Spotlight on Pamela Ferderbar

On this weeks, “Ron’s Amazing Stories – The Blog”, we throw the spotlight on Pamela Ferderbar. I had the pleasure to interview Pam for the podcast and all I can say is that you guys are in for a treat. It was a fun, funny and well charming too. Her approach to life is refreshing and will even make you giggle just bit.

Pamela Ferderbar Pam Ferderbar was born and raised in Wisconsin, the only child of two loving but quirky parents who fostered her creativity by setting a place at the table for Pam’s imaginary friend, Dokka. After graduating Marquette University with a B.S. in Journalism, Pam worked at Ferderbar Studios, the family advertising photography business where she honed her skills as a TV commercials director, and was paid to play with imaginary friends called actors.

In 1994, Ferderbar moved to Los Angeles where she directed commercials for Microsoft, Wells Fargo Bank, Bally’s, ITT and others, and in her spare time wrote screenplays such as Bob Dylan Stole My Wife, for which she is currently seeking financing for a Wisconsin-based production. In 1998 she wrote the novella Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale, sparking a bidding war for the movie rights. New Line Cinema purchased the rights in a record-breaking $800,000 deal, and a few months later all the executives on the project were fired and Pam’s movie was shelved. Classic #CharlotteMoment. As Charlotte would say, “It wasn’t my fault!”

Spotlight - Pam Ferderbar After completing a novel based on the novella Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale, Pam returned to Wisconsin in 2013. Pam’s father Tom Ferderbar, a student of the great Ansel Adams and a master photographer himself, tutors Pam in the art of photography. Pam is working on a second Charlotte Nightingale novel and a companion book with reader’s “Charlotte moments” complimented with illustrations and Pam’s own photographs. Pam and her friend Dokka continue to play.

Pam blogs for the Huffington Post. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America, and the Coalition for Photographic Arts/Milwaukee where Pam serves as President and Exhibitions and Events Chair.

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week we talk to Pam Ferderbar about her book Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale. Also on the show we have a short story written and read for us by Ashley Arsenal. It’s a true story! We end the program with something special you won’t want to miss. So please come listen!

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

April 07, 2016 – The Asimov Special (RAS240).
April 14, 2016 – Sam Spade Week (RAS241).
April 21, 2016 – Interview with Pam Ferderbar (RAS242).
April 28, 2016 – James Stewart (RAS243).
May 05, 16 – (RAS244)

Spotlight – Isaac Asimov

When it comes to stories and science fiction one name pops up over an over again and that is Isaac Asimov. He is mentioned in every conversation on the subject and is known as the father of robotics. Pretty impressive for a man born in 1919 in then then, Gomel Governorate in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. He was born, Isaak Yudovich Ozimov, to a family of orthodox Jewish millers. Even his name derives from the word for winter crops, in which his great-grandfather dealt. No one had any idea that from such humble beginnings would come one of three greatest hardcore science fictions writers of our time. Isaac shares this title with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke.

Isaac Asimov - 1960s — Dr. Isaac Asimov – 1965

Asimov taught himself to read at 5 years old and began reading pulp magazines at a young age. His father outlawed this because he saw no merit in them. However, Asimov persuaded him that the science fiction magazines had the word “Science” in the title, so they were educational. Around the age of 11, he began to write his own stories and by age 19 he discovered science fiction fandom. He was selling stories to those very same pulp magazines his father hated.

After his parents migrated to the United States, Isaac attended public schools in New York. Graduating at 15, he went on to Seth Low Junior College and finally from Columbia University in 1939. Asimov completed his MA in chemistry in 1941 and earned a PhD in biochemistry in 1948. During World War II he worked as a civilian at the Naval Air Experimental Station in Philadelphia.

Asimov’s career can be divided into three segments. His early career, dominated by science fiction, his nonfiction career where he wrote textbooks on Biochemistry and Human Metabolism and finally a return to science fiction. Asimov believed his most enduring contributions would be his “Three Laws of Robotics” and the Foundation series of books. He was right on both counts.

If you want to learn more about Isaac Asimov, I highly recommend a site called asimovonline.com. Here you will find links to everything from his books to autobiographies about this great man.

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week we will have a visit from Isaac Asimov himself, one of his famous short stories and a tale about a Martian visitor and his break to the restroom. You won’t want to miss any of this one.

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (12/03) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

March 24,2016 – The Thing in the Window (RAS238)
March 31,2016 – The Plainsman (RAS239)
April 7, 2016 – The Asimov Special (RAS240).
April 14, 2016 – Sam Spade (RAS241).
April 21, 2016 – Interview with Pam Ferderbar (RAS242).
April 28, 2016 – (RAS243).

Spotlight – John Daly OTR Legend

On Ron’s Amazing Stories the blog we take a look at one of old time radios stars. You could even give him the title legend if you like. Mr. John Charles Daly was an American journalist, game show host, and radio personality, probably best known for hosting the panel show, “What’s My Line?”. The second of two brothers, Daly was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where his American father worked as a geologist. After his father died of tropical fever, Daly’s mother moved the family to Boston, Massachusetts.

