The Dinicola family of Scotch Plains, New Jersey is used to having lots of dogs around. They provide a foster home for dogs awaiting adoption, a specialized commitment that requires patience and a love of animals. One particular dog was a hard sell because of his skittish personality. So, they got special permission to adopt Jordan and he's now a f…

A cocaine addiction, two burglaries that cleaned him out and a fraught recovery have shaped Sam Gladu's music. Performing as DjRetsam, Sam has been sober for ten years and only a few months into his new career as a rap artist. But he has attracted the attention of Busta Rhymes and a streaming audience that has grown to thousands. His music is raw a…

Your support of Type. Tune. Tint. for a few bucks a month is highly appreciated! Whadya think of this episode> Support the Show. Subscribe to the Type. Tune. Tint. podcast today. Cheap. Right here.By Tom Kranz

A near-death experience inspired professional musician Andrew Schulman to create the Medical Musician Initiative, teaching musicians to become part of the care of critically ill patients in ICUs. Having benefitted himself from the healing power of music, Andrew is on a mission to bring a dose of medical music to every ICU around the world. The auto…

Wasps are not our friends, usually. However, Chris Alice Kratzer has found redeeming qualities in wasps, dedicating an entire book to them called The Social Wasps of North America. She was also inspired by a specific type of wasp to design a new kind of home insulation that could go into production sometime in 2024. We'll find out when Yellowjacket…

Three authors, three books, three ways to enjoy your summer reading! I invited three of my returning authors to tell us about their new books, all coming out during June, 2024. There’s something for everyone here, to wit: Fork Social Media! (And the algorithm it rode in on). Sudi “Rick” Karatas returns for his third visit to Type. Tune. Tint. with …

Dr. David Weill spent 20 years as one of the world's pre-eminent heart and lung transplant surgeons. Some of his exploits are detailed in his memoir, Exhale: Hope, Healing and A Life in Transplant, which he wrote to preserve the amazing nature of transplant surgery, its successes and failures. But as many authors have found, writing fiction from fa…

Australia’s pre-eminent recovery guru brings his positive energy to the world. It took sheer exhaustion from a 17-year heroin addiction to simply stop the madness. And in 2009, he cleared his head and began living a life devoted to better health and commitment to helping other addicts. "I'm incredibly blessed to be where I am today,” he says. At ag…

I lost a friend of mine recently. I was fortunate to reconnect with Rob Feldman after going our separate ways for several decades. I was even more fortunate to be able to speak with him at length during this podcast episode in January of 2023. I learned so much about this individual whom I only knew dribs and drabs about even while working with him…

Of all the author stories I’ve encountered in five years, this is probably the most amazing of all. Mary Beth O’Connor is a retired federal administrative law judge who survived a childhood rife with physical, sexual and emotional abuse followed by 20 years of hard core alcohol and drug addiction. Faced with never-ending feelings of abandonment, da…

The combination of musical talent and digital technology has created a new breed of artists who can create amazing music at home using a computer and a keyboard. It’s one thing to create tunes as a hobby. It’s quite another to identify a market for that music and sell it. In this episode, we meet Evan Oxhorn who has done just that. He’s recorded hu…

Can one devastating mistake erase 20 years of good? The road to redemption for volunteer EMT Griffin Ambrose is dark, indeed--a crashed ambulance, a dead patient, an injured partner, then testing legally drunk. After going to jail, losing his EMT card and getting fired from his paid job, he contemplates a new life in exile. But some of his former p…

As recently as the 1980s, women firefighters were rare, especially in light of the tough road a group of New York women had in achieving their dream of becoming members of the FDNY. But they did it and around the same time a young woman in Florida named Cindie Schooler-Ball embarked on a career in the fire service there. A product of poverty in Ohi…

Sal Panicci wasn’t looking to work retail in his youth in New Jersey, but the blind ad in the Newark Star Ledger was inviting. Seeking to get out of jobs that were unstable, he went for the interview and discovered the job was for a management trainee at Toys R Us, the nationwide chain of toy stores that dominated the market for a generation. His s…

After surviving a transient childhood, a knife fight, brain cancer and the death of his wife, Dan Henk’s survival is a story in itself. But he’s not dwelling on the tragic tales. He is a successful tattoo artist who was in the right place at the right time to benefit from the resurgent popularity of body art. He has been around the world, done illu…

The Type Tune. Tint. podcast is about to launch its 5th season thanks to all of you who have become loyal listeners. Thank you. Here’s a look at some of the highlights of the 2023 season. Whadya think of this episode> Support the Show. Subscribe to the Type. Tune. Tint. podcast today. Cheap. Right here.…

The title is a tad snarky but it’s all in good fun as we hear from writer/singer/producer/actor Sudi “Rick” Karatas about his newest song and music video. The title is a play on the famous Mariah Carey song, but the words and concept bear no resemblance. It’s a lighthearted tune about holiday betrayal. It’s played for laughs with slapstick and humo…

