Authors In The Media With Douglas Brunt 

Last year I had the honor and pleasure of doing a Q&A with New York Times Bestselling Author, Historian & podcast host of Dedicated With Doug Brunt! You can read our Q&A by clicking on this link https://booknotions.com/qa-with-douglas-brunt/  On his podcast he’s had several big named authors! Some of whom are New York Times Bestselling Authors Ruth Ware & Amor Towles & Nelson DeMille who recently passed! 

Q: Welcome back Douglas! I listened to the episode you did with Nelson DeMille this morning while I was getting ready to run errands. I learned a lot of great info! Do you ever get nervous doing interviews with these famous people? 

A: I don’t get nervous, probably because I look forward to the interviews so much. I’m also very prepared for the interviews. For each guest, I’ve read at least one of their books, usually several, and have done hours of research about their lives and careers. I then organize that research to create an arc for the conversation. The conversation can go in any direction, and I don’t use scripted questions, but I have a general idea of topics I’d like to hit in the conversation.

Q: What made you want to do a podcast and how long have you been doing it for?

A: I started the podcast in October 2022 when we released the first two episodes: Jennifer Egan and Lee Child. In the decade before I started the show, I had become friends with many authors at book festivals and other events when I was traveling around to promote my own books. In time I started a small book club made up of other writers and when we got together, we would share interesting stories about experiences from our careers – the kind of stories people who read our books would love to hear. Those conversations were the inspiration for the show. I talked to a friend at SiriusXM about the idea, and we put DEDICATED together.

Q: When you reach out to people you want to speak with on your podcast, are you like me and send emails out or message people on Instagram and Facebook? Those are ways I contact people for my blog!

A: We’ve done all sorts of things. We have a producer/booker for the show who usually will contact the publicist who works at the author’s publisher to extend an invitation. Often publicists will contact us when an author has a book to promote and ask to come on the show.

Q: You’ve spoken with lots of fascinating people on your podcast. What are some of your favorite moments?

A: Every episode has something unique and fun, but to name a few moments: 

• Learning a new cocktail from Jennifer Egan (The Gold Rush)
• Hearing how Amor Towles thinks about the left and right brain when he writes his novels
• Sharing a glass of scotch with Nelson DeMille who was a friend and mentor
• Getting the inside scoop on Jack Reacher from Lee Child
• Reflecting on Anna Quindlen’s reminder of the beautiful way a child sees the world
• Sipping tequila with Patricia Cornwell
• Hearing Jay McInerney talk about the changes in the literary world from the 1980s to now 

Q: In our email you told me the first episode of season 3 will have Jay McInerney. I did a quick google search on him, he’s an author, editor, columnist & screenwriter! That sounds like fun! Who else will be on season 3?

A: We have an incredible lineup of novelists like Jay, and I will also bring a range of types of writers, including the documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and the journalist Jim Rutenberg. I like to make sure the audience gets multiple views of the craft. In prior seasons I’ve even had some of the famous audiobook readers on the show, like Scott Brick. 

Q: Would you please post a link to your podcast here so that way readers can go and listen to it? Also feel free to tell us which nights we can expect new episodes! 

A: I release episodes on Tuesdays which is the traditional day of publication for all new books. The video of the show is available on YouTube, and the audio-only podcast is available anywhere you get podcasts. Links here:

https://www.youtube.com/@DedicatedwithDoug

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dedicated-with-doug-brunt/id1650390838?i=1000583799313