Storybeat with Steve Cuden

This is the second appearance of Scott Christian Sava on StoryBeat. Scott’s an artist, animator, illustrator, writer, director, and producer, whose work over the last 30 years, has brought some of the world’s most beloved characters to life in film, television, comics, and games, from Casper the Friendly Ghost to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to Star Trek to Spider-Man and more. Scott’s unique talents and vision have been called upon by Marvel Comics, Disney, Universal Studios, Nickelodeon, and various others. In 2000, he founded Blue Dream Studios, which, in addition to creating its own line of kids’ graphic novels, has produced work for Star Wars, The X-Files, Aliens vs. Predator, and other franchises. The studio’s first feature film, Animal Crackers, is available on Netflix and was the summer of 2020’s #1 animated movie in the world. I’ve read Scott’s latest book, “Becoming an Artist: How to Make Art Like a Human by Embracing Failure, Discovering Your Creative Voice, and Finding Joy in the Process.” I found the very useful concepts of Becoming an Artist easy and fun to read while being highly inspirational for anyone seeking to become a finely tuned artist. Scott also produces videos online dedicated to his over 4 million followers where he talks about art, autism, and how to be both a kindlier artist and human. Scott’s mission is to “make the world a kinder, gentler place, one story at a time.”

Anthony Swofford is an American writer and former U.S. Marine, best known for his memoir, Jarhead, which details his experiences in the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War as part of a Surveillance and Target Acquisition/Scout-Sniper platoon. He received the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir for Jarhead. A feature film of Jarhead, directed by Sam Mendes and featuring Jake Gyllenhall, playing Tony Swofford, was released in 2005. Subsequent to his military service, Tony pursued writing, earning a B.A. from UC Davis and an M.F.A. from the renowned Iowa Writers' Workshop. He’s taught at the University of Iowa, Lewis and Clark College, and currently Carnegie-Mellon University. I’ve read Jarhead and watched the movie multiple times and can tell you Tony’s story is as harrowing as it is darkly funny. I was blown away by the depths of Tony’s beautifully written, dare I say poetic telling of such a deeply personal, nerve-wracking experience. I’ve also read another of Tony’s memoirs, Hotels, Hospitals, and Jails, which is an equally wild ride through his personal and family life, especially dealing with his ailing father who was trying to maintain his boisterous lifestyle as his body was failing him. Both books are brilliantly written. I highly recommend them to you, as well as his novel, Exit A. Tony has also published fiction and nonfiction in numerous major publications. including The New York Times and Harper's.

Susan Gorrell has been the Executive Director of the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival for more than a decade. This renowned festival has grown under Susan’s direction to become one of the most well-respected film festivals in the indie filmmaking world, attracting filmmakers and film lovers from far and wide. MovieMaker Magazine recognized it as one of the “25 coolest film festivals in the world” and one of the “Top 50 film festivals worth the submission fee.” The festival is among the Top 100 Best-Rated Festivals on FilmFreeway.com. Susan is also an Indie film producer and co-founder of Oakmill Entertainment. In 2016 she produced the internationally released feature film, Supercon, starring John Malkovich, Clancy Brown, Mike Epps, Tyrus and more. Since then, she’s produced multiple indie features, shorts, a TV Pilot and even a documentary traveling across the United States in an RV. Susan comes from a musical family that have been in the Christian recording and distribution industry for over 40 years. Her husband, Ken, has worked in the film industry for over 30 years as a Special Effects Supervisor on major motion pictures. https://www.oakmillentertainment.com/

Tom Ruegger is the fourteen-time Emmy Award-winning producer and creative force behind many of the most popular and successful animated TV series of all time, including: Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid, Histeria, Road Rovers, and the feature film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Tom also co-wrote the pilot and served as a script editor of the Emmy Award-winning animated series Tutenstein. Tom began his career as an animator at Hanna-Barbera Productions on such familiar cartoon series as Scooby Doo, The New Flintstones, Casper, and Godzilla. Later, as a story editor and producer, he worked on shows like Pound Puppies, and Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo. Tom created and produced A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, the first Scooby-Doo series to be nominated for an Emmy. After honing his writing skills working at Filmation Studios on TV series like Blackstar, and Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, Tom would subsequently join Warner Bros. Animation where he went on to head up production on Tiny Toon Adventures, beginning a decade-long, wildly successful creative collaboration with Steven Spielberg, spanning five hit series resulting in over 30 Emmy Awards in numerous categories. In 1993, in collaboration with Mr. Spielberg, Tom created a cast of breakout characters for Animaniacs, the multi-award-winning "hellzapoppin'-style" cartoon show, starring the zany siblings Yakko, Wakko and Dot Warner. Tom served as the show's senior producer, story editor, writer and lyricist. Tom served as chief creative executive of Warner Bros. Animation during its second "Golden Age." Along with Jean MacCurdy, Tom executive-produced: Taz-Mania and Batman: The Animated Series.

