Regular Open Mic folks know I focus my attentions on crime fiction, mystery and thriller authors. But for today's show we delve into true crime as I welcome my good friend and colleague Brian Joseph to the show to talk about his new book, Vegas Concierge: Sex Trafficking, Hip Hop, and Corruption in America.

My guest today has long been a world traveler who has had more adventures than anyone I know. He is joining me today from his home in France, a country I very much look forward to returning to someday. He has been a guest before, all the way back when this was still just a blog and before the YouTube and podcast shows. His work has won numerous awards and accolades, including the Paris Prize for Fiction in 2013 for his novel, a Vision of Angels. His 2019 novel THE FOURTH COURIER was also a finalist for Best Gay Mystery in the Lambda Literary Awards, and his 2020 novel FIRE ON THE ISLAND won the Gold Medal in the Faulkner-Wisdom Competition. I could go on, but you get the idea.

His new book, Istanbul Crossing, is the story of a young gay Syrian refugee who, after watching his cousin executed by ISIS for being homosexual, flees to Istanbul for his safety. I’ll let him tell us more about that in a moment. So now let me please welcome Timothy Jay Smith to the Open Mic.

NOTE: This conversation took place before the Nov. 5th 2024 election.

My guest today, Jason Powell, is one of the up and coming authors out there in the mystery genre. His debut novel No Man’s Ghost introduces us to Charles Davids, a probationary NYC firefighter whose first week on the job coincides with that of a mentally disturbed man going through a divorce who moves from calling in fake fires to acting on the real thing. It is a gripping and fast moving story that not only is a crime tale, but gives us a really insightful look into the lives of the brotherhood of firefighters.