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Podcaster From America

Summer; Dr Shahnaz Ahmed talks to author Andrew Segal about his extraordinary travels

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LIVE ON from July 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th respectively at 7am (CST)

Dr Shahnaz runs a fortnightly USA Podcast chat show, since 2017. Here's how it all started:

Who are the most interesting people I have interviewed?

 A couple of people come to mind.  One is Christopher Todd.  He’s a very well read individual and he brought a wealth of information to my episodes with him.  Also, Immensely enjoyed talking with a young publishing intern by the name of Katie Browfiel.  Her energy and love for books just shines through.  Of course, I have enjoyed talking to everyone and I always come away from an interview growing through the process myself.

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Who would you like to interview?  

I went back and forth on thinking about one person and then I settled on two.  My number one person, I would love to have a conversation with on my podcast would be Tayari Jones.  The second person would be Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  I feel inspired by these women authors.  I feel like they light the path for greater diversity in writing.  Speaking of diversity, of course, Tammy, the main character in The Lyme-Regis Murders is about as diverse as they come.  I love what Andrew brings to that character.

 

What was my most terrifying interview? Thank Goodness, I haven’t had one yet.  But now that you’ve asked me the question, I will try to prepare for it, if it’s even possible.  For me, terrifying is more of an equipment failure, but so far nothing horrific.  Yay for that.

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What made you start the podcast?  

I was working on a reading journey and trying to get more organized through reading books.  A couple of friends of mine, started reading because of me and it was quite inspiring to me that I had an effect on people.  As I was talking to my friend, she suggested that I could help more people get into the habit of reading, through a podcast. So, I looked into it and now I’m enjoying sharing my journey with others and more importantly through this podcast, I’m also sharing the journey of some amazing people and some authors, like Andrew Segal with my listeners.
 

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When did you start out as an interviewer?

When I first started, I wasn’t sure what I was doing.  I went with the standard questions and let the conversation go where it goes.  Sometimes, I have interviewees who talk a lot and sometimes, I find myself talking a lot and have to remind myself that I want the interviewee to talk more.  The biggest experience as an interviewer is more of a technologic experience.  Based on interruptions I’ve had in some interviews, I will talk to my future interviewee and either have them wear headphones or plug their audio outputs.  We had a bit of tech issue with our podcast with Andrew, that I had not anticipated, so I just add everything into my learning bag so I can continue to improve the quality of conversations with other readers and writers.

 

Experiences interviewing Andrew Segal.

He is just a sweetheart.  He dressed up for his Skype interview and I just found it adorable.  Andrew was easy because I didn’t really have to interview him.  I started off with one question and then let him go and he just takes the proverbial ball and runs with it.  I didn’t realize the breadth of his writing skills, from children’s books to short stories to murder mysteries.  I had a good time.

 

Without portraying any spoilers, what are your favourite chapters of Lyme Regis Murders?  

Instead of breaking it down into chapters, lets just say I really enjoyed every time a new character was introduced and hence a new suspect.  I felt the story twisting and turning.  Some of the characters, one in particular comes to mind in the police force that you just begin to love to hate.  I enjoyed any scene with Tammy and Dov and appreciated their relationship throughout the book, as I did Tammy and Ginny’s.  It’s tough to speak without spoilers of what happens because something is always happening that moves the plot along.

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