Bibliophiles will love this new show — live from the popular bistro Elaine's in Old Town, Alexandria VA. Our host is the restaurant's owner, Jeffrey James Higgins, a prolific author who is on a mission to help his fellow writers share their stories.
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Meet the Author: Kirkus Star winner Beka Wueste is an author whose debut novel, “The Unsent Letters of Lucy Prior,” earned praise as a “deeply introspective and emotionally resonant novel” (Kirkus Reviews) and whose second novel, “Fireflies in a Jar,” was lauded as, “original, deftly crafted, emotionally engaging” (Midwest Book Review). Her short story collection, “My Side of the Word and Other Tales of Death,” was described as ” lyrical and thoughtful… a moving, imaginative, and unforgettable exploration” (Readers Favorite Book Reviews). The collection was named as a finalist for the 2025 Sho
Meet the Author: I am an attorney with over thirty years of experience. My legal experience has varied from a start in criminal law to intellectual property, specifically trademarks, and now healthcare. I also pursued a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from the George Washington University late in my career. It is an interesting field, and I have come to find that public health affects everyone. I am a native of Washington, D.C., raised by a single mother who was both brilliant and resourceful. I attended boarding school at St. Timothy’s in Stevenson, Maryland, a Baltimore suburb, as my mother
Meet the Author: Richard H. Smith, MSc., is a futurist, technologist, and science policy expert whose career spans more than 30 years at the forefront of emerging technology and strategic forecasting. He has worked alongside scientists, engineers, Fortune 50 companies, and U.S. and international governments on issues ranging from nanotechnology and artificial intelligence to healthcare innovation and climate change. Richard has served as a research director at a major university medical center, founded multiple technology companies, and advised organizations on how disruptive technologies resh
This week on Elaine’s Literary Salon: Meet popular motivational speaker and New York Times Bestselling author Don Mann. A retired Navy SEAL Team SIX who, for the last two decades, has delivered compelling presentations that have inspired business leaders, military and government personnel, and professional athletes. The lessons he shares during his presentations are born from his colorful and action-packed life as a SEAL, his experiences competing in some of the world’s most grueling competitions, and his experience in the business world: usfrogmann.com. Our host, Jeffrey James Higgins, interv
Meet the Author: Lynda Allen is a storyteller, author, poet, artist, and listener. She began her career in video post-production and documentary filmmaking before focusing her knack for storytelling on writing. She has written four poetry collections and the Liv Wilde Mysteries, featuring Flashes of Insight (book 1) and Flashes of a Dying Hour (book 2). Flashes of Fire and Fury (book 3) is now available. Lynda is also the author of the Liv Wilde Mysteries, in which menopause is a superpower. “I had to put up with hot flashes every day, I figured I might as well make them useful!” Lynda shares:
Meet the Author: Kerri Hagerty is a dedicated law enforcement officer who has proudly served her community for over 20 years. Through roles ranging from patrol officer to detective, she has received several awards, including Officer of the Year, Officer of the Month, two Life Saving Awards, and numerous public commendations. Beyond the badge, Kerri is also an accomplished children’s book author. Inspired by her real-life adventure dog, Olive, her stories chronicle their surfing and camping escapades. Through Olive’s journeys, Kerri teaches young readers valuable lessons about overcoming their
Meet the Author: Justin Laborde, PhD, is a strategic consultant and frequent speaker on consumer trends, marketplace insights, and business-growth strategies at Fortune 500 companies. Raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Justin now lives with his wife, Amanda, and their three children in Cary, North Carolina. About Scattered Far and Wide: This book follows the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1938 as they rise from junior officers to combat leaders in World War II’s most pivotal battles. Through firsthand accounts and deep research, Justin Laborde brings their stories of courage, sacrifice, and surviv
Meet the Author: Dr. Stephen L. Cook serves as the Catherine N. McBurney Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature at Virginia Theological Seminary, the largest of the accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church (founded in 1823). He and his wife, Catherine, a psychotherapist, live on the seminary campus in Alexandria, Virginia, with their daughter from China, Rebecca. Prior to joining the VTS faculty in 1996, Stephen served on the faculty of Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University in New York City for four years. He did his doctoral training in Old Testament at Yale Unive