Janet Skeslien Charles is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 international bestselling author of The Paris Library, Moonlight in Odessa, and Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade. Janet’s most recent book, The Parisian Chapter, is available as an audio book only. I’ve read The Paris Library and listened to The Parisian Chapter and can tell you these are both well-written novels of the heart that transported me - to a world I know little about - inside The American Library in Paris as it existed during World War II as well as in more modern times. I had no idea libraries could be such a hotbed of romance and colorful intrigue. Janet’s essays and short stories have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Sydney Morning Herald, and the anthology, Montana Noir. Her work has been translated into 40 languages. JSkeslienCharles.com Instagram: @jskesliencharles Facebook: Janet Skeslien Charles

Sören “Sulo” Karlsson is mostly known as the frontman of the Swedish boogie rockers, The Diamond Dogs. But he’s also known for being the singer of the UK supergroup, The Crunch, featuring members from The Clash, Sham 69 and Cockney Rejects. Since the early 1990’s, Sulo has been carrying the torch for early 70’s soulful rock ‘n roll well rooted in British history. Through his career he’s worked with artists such as Ian Hunter, Terry Reid, Robert Wyatt, Max Martin, Crystal Gayle, Paul Young, Maria McKee and more. Besides being one of Sweden’s most prolific singer/songwriters, he’s also an author of a handful of books, including co-writing the autobiography of the former UEFA President, Lennart Johansson, who was one of the most influential leaders of international football, or soccer, as we call it in America. Lennart Johansson was the brains behind the Champions League. He was also responsible for bringing England back into the European cups with his famous words, “England needs Europe and Europe needs England.” I’ve read Sulo’s book, Lennart Johannson: A Mate Among Bigwigs and Trophies, and found it to be a fascinating study of the legendary international soccer leader’s life growing up as a poor boy from the outskirts of Stockholm who had the unusual gift to be able to bring people together to work toward fair play in a game that includes everyone. I highly recommend Sulo’s terrific book to you. https://wildkingdom.se/artists/sulo/ https://www.newhavenpublishingltd.com/soren-sulo-karlsson/

My guest today, Kit Karson, is the author a series of books, The Anderson Chronicles: A Sheriff Elliott Mystery, which currently comprises five novels, including: Land Grab, Innocence Slain, Justice Rendered, Nefarious Intent, and Savage Malice. All five take place in a small Montana town. Interestingly, as prolific as Kit is as an author, writing is not her principal occupation. Born and raised in the mountains of western Montana, Kit spent her childhood traipsing around forests, streams, and meadows, either on foot or horseback, exploring, fishing, and shooting. After earning undergraduate degrees in Medical Technology and professional Microbiology, she ultimately earned a Master of Science from the University of North Dakota. Subsequently, Kit spent more than 3 decades under a microscope as a medical technologist and lab manager for various medical, hospital, and health care facilities. She’s currently a laboratory director at Granite County Medical Center. I’ve read Nefarious Intent, the 4th book in the Anderson Chronicles Mystery series, and can tell you it’s an engrossing, page-turning thriller that kept me wanting to know how the intricate puzzle would unravel. If you like mysteries set outside of urban landscapes, I highly recommend Kit’s books to you. Kit's website: https://www.kitkarson.com Facebook: facebook.com/kitkarsonauthor Twitter: twitter.com/kitkarson11

Alexandra Hainsworth is a British Australian pop artist distributing directly with The Orchard, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music. Her last single, 'Fighter', hit 1.46 million Spotify streams. Collectively, Alexandra has over 330,000 social media followers. Alexandra is an animal advocate for Four Paws Australia. And she has postgraduate qualifications in psychology. She’s also now a novelist. Alexandra's evocative debut book, Kingdom of Flight, details a dystopian vision of Earth's last remaining island. Victor Paul is the co-author of Kingdom of Flight, which is published by Austin Macauley Publishers in London. https://alexandrahainsworth.com/ YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music Alexandra Hainsworth: TO FLY