Elementary school teacher Sabine Posy did her share of virtual teaching during COVID while her two young children learned virtually in the next room. Her daughter Nora was a social butterfly who got antsy sitting in front of a monitor. Her son Nate, younger and already a shy boy, worried her. When the lockdowns were lifted and it was time to go bac…

In less than 48 hours, Jae Logan went from having a stomach ache to learning she might die. A wife and mother of two young children, her mind raced to cope with the possibility of an early death and how she could possibly tell her kids. Miraculously, her prognosis wasn’t so dire after all, but she was left with the same question: What’s the best wa…

A lifetime of fishing presented a challenge to Bob Gonzalez in writing his book A Flicker In The Water. Was it possible to capture the visceral sensations of being on a boat miles from shore in the Gulf of Mexico, breathing the salt air, feeling the ocean spray and getting the adrenaline rush that ensues when a big fish bites and takes you for an h…

For the 10th year in a row, the Independent Authors Book Experience hosts an expo of independent authors and their work, free and open to the public. This year's event takes place Saturday, September 30th, 12noon-6pm at Kean University's Downs Hall, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ. The mastermind behind the book expo ant the IABX is Renaee Smith, fou…

The Handmaid's Tale, the dystopian vision of women as fertile slaves to a ruling elite, describes the Unwoman as the lowest class of woman who is shunned because she protests, thinks for herself, expresses independence and follows her own path. It's no wonder, then, that musician Erica Mulkey chose Unwoman as her stage name, a performance persona d…

Children's books are harder to write than one might think, according to Yona Diamond Dansky whose new book, Wishes and Knishes, elevates the Jewish pastry called a knish to a place of importance for young Kaley and her grandmother whom she calls Bubby. The author's story contains a number of simple lessons parents or teachers can impart on their ki…

A kid from Jersey makes good. Twice. That's Joe Sernio's story. He's a successful entrepreneur with a digital marketing company going strong after fourteen years. But he's always dabbled in the acting trade starting after high school and all during his tenure as a CEO. Now, after 20 years of passing out headshots and resumes, 2023 is Joe's breakthr…

There are a lot of people worldwide who are into Steampunk, and almost as many ways of describing it. Wikipedia says Steampunk is "a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. " As we find out in this episode, Steampunk is a form of creative ex…

What are your favorite summertime memories? For Philly kids like Charles Wiedenmann and me, it's going down the shore, the Jersey Shore, home of beach resorts like Ocean City, Atlantic City and of course, Wildwood. Chaz's new book, Down the Shore, is an affectionate memoir of days of youth in Wildwood, the quintessential Jersey Shore resort. It has…

Author Jennifer M. Lane turned her passion for an old Jeep into inspiration for her novel Of Metal and Earth. It's the story of a Jeep and the seven people who own it over its lifetime. The trials and tribulations of those humans form the heart and soul of the book and it may appeal to anyone who's had a soft spot in his/her heart for a car. But as…

From the moment she takes the stage, Big Momma is in charge. After 11 years of performing as a standup comic, Big Momma is now in demand. From comedy clubs to weddings, churches to cruise ships, this Jersey girl gets around and leaves them laughing each time. Big Momma's real name, Tia Williams (she says that's just for the tax man) graces her soci…

Audiobooks are here to stay, thanks to easy downloads, wide availability and the flexibility of listening devices. You can listen on your smartphone, in your car, the possibilities are endless. My audiobooks haves been reduced in price and are a great venue for entertainment whenever you have the time. Stop and start at will. Pick the time and plac…

The Seattle music scene is as eclectic and diverse as you can possibly imagine. There's all kinds of music for all kinds of people and the musicians making it own it to the max. Don Berman and Dick Valentine both settled in Seattle more than 30 years ago. They found each other more than a decade ago and realized that they shared a common sensibilit…

More than three decades of rock and roll have left Chris Wall more determined than ever to live his rock and roll dream. An editor/director at CBS News by day, Chris has been playing guitar and writing songs since his college days. A close encounter with rock stardom in the early 90s left him bruised and disappointed. Depression, addiction and anxi…

A unique skill set and some good fortune took Rob Feldman around the world, producing television and, along the way, taking remarkable photographs. A native Philadelphian, Rob spent a number of years as a news producer in Philadelphia, New York and Miami before embarking on a career as a vice president for Sony International. His job--to bring hit …

A lifelong love of art led Bob Budiansky to Marvel Comics where he spent 20 years drawing, writing and editing fantastic superheroes and supervillains. The Transformers, Spiderman, Sleep Walker and Ghost Rider comics have all been touched by Bob's imagination and creative sensibilities. Today, Bob still draws, designs and teaches when he's not crea…

The Type. Tune. Tint. podcast shined a light on some amazing creators during 2022. This episode reviews the top four downloaded episodes. Hopefully, it'll whet your appetite to become a subscriber in 2023! Whadya think of this episode> TK Books LLC Contemporary fiction and science fiction; ebooks, softcover, hardcover and audiobooks. Disclaimer: Th…

