DIY MFA Radio
485 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 102 ratingsTake your writing from average to awesome, and learn tools of the trade from bestselling authors, master writing teachers, and publishing industry insiders. This podcast will give you tools and techniques to help you get those words on the page and your stories out into the world. Past guests include: Delia Ephron, John Sandford, Steve Berry, Jojo Moyes, Tana French, Guy Kawasaki, and more.
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Episodes
426: Overcoming Differences and the Ability to Change in Novels - Interview
September 07, 2022 12:15 - 44 minutes - 51 MBToday, Lori is interviewing Khristin Wierman. We’ll be talking about how she explores the theme of overcoming differences in her debut novel Buck’s Pantry. Khristin Wierman spent twenty years rising through the marketing ranks of Fortune 500 companies, building a career that was lucrative, ego-boosting, and a little bit soul-crushing. So she quit. And had no idea what to do with her life. Writing novels ensued. She was born and raised in a small East Texas town—which means she came into...
425: Understanding Lives that Are Not Our Own through Short Stories - Interview
August 31, 2022 12:15 - 47 minutes - 55.1 MBToday, Lori is interviewing May-lee Chai. They’ll be talking about understanding lives unlike our own and her book Tomorrow in Shanghai and Other Stories. May-lee Chai is the author of eleven books of fiction, nonfiction, and translation, including her latest short story collection, Tomorrow in Shanghai & Other Stories. Her last story collection, Useful Phrases for Immigrants, won the 2019 American Book Award. She teaches in the MFA program in creative writing at San Francisco State Univer...
424: The Mythos and Lexicon of Silicon Valley in a Tech Industry Drama - Interview
August 24, 2022 12:15 - 52 minutes - 60.4 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Mike Trigg. We’ll be talking about the intricacies of Silicon Valley and his book Bit Flip. Prior to becoming an author, Mike Trigg was an executive, founder, and investor in various technology start-up companies for over 25 years. Born in Kentucky and raised in Wisconsin, he earned a BA from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. After several years working for a U.S. Senator in Washington, D.C., Mike be...
423: Making the Shift from YA to a Chapter Book Series - Interview
August 17, 2022 12:15 - 51 minutes - 59.9 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Kathryn Holmes. We’ll be talking about making the transition from YA to a chapter books series and her book Madison Morris is NOT a Mouse! Kathryn Holmes is the author of the Class Critters chapter book series, which includes Tally Tuttle Turns Into a Turtle, David Dixon’s Day as a Dachshund, and Madison Morris is NOT a Mouse! (publishing August 16th, 2022). She also wrote the young adult novels The Distance Between Lost and Found and How It Feels...
422: Time Travel and Alternate Timelines in Historical Fiction - Interview
August 10, 2022 12:15 - 48 minutes - 56 MBToday, Lori is interviewing Sarah Adlakha. They’ll be talking about time travel, alternate timelines and her book Midnight on the Marne. Sarah Adlakha is a native of Chicago who now lives along the gulf coast of Mississippi with her husband, three daughters, two horses, and one dog. She started writing fiction shortly after retiring from her psychiatry practice. Her debut novel, She Wouldn’t Change a Thing, was a CNN most anticipated book of 2021. Midnight on the Marne is her second novel....
421: From Essays to Picture Books: Applying Tools of the Craft Across Genres and Forms - Interview
August 03, 2022 12:15 - 46 minutes - 54.3 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Patrice Gopo. We’ll be talking about Broad Topic and her book All the Places We Call Home. Patrice Gopo is the child of Jamaican immigrants and was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is an award-winning essayist and the author of All the Colors We Will See: Reflections on Barriers, Brokenness, and Finding Our Way (a Fall 2018 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection). Her ties to Jamaica and other parts of the world sparked her e...
