet a challenge, it's the most rewarding experience. Keep your keep your brain active and don't say no. Say yes more often and smoke. You know what I look forward to at the end of the day? Eating peanut butter. But I need to find something else before I gain another 10 lbs. On that note, we're going to go back to the studio for more. It came from the radio.

34:37 Thank you for listening. Hey everybody, this is Todd McFarlane of the record setting Spawn comic series. And if you're looking for any kind of cool conversation about creators, about entertainment, about all that good stuff, you go to It Came from the Radio. You're listening to the right spot. Now back to our show, listening to what came from the radio. This is Jennifer Lee Spellman. I'm here with Richard Spiegel. He's a writer, he's a storyteller. He's a disabled veteran. So I'm just going to read from his website because he's done a lot of things. His website looks stunning, by the way, and the stories that he weaves and created look very, very interesting. So now he's weaved together magic, mystery, and the darker shades of imagination.

35:20 His world, such as those in Eternal Nights and the Wolves and Ravens Trilogy, challenge what we believe, force hard decisions, and explore how much of truth can survive in shadows. Richard served as an officer in the Pennsylvania National Guard and has a long history with the 82nd Airborne Division. Have no idea what that is. Choosing to build a family, he left active combat service and now balance his life with a life. Four daughters. Oh my God, it's a lot of women and his writing. His entry into writing started from his simple frustration. He saw adult readers being underserved and paranormal and fantasy genres, vampires, magic, supernatural beings, but more often in formats that relied on youth driven tropes.

36:06 Agreed. So he set out to write the books that he wanted to read. Yeah. If you you want something. I wanted a diet plan years ago. I created it myself. I wanted a workout plan. I created it myself and then I taught it. You got to create it yourself. If you want it done right, you know, no one else can control your life but yourself. So he wrote books that he wanted to read, ones with dark corners, moral risk, real emotions and stories that don't sugarcoat the consequences. I like that 'cause I really don't like to sugarcoat anything. Some people don't like that. And when he's not penning a new chapter or plotting the next twist, Richard Spiegel draws strength from the ordinary moments. Family dinners, quiet nights, research into myth and folklore. Each fragment of life becomes an echo in his stories.

36:48 He believes that every hidden truth and every choice and every transformation matters and that fiction has the power to ask what we dare not to say out loud, which I like to say the things that people don't want to say out loud. It's it's very comforting to me. That's that's my comfort zone. Uncomfortable. So Richard Spiegel, welcome to the came from the radio. Well. You know, thank you for having me. It's a nice. Thank. You so? OK, so vampires. First question, I've been asked a few times. If I am a vampire, in all seriousness, and there are people who believe in vampires, do you believe that vampires once existed or they do exist? No.

37:33 I believe there's a lot of things out there that we might not understand, but to me it remains firmly in the fantasy world. OK, how about magic? I guess you know same answer. Same answer. Very very non committal one way or the other. And supernatural beings. Do you think that there are beings other than you and me, seemingly human beings, out there? Yeah, I, I feel, as I said, I feel very strongly that there are a lot of things out there we don't understand and a big part of life is maybe trying to accept some of that. Yeah, I mean, some people would say that women, women can't be understood. And you have a wife and four daughters.

38:13 So there's a that's a lot of supernatural mystery right there. You know, women can't figure them out. You know, I can figure them out, you know, just fine. But I don't know. I think more like a man. So a lot of times I'm like, what the heck is going on here, You know? Anyway, so now your website looks phenomenal. And Full disclosure, I have not read your books yet, but this is a lot of work. Everything looks really great and well designed. Why do you do all this? This is a lot of work. Well, I've been writing off and on since high school, primarily for the reasons that were in that you mentioned and that I ran out of stuff to read that I wanted to read. So I started writing my own things. I was always just kind of like a hobby because at the end of the day, you got to put food on the table and you got to work jobs and things like that.

