{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Ask A Kansan","title":"The Magic of Books with Author Lara Avery | Reading Kansas","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3972,"description":"How do you convince authors, budget-strapped nonprofits, and thousands of book lovers to show up in one place on the same Saturday? We sat down with the woman who has to figure that out every single day.\n\nThis week we're joined by Lara Avery, Executive Director of the Kansas Book Festival and published author of romance novels including The Year of Second Chances and Purple Hearts (adapted into a movie). We get into how she landed the job, why she doesn't send authors too many emails, what a \"book parade\" actually is, and why she thinks everyone — audiobook listeners included — counts as a reader. We also wander into Dungeons & Dragons character work, Horcruxes as a metaphor for creative legacy, and the ongoing debate about how Orcs reproduce.\n\nHighlights\n\nA fast food employee who is deaf handled Gus's order entirely through writing — a small moment that stuck with him\nLara explains her unconventional path to authorship, writing for a company (Alloy) that also produced Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries\nWhy she calls herself a \"listener\" rather than a traditional reader, and her love of audiobooks\nDetails on this year's Kansas Book Festival: 69 authors and moderators, a first-ever romance panel, keynote Ben Lerner, and a brand-new book parade\nHer philosophy for working with authors: minimal, respectful communication instead of over-formal outreach\nA moving conversation about what writers \"leave behind\" in their work, and why she thinks people should treat their attention and time as more valuable\nA deep dive (sorry, had to sneak it in only once!) into how to write distinct character voices — starting with diction, not psychology\nThe Dartography segment uncovers the story of John Brown's 1859 rescue of 11 enslaved people near Holton, known as \"The Battle of the Spurs,\" plus the history of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation and Minnie Evans's fight to preserve tribal recognition in the 1950s\n\nChapters\n\n0:00 – Fast Food Kindness\n2:13 – Meet Lara Avery\n3:41 –...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/31uDhQmE-73zaqpWjXtwnyYffNMsUnDPiL6GtjTddEQ/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mNzBm/YzFkNDBkODVjNGM2/MzMwMGViYjhmZTY4/Nzc0Mi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}