420: Fake Dating and Enemies to Lovers: Tropes in Romance - Interview
July 27, 2022 12:15 - 42 minutes - 49.6 MBToday, Lori is interviewing Erin La Rosa. They’ll be talking about tropes in romance and her book For Butter or Worse. Erin La Rosa is the author of the upcoming romance novel, For Butter or Worse. She's previously written for BuzzFeed and Funny or Die. She worked as a social media manager for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video before quitting her day job to focus on writing books. You can find her on her website, or follow her on Twitter or Instagram. In this episode Erin La Rosa and ...
419: When Past and Present Collide - 2022 Debut Roundtable
July 20, 2022 12:15 - 46 minutes - 53.8 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Stacy Willingham, Carolyne Topdjian, Allison Buccola, and Wanda M. Morris. We’ll be talking about the debut writer experience and their books. Stacy Willingham is the New York Times bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark. Before turning to fiction, she was a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies. She earned her BA in magazine journalism from the University of Georgia and MFA in writing from the Savannah College of Art...
418: Flashbacks, Time Travel, and Multiple Mysteries: Learning the Rules - Interview
July 13, 2022 12:15 - 40 minutes - 46.7 MBToday, Lori is interviewing Natalka Burian. They’ll be talking about time travel, multiple mysteries, and Natalka’s book The Night Shift. Natalka Burian is the co-owner of two bars, Elsa and Ramona, as well as the co-founder of The Freya Project, a non-profit reading series that supports community-based activism and annually awards five unrestricted grants to further the work of women and non-binary writers. She is the author of three novels--her latest, The Night Shift, is out this summer...
417: Setting the Tone for Your Novel Through Voice, Mood, and Point of View - Interview
July 06, 2022 12:15 - 54 minutes - 63.1 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Alexis Schaitkin. We’ll be talking about tone, voice, mood and her book Elsewhere. Alexis Schaitkin is the author of Saint X and her short stories and essays have appeared in Ecotone, Southwest Review, The Southern Review, The New York Times, and elsewhere. Her fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. She received her MFA in fiction from the University of Virginia, where she was a...
417: Setting the Tone for Your Novel Through Voice, Mood, and Point of View - Interview
July 06, 2022 12:15 - 54 minutes - 63.1 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Alexis Schaitkin. We’ll be talking about tone, voice, mood and her book Elsewhere. Alexis Schaitkin is the author of Saint X and her short stories and essays have appeared in Ecotone, Southwest Review, The Southern Review, The New York Times, and elsewhere. Her fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. She received her MFA in fiction from the University of Virginia, where she was a...
416: Costumes, Performance, and Identity in Historical Mysteries - Interview
June 29, 2022 12:15 - 49 minutes - 57.3 MBToday, Lori is interviewing Shelley Blanton-Stroud. They’ll be talking about historical mysteries and Shelley’s book Tomboy: A Jane Benjamin Novel. Shelley grew up in California’s Central Valley, the daughter of Dust Bowl immigrants who made good on their ambition to get out of the field. She recently retired from teaching writing at Sacramento State University and still consults with writers in the energy industry. She co-directs Stories on Stage Sacramento, where actors perform the stor...
415: Cozy Mystery as a Series, a Subgenre, and a Touchpoint of Joy - Interview
June 22, 2022 12:15 - 44 minutes - 51.9 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Michele Scott. We’ll be talking about cozy mysteries and her book Murder Uncorked. Michele Scott is an American author and the CEO/owner of equestrian sports medicine company Professional’s Choice, Inc. She has written over forty novels in various genres including thrillers, mysteries, young adult mysteries, fantasy, and women’s fiction. Her thriller Daddy’s Home from her Holly Jennings’ series written under her pen name of AK Alexander has sold ...
414: The Travel Novel, the Unreliable Narrator, and Forgotten Slices of History - Interview
June 15, 2022 12:15 - 46 minutes - 54.3 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Scott Gates. We’ll be talking about his novel, Gone, the Redeemer. Scott Gates is the author of Hard Road South, published by Blue Ink Press. He is a magazine editor and a second-generation communicator for rural electric cooperatives. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Auburn University and a Master of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Scott grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, and currentl...
