In her Dead-End Jobs series, Elaine Viets has her character Helen Hawthorne live off the grid by taking a series of jobs with no future, little money and even less respect.
To research these novels, Viets herself works at the same jobs. In the name of deep background, Viets has been employed as a dress store clerk, a telemarketer, a bookseller, and a weed puller at 50 cents a bucket. In Pumped for Murder, she worked in a gym and for her upcoming Final Sail, she takes to the high seas.
In keeping with that theme, Viets will host a half-hour talk show on Radio Ear Network, aptly named The Dead-End Jobs Show. Viets' show will feature the extraordinary secrets of ordinary jobs, offbeat jobs and unusual jobs.
Guests for the first shows, which begin this week, include yacht chef Victoria Allman, international hairstylist Mario Ortega, and world traveler Kay Gordy, who will discuss how to be a guest or a host for SERVAS, an organization in more than 100 countries.
The Dead-End Jobs Show will air Monday 1 pm EST; Tuesday 10 am Greenwich Mean Time, 5 am EST; and Wednesday 6 pm EST. Tuesday’s show is during European prime time, Wednesday’s in East Coast prime time.
Radio Ear Network (REN) is an Internet radio station with more than 6 million listeners around the world. REN is a member of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, with members in 115 countries, including NPR.
Listeners can hear REN’s shows on their computers at radioearnetwork.com. Viets' show can be downloaded to iPods, iPads, Nook, Kindle, Kobo or other e-tablet. To download podcasts, go here. Download shows for tablet computers here.
Viets began her career as a newspaper columnist in St. Louis where she also hosted the syndicated “Travel Holiday Radio Show” and was a commentator for National Public Radio station KWMU. She hosted a primetime television program, “Viets Beat,” for KMOV-TV in St. Louis and won two local Emmys.
In addition to the Dead-End Jobs series, Viets writes a second series featuring St. Louis mystery shopper Josie Marcus. She has won the Agatha, Anthony and Lefty Awards. Visit her at www.elaineviets.com