John Daly 1952 Daly began his broadcasting career as a reporter for a local CBS Radio Network in Washington, D.C. serving a White House correspondent. He became known to the nation as CBS’s announcer for the president’s speeches. In late 1941, Daly transferred to New York City, where he became anchor of The World Today. During World War II he became a war correspondent and covered the news from London as well as the North African and Italian fronts. Daly was there in 1943 during Gen. George Patton’s infamous “slapping incidents”. After the war, he was a lead reporter for and took part in the series “You Are There”. This program re-created the great events of history as if CBS reporters were on the scene. John Daly would go on to become one of the most highly recruited voices during golden age of radio and then well into the infant years of television.

As a reporter for the CBS radio network, Daly was the voice of two historic announcements. He was the first national correspondent to deliver the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and he was also the first to relay the wire service report of the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on April 12, 1945.

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast we cover the subject of Flight Nurses from their beginnings during World War II to where they are today. So please join us for this special podcast.

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (02/04) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

January 28, 2016 – Mendez Genesis with Ed Hancock (RAS230)
February 04, 2016 – Flight Nurse (RAS231)
February 11, 2016 – (RAS232)
February 18, 2016 – (RAS233)
February 25, 2016 – (RAS234)

Spotlight – Edward Hancock II

On the blog this time we focus the RAS spotlight on a raised and true East Texan, Edward Hancock II. Ed is a graduate of Sabine High School and Kilgore College. While attending Kilgore, Hancock was Assistant Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Ranger Yearbook, where he won more than 20 awards from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. But his love for writing goes back much further than that.

Born with Spina Bifida, Ed was always a dreamer. These dreams became a reality at the age of 10 when he wrote what he considers to be his first real short story. By the age of 14, he had developed a deep love for writing poetry and by age 19, he was a staff member of the Kilgore College newspaper. He is also a speaker for hire, regularly speaking to children’s and disabled groups on such topics as “life with no excuses” and “never give up on a dream”. Ed is an author of five award winning novels. They are, from oldest to newest, Morning Reign, Heart Beatings, Connection Terminated and Target Mendez. Ed joins Ron this week on the RAS to talk about his latest book, Mendez: Genesis. You can find all of his books right here on Amazon.

Mendez: Genesis: After a horrible accident leaves him partially paralyzed, it takes the power of heaven to bring Lieutenant Alex Mendez back from the dead, unlocking a secret as old as time that may have been hidden inside his four-year-old daughter. To make matters worse, Detective Lisa Mendez, Alex’s wife, confronts her own demons, all the while chasing the most unlikely of suspects in connection with multiple homicides. Is it possible a seventeen-year-old boy with Spina Bifida is singlehandedly responsible for the worst crime spree to ever hit the small east Texas community?

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week we do talk to Edward Hancock II, also we present a classic tale from the OTR series Lights Out. So, be sure to join us for the show.

The Calendar:

January 07, 2016 – The Lodger (RAS227)
January 14, 2016 – Undertakings with Stanley Swan (RAS228)
January 21, 2016 – Junior G-men (RAS229)
January 28, 2016 – Edward Hancock Returns (RAS330)

Spotlight – Major L. Wayne Smalls

On this week’s blog we throw the spotlight on our guest for Thursday’s podcast. Major L. Wayne Smalls is an Amazon Best Selling author from Baltimore, Maryland who retired from the United States Army at the rank of Major. His military career has consisted of 22 years of active duty service, with over 25 years of service overall. During his time in the military, he traveled the world and has seen and witnessed many great and wonderful

Called To Be A Soldier. — Available for purchase on Amazon.com.

things. Also while in the military, he received several degrees of higher learning, including an Associate’s Degree in General Studies from Northwestern State University, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from the University of Maryland, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Webster University. He is currently attending Capella University to earn a Doctoral Degree in Business Administration with a specialization in leadership.

Wayne has embarked on a new career as a writer, motivational speaker and life coach. He has a passion for helping people, especially young men. Wayne cares a great deal about the welfare of our youth and works very hard to share his life experience and knowledge in an effort to guide them onto a positive path. He focuses a lot of attention on mentoring young people, as he sees them as future leaders. He strongly believes that molding our youth will make great strides towards eliminating some of the tragedies that have affected our communities in recent times.

Wayne is a steward of positivity and motivation. He believes that anyone and everyone can reach their full potential in life if they believe in themselves. He understands that believing in yourself is only the beginning of a longer process. There also must be purpose, direction, and motivation that accompanies the desire to succeed. Wayne wants to help as many people as he can to reach their goals and dreams. He realizes that everyone needs to understand leadership and how it can play a huge part in success, no matter where they are in life.

His book, Called to Be a Soldier, was written from the heart and experiences of the Major. It personifies the sometimes inaccurate accounts and assumptions made about the personal lives of the nation’s military heroes. Small’s bares all to take readers to the training grounds, onto the battlefields of the Middle East and then all of the way back home – where the fight for a normal life often continues for many years. It’s heartfelt, shocking yet ultimately uplifting.

This Week’s Podcast:

On Thursday’s show we will have Major Smalls on the program. He shares stories from the heart, battlefield and even tells us what is like at “Fort Puke”, his name for the place, where he went from a raw recruit to a dedicated officer of the US Army.

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (12/31) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.