38:59 And then a couple of years ago, when my unit was deployed to Egypt back in 2022, I knew I'd have a bunch of time on my hands. Any time you're separated from your family, you end up with a lot more free time. So I decided, you know, let me give it a try. Let me let me see how this whole publishing thing works out. And since then, I've been writing like crazy. I haven't really been able to put the genie back in the bottle, so to speak, and it's kind of like consumed my entire life just about. Yeah, I mean, I find that some of the best artists I've worked with are a little obsessive or a lot of obsessive. And that's when those are the people who make the best music, the best movies, the best modeling, the best everything. They're just, they think about it. They wake up at 3:00 in the morning. Now, on this phone, I have Microsoft OneDrive. I write notes sometimes 300 times a day. I'm opening this file and adding two different notes. What do you do for notes on the go? Like if you're at the grocery store and you get an idea, what do you do?

39:55 It's just all in my head basically. There's just like I spend more time probably living in these fantasy worlds than I do in the real world. It can be very disorienting actually, and partially one of the reasons I was medically discharged in the 1st place, because I'm crazy. So it's all, I mean it's all kind of in there. And the most confusing part for me is to pay attention to the book that people are talking about, because the stuff in my head is stuff that a person's not going to read for maybe another five years because of how far down I've been writing. And then the publisher only likes to put things out like every nine months or something like that. And then somebody wants to talk about something that they just picked up and read.

40:37 Not to remind myself. What was that book about again? Like where in the timeline did that story fit in? And I end up talking to people and they get confused because I'm talking about something that doesn't exist yet, not realizing, you know, oops, I'm having the wrong conversation with this person. Right, right, right. Right. OK, That's you being crazy. What's that all about? So you're you had to leave the National Guard because you're crazy? Wait. What? Well, I'm not supposed to. They frown on you saying it like that. But yes, I wasn't happy about it in the very beginning, but I had already done my 20 years and I decided, you know, I got my 20, what they call a 20 year letter.

41:20 So I decided, you know, I'm not going to fight these doctors. And they're right. And leaving meant that I could spend more time, to put it bluntly, embracing the craziness and going with it. There's actually, if you do research, there's a lot of manics out there in the creative field field that intentionally do not take their medication because it stifles their creativity. They just, they embrace the crazy because it allows them to create things that other people can. That's interesting. You know, this happens to me a lot, you know, and that's a supernatural woo woo thing. But right before I interview someone and I used to do health counseling. So I used to have individual health clients come to me when I would basically do therapy or I'd help them with their diet. But right before they would come, the week before or days before, I would be thinking about things that they had problems with or things.

42:10 And right before we started, one of my main thoughts was about mania and how a future guest who even has a song called, I think it's called my manic episode. I feel like that mania and that intensity is why she's such a good musical creator. And having a bit of mania, I feel like it's kind of necessary at times to create anything really exciting. Like you have to have that excitement in you. And if you want to call it mania or manic or diagnosis in the DSM 4, whatever. But I think a little bit of that. And one more thing is I have wheat grass outside my door. And I said this in the last interview, but if you take wheat grass and you're on Mao is people still are prescribed that nowadays you actually can go into a full on manic episode just from a little bit of wheat grass. That's how powerful it is.

42:57 And I've actually been off wheat grass for a few months and I can feel I'm lower, but I like that wheat grass extra kick where people are like they think I'm on something illegal. It's like, no man, it's wheat grass, it's coffee, it's green tea. So how do you manage that very important and I think crucial mania that is necessary to create? Well, years ago most of what I dealt with was hypomania. So I I this is long before me understanding it, but I had very productive oriented jobs. Like I was a delivery driver. So I got paid based on the amount of work I did. And that's a perfect job for a Mac. All I knew is that I made the most money. It didn't occur to me that's because I'm nuts. And then it was later on when things got a lot worse that I got my diagnosis and things like that. And then when you have like a full automatic episode, that's when you're getting into where you can't control it anymore. It's beyond hypomania.