413: Self-Knowledge, Sex-Positivity, and Empowerment in Romance—Interview
June 08, 2022 12:15Today, Lori is interviewing Taylor Hahn. They’ll be talking about her debut romance novel, The Lifestyle. Taylor is a second-grade teacher turned lawyer turned author. After graduating from Loyola Marymount University, she joined Teach for America and taught in Brooklyn for two years before attending Fordham University School of Law. She then worked as a litigation associate at a firm in Manhattan and then LA while working on her novel in her spare time and taking fiction writing classes....
413: Self-Knowledge, Sex-Positivity, and Empowerment in Romance—Interview
June 08, 2022 12:15 - 42 minutes - 48.8 MBToday, Lori is interviewing Taylor Hahn. They’ll be talking about her debut romance novel, The Lifestyle. Taylor is a second-grade teacher turned lawyer turned author. After graduating from Loyola Marymount University, she joined Teach for America and taught in Brooklyn for two years before attending Fordham University School of Law. She then worked as a litigation associate at a firm in Manhattan and then LA while working on her novel in her spare time and taking fiction writing classes....
412: Climate Change and Big Tech: Writing the Near Future—Interview
June 02, 2022 00:15 - 41 minutes - 47.6 MBToday, Lori is interviewing Rebecca Scherm. They’ll be talking about her science fiction-thriller novel, A House Between Earth and the Moon. Rebecca Scherm is the author of Unbecoming. She lives in California with her family. In this episode Rebecca Scherm and Lori discuss: The psychic toll writing near future speculative fiction can take on a parent. Why it is so important to safeguard your passion and her advice for doing so. What she means when she says she has a conversatio...
411: Monsters, Mystery, and Multiple Timelines: Writing a Modern Horror Novel - Interview
May 25, 2022 12:15 - 53 minutes - 61.6 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer McMahon. We’ll be talking about her genre-defying novel, The Children on the Hill. Jennifer McMahon has been lauded by Chris Bohjalian (The Flight Attendant) as “a worthy literary descendent of Shirley Jackson.” She is the author of eleven novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Promise Not to Tell and The Winter People. McMahon is in the LibraryReads Hall of Fame. She lives in Vermont with her partner, Drea, and their daughter, ...
410: Writing a YA Series Inspired by Superhero Stories—Interview
May 18, 2022 12:15 - 53 minutes - 61.3 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Brett Riley. We’ll be talking about his YA fantasy/thriller novel, Freaks. Brett Riley is the author of The Subtle Dance of Impulse and Light (Ink Brush Press), Comanche (Imbrifex Books), Lord of Order (Imbrifex), Freaks (Imbrifex), and Travelers (2022). His short fiction has appeared in journals such as The Baltimore Review, F(r)iction, Solstice, Folio, The Evansville Review, and many others. His nonfiction has appeared in CrimeReads, Role Reboo...
409: Social Media Influencers and the Millennial Romance Novel—Interview with Amy Lea
May 11, 2022 12:15 - 45 minutes - 53 MBToday, Lori is interviewing Amy Lea. They’ll be talking about her debut romance novel, Set on You. Amy Lea is a Canadian bureaucrat by day and contemporary romance author by night (and weekends). She writes laugh-out-loud romantic comedies featuring strong heroines, witty banter, mid-2000s pop culture references, and happily ever afters. In this episode Amy Lea and Lori discuss: Why representation matters and how the romance genre is helping lead the charge. How to use family dy...
408: Using the "Loop Method" to Co-Write Your Novel, an Inside Look at the Writing Process—Interview
May 04, 2022 12:15 - 53 minutes - 62.1 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Jessi Honard and Marie Parks. We’ll be talking about their contemporary fantasy debut, Unrelenting. Jessi and Marie have been co-writing speculative fiction since 2009, and their 2022 contemporary fantasy debut, Unrelenting, was a finalist in the 2020 Book Pipeline Unpublished Manuscript contest. Marie is a fantasy, sci-fi, and horror author who landed in New Mexico after traveling full-time in an RV for years. Her writing uses speculative fic...
