Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Edwidge Dandicat, author of Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: October 20, 2010)

Marrie Stone interviews Sharon Dogar, author of