AMAZON 'A Book and a Chat' with author/host Barry Eva (A Q&A)




Today, Hartford Books Examiner welcomes Barry Eva.

The host of the much beloved radio show “A Book and a Chat”, Eva is also an author. He wrote the popular and highly-acclaimed young adult novel Across the Pond under the name “Storyheart” and recently published The Bathroom Book of Romance – Book One – a collection of short stories first released in 2003 – as a digital download. Born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Eva left England in 2000 and now makes his home in Connecticut. He is much sought after as a presenter and interviewee, both on radio and television.

“A Book and a Chat” debuted on BlogTalkRadio in February of 2009. Since that time, Eva has welcomed well over 500 guests, ranging from bloggers to multi-million bestselling authors. Due to high demand, he currently carries out three to four shows per week and has a booking list many months in advance. (Special Note: Hartford Books Examiner will be a guest this Tuesday, September 25th. See details below.)

Now, Barry joins us for a chat about books (and beyond)… 


1) Tell us about the origins of “A Book and a Chat”. What was your initial objective for the show and how has it evolved over time?

Back in 2009 my YA Book “Across the Pond” had just come out, and with that I had appeared on several blogs and radio shows. After appearing on one show where I basically had to lead the host through the show I got to thinking…“I can do better than that”.

I had previously appeared on local public access TV with two shows, “Talent in the Valley” (showing local Karaoke shows) and “Stories from the Heart” (narrating some of my short romance stories).

Anyway I set up a test show with a fellow author and that was the start, aiming to give authors a chance to chat about their work. Now over 500 shows later I’m still going strong. It started off as one show a week, then two, now three and sometimes four, with bookings three months ahead.

The show has grown over the time with guests from all over the world, from multimillion published authors to young bloggers. I have seen authors go from debut to their debut book to becoming well known names.

The format has not really changed much, it’s just me and the author chatting over a cup of tea or coffee.

2) Guests rave about your style of hosting. What attributes do you possess that lend themselves to this gig? Also, what is the preparation process like in advance of an interview?

As I said it’s just me and my guest chatting, I say I could never hold a serious literary show, but that is not to say I do not cover serious subjects. I pride myself that I am able to share books of every subject. There have been some very sobering moments as well as much laughter. As for my attributes? Well I’m English (that helps) I have a pretty good sense of humor and I love a good chat.

People do not perhaps realize but to put on a show normally takes about 3/4hrs of my time. Setting it up in the first place, finding out about my guest before the show, the actual show and then blogging and writing about it afterwards. I do not normally ask for a copy of my guest’s books as I would never get a chance to read them, most of my pre show work is done on the computer. So saying it still amazes me that there are some authors who do not have a web page or a blog.



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