Alretha Thomas has found career success in the second half of her life as an award-winning novelist, playwright, and actress. A resilient survivor of childhood trauma, Alretha is a former model who, as an actress, has appeared in numerous films, TV series, and commercials. She also appeared on two iconic soap operas, Days of Our Lives and General Hospital. Currently, she’s a series regular, playing Anastasia Devereaux, on Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living, which is in its fifth season on BET. As a playwright, Alretha has won accolades and awards for her plays Civil Rites, A Shrine to Junior, Mommie and Clyde, Sacrificing Simone, and Grandpa’s Truth. She also wrote One Woman, Two Lives, that starred Kellita Smith (of The Bernie Mac Show), and was directed by four-time NAACP Image Award Best Director recipient, Denise Dowse. Alretha, who holds a degree in journalism from USC, has written 15 novels, over a half-million of which have been sold and downloaded, receiving glowing reviews from readers, book clubs, and critics. Her first novel, Daughter Denied, was launched in 2008. A four-book series, Cass & Nick, spawned from her novel, Married in the Nick of Nine, was acquired by Soul Mate Publishing. And she was awarded the Jessie Redman Fauset Literary Award for her Indie Novel, For Ladies Only. Her latest book, The Daughter Between Them, was recognized by Kirkus Reviews as one of the top thriller indie books of 2024. I’ve read The Daughter Between Them and was completely drawn in by the wonderfully complex, unfolding mystery thriller as told through Alretha’s masterful storytelling and her deeply compelling characters. She’s had several videos go viral, including three that have received more than 2 million views. www.alrethathomas.com https://www.instagram.com/athomasforreal/

Doug Besterman is a much in-demand orchestrator, arranger, and composer whose works span Broadway, film, television, and concert stages. Doug’s been nominated for the Tony Award six times, winning for The Producers, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Fosse. With a career that includes numerous other iconic productions such as Young Frankenstein, Sister Act, and Anastasia, Doug has helped shape the sound of modern musical theater. Recent Broadway credits include Death Becomes Her, SMASH, and BOOP! Internationally, his work has been heard in London, Berlin, and Hamburg in productions such as Rocky, Sister Act, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Guys and Dolls. Doug’s film and TV orchestration credits include Mary Poppins Returns, the live action films of Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid, Chicago, Frozen,Smash, and Schmigadoon. He’s contributed to countless live broadcasts and awards shows, including the Oscars, Tonys, Emmys, and Kennedy Center Honors. As a composer, Doug has written scores for Breathe, Little Did I Know, The Big One-Oh, and the new musical Crumbs. His arrangements have been performed by extraordinary artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Beyoncé, and by ensembles including the Boston Pops and the U.S. Military Academy Band. Doug continues to champion musical storytelling across all media, including through the Arrival Arts Initiative. Doug's Website: https://dougbesterman.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DougBestermanMusic/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougbesterman/ Arrival Arts: Website: https://www.arrivalartsinitiative.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577010220015 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arrival_arts_initiative/

This is Tim Quinn’s second time on StoryBeat. An author, editor, and manager, Tim was born and raised in Liverpool, England, the home of The Beatles. He began his show business journey as a clown at Blackpool Tower Circus followed by working as a scriptwriter for various comedians of the period. Comic books came next as Tim worked as a writer and editor for Britain's top periodicals followed by a long stint at Marvel Comics. Alongside his comics work, Tim conducted interviews for newspapers and magazines with stars from the entertainment world followed by many years creating documentaries for London Weekend Television’s South Bank Show. During that time, he was also working as an editor for The Saturday Evening Post. Tim and his wife, Jane, created the publishing company, Quill Publications, and a music business, Mighty Quinn Management. Tim’s latest novel, Bigger than the Beatles, tells the story of a Liverpool boy who picked up a guitar in 1957 and went on to global success with his band, the Dream Daffodils. We follow his story across the years until his Final Death Tour in 2025. Many of Tim and Jane's real-life experiences in the music business are incorporated in the book. I’ve read Bigger than the Beatles and can tell you it’s all that you’d expect from a Tim Quinn book: exceptional, incisive writing that’s filled with a huge helping of clever humor about the Liverpool music scene. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bigger than the Beatles, and highly recommend it to you. It’s the second book of Tim’s that I’ve had the pleasure to read; the other being The Jolly Bloodbath. Tim has also published his autobiography, Argh, which I encourage you to check out. https://sites.google.com/view/mightyquinnmanagement/home