408: Using the "Loop Method" to Co-Write Your Novel, an Inside Look at the Writing Process—Interview
May 04, 2022 12:15Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Jessi Honard and Marie Parks. We’ll be talking about their contemporary fantasy debut, Unrelenting. Jessi and Marie have been co-writing speculative fiction since 2009, and their 2022 contemporary fantasy debut, Unrelenting, was a finalist in the 2020 Book Pipeline Unpublished Manuscript contest. Marie is a fantasy, sci-fi, and horror author who landed in New Mexico after traveling full-time in an RV for years. Her writing uses speculative fic...
407: Public vs. Private Personas: Crafting a Novel Based on Historical Figures - Interview with Leslie Johansen Nack
April 27, 2022 12:15 - 39 minutes - 45.3 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Leslie Johansen Nack. Leslie’s newest book, The Blue Butterfly, A Novel of Marion Davies, comes out next week and it’s what we are going to be discussing today. Her debut is a memoir titled Fourteen, A Daughter’s Memoir of Adventure, Sailing, and Survival. It received five indie awards, including the 2016 Finalist in Memoir at the Next Generation Indie Book Award. Leslie says she did everything late in life, including getting her degree in Engl...
406: Using History to Write About the Future and Change the Present - Interview with GG Kellner
April 20, 2022 12:15 - 43 minutes - 50.6 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing G.G. Kellner Gayle is a poet, essayist, artist, educator, and Author of Hope: A History of the Future, a novel in which she imagines a peaceful, just, sustainable future based on facts, legal precedence, and historical documents. Gayle lives in a home that has been in her family for five generations. She spends most of her time creating with words, paints, and sculpture, as well as walking the beaches and forests of her island home with her dog. ...
405: Change vs. Stasis: Character Development in Literary Fiction - Interview with Claire Stanford
April 13, 2022 12:15 - 49 minutes - 56.8 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Claire Stanford. Born and raised in Berkeley, Claire holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in English at UCLA, where she studies science fiction/speculative fiction, narrative theory, and novel theory. Claire’s work has received fellowships and grants from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, the Brush Creek Foundation ...
404: How to Turn Historical Figures into Characters for Your Novel - Interview with Jody Hadlock
April 06, 2022 12:15 - 41 minutes - 47.9 MBToday, Lori is interviewing Jody Hadlock. Jody studied journalism and was a television news reporter and anchor serving her community in South Carolina as well as Texas. In addition to writing, her other passion is advocating for people with special needs. For several years Jody served on the board of directors of North Texas Special Needs Assistance Partners (SNAP), a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities live the fullest lives possibl...
403: Setting as Character in Speculative Fiction - Interview with Rob Hart
March 30, 2022 12:15 - 49 minutes - 57.7 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Rob Hart. Rob is the author of The Warehouse, a gripping speculative thriller which sold in more than 20 countries and was optioned for film by Ron Howard. He is also the author of the Ash McKenna series, the short story collection Take-Out, and Scott Free with James Patterson. His latest book is The Paradox Hotel, about a hotel at the crossroads of the space-time continuum. In this episode Rob Hart and I discuss: Why naming characters is i...
402: Writing About Difficult Subjects with a Distinct First Person Voice - Interview with Brian Leung
March 23, 2022 12:15 - 47 minutes - 54.6 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Brian Leung. Brian is the author of the novels Lost Men, Take Me Home, and Ivy vs Dogg: With a Cast of Thousands!. His short-story collection, World Famous Love Acts, won the Asian American Literary Award and the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction. Born and raised in San Diego County, he is a Professor of Creative Writing at Purdue University as well as Core faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts. All I Should Not Tell is out now with ...