43:54 It's into. And this is where, like people, bipolar disorder, end up getting themselves into serious trouble because they have to feed their mania and it can last for days and days. I'm fortunate. On the one hand, I'm a very severe case, but on the other hand, I'm very fortunate in that my mania has always been focused on my writing. So my 90% of the time, my worst case is maybe typing for five days with no food or sleep rather than some Mannix. Well, maybe they might go out on a on a shopping spree and spend like $20,000 or destruction of property or I, I have been fortunate enough to not have to experience those kind of more negative impulses.

44:35 Yeah, I mean, maybe you were meant to have this because, you know, it looks like it's really worked out well for you, at least according to the website. And this is a beautiful website. This is one of the nicest looking websites I've ever seen. I think it looks fantastic. And the video trailers for the books. All the knowledge in the very In 2022 I tried to make my own website on WordPress and I was very proud of it. But compared to what the publisher did, my website the publisher made. I love the video trailers for each book. I love how they put all the behind the scenes stuff in there. I, I love the look of everything and I love not having to do it myself. I just give them information and they, they won't really even let me have control because they basically told me I'll just screw it up. They were very polite.

45:20 They were very polite about it. They're like, if you insist, we'll give you administrative access over your own blog. But please don't. But, but please don't do it. Just like, all right, I'll leave it to the professor. See, that would never work for me. I'm such a control freak and I like to control every single aspect of almost everything I do. But if I work on other people's movies, you know, I do makeup artistry and I'll, I'll work as a producer. I'm hosting this show. So the way I host the show is much different. If, if I was the main producer of the show, I would do things, it wouldn't be radio friendly. I'll just tell you that right now, it would not be real friendly. So this is me trying to fit into the FCC regulations and it is really freaking hard. It is so difficult for me. So anyway, no, your, your, your description of your stories mentions feeling deeply.

46:08 That part of the human existence is feeling deeply. I, I'd say most days I insert a bit of escapism. I, I like to feel my feelings and feel deeply nowadays, but I like to escape. See that TV behind me. I like what I do called like Netflix and stuff my face, you know, the end of almost every single day. That's just how I end the day. I put on Netflix, put on candlelight. It's beautiful. I totally just escape. Are there ways that you escape other than in writing? Or do you just feel all the feelings? Not much anymore. I used to be big on reading and and I was a gamer mainly for those exact reasons, just to spend time in a different world for a while. But it got to the point to where I crossed the line into my own writing that it doesn't work anymore. I don't remember the last book I actually read because I can't seem to read anymore.

47:03 Every time I read, I'm not enjoying it. I'm too critical of the story. I'm unable to read with enjoyment, and I keep getting sucked back into my own writing. And I said these worlds, and I know these characters better than I know my children. I'm emotionally attached to all of them, and so the world's I create are completely immersive because every corner of them is covered minus a little bit of emptiness I leave for the person's imagination to fill in intentionally. But I I cover all of the aspects that most people either don't know how or they're afraid to, which is again why I think they're geared more towards an adult audience. Yeah, I mean, I like that better because you don't have to do the hand holding and the sugar coating and all the BS that comes with, you know, children stuff. You know, no offense, I love other people's children, but I just wanted, I want the real deal. And that's, you know, listen, I grew up watching rated R movies when I was like 2 years old about vampires and stuff. And, you know, whether that was good or bad, whatever. But my, my dad at least didn't sugar coat stuff. You know, you work for the CDC told me some real stuff that was going on in the world, you know, from a little kid That's all coming out right now.

48:12 You know #Epstein files, whatever, you know, hashtag Chad Pandemic. So, OK, vampires love vampires. I love the look of them. I still love watching them. I think of Blade probably at least once a week. I'm a big fan of Blade and the sexiness of vampires. They're smarter than you, like Tyler Durden. They look how you want to look. They ask how you want to, you know, they, they move how you want to move. They're fast, except in one movie The guy's not that fast. I'm a big fan of the movie Night for Day, but Russ Camarda does not play your traditional fast this crazy vampire. He's kind of like sweet. So now, if you were going to cast people to play male and female vampires, who would you cast to play these vampires? I do not know enough about who's out there in these modern times. I don't have a clue.

