Let's Talk Books With Robin Van Auken

Joseph Smith III is a writer and a high school English teacher. He's also author of three nonfiction books that focus on his two favorite topics: The Church and Film. His first book, "The Psycho File," is a comprehensive guide to Alfred Hitchcock’s Classic Shock film. His second book, "Sex and Violence in the Bible," surveys Explicit Content in the Holy Book. It’s a squeamish topic a lot of Christians shy away from. In the book, Joe champions a frank and forthright approach. He’s shopping his new book, "Transparency: A Cure for Hypocrisy in the Modern Church," to a new publisher, and he’s finding that process to be a bit daunting. We talk about the changes in the publishing industry, and how difficult it is to place books with publishers today. We also discuss living in a small town, and the the importance of hometown newspaper, and its role in nurturing writers. We chat about the writing legacy, passed down from father to son, and how his own son has inherited the “writing gene.”