1 APR 2021 · Jasmin Darznik is the New York Times bestselling author of Song of a Captive Bird. She is also the author of The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life and the forthcoming, The Bohemians. The Bohemians is a novel that imagines the friendship between photographer Dorothea Lange and her Chinese American assistant in 1920s San Francisco. Podcast host Matthew Felix and Jasmin discussed some of the main themes of the novel, including our desire to be seen and the many ways in which history repeats itself. Many of the issues facing society in the 1920s were in striking parallel to ones with which contemporary society grapples, including racism, xenophobia, a pandemic, and much more. Jasmin explained why 1920s San Francisco was a surprisingly good time and place to be a woman photographer. Jasmin discussed the creative process, both as reflected in Dorothea's story and her evolution as an artist and personally, including the importance of an artist giving their all to their work and why she finds it essential to go with her gut when writing. Jasmin shared her insights into writing historical fiction, including advice for writers just getting started in the genre. The Bohemians is out April 6.

5 FEB 2021 ·   Subjects covered Author Louisa Morgan talked about how she was influenced as a young woman by the feminist social science fiction writing of Sheri Tepper. Louisa enjoys writing in multiple genres, including historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction. Louisa talked about how, as a former music teacher, opera singer, and college music professor, her experience with music informs her writing, drawing parallels between novels and symphonies. Similarly, because as a singer she was already used to the discipline of living an artistic life, the transition to being a writer wasn’t much of a shock. Regarding the writing life, Louisa noted that a life in the arts requires structure; otherwise the work does not get done. Likewise, Louisa explained that she is not a fan of waiting for inspiration; instead, she believes in sitting down and expecting inspiration to come. Regarding the downside of the writing life, Louisa described the challenges of recovering from a traditionally published book that suffers low sales—and the joy of finding success again. Louisa emphasized the need to "do the work," as well as loving it.

22 JAN 2021 · Subjects covered Rebecca Hunter is a romance writer. Rebecca began writing romance after reading Outlander, which broke all of her stereotypes about romance and opened her up to what romance could do. Rebecca explained how becoming a member of Romance Writers of America helped her to learn everything she knows about writing romance. She also got her agent and publisher there. Rebecca explained that as an early writer she didn’t think much about difference between genre fiction and literary fiction. She stressed the importance of understanding that because, depending on which a person chooses, their orientation as a writer will be very different. To her the fundamental difference is that genre fiction is expected to come to the reader, whereas in literary fiction the reader is expected to come to the book. Rebecca shared her process of writing books with Harlequin and praised the editorial support she gets. Rebecca offered three tips for writers entering their career: 1. Ask yourself what your goals are and rank them. 2. For genre fiction, conceive like a business person and write like an artist, i.e., think about the market. 3. Find a community but do it carefully, to get feedback that is going to help publish your book.

15 JAN 2021 · Subjects covered Kevin Smokler is an author and filmmaker. Kevin's documentary Vinyl Nation, is the study of the comeback of vinyl records in America over the last 12 years, the diversification of vinyl fans, and what it means for America in this divided time. Kevin explained that records have come back because we use music and its physical manifestation to seek human connection with others. When asked about the current state of some of the themes discussed his book, Brat Pack America, a Love Letter to 80s Teen Movies, Kevin explained that he was fascinated by how much pop culture from the 80s is a talking point for contemporary issues that are discussed more now than they were then, i.e., Molly Ringwald’s piece in The New Yorker about watching John Hughes in the era of #metoo. Kevin expressed his belief that it's important to submit things we grew up with (and might have loved) to a process of continual reexamination. Kevin is also the author of Practical Classics: 50 Reasons to Reread 50 Books You Haven’t Touched Since High School. Kevin shared some of the process of how the book came about and discussed what it means to designate a book as a classic. He also noted that the best books do two things: pull time forward and carry with them all of the children and grandchildren that they've birthed in the meantime.

8 JAN 2021 · Subjects covered Author Laurie Ann Doyle discussed her short story collection, World Gone Missing, including some of the stories themselves. All of the stories are set in or around San Francisco, and in each someone has gone missing, sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically. Laurie discussed the main theme uniting all of the stories, i.e., the presence of felt absence, including where it has previously appeared in literature and how it can be useful to writers today. Asked why she chose to write short stories as opposed to a novel, Laurie noted that Alice Munro's Moons of Jupiter had helped get her inspired with the short story as a form. Laurie emphasized that she sees the short story form as just as relevant as the novel—and that there is a place for both. She also discussed differences between the two, such as the need to be more of a perfectionist in the shorter form and the need for its ending to resound in a way that is perhaps not quite as important in a novel. Laurie is currently working on a novel set in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also has an article coming out in Alta Journal about the Hopi Indians incarcerated on Alcatraz in 1895