49:01 I'm very weak when it comes to visual media when when adding stuff like that. I've been told my books are very cinematic because for me, the movie comes first in my head and I just write down the stuff that I see. So the books themselves, they're very cinematic, but I don't put that kind of detailed thought like, oh, you know, who do I know that would play this character or that character? Mostly because I'm not really familiar with that kind of thing. Respect. You know what this whole exception with the celebrity culture? It's for the birds. I knew you're going to say that, too. I I knew it. I was, I was like, I bet you he's like, I don't care. Like, I just care about my books. Like, I don't. I don't care about some stupid actress. All right, I'm just going to what about Angelina Jolie or, or or Wesley Snipes or Brad Pitt? Would they would they make the deal for a vampire or no? It's weird that you said that because years ago now, this was long before publication.

49:52 My parents are the first people that read my books, and my mother said something about thinking of Angelina Jolie when she thought of the female character. I never thought I never thought about the male character because no male actors with dark features really pop into my head. I said I I don't know names well enough. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Same for me actually. I don't really have a male that stands out as a vampire for me. Yeah, I don't. I really don't have anyone. I like Blade. Blade as hot vampire. When I can't think of any actors from other vampire things I've ever watched because Leslie Snipes is the wrong color for the for the character based on where the character was born. I guess Brad Pitt's too old.

50:41 Now, now it is Tyler Durden version. We could bring it back with AI. He's a little vampire, you know? He's like, he moves fast, you know? He's stealing fat at the middle of the night and making soap out of it. You know what? What movies or books or or things in life inspire you? Like what? What makes you be like, Oh yeah, I got to write this down or I got to put this in my book? I've never noticed much of an external stimuli beyond my own desire and, well, my mania. Like I know it's all coming from me, but it's coming from a part of my brain that I don't feel like I have control over. So in some ways it doesn't feel like it comes from me. And people ask me where my ideas come from and stuff like I don't know.

51:30 And I'm not trying to be funny or stupid when I say stuff like that. Like they're just, they're just there and it and the ideas get fleshed out. I'm told the average is 14 months for a professional author to go from idea to final manuscript. And for me it's like 5 weeks. Oh. I'll flesh out an entire book and a three hour drive just in my head, like all the plot points, all the characters. It just happens and I'm able not and I'm able to not crash my car while it's happening because it's completely, it's just completely separate from what I'm actively thinking about. That's really interesting. And how did you learn to write? Because you were in the National Guard, so how did you figure out how to do this? Well, that OK, so that's kind of weird, but I do not have any formal training in writing.

52:18 I just write. And I've been working in this industry long enough and worked with enough editors and things like that, that I've seen the stuff that I do. And I'm not trying to cheat my own whore here. I'm just trying to answer the question. But the stuff that I do that comes naturally is stuff that they teach 22 to four year degrees on. And to me, not only is it natural, but if I'm being blunt and honest, what writer wouldn't be able to do this? Because otherwise they're not a writer. Yeah. They go to like lectures and classes, and like when I first heard showing and telling voice, it makes perfect sense when it's explained to you, but I've never heard that term and I had already written three books.

53:04 My editors like you, have such an amazing way of blending, showing and telling voice together, and I'm like, what's that mean? What is that for the listeners? For the listeners who don't know what is showing a telling voice. So the easiest explanation is visual media like movies and TV shows. You show information by using the visuals or character actions versus having a character look at the screen and say blah blah blah and provide you the answer in like a boring way. Now, in a book, it's hard because you could be literal and say that a book is all telling voice because it's all written, but you have third party narration which covers the telling. Then you have the character's actions and visual descriptions.