Meet the Author: Elizabeth Hodges was 38 when she got the news, “You have leukemia.” Six weeks later, she was told she also had adult cystic fibrosis. With three young children, intense fear set in that she might not live to see them grow up. Instead of giving in, she became determined to prioritize her role as a mother and lead a life driven by purpose and clarity, even with cancer. Over her eighteen-year journey, she discovered that motherhood can be the strongest motivation to survive and thrive. Before cancer, Elizabeth was an accomplished global advertising and marketing executive who wor
Experience QuinTango: Alexandria-based music group QuinTango made its splashy debut on the world stage in 1999 at the Clinton White House State Dinner for the president of Argentina. Robert Duvall danced, and global news networks covered the event. The following morning, QuinTango received an invitation to perform at an international music festival in Costa Rica, and they were off and running. Twenty-eight years later, QuinTango is in its seventh iteration, still evolving and still excited to create and connect. Learn more: quintango.com Ali Cook, QuinTango About Ali Cook, bass: Ali’s dream of
When: Wednesday, September 02, 2026 from 6-9pm Where: 208 Queen Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Get your free ticket: MatthewLavoie.eventbrite.com We welcome debut novelist Matthew Lavoie to Elaine’s Literary Salon to share his debut novel, “Main Street Fringe.” Our agenda for tonight’s event: 6pm: Meet, greet, and order food and drinks from Elaine’s award-winning menu 7pm: Our 45-minute interview begins, followed by a 15-minute Q&A with the audience to be produced on our popular podcast and video series 8pm: Guests talk with the author, buy the book, and get it signed! “Main Street Fringe,
Meet the Author: Irene Vinyard Bennett has wide experience as a writer and educational minister. Her debut novel, BATTLE OF THE ARTISANS: Making the Bells of Marquis Yi, won the International Proverse Prize of 2022. It is the first story about the Bronze-Age Bells of Marquis Yi, a National Treasure of China. An international motivational speaker, workshop leader, and minister, Irene writes and edits academic articles for theological journals in Ukraine and Myanmar, lectures online for Myanmar seminaries, and works with young families of Western Presbyterian Church in DC. She has written profes
Meet the Author: Rebecca Morrison is the author of The Blue Dress, a novel based on her childhood as an Iranian immigrant trying to fit into her new American homeland and her family’s expectations of beauty. Published by Macmillan’s imprint Farrar, Straus and Giroux, the book has received positive reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, and School Library Journal. and Rebecca has been featured on Good Morning Washington ABC7. She has written about belonging, immigration, and body image for numerous national publications, including
Today at Elaine’s Literary Salon in Alexandria, VA, we are thrilled to bring back to town author Bill Rapp, who began his professional life as an academic, teaching European History at Iowa State University. A graduate of Notre Dame (B.A.), the University of Toronto (M.A.), and Vanderbilt (Ph. D.), Bill has always been particularly intrigued by German history. He says the last 35 years working for the U. S. Government has broadened his perspective to all of Europe and much of the Middle East. His career has taken him around the world, including to Berlin as the Wall fell and Germany was reunif
Meet the Author: Jennifer began her writing journey at the age of 10 when she started her own neighborhood newspaper, “The Santa Clara Times,” printed it herself, and walked up and down her street, passing it out to all the neighbors. She graduated from the School of Journalism, Mass Communications, and Public Relations at San Jose State University in Northern California, and went on to have a ten-year career as a journalist. Her works have appeared in countless print and digital publications including the the Huffington Post, the San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, AOL
Meet the Author: Wanda Rawlings is a Christian fiction author, Bible study teacher, and speaker with over three decades of experience as a civilian Federal employee and a lifelong passion for encouraging spiritual growth through storytelling and the Word of God. She is the creator and facilitator of the Root of the Matter Virtual Women’s Bible Study, a thriving ministry she has led for more than five years, guiding women deeper into their relationship with Christ. Wanda is the author of the A Christian Journey series, including Chloe’s Missing Piece, Chloe’s Season of Storms, and Chloe’s Journ