Teddie Dahlin was born in Norway and graduated from Business School in Gothenburg, Sweden with a degree in International Marketing and Economics. She has worked as a freelance music journalist for several magazines in the UK, most notably Vive le Rock, and she’s written 5 published books. In 2012, after a bad experience with a UK publisher, Teddie established New Haven Publishing to put out her book, A Vicious Love Story: Remembering the Real Sid Vicious, which is her account of being the 16-year-old translator for the Sex Pistols during a leg of their 1977 Scandinavian Tour. It was New Haven’s first book. A Vicious Love Story takes us through Teddie’s unique encounter with Sid Vicious and the Sex Pistols, including a fascinating cast of characters surrounding the band, such as Neon Leon, Eileen Polk, Peter Gravelle, Kenny Gordon, and Howie Pyro. I’ve read A Vicious Love Story and can tell you I was thoroughly engrossed by Teddie’s description of what it was like for her at such a young age to be tossed into the middle of a fairly wild scene with such dynamic punk rockers, especially as she became quite close to Sid Vicious. Since 2012, New Haven Publishing has grown substantially, now representing 200 authors with a catalogue of 250 books that are heavily anchored in the music and entertainment industry. New Haven also has several imprints: Phoenix Press Kids books, Viking Press Comics, Portland Press Novels, and in the United States, New Haven Publishing US. For the record, Teddie and I have known one another for several years as I’ve had the privilege of interviewing numerous New Haven Publishing authors, including Tim Quinn, Jimmy Ryan, Jon Kremer, and the one and only Suzi Quatro. https://www.newhavenpublishingltd.com/

New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning author, Wanda E. Brunstetter, is considered one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre. Wanda’s written more than 100 books, with over 12 million copies sold, and her work has been translated into 4 languages. Wanda’s stories consistently earn spots on the nation’s most prestigious bestseller lists. Wanda’s ancestors were part of the Anabaptist faith, and her novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Her books are read and trusted by many Amish people, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding of the Amish and their customs. Martha Bolton is a prolific author of 89 books, a nominee for an Emmy, Writers Guild Award, and Dove Award, and a co-author of three NY Times bestselling books. She was also Bob Hope’s first full-time female staff writer and wrote for his primetime TV specials as well as during 15 years of his personal appearances and special events, penning lines for a virtual Who’s Who in entertainment, sports, and politics. She also co-authored the award-winning Dear Bob...Bob Hope's Wartime Correspondence with the GIs of WW2. Martha’s stage work includes writing the script for the musical “The Confession,” based on Beverly Lewis’ bestselling Confession trilogy. She also co-wrote “Half-Stitched” with director/composer Wally Nason, which is based on Wanda’s bestselling book The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club. Martha also wrote the shows Josiah for President and The Home Game for Blue Gate Musicals, both of which have accompanying novels written by Martha. Wanda and Martha collaborated on their recently released book, The Rise and Fall of Miss Fanny’s Biscuits: A Cozy Amish Mystery, which I’ve had the pleasure to read and can tell you it’s an absolute gem of a mystery novel. If you like clever stories set in a world that I think most folks don’t know in detail, then I highly recommend Miss Fannie’s Biscuits to you. Of note, The Rise and Fall of Miss Fannie’s Biscuits has also been adapted into a stage musical.

Qin Sun Stubis is a newspaper columnist, poet, and author of the award-winning historical saga, Once Our Lives, the remarkable true story of four generations of Chinese women who struggled to survive war, revolution, and the eerie power of an ancient superstition that seemed to change their lives for nearly 100 years. Born in the squalor of a Shanghai shantytown, Qin overcame poverty, starvation, and the political persecution of her family to win admission to a prestigious Chinese university and emigrate to the United States where she became a successful writer. With more than 200 published works, she strives to strengthen the bonds of understanding and humanity that connect us all. Qin writes beautifully and movingly about her family and their struggles to endure extraordinarily difficult conditions. I highly urge you to check out Once Our Lives. www.QinSunStubis.com

Animation Director Bill Kroyer was nominated for an Academy Award for his short film Technological Threat, the first film to combine 2D and CG animated characters. He’s perhaps best known for directing the popular animated film, Ferngully, The Last Rainforest, as well as working on dozens of commercials and animated feature film credit sequences. He is also known for having developing the computer generated Lightcycles in the original version of Tron. As Senior Animation Director at Rhythm & Hues studios he directed CG characters in films that have grossed over $1 billion worldwide. In 2017, he and his wife Sue were the first couple to receive The International Animation Society's prestigious June Foray award. In addition to serving on multiple committees at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Bill also served as the head of the Digital Arts Department at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University Recently, Bill published his autobiography, Mr. In-Between: My Life in the Middle of the Animation Revolution, which I’ve read and truly enjoyed, especially because I spent more than two decades writing screenplays in the animation industry, where Bill is a legendary creative force. I highly recommend Mr. In-Between to you. https://www.mrinbetween.org

