Poet and debut novelist Jill Alexander Essbaum, author of Hausfrau, joins co-host Nicole Nelson to talk about the importance of the small Swiss town setting for her story and her protagonist Anna, how the worst times in our lives are probably the most important, and how a love of words unites her work in poetry and fiction. Then author Michele Young-Stone talks about her latest novel, Above Us Only Sky, balancing research when writing a novel, exploring the concept of “home” in her work, and approaching the page with confidence.

Jill will be at the LA Times Festival of Books; her panel is Sunday, April 19 at 12:30 (Conversation 2042).

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: April 1, 2015)