Talking The Recipient On ABC Radio.

Today, I sat down with ABC Adelaide's Sonia Feldhoff on her 'Afternoons' program to discuss my dual career as a writer and Intensive Care Nurse. We explored how I juggle those two careers and we touched on the inspirations behind my forthcoming novel "The Recipient". 

I have recorded the audio and am pleased to present the interview here as a downloadable mp3. The interview runs a just shy of 8 minutes and it was a lot of fun to do.

Click on the image below (featuring me and Sonia) and enjoy. 

(Click the above image to download the mp3 from Dropbox - No account required).

DFA.

Everyone Has A Story - A Look At "Tell The Bartender".

The maxim "everyone has a story to tell" is one that I whole heartedly proscribe to and, it seems to me, the best of those stories often come from the off beat places. There is also much that is true about the bartender being a font of stories. They are in a unique position to absorb and interpret the countless vagaries of the human experience which are often told in a number of situations and emotional states. 

I discovered the wonderful Katharine Heller - herself formerly a bartender - via Keith and the Girl and her show "Tell The Bartender" has quickly become essential weekly listening. 

Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Katharine studied at the esteemed Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she earned a BA in Communications and Theatre. While there, she appeared in numerous main stage shows, and co founded the school's improv comedy troupe, Fresh Concepts.

Since returning to New York, Katharine has been performing in theatre, film, television, improv shows, and does voice over work for commercials and animated television. Her official website has a great video resume of some of her work and it displays her considerable talents writ large. Her humorous romance novel, The Boy in the Basement, was turned into a full length play of the same name and has been produced in various locations around New York and the Midwest. 

She is continuing work on her one woman show, My Dad's Crazier Than Your Dad: A Scientific Inquiry which was received with critical acclaim at the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival.

And, of course, Katharine was also a bartender for eight years at several fine establishments in Brooklyn, New York. Though not technically a bartender anymore, Katharine still enjoys making drinks and listening to people talk.

And therein lies the genius of the show Tell the Bartender? 

Put simply, it is bi-weekly storytelling podcast hosted by Katharine, featuring tales from everyday people with unique stories. From the first listen, I knew I had happened across something really special. As an interviewer, Katharine approaches her subjects in a way that disarms them - in a good way - and allows them the freedom to explore the story of themselves without hesitation. Heller is able to hone in on specific comments and points of interest and encourages the subject to expand on those which uncover untold nuggets of gold. I have described it is a kind of one on one TED talk, where the subjects are routinely funny, poignant, conversational, emotional and enlightening.

As the show has grown and Katharine's roster of guests grows with it, the true genius of what she does with Tell The Bartender shines. 

Just this week, I listened to the latest episode, in which Katharine gives the floor to an amazing young woman in Micaela Walker. In what is, arguably, the most powerful 20 minutes of audio I have ever, Micaela recounts her experience as a new mother of twins, Roan and Lula. Roan was born healthy however Lula was gifted to her parents with an incredible set of medical challenges that would challenge their very perceptions of life, nature and medicine. On the first listen, I was an emotional mess - and me being a 20 year veteran of both Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing. By the fifth listen, I am convinced that the term hero needs to be redefined.

Katharine Heller and her show "Tell The Bartender" are the kind of treasures that should be savoured and kept. Whenever I feel a need to laugh, to cry, to think and to be thankful, an episode of "Tell The Bartender" is a tonic that is more powerful than any medicine. 

Subscribe to and Download "Tell The Bartender" here. 

Tip "Tell The Bartender" here. 

Like "Tell The Bartender" here.

Tweet Katharine here.

DFA.

Dean's novel "The Hambledown Dream" is on tour.

(Click through to the Event Page at FB).

Randomize ME Poses 5 Questions to Author Dean Mayes

As part of their 5 Question series, I was invited by the team at Randomize ME to be featured and interviewed this past week. 

The interview has just gone live here.

Hope you can stop by and take a look and post a comment at the site. 

DFA.

Dean Mayes with Ali Rodda on Adelaide's FiveAA Radio.

This evening here in Australia, I sat down with interviewer Ali Rodda in the Pirie Street studios of Adelaide Radio 1395 FiveAA to talk about my latest release "Gifts of the Peramangk". We spoke for around 20 minutes but managed to pack a lot into that time and, I gotta say, having been totally gripped by nerves - I had a great time doing it.

Thanks to a few people who were listening at the time the interview went live, I was able to secure a recording of the entire interview. A big, BIG thanks goes out to my mate Scott Taylor up in Aberdeen, Scotland (yes - you read that right), who secured the recording that I've been able to use to present here. Also, big thanks to Jason McNamara in Canberra who recorded a back up and finally, Greg Ralls over in Perth, Western Australia, who also chipped in with his own recording. 

  

So yeah, here it is - the interview I recorded with Ali Rodda this evening. I hope you enjoy it.

DOWNLOAD MP3.

DFA.

Dean Mayes To Feature On Adelaide's 5AA Radio

I am pleased to be able to share the news that this coming Saturday, 26th January, 2013 here in Australia, I will be the in studio guest on Adelaide 5aa's Weekends Program with Ali Rodda from 6PM.

We will be discussing my newly released novel "Gifts of the Peramangk", my writing journey and also my career as a Paediatric Intensive Care Nurse. 

Listeners will be able to live stream the interview from 6PM Australian Central Summer Time by pointing their browsers to http://www.fiveaa.com.au and clicking on the listen live button.


For listeners in the United States, tune in on Friday 25th of January from 11:30PM (PST), Saturday 26th January from 1:30AM Central and Saturday 26th January from 2:30AM Eastern.

Listeners in the United Kingdom can tune in from 7:30AM Saturday 26th January GMT. 


My new novel Gifts of the Peramangk is a sprawling Australian saga that takes place across two time periods in the harsh Australian Outback and the struggle streets of its suburban fringe. 

In 1950's Australia, during the height of the divisive White Australia Policy, Virginia, a young Aboriginal girl is taken from her home and family and put to work on an isolated, outback station, in the cruellest of conditions. Her only solace: the violin, taught to her in secret by a kind-hearted white woman - the wife of the abusive station owner. However, Virginia's prodigious musical gift cannot save her from years of hardship, abuse, and racism.

Decades later, her eight year old granddaughter, Ruby, plays the violin with a passion Virginia once possessed. Amidst abject poverty, domestic violence and social dysfunction, Ruby escapes her circumstance through her practice, with her grandmother's frail, guiding hand. Ruby’s zeal attracts the attention of an enigmatic music professor, and with his help, Ruby embarks on an incredible journey of musical discovery that will culminate in a once in a life time chance for a brighter future. But with two cultural worlds colliding, her gift and her ambition will be threatened by deeply ingrained distrust, family jealousies and tragic secrets that will define her very identity.

I do hope you can listen in and I thank you in advance. 

DFA.