SOS: James Grady on Hometown Secrets, "Shadows on Sidewalks," and Reshaping the Thriller

Episode Summary There are writers who define a genre, and then there are those who quietly reshape it from the inside out. In this episode, host Terry Shepherd is joined by legendary thriller author James Grady, whose breakout novel Six Days of the Condor originally introduced audiences to a world where paranoia, power, and survival collide.

Grady discusses his latest novel, Shadows on Sidewalks—also known by its thematic abbreviation SOS—which is set in a small Montana town. The narrative follows protagonist James Trayvin, a man drawn back home by family obligations who quickly becomes entangled in a tightening web of deception, desire, and looming violence. Throughout the conversation, Grady shares his philosophies on storytelling, the profound influence of authors like Elmore Leonard on his relentless narrative pacing, and the absolute necessity of weaving real-world contemporary tensions into modern fiction.

Topics Discussed:

• The Pull of Nostalgia: Grady explores how our hometowns shape us forever and why returning home can serve as both a fascinating refuge and a dangerous, ticking-clock trap.
• Real-World Horrors: The complex character of Lana LaBuff was crafted to spotlight the tragic reality of murders, disappearances, and discrimination faced by Indigenous women on reservations.
• Moral Ambiguity: A deep dive into how characters today are rarely inherently good or bad, but are simply humans navigating situations where making the "wrong" choice might be the only way to protect their loved ones.
• The Craft of Suspense: Grady explains his method for balancing psychological suspense with erotic tension, the importance of stripping away unnecessary adverbs, and why he allows his characters to organically hijack the dialogue and dictate the story's unconventional ending.
• An Author's Origin: Discover how growing up in a highly isolated Montana town with a movie theater manager father and a librarian mother provided the perfect cultural foundation for Grady’s global writing career.
• Words to Live By: Grady shares the heartfelt family motto that guides his personal life: "Do Good Walk True, and Be Happy".

More about James Grady.

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Reclaiming a Faded Past: Mario Cartaya’s Journey Back to Cuba

In this episode, host Terry Shepherd speaks with acclaimed architect and author Mario Cartaya about his memoir, Journey Back Into the Vault: In Search of My Faded Cuban Childhood Footprints.

Fleeing Cuba at age eight after his father’s life was threatened, Mario suppressed his childhood memories for 56 years. After returning to the island, which he describes as being like a clock that stopped in 1959, he experienced a profound psychological reunion with his past.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The Escape: Why his family had to leave Cuba in September of 1960 and the psychological encapsulation that locked away his memories.
• The Return: The powerful moment on a Havana balcony where his Cuban and American lives finally reunited.
• Architecture & Identity: How childhood toys, like an erector set and a toy crane, shaped his successful career as an architect.
• A Message of Peace: The importance of finding inner peace and his hopes for a free, transparent, and democratic Cuba with a capitalist economy.

About Our Guest:Mario Cartaya is an author and the founder of an acclaimed architectural firm in Fort Lauderdale. His work and life achievements have been entered into the United States Congressional Record.

Connect with Mario Cartaya:

• Website: MarioCartaya.com

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo

What happens when history repeats itself and the global balance of power shifts overnight? In this episode, host Terry Shepherd sits down with Dr. Ralph DeFalco, the "Renaissance man" and author behind the chilling political thriller, The Counterfeit.

Ralph discusses the historical patterns and current geopolitical trends that inspired his vision of a fractured, post-conflict America. We explore a world where the United States has been economically crippled and politically compromised, forcing its citizens to navigate a new reality of desperation and foreign influence.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The Intersection of History and Fiction: How Ralph uses historical cycles to project a plausible and terrifying future for the United States.
• A Nation Divided: Inside the setting of The Counterfeit, where privilege and desperation live side-by-side under the shadow of a foreign power.
• The "What If" of Geopolitics: Exploring the logical conclusions of current global trend lines.
• Character-Driven Stakes: A look at the intense, personal moments of conflict that drive the narrative—where survival often depends on a split-second decision.
• Writing the "Plausible Future": Ralph’s approach to creating a thriller that feels uncomfortably real to modern readers.

About Our Guest:

Dr. Ralph DeFalco is an author and scholar often described as a "Renaissance man" for his broad expertise and deep understanding of historical patterns. His work focuses on the intersection of political power, national identity, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of systemic collapse.

Featured in this Episode:

• The Counterfeit: The gripping political thriller by Dr. Ralph DeFalco.

Enjoyed the conversation? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast for more deep dives into the writer's craft with Terry Shepherd.

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo