In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, Tammy Gross discusses her latest novel, The Treasure Galleons. It is based on the true story of the Spanish shipwrecks in the year 1715 that gave Florida one of its nicknames—the Treasure Coast. This novel tells the story of a captain’s son who is left to confront pirates, cannibals and an angry king after a hurricane off the coast of Florida devastates his family and their fleet, which happened to be carrying $400 million worth of treasure. Tammy is also an optioned, award-winning and indie-produced screenwriter, and The Treasure Galleons began as an award-winning screenplay before Tammy decided to turn it into a novel. In this episode, I’ll chat with Tammy about her writing journey, how a trip to a pirate museum in St. Augustine, Florida helped inspire the story, and why, when it comes to writing novels or screenplays, she firmly believes that pursuing perfection is not a noble idea.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, my guest is award-winning author Chris Crutcher. Chris is the author of more than a dozen novels and two short story collections. His work features teen protagonists coping with serious problems, including poverty, abuse, and prejudice. Chris’s books have been informed by his work as a teacher, director of an alternative school, child and family therapist and child protection advocate, and his stories have been inspired by the heroes he has met along the way. All of his books and stories have been challenged or banned at some point during his nearly forty-year career. As a result, Chris has earned two lifetime achievement intellectual freedom awards -- one from The National Council of Teachers of English and the other from the National Coalition Against Censorship. In this episode, I’ll chat with Chris about his writing journey, how his work with at risk youth has changed his idea of courage, and why his books have meant so much to his readers.

This interview with Chris Crutcher follows a conversation I had with him as part of the Jacksonville Public Library's Teen Lit Chat series. You can view that conversation on Youtube by clicking HERE. Enjoy!

The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!