401: Marketing Strategies to Help Launch Your Book - Interview with Jeff Walker
March 16, 2022 12:15 - 51 minutes - 59.4 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Walker: Jeff is one of the world's most successful online entrepreneurs the creator of Product Launch Formula and the #1 NY Times bestselling author of the book Launch. He has spent the last 15 years helping people launch their online courses, memberships, coaching and books. His students and clients have done over a BILLION dollars in launches in hundreds of niches and markets… and in dozens of countries around the world. Jeff lives in Duran...
400: The 400th Episode Extravaganza with Gabriela Pereira and Lori Walker
March 09, 2022 13:15 - 1 hour - 75.1 MBToday, I have the esteemed pleasure of interviewing one of my absolute favorite people, Lori Walker. Lori wears a lot of hats at DIY MFA. Her official title is Operations Maven. However, she is also Podcast Producer, Launch Manager, Web Editor, a Book Coach, and our Resident Reader at DIY MFA. Lori is the writer behind the Book Nook column. In her spare time, she loves yoga, cooking, traveling, smooth bourbons, strong cabernets, dirty martinis, watching baseball, and of course, reading. S...
399: Neurodiversity, Family Dynamics, and Cooking: Adventures in Contemporary Middle Grade Fiction - Interview with Gillian McDunn
March 02, 2022 13:15 - 46 minutes - 54 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Gillian McDunn Gillian is the author of the middle-grade novels Caterpillar Summer and The Queen Bee and Me, These Unlucky Stars published by Bloomsbury Children's Books. Caterpillar Summer was selected for the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List, and landed on Kirkus Reviews and Parents magazine Best Books of the Year lists. Her favorite thing is spending time with her family. She also loves traveling, board games, and learning about the world we ...
398: Trust Your Reader and Trust Yourself: Writing a Multiple Point of View Thriller - Interview with JK Ellem
February 23, 2022 13:15 - 48 minutes - 55.8 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing JK Ellem. Jack is the author of the Amazon #1 US & UK Best Selling book, Mill Point Road, A Winter's Kill, and the No Justice Series. He was born in London and spent his formative childhood years reading infamous British comics like Action and 2000 AD. He has no agent, no publicist, and no huge publishing house behind him. Yet in 3 short years since he wrote his first thriller novel, he’s become an Amazon #1 Bestselling Thriller Author in both th...
397: Archives, Fandoms, and Committing Your Obsessions - Interview with Isaac Fellman
February 16, 2022 13:15 - 44 minutes - 51.5 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Isaac Fellman. Isaac is the author of Dead Collections, as well as The Breath of the Sun (published under his pre-transition first name), which won the 2018 Lambda Literary Award for queer science fiction, fantasy, and horror. By day he is an archivist at the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. Today we’re talking about his latest book, Dead Collections, which will be out on February 22 (so, in less than one week!). In this episode Isa...
396: When Fantasy and Reality Intersect: Writing Contemporary Middle Grade Fiction - Interview with Ryan Dalton
February 09, 2022 13:15 - 42 minutes - 49.3 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Dalton. Ryan is an author, singer, voiceover artist, amateur chef and lover of all things geek. He’s also the author of the young adult and middle-grade books including the time travel mystery series, the Time Shift trilogy. Today we’ll be discussing his latest novel, This Last Adventure, a middle-grade story about the bond between a teenage boy and his grandfather, how that boy copes with his grandfather’s memory loss, and what it means to l...
395: The Many Levels of Character and World Building in a Rom-com - Interview with Alana Quintana Albertson
February 02, 2022 13:15 - 54 minutes - 62.4 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Alana Quintana Albertson. Alana is a Latina bestselling romance author whose books have hit the top of several different charts. She has written thirty books and landed a three-book deal for the Latinx romantic comedy series, Love and Tacos. The first book in the series, Ramón and Julieta, has just been released and it has been optioned for television. Like Ramón from her book, Alana has an impressive educational pedigree, with a Masters of Educ...
