Radio Interview

A rendering of WYSO’s new offices in the planned remodel of the old schoolhouse building.

Back in 2003, when my first book, In Springdale Town, came out, I did my first radio interview, with Vick Mickunas for his program The Book Nook, at WYSO, public radio for the Miami Valley etc. etc. The experience was an experience and not my favorite experience. In August 2021, before my reading to celebrate the release of The Painting and the City paperback/ebook, Vick had me back on his show. The shows used to be live but are now taped in advance, which is less stressful. I had fun this time, and I think it came out okay. Not that I plan to listen to it. But here’s the link to the archive.

The building shown above is the former Yellow Springs high school turned Village offices turned miscellaneous rentals turned future radio station plus offices for Dave Chappelle’s Iron Table Holdings.

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Book Release Day

Which is a followup from the previous stack of books post.

Today is the official release day for the paperback and ebook editions of my novel, The Painting and the City. The book originally came out in 2009 as a limited edition hardback from PS Publishing. This new edition is brought to you by Steve Connell of Verse Chorus Press and his new imprint The Visible Spectrum. Paperbacks are available from independent stores everywhere, Bookshop.org and Amazon, and ebooks from various places.

I will read from the novel Tuesday, August 10, 7 pm, at the Emporium in Yellow Springs, with guitar accompaniment by Kurt Miyazaki. We’ll be doing a live stream from the Emporium’s Facebook page.

Local store Dark Star books will sell copies at the event.

The Painting and the City

New Paperback Edition Coming in July

This has been in process for a long time, but I can finally announce that The Visible Spectrum, a new imprint of Verse Chorus Press, is publishing the first U.S. and first paperback edition of my novel, The Painting and the City, set for a July 20, 2021 release. The book came out from PS Publishing in 2009, in two editions, a 100 copy slipcased hardback signed by myself and the introducer (Jeffrey Ford) and a 350 copy regular hardback signed by me. These were expensive and available in few stores.

I’m excited to have this new paperback (and ebook) coming out. I’ll post more as it gets closer to the release date.

In addition, my new short story collection (announced here or scroll down) should be coming out in September 2021.

“An unusual, haunting tale from a distinctive new voice.”—Lisa Tuttle, Sunday Times (London)

Interview with Robert Keiper

And now, the long awaited interview with Robert Keiper, who voiced the majority of the iambik audiobooks production of The Painting and the City. (He handled the contemporary parts and Ulf Bjorklund read the Philip Schuyler journal sections. I’m hoping to interview Ulf later.)

To go with this interview, iambik will be offering a give-a-way. Please check their blog for details.

Keiper began his theater career in the fifth grade, singing in operetta and acting in child roles with the Cleveland Playhouse. He studied theater at Ohio State University, and has directed educational television, toured the country as a platform speaker, worked as an actor in New York, and directed and wrote shows for the stage, one of which has had 2500 performances.

photo of Robert KeiperHe took a 30-year break from theater to work in business, and returned to acting because of his daughter, Alex Keiper. Since getting back into acting, he has worked in stage plays and film, training people in businesses to improve their presentation skills, and, of course, as a voice artist, including commercials, audio plays, and audio books.

Keiper is appearing in a new movie, The Sophmore, with Amanda Plummer and Patrick Warburten, out in January 2012.

Laconic Central: Hi Bob, thanks for doing this interview.

In your bio, you say you got back into theater because of your daughter’s love for acting. I’m assuming that her interest was sparked originally by your past–or did you stop before she was born?

Robert Keiper: My daughter got the theater bug all on her own. Then, taking her to an audition landed roles for both of us, and I got bitten again. So she’s more responsible for my theatrical aspirations than I am for hers.

But some of my fondest memories—and hers—are her childhood hours we spent in the living room working on monologues.

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