27 NOV 2020 · Subjects covered Louise Nayer is the author of Burned: A Memoir, an Oprah Great Read and winner of the Wisconsin Library Association Award. When asked about the biggest mistakes new memoirists make, Louise noted that many authors make the false assumption that writing memoir is like journaling. Instead, she explained, it's about being able to create a work of art out of a segment of one's life. She added that memoir is often mistakenly confused, too, with autobiography. Louise suggested that memoirists first create a timeline, since memoir often has multiple stories. Creating a timeline up front can make it easier to interweave stories. Asked about the potential for memoir as a means of catharsis, Louise stressed that she doesn't see writing as therapy or being cathartic. To the contrary, she pointed out that it's often necessary to get to a certain point in one's life, i.e., likely already experiencing understanding, healing, catharsis, etc. before even being able to write about trauma in a memoir. Since writing about traumatic events can be triggering, Louise recommended; getting help; adding humor; writing about the present; possibly writing about traumatic events as fiction versus memoir. Louise's writing practice has evolved. Whereas she used to spend a couple of days a week in an office setting, she now works more at home. She does not adhere to a specific writing schedule. Louise's current project is an adventure story that takes place in Morocco, NYC, and while driving along across country. While working on that project, Louise was reminded that sometimes a writer thinks a memoir is about one thing, but it turns out to be about something else.

13 NOV 2020 · John Burke, co-founder of Pub Site, talked about the service, which provides a quick and easy way to create author and book websites. Asked about the need for authors to have a website versus relying on social media, John explained the reasons why a website is essential for an author - and just having a Facebook page is not. Websites act as home base for an author, allowing authors total control of both content and how its presented, without the limitations of and exposure to changes that might be implemented on social media platforms. John discussed dos and don'ts of author websites, including having one site where all of an author's books and services are featured versus multiple sites and getting a domain name that is as close as possible to the author's name. John advised against using too much animation or images on a home page, noting that such approaches are not good for search engine optimization (SEO). John discussed how Pub Site works, explaining that the set-up and maintenance processes are streamlined using forms, so that users do not need any website experience to set up and maintain their site on Pub Site. Pub Site websites include built-in, optional e-commerce functionality for authors who want to sell directly to their readers. Pub Site has a fourteen-day free-trial period. John underscored that one of the big advantages of using Pub Site is that it allows authors to update their sites on their own quickly and easily, without having to depend on someone else.

30 OCT 2020 · Subjects covered Writer EJ DeBrun has experience in animation, screenwriting, and novels. Asked about the similarities between writing novels and screenplays, EJ replied that the similarities are simple: there are words and there's a story. Conversely, point of view is the main difference. Whereas with novels the current trend is for a deep point of view, i.e., getting into the characters' heads, internal monologues, etc., that doesn't happen with screenplays, which are for a visual medium. Screenplays favor action over description. EJ also pointed out that in long-form writing, the author controls the outcome; in screenwriting, the script is just the beginning of a process over which the writer does not have control of the final outcome. To understand the difference between how novels and screenplays are written, EJ suggested looking at works that have been adapted well, e.g., the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice, and ones that haven’t. Asked about the Hero's Journey and why it works well, EJ explained that it's a proven structure that eliminates the need to reinvent the wheel. She emphasized that how something happens in a story is more interesting than what happens, so a familiar structure can be reused effectively. Regarding storytelling in animation, EJ noted that animation is a medium, not a genre; consequently, the narrative structure in animation is similar to in other storytelling

15 OCT 2020 · Meredith Jaeger is the author of two dual-narrative historical fiction novels: The Dressmaker’s Dowry, a USA Today bestseller, and Boardwalk Summer. Asked about her motivation for writing The Dressmaker’s Dowry, Meredith explained that, depressed by the gentrification brought about by the tech boom, she wanted to write about San Francisco's history to help newcomers be more aware of it. Meredith's work tackles issues such as working women’s rights, the socio-economic divide, environmental issues, and immigration. Meredith explained that her "big break" did not happen overnight - and that the expectation that it might is often misleading. Meredith wrote The Dressmaker’s Dowry on the weekends and on her honeymoon. The advice Meredith would give aspiring writers: remember why you do this. She recommended that - given the challenges of the industry - writers ask themselves: if no one were to ever read what I write, would I still write because of the joy I get from writing? Meredith's current work-in-progress is called The Pilot’s Daughter, a dual-narrative historical fiction novel set in the 20s and 40s in New York City.

2 OCT 2020 · Cara Black is the author of the Aimée Leduc mystery series. Cara was originally inspired to write about Paris when she heard the real-life story of her friend's mother, a hidden Jewish girl during the Occupation. Cara talked about how the Marais has changed since she set one of her books there in the 80s. Cara typically visits Paris once or twice a year; and she leads Aimée Leduc tours to the places featured in her books. Asked about her goofiest experiences while researching her books, Cara talked about an impromptu exploration of the Paris sewers - right before dinner - and posing as a journalist for a well-known US newspaper, so that she could gain access to the Passy Reservoir. Cara discussed her writing process, explaining that rather than outlining in detail a story, she takes more of a "by the seat of her pants" approach, beginning with the place the book will be set and going from there. Cara's latest book is not part of her Aimée Leduc series; rather, called Three Hours in Paris and out last April, it is a historical fiction mystery about the mere three hours that Hitler spent in Paris in June 1940, two weeks into the German Occupation.