KUCI: Get the Funk Out!

7/15/19 @9:30am pst - One Day on the Gold Line A Memoir in Essays By Carla Rachel Sameth

Beautifully written, with incredible candor, on race, class, drugs, sexuality, and quite literally having the fire underneath you drive your deepest desires into reality. Carla Rachel Sameth is both brave and relatable in her struggles, and ultimately, a guest who will leave you feeling like we can overcome adversity to both give and receive love.
While escaping from a burning boat, Carla realizes that if she died, her one regret would be not having children. She overcomes miscarriages to finally give birth to a son. Motherhood’s usual struggles are then complicated by identity, community, and the challenges of creating a blended family. The overarching theme of these loosely woven reflective tales is the storyteller’s dream of the “perfect” family, the pursuit of which hurls her from one crisis to the next, ultimately meeting its greatest challenge in the form of her teenage son’s struggle with drug addiction.
Through essays on race, culture, and family, One Day on the Gold Line (July, 2019) tells the story of a lesbian Jewish single mother raising a black son in Los Angeles. A memoir-in-essays, it examines life’s surprising changes that come through choice or circumstance, often seemingly out of nowhere, and sometimes darkly humorous—even as the situations are dire.
Carla Rachel Sameth has taught creative writing to incarcerated youth through WriteGirl and teaches at the Los Angeles Writing Project at California State University Los Angeles and with Southern New Hampshire University. Carla's writing has appeared in various anthologies and publications including Brain, Brevity blog, Child; Narratively; Longreads; The Nervous Breakdown, and MUTHA. Carla has an MFA from Queens University in Charlotte, and is a member of the Pasadena Rose Poets. Carla was selected to be a 2019 Pride Poet with the City of West Hollywood and was a 2016 PEN in The Community Teaching Artist. Carla lives in Southern California with her wife.--

7/15/19 @9:15am pst - Aliza Kelly, the astrologer for Cosmopolitan Magazine, and author of the just released Starring You

In the age of immersive digital technology and social media, why is astrology--a tool as old as the stars--suddenly making an explosive come back?
According to Aliza Kelly, the astrologer for Cosmopolitan Magazine, and author of the just released Starring You, astrology perseveres today for one simple reason-- it makes us look within.
The hot new summer release, Starring You (Little Bee Books; June 11th, 2019) by Aliza Kelly is an interactive and essential guide to astrology. In an interview, Aliza Kelly describes how astrology fosters empowerment, the practice of empathy, and a guide to self reflection. Aliza invites everyone--from astro-curious mothers and daughters to singles looking for love--to uncover secret strengths, hidden talents, and core truths
.
From the basic like instructions to find your sign to the more complex gathering of wisdom from the planets, and understanding your place in the zodiac. As readers learn about themselves, they'll deepen their connections to their friends, family, and even crushes.
Plus, readers will learn:
What to do when everything goes haywire--aka Mercury's retrograde?
How to guide their true selves and encourage fill the pages with their discoveries.
This guide also covers:
-The History of Western Astrology
-The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac
-Sun Signs
-Secret Signs
-Personal and Outer Planets
-Moon Phases
-Eclipses
-Retrogrades
-and how to use astrology in daily life!
Maps, a time line, an index, and gorgeous illustrations make this full-color guide the perfect introduction to astrology and a beautiful cosmic portrait of you!
Aliza Kelly is a New York City-based astrologer and writer. Aliza is the author of two books, The Mixology of Astrology: Cosmic Cocktail Recipes for Every Sign and Starring You: A Guided Journey Through Astrology. Aliza's horoscopes and columns appear in Cosmopolitan, and her work has been featured in Allure, Vogue, Paper, Bustle, Refinery29, HuffPost, and Girlboss. In her private practice, Aliza hosts monthly workshops and provides chart reading for clientele. She can be found at alizakelly.com.

7/8/19 - 9:30am pst - author Rachel Linden joins host Janeane Bernstein to talk about her new book The Enlightenment of Bees

THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF BEES (on sale July 9, Thomas Nelson) by Rachel Linden (author of Ascension of Larks and Becoming the Talbot Sisters). When Mia West is unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend on their 6-year anniversary and she’s let go from a Seattle bakery due to downsizing, she feels adrift and alone. Can a humanitarian trip providing aid in India and Hungary give her new perspective and the courage to pursue her dreams? After some misfires abroad, she comes to terms with her own personal shortcomings including her self-serving savior complex (we all might feel a bit seen…and dragged), and returns to Seattle ready to take charge of her life. For fans of Jo Jo Moyes and Elin Hilderbrand, The Enlightenment of Bees is like a fictional Eat, Pray, Love for anyone unsure of whether they can start over and how.

7/1/19 @9:45am pst - Vlada Knowlton - Director, Writer, Producer, Editor joins host Janeane to talk about her film The Most Dangerous Year

THE MOST DANGEROUS YEAR - a film that chronicles the fight in Washington over the notorious anti-transgender “bathroom bills” introduced into legislation in 2016 - a year that the Human Rights Campaign called 'the most dangerous year' for transgender Americans. Director Vlada Knowlton humanizes the hot button topic of gender identity as she documents the lives of several trans children and their families, including her own 5 year old daughter. While Knowlton passionately follows the story of anti–transgender legislation, the heart of the film lies in the stories of the families who accept and support their kids for exactly who they are. A brilliant, encouraging story in these challenging times. Take a look at the trailer here.
With the recent White House military trans ban, and this year going on record as surpassing 2016 as the most dangerous years for transgender and gender non-conforming people - the battle for trans rights is on-going, and requires vigilance in demonstrating to the world that trans people are human beings that deserve the same rights as their fellow citizens. THE MOST DANGEROUS YEAR aims to contribute to the education of people on this subject to help get us all to the point of understanding and acceptance, while allowing trans people the privilege to simply live as themselves.