About Original Sound: A story about the rhythm of ambition, collaboration, and the price of authenticity. Driven by the pulse and rhythm of Brooklyn and Queens, beat maker Danny Solis may have found his big break when his track is pilfered by pop star Ryan Reed. To keep Danny quiet, Ryan’s manager brokers a deal in which Ryan and Danny will collaborate on a few songs. Their work together introduces Danny to Manhattan’s music scene and leads Ryan to pivot her career. Despite disappointment and betrayal, Danny perseveres, finding solace and strength within his original sound. Get your tickets an
Meet the Author: Chandrani Ghosh is a former journalist (Time, Forbes, and Business Standard) who, many years ago, traded her press pass for a carpool one. Now that the carpoolers are drivers, she returns to the page. Drawing on her experiences of growing up in the chaotic worlds of Kolkata and Delhi, spending her twenties in London, Geneva, and Kathmandu, and eventually settling in Washington, Ghosh makes her literary debut with Heartlines. Learn more: cghosh.com About Heartlines: Sharmila Basu has curated the perfect life. He is the one variable she never planned for. As an Indian American p
Meet the Author: Daniel Grace is a London-born, California-bred, former owner of an international advertising agency who produces critically acclaimed Tuscan wines at his family winery, Il Molino di Grace, in Panzano-in-Chianti, Italy. He is a storyteller by trade and a mythologist at heart. Daniel splits his time between San Francisco and Tuscany with his wife, three daughters and English Setter. In the Wake of Golgotha is his debut novel. For more, visit danielmarkgrace.com In the Wake of Golgotha About In the Wake of Golgotha: There is no crime to fit this sentence; there is no sentence to
Hello friends! If you missed the book launch party at Elaine’s Literary Salon on April 2, listen and watch the impressive interview between Jeff and award-winning noir author Christopher Chambers, ChrisChamberNoir.com. Help us celebrate the release of book 4 in the 4-part Nathan Burke series. “I wanted to write a story about what happens when devotion and duty collide, giving my protagonist — FBI Agent Nathan Burke — a heart-pounding challenge to uncover a global conspiracy to save his wife, and the nation,” explains Jeff, whose critically-acclaimed books are referred to as “pulse-pounding and
Meet the Author: Dr. Joan Naidorf is a board-certified emergency physician trained at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia. After growing up in Highland Park, NJ, she obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia. She practiced for nearly thirty years in the busy emergency departments of Inova Alexandria Hospital and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia. As an author and speaker, she has been sharing important ideas with students, residents and practicing physicians through various online and direct engagements. She
About Bonnie Naradzay: As a mother, professional, teacher, and longtime volunteer, leading poetry sessions in prisons, a retirement community, and among the homeless, Bonnie has gathered much of both the lost and found, culminating in the publication of Invited to the Feast, a collection of poems and literary debut coming in her eightieth year. Her poems appear in AGNI, New Letters (Pushcart Nomination), RHINO, Kenyon Review online, Tampa Review, Florida Review online, EPOCH, Pinch (Pushcart Nomination), American Journal of Poetry, One Art (Pushcart Nomination), Potomac Review, Poetry Miscella
Meet the Author: Elizabeth Bruce’s collection, Universally Adored and Other One Dollar Stories (Vine Leaves Press, 2024), won the 2025 IBA Short Story Award and Literary Titan Gold Award in Fiction, as well as an IAN Book of the Year Finalist distinction. Her debut novel, And Silent Left the Place, won Washington Writers’ Publishing House’s Fiction Prize, as well as a ForeWord Magazine Bronze Prize and the Texas Institute of Letters’ Finalist Award. She’s published in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Korea, Israel, Sweden, Romania, Malawi, Yemen, and the Philippines, i
Click here to sign up today for the March 21 workshop with John DeDakis! Course Description: A series of topic-specific workshops designed to drill deeper into the finer points of storytelling. Writing exercises will help you hone your skills and give you the confidence to take your writing to the next level. Deep Listening for Writers: A writer is an observer first, last, and always. This session is an invitation to consider every interaction as an opportunity to follow one’s curiosity about people of other genders, races, ages, cultures, and socio-economic backgrounds with an eye on creating
Meet the Author: Emil Buchman was born in the Galaxy Far, Far Away (aka, Baku, Azerbaijan) and came to the United States in the early 1990s. Currently, he lives in Brooklyn, New York with his beautiful wife and adorable wheaten terrier Chloe. Emil is a practicing transactional lawyer, structuring and documenting complex debt instruments but, by his own admission, this is a boring part of his life. When he is not practicing, Emil enjoys reading and watching classics, history, fantasy, and sci-fi books, and movies and, when he has nothing worthy to read or watch, he writes on his own. About the