395: The Many Levels of Character and World Building in a Rom-com - Interview with Alana Quintana Albertson
February 02, 2022 13:15 - 54 minutes - 62.4 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Alana Quintana Albertson. Alana is a Latina bestselling romance author whose books have hit the top of several different charts. She has written thirty books and landed a three-book deal for the Latinx romantic comedy series, Love and Tacos. The first book in the series, Ramón and Julieta, has just been released and it has been optioned for television. Like Ramón from her book, Alana has an impressive educational pedigree, with a Masters of Educ...
394: What Stories Are You Telling Yourself? Marketing Mindset Shifts for Writers - Interview with Sue Campbell
January 26, 2022 13:15 - 45 minutes - 52.5 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sue Campbell. As founder of Pages & Platforms, Sue is the mindset and book marketing coach writers look to when they are ready to honor their dreams, share their work with the world, and maximize the impact of their words. She has helped hundreds of writers—from newbies to bestsellers—transform their mindset around marketing, and her clients have achieved some pretty epic goals. From exponentially increasing their email lists and book sales, to ...
393: The Craft of Revision - Interview with William Germano
January 19, 2022 13:15 - 44 minutes - 51.9 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing William Germano Bill is professor of English at Cooper Union, where he served as dean of the faculty of humanities and social sciences for more than a decade. During an earlier career in publishing, he served as editor-in-chief at Columbia University Press and as vice-president and editorial director at Routledge. His previous books on writing include Getting It Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious about Serious Books (third ...
392: World Building and Character Friendships in a YA Fairy Tale Retelling - Interview with Leslie Vedder
January 12, 2022 13:15 - 42 minutes - 49.4 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Leslie Vedder. Leslie Vedder is a queer ace author who loves fairytale retellings with girl adventurers and heroes! She grew up on fantasy books, anime, fanfiction, and the Lord of the Rings movies and met her true love in high school choir. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in creative writing and currently lives in Colorado with her wife and two spoiled house cats. When she's not reading or writing, you can find her...
391: The Medium and the Message: How Poetry Communicates a Deeper Truth - Interview with Ashanti Anderson
January 05, 2022 13:15 - 54 minutes - 62.6 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Ashanti Anderson. Ashanti Anderson (she/her) is a Black Queer Disabled poet, screenwriter, and playwright. Her debut short poetry collection, Black Under, is the winner of the Spring 2020 Black River Chapbook Competition at Black Lawrence Press. Her poems have appeared in World Literature Today, POETRY magazine, and elsewhere in print and on the web. In this episode Ashanti Anderson and I discuss: How being an overthinker influences her poetry ...
390: Idea to Premise to Story: Crafting a Dynamic Short Story - Interview with Charlie Jane Anders
December 29, 2021 13:15 - 50 minutes - 58.1 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Charlie Jane Anders. Charlie Jane is the author of the essay collection Never Say You Can’t Survive along with the short story collection Even Greater Mistakes. Her other books include The City in the Middle of the Night and All the Birds in the Sky. Her fiction and journalism have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Slate, McSweeney's, Mother Jones, the Boston Review, Tor.com, Tin House, Teen Vogue, Conjunctions, Wired Magazin...
389: A Master Class on Short Fiction, Voice, and Opening Lines - Interview with J.L. Torres
December 22, 2021 13:15 - 47 minutes - 54.8 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing J.L. Torres. J.L. is the author of a novel, The Accidental Native, as well as the short collection The Family Terrorist and Other Stories, a collection of poetry, Boricua Passport, and Migrations, a short story collection that won the inaugural Tomás Rivera Book Prize. He has published stories and poems in numerous journals and magazines including The North American Review, Denver Quarterly, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Eckleburg Review, Puerto del S...
388: How to Craft Your Supporting Characters - Interview with Sacha Black
December 15, 2021 13:15 - 45 minutes - 52.6 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sacha Black. Sacha is an author, rebel podcaster, and professional speaker. She has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules. Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing. When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, sniffing musty old books, fangirling about film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways t...
