"Chapter a Day"

I am delighted to report that the 7th Chloe Ellefson mystery, A Memory of Muskets, was chosen to be shared on Wisconsin Public Radio’s beloved Chapter A Day program.

Or as my husband put it, “Holy toboggans! Chloe’s latest adventure is on the radio!”

Jim Fleming, host of the popular program, has created a special abridged version of the book.

You can hear Jim’s half-hour readings on WPR’s IDEAS Network and streaming from https://www.wpr.org/programs/chapter-day weekdays at 12:30 PM (repeated at 11 PM) Monday, August 7th through Friday, September 1st. Each episode can also be heard on the Chapter A Day webpage for one week after its broadcast date.

Here’s what Jim had to say:

I fell for Kathleen’s book based on the setting and the characters. I had visited Old World Wisconsin years ago and was charmed by it, lured by the connection to Wisconsin’s past. Kathleen does a wonderful job of painting the cross between then and now. Throwing in a mystery and the inevitable conflicts which can threaten a compelling worksite just made it better.

What many people don’t know about Chapter A Day is that it presents abridgments of most books. I can only read 10-12 pages in half an hour, and it’s important that those 12 pages present a satisfying experience for the listener. MOM would have gone on for too many weeks if I had tried to read it all. I didn’t know what to do about it initially, but finally realized it would be possible to keep the language, the setting and the mystery if I simply removed the part of the story, or most of it, that takes place in the past. The modern story reveals enough about the past to be understood. I was sad not to be able to keep it all but am pleased with the result.

I admit, I would have loved to have the book read in its entirety. But I knew Jim would do a fantastic job with the project. He sent an audio clip from the first chapter and Mr. Ernst and I were hooked.

And the truth is, book “publishing” in the broadest sense is collaborative. Editors, to varying degrees, influence stories. Cover artists create their image of a main character or theme. Readers bring their own imagination and experiences to each book.

I was thrilled when Tantor Media produced audiobooks of the first three Chloe books, read by the talented Elise Arsenault. Elise brought her own interpretation to the mysteries.

Now we’ll hear Chloe and Roelke and friends come to life in a new way, as Jim reads his version.

Wisconsin Public Radio is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and CAD is its longest-running program! It’s been airing since 1931. I’m honored that A Memory of Muskets can be part of it.