53:45 That's more of like a showing and it's very, there's a much finer line between the two and blending. And a lot of writers do not do much from the character perspective. The entire book is narration with them, with the action and stuff like that. Whereas all of my characters and their scenes, it's coming from their perspective. Which is why some of the and I've I've been criticized for this, because the person criticized and didn't understand the difference that if a character does not know something, I will not list that something if it's from their perspective because the character does not possess the information I forgot the character doesn't know. Right, right.

54:27 No, that makes sense. And also, you know, I've heard this from, I'm not going to say who it is, but there was a friend of mine who did a lot of really cool writing and art. And I think I had mentioned to her about, about some site that listed books to read, You know, because it is necessary, I think at some point in life to probably read other people's books. Or some people say the Bible, some people say the Bible is useless. Some say they live by it. You know, I wrote a health guide book. But, you know, reading a few books has taught me some things in life. So I think I suggested and she said I don't read, I get all of my information from God. And she said she doesn't read, but she writes books. And so, so there are people out there that, you know, say they're getting their information from source or from God or from spirits or aliens and they refuse to read and they even think it's a bad idea to read. What do you think about that?

55:20 I can kind of see what a person might be saying there. They're just saying it in a very offensive way. Like I said, I used to read books and I would, I would be immersed in books and I would find them phenomenally entertaining. I will read the same book now and I'll hate it because all I do is pick out all the mistakes. And I suppose a person could be afraid that, you know, if you're reading a bunch of subpar work, maybe you're going to be a subpar author. And a lot of the most and a lot of the most, it's just the way it is. A lot of the most famous writers out there in our current day also hold records for making the most mistakes.

56:02 Like JJK. Rowling is probably the single most successful actor. Writer, I meant writer of the 21st century. Her books, she needed a better editor. Her books that I loved them. The first time I read Harry Potter I enjoyed it a lot more than I was admitting. Being a grown up and everything, I really enjoyed it. But when you actually stop and think and you read those books critically, the entire things are nothing but plot holes that make no sense. She was a very creative individual that did not have a good editor because there are so many things that should have never, that should have been done in a different way and ruined the story in hundreds of ways.

56:44 But they were geared for kids. They were very creative, they were very enjoyable. So if you're reading it with the right frame of mind, it's fantastic. But if you're going to read it like it, OK, I'm not sure what I can say out loud. If you're going to read it like, let's just say a critically mean person, you're going to see nothing. You're going to see nothing but errors. Interesting. Well, maybe she learned from like porn because I actually don't watch porn. But you know, I'm almost 42. I've seen it and there's a lot of plot holes and the story doesn't really matter, but it's just a bunch of things happening. So maybe that's where she kicked her inspiration. On that ridiculous note, we're overtime, so please give our listeners your final thought and where to find you. Well, my website, the one we've been talking about is richardspiegel.com.

57:30 As we've mentioned, it's a phenomenal website. It's got a lot of content in it all like the buy links and things. Of course, Amazon, that's pretty simple to just search. I also I'm on Instagram at at Richard Spiegel books. I'm not very good with Instagram that gets managed for me, but there's a bunch of content on there too. Look at me, we're like the opposite that way I would I can't. I can't let anyone manage anything about me. I can't even sell. I I've learned to do grocery shopping a little and that's it. Everything else, even creating my own house, I can't do it. But anyway, that that was that was useless information. And that happens a lot of times. That's what happens when I don't work out and wake up and just have coffee and go right into the interview.

58:13 You hear my nonsense ramblings. So for more nonsense ramblings, you can tune back into It Came from the radio and we're going to wrap this up. So back to the studio with more with more. Torrance, you had any honor you would listen to sci-fi dot radio, the sci-fi for your Wi-Fi. Kapla. Now back to our show. So that about does it for this week and it came from the radio. Join us right here any week on this radio station. If you miss any part of this show, tough go to our newly revised website www.itcamefromradio.com. The archives will be up in a week or so. Check us out on such places as BTD dot radio, sci-fi dot radio. Check us out on our places such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube page, Twitter.

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