The highly popular documentary filmmaker, Rick Sebak, is a native Pittsburgher, who’s worked at Pittsburgh’s PBS station WQED since 1987. Rick’s created dozens of local TV documentaries known collectively as The Pittsburgh History Series, including: “Kennywood Memories,” “What Makes Pittsburgh Pittsburgh?” and “Right Beside The River” as well as many more. He’s also produced 15 national programs for PBS including “A Hot Dog Program,” “A Flea Market Documentary” and “A Few Good Pie Places.” I’ve seen a number of Rick’s documentaries and have always been delighted by the way they’re put together and especially by the uplifting, wonderfully human stories Rick’s work delivers each and every time. Rick has been honored with several regional Emmy Awards and two national Emmy nominations. One Pittsburgh bar even named a drink after him. In 2018, Pittsburgh Magazine named Rick one of the 50 Greatest Pittsburghers Of All Time. There’s even a street named for him in Pittsburgh’s Somerset at Frick Park neighborhood. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Sebak https://www.wqed.org/history-documentaries-pittsburgh-history-series/ https://www.pbs.org/show/the-rick-sebak-collection/

David Arnoff’s career kicked off with the photos for the Cramps’ Songs the Lord Taught Us album. Since then, he has contributed to dozens of releases by artists including the Dream Syndicate, X, Ramones and the Gun Club. A collection of his work, Shot in the Dark, has been published in the U.S., U.K. and Spain. He has had solo exhibits in Berlin, London, Tokyo, Den Hague and Los Angeles, as well as group shows across the States and Paris. David’s photos are in the collections of the Grammy Museum in LA, the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas and MOMA in NY. He has never photographed bands he doesn’t like. David is the oldest angry young man in Chiswick, West London.

Ed Driscoll is joining me for the second time on StoryBeat. Ed’s an Emmy Award-winning comedian, writer and producer who’s worked with some of the biggest stars in the entertainment industry including: Billy Crystal, Joan Rivers, Michael Bublé, and Dennis Miller to name just a few! Ed’s produced material for variety shows, sitcoms, movies, and live theater. And he’s been a stand-up comedian for over 25 years. Ed’s authored five critically acclaimed books: Spilled Gravy, Looking To Click, Laugh, Dammit!, Unmoved Chess Pieces, and Cracking Up. I recently read Cracking Up and can tell you it’s a laugh out loud compendium of stories from Ed’s highly memorable show biz career. If you like hilarious real-life Hollywood stories, I highly recommend Cracking Up to you. https://www.eddriscollcomedy.com https://twitter.com/theeddriscoll https://www.facebook.com/theeddriscoll https://instagram.com/theeddriscoll

Lady Dhyana Ziegler is currently President and CEO of Z/Creators, LLC and Professor Emerita of Florida A&M University. She’s worked in the field of higher education and technology for more than 35 years as a professor and administrator. Dr. Ziegler is the author of four books, more than 60 scholarly publications - including book chapters - and has produced more than 100 videos and other multimedia works. She most recently published “Midnight Train From Georgia,” which chronicles and celebrates the extraordinary life of William Franklin Guest, one of the founding members of the famed singing group, Gladys Knight and the Pips. I’ve read Midnight Train From Georgia and can tell you it’s a fascinating study of an artist working inside the rough and tumble world of show business at the highest level. For those listeners who may not know, Gladys Knight and the Pips released numerous, popular, smash hit songs like: Midnight Train to Georgia, I’ve Got to Use My Imagination, Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me, and many more. Lady Dhyana is also a multimedia writer, digital content producer, and songwriter. https://dhyanaziegler.ampbk.com/

Samuel A. Simon started his career in Washington, DC as a lawyer for Ralph Nader’s first advocacy group, becoming part of the infamous Nader’s Raiders. He then spent 25 years as the head of a public affairs firm. In that work, he was often in the news, appearing on Face The Nation, The Phil Donahue Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and many more. Sam subsequently became a playwright and calls his playwriting and theatre work his 4th Age. His first play, The Actual Dance, Love’s Ultimate Journey Through Breast Cancer, was later turned into an award-winning memoir. In 2021, Sam was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease. Despite the enormous challenges of this diagnosis, Sam has become “Dementia Man,” a powerful advocate through theater, using his own experience as inspiration to reshape the narrative surrounding cognitive decline. In his newest play, “Dementia Man, An Existential Journey,” Sam defies stereotypes and inspires audiences. Sam is joined in this episode by his wife, Susan, who acts as his cognitive navigator. www.dementiaman.com