For a life so packed with creative ventures, work, music and acting, it's hard to know where to begin telling Steve Gabe's story. So, I started out with music and his colorful past as a singer, songwriter, drummer and guitarist. Life as a blues and rock musician was his passion. Along the way, there was acting school, a stint as a stand-up at Gotha…

Join songwriter Sudi Karatas and me for an informal conversation about our Christmas memories and Sudi's original Christmas songs. He's got five of them, funny and poignant. We met Sudi earlier in 2022 when he brought us his books How Catering Sucked the Life Right Out of Me--behind the scenes tales of the catering world on the left coast-- and Rai…

How many of us have found ourselves living someone else's life? It's a reality that dawns on many of us too late. But for Jazmine Stevenson, a woman in her 20's who has already experienced enough pain and mental anguish for a lifetime, the discovery came just in time. With the help of a strong family support system, her faith and a good helping of …

The title alone is smile-worthy: How Catering Sucked the Life Right Out of Me. And the author, Sudi Karatas (pronounced kara-tosh), brings humor to everything he does. And man, he has done a lot. From humble beginnings in upstate New York and Long Island, Sudi, who also goes by Rick, had dreams of acting, took classes and finally moved to the west …

Charles Wiedenmann grew up in a neighborhood remarkable for its unremarkableness. Lawndale was a neat, working-class section of northeast Philadelphia during the 1960s and 70s. He spent his youth without video games, the internet or a smartphone. Chaz and his pals played outside with whatever was around yelling "Car!" to get out of the way of a car…

Of the 6,000 recorded shipwrecks in the history of the Great Lakes, perhaps none is as unusual as the wreck of the City of Bangor. It carried more than 200 brand new Chryslers, hot off the assembly line and destined for car dealers in Minnesota when it wrecked on a reef on Michigan's Upper Peninsula in a horrendous winter storm that clobbered Lake …

As a little girl with polio, Adele Kenny learned to read at age four, then grew up to teach, write, survive cancer, live with MS and fuss over the cutest dog in New Jersey. Today, Adele has published her 1,000th work and dozens of books and is a cultural icon of the New Jersey town where she is the Poet Laureate. adelekenny.com Exit 13 Magazine Poe…

Independent authors from around the U.S. gather in Linden, New Jersey in August, 2022 for the 9th annual Independent Authors Book Expo. The event is the brainchild of Renaee Smith, a busy woman with a full-time job and family who somehow has time to write and manage a non-profit that supports independent authors. Today we have a preview of the book…

Writing and food might just be the most heavenly combination a blogger could concoct. That's exactly what Adam Horvath does in his blog, website and social media pages called Foodigenous (food-IDGE-enous), a culinary adventure to foreign lands like Philadelphia, Elmira, East Hampton and even Newark. With a background in the food industry and a day …

At a time when local newspapers across America are struggling, Fred Rossi has worked for the same central New Jersey newspaper for 23 years. He's a lifelong New Jersey resident and student of its history. So, it's no surprise that his book, Jersey Stories: Stories You May Not Have Heard About People and Places in New Jersey, is rich in the history …

After a 30-year career as a television news reporter and anchor, Kasey Kaufman picked up a paintbrush and discovered her new passion in life. With no formal training, her use of color in her preferred medium of acrylics has resulted in thoughtful and inspiring work. Now, she paints every day in her home studio. Her work is in demand and she has ado…

Finding your voice can be a lifelong journey. This is the story of a young woman who found hers in an unusual place in her early 20s, embraced it and is taking it to the next level. Devon Alana is the lead singer, lead composer and guitarist for the New Jersey indie band Fake Pockets. In this episode, she talks about her journey of self-discovery, …

Writing science fiction requires attention to science while retaining the sense of wonder and imagination that makes it fiction. In writing my new sci-fi novel Moon Rescue: Escape from the Dome, I went to a great source for advice and guidance--engineering students and their teacher at a Philadelphia public high school that nurtures young people's …

In this episode, I'm announcing the change in our name to Type Tune Tint, a podcast about independent authors, musicians and artists. There's a whole world of people with talent who practice their craft in their basement or with friends, but who deserve a wider audience. This podcast will focus on their inspirations, their personal stories and thei…

Ruppert Jones was a star player for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and four other teams during his 11-years in Major League Baseball. But his love for shagging fly balls almost cost him his career and his life in 1980 when he crashed into the unpadded center field wall at the Oakland Coliseum. His injured shoulder was the big concern at fir…

Ramadan in 2022 is not only a time of fasting, prayer and reflection. Today's generation of Muslims decorate for Ramadan, put up Ramadan trees and exchange presents. It's a joyous time of family togetherness and celebration. Talha and Rahama Alvi have created a children's book, The Ramadan Tree, that demystifies Ramadan and Islamic culture for kids…