387: A Mouthful of Air: Poetry as a Spoken Artform - Interview with Mark McGuinness
December 08, 2021 13:15 - 49 minutes - 57.2 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Mark McGuinness. Mark is an award-winning poet, author, podcaster and host of The 21st Century Creative, as well as a coach for creative professionals. He is also someone I’ve had the pleasure of calling a colleague and friend for nearly a decade. When Mark told me about his latest project, a new podcast titled A Mouthful of Air, I knew I had to bring him on DIY MFA Radio to talk about it. The podcast centers around poetry, and episodes alternat...
386: The Art and Craft of Writing a Romantic Comedy - Interview with Tammy Lough
December 01, 2021 13:15 - 46 minutes - 53.7 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing someone very special. Aside from being an author of a hilarious romantic comedy, she is also a mainstay of the DIY MFA community. This person is, of course, Tammy Lough. Growing up, Tammy had dual-career goals, she wanted to be a nurse and a writer. When she was three she played nurse to her dolls when they got sick, fell off her bed, or broke their bones. She also began writing poems and stories and never stopped. In later years, when multiple ...
385: Life Lessons from Food Writing - Interview with Amanda Polick
November 24, 2021 13:15 - 49 minutes - 57.7 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Amanda Polick. Amanda is a writer, book coach, and food writing columnist for DIY MFA. She began her career with acting and improv, she shifted focus to food writing which led to her being the first dedicated segment producer of Facebook Live for Time Inc. While in that role, she oversaw more than 300 live segments and created the company’s Food Media Junket, bringing in James Beard award-winning and Michelin-Starred chefs for over a dozen food ...
384: Writing Personal Essays with Honesty, Authenticity, and Hope - Interview with Marcus Harrison Green
November 17, 2021 13:15 - 51 minutes - 59.1 MBToday, I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Marcus Harrison Green. Marcus is the publisher of the South Seattle Emerald, and a columnist with the Seattle Times. Growing up in South Seattle, he experienced first-hand the impact of one-dimensional stories on marginalized communities, which taught him the value of authentic narratives. After an unfulfilling stint in the investment world during his twenties, Marcus returned to his community with a newfound purpose of telling storie...
383: The Mashup as a Model: Lessons for Your Writing Career from Edgar Allan Poe - Interview with Catherine Baab-Muguira
November 10, 2021 13:15 - 52 minutes - 60.3 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Catherine Baab-Muguira. Catherine is a writer and journalist who has contributed to many media outlets, including Slate, Quartz, CNBC and NBC News. She is a frequent podcast and radio guest, with appearances on NPR and Lifehacker’s Upgrade. Catherine currently lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and baby son. Today we’ll be discussing her first book, Poe for Your Problems: Uncommon Advice from History’s Least Likely Self-Help Guru, which ...
382: Character, Setting, and Cinematic Storytelling in Short Stories - Interview with Khanh Ha
November 03, 2021 12:15 - 46 minutes - 54.1 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Khanh Ha. Khanh is the author of Flesh and The Demon Who Peddled Longing. He is a seven-time Pushcart nominee, finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize, Many Voices Project, Prairie Schooner Book Prize, and The University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize. He is the recipient of the Sand Hills Prize for Best Fiction, the Robert Watson Literary Prize in Fiction, The Orison Anthology Award for Fiction, and The C&R Press Fiction Prize. His new nove...
381: Writing and Publishing a Christmas Novel - Interview with Debbie Macomber
October 27, 2021 12:15 - 43 minutes - 50 MBToday, I have the pleasure of interviewing Debbie Macomber. Debbie is the author of many books including: It's Better This Way, A Walk Along the Beach, Window on the Bay, Cottage by the Sea, Any Dream Will Do, If Not for You, and the Rose Harbor Inn series. Thirteen of her novels have been New York Times #1 bestsellers, and five of her beloved Christmas novels have been hit movies on the Hallmark Channel. The Hallmark Channel has also produced the original series Debbie Macomber's Cedar Co...