7/1/19 @9:30am pst - Jen Morilla, The Social Girl Traveler, joins host Janeane live on KUCI 88.9fm

The Social Girl Traveler
@thesocialgirltraveler
ABOUT JEN MORILLA - from her website
LIFE-LIVER. DREAM GO-GETTER.
DRIVEN BY SOCIAL IMPACT & PURPOSE.
I am an IMPACT TRAVEL INFLUENCER.
I am clean water initiator. Using my influence for GOOD.
I work with Sustainable, Social, and NGO Brands/Companies to create stories and inspire others to change the world. My mission is to create incredible possibilities of transformation for humankind to live lives of impact, purpose, and badassery.
When I travel the world my purpose is to discover humanity, understand a culture and connect emotionally with people… and as I do that, I am tirelessly driven to leave a little something behind that can change a life.
I’m Jen, solo female traveler. I am Cuban-American from New York City. Only 3-years-ago I was working for a marketing agency when I sold my car, some belongings, and bought a one way. I traded my 9-5 for a budget, backpack, and traveling for good. It’s been three years and I haven’t looked back since!
I am a Youtuber, a writer, and a clean water courier. but I really call myself a ‘life-liver’. I dream big and make my dreams happen.

7/1/19 @9:15am pst - Mary Sheeran’s latest book Banished From Memory

Mary Sheeran’s latest book Banished From Memory (May 14, 2019, Aquafire Solis) reaches back into Hollywood’s past, commenting on an era of film history frequently overlooked--the years of the Hollywood blacklist.
The daughter of two award-winning actors, 16-year-old Dianna Fletcher fears her inability to live up to her family legacy. Unable to keep up with the rapidly changing roles for women in the industry, Dianna is thrilled to land a role. When she is placed alongside one of Hollywood’s notorious womanizers, Bill Royce, Dianna begins to discover secrets long buried in her family’s past which could destroy their prestige and power.
In her latest novel, Mary Sheeran weaves together disparate strands—a young woman’s coming of age, a changing film industry, the sexual pitfalls of Hollywood still resonating today in the #MeToo movement, a secret spanning three generations, and her relationship with a brooding, brilliant actor—to create a story about the effects of the Hollywood blacklist on two families. In Banished From Memory (Aquafire Sulis, May 14, 2019), Sheeran explores female agency and sheds light on the pitfalls of sexism, nationalism, and beloved American icons.
Sheeran’s novel focuses on 16-year-old Dianna Fletcher, famous for her high-status as the daughter of two award-winning actors. During her coming-of-age, Dianna realizes that the bright lights of 1960’s Hollywood are starting to cast shadows on the secrets of her family’s past.
Dianna fears that she is losing her talent and failing to live up to her family’s legacy. When she does land a part, she finds an unexpected enemy in brilliant actor and womanizer Bill Royce, who not only attacks her confidence but holds a deep grudge against her family. Dianna comes to believe that Bill’s resentment is related to a secret linked to the Hollywood blacklist.
Banished From Memory highlights the conflicted relationship between two legacies of the blacklist, the sunset period of classic Hollywood, the challenges and gifts of acting, and a determination on the part of one generation to exhume the truth of another’s. But at what cost?
MARY SHEERAN has acted in plays, sung in operas, and created and performed in recitals and cabaret shows, all in New York City. She is the author of two novels, Who Have the Power (2006), an exploration of cultural conflict, feminism, and Native American history, and Quest of the Sleeping Princess (2012), set in the midst of George Balanchine’s ballets. She has written theater and dance reviews for show business trade publications and for the blog Life Upon the Sacred Stage. Mary lives in the Bronx, where in conjunction with earning a Master of Divinity degree from New York Theological Seminary, she can also be found giving sermons in Manhattan churches.

7/1/19 @9am pst - freelance writer and speaker Cindy Trane Christeson joins host Janeane on KUCI 88.9fm

ABOUT CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON
Twelve years ago Cindy and Amy were driving a van full of Amy’s and her husband Tyson’s belongings from Northern California to Orange County as part of the move to bring Amy and Tyson closer to family in Newport. A dream come true. An exploding tire catapulted the van through a fence, before it rolled three times. Only Cindy survived. Could Cindy survive losing a child, her worst nightmare? Cindy was driving at the time, what would the repercussions be? Could Cindy’s marriage survive?
Part of Cindy’s therapy has been writing, and she is currently finishing her memoir about the surprises of grief, both bad and good. She is eager to offer help and hope by sharing what she has learned on her journey of grief.
Cindy is a freelance writer and speaker to women’s groups. She wrote the weekly Faith column in the Newport Beach Independent for 11 years and before that wrote a weekly column in the Daily Pilot called “The Moral of the Story” for 12 years.

6/17/19 - Janeane spoke with Stavroula Toska, an original content creator, writer, director, producer and actor based in New York City by way of Greec...

6/17/19 @9:30am pst - Amy Collins, President of New Shelves Books, joins Janeane on KUCI 88.9fm

6/17/19 @9:15am pst - Marika Lindholm along with co-editor Domenica Ruta join host Janeane Bernstein to talk about ‘We Got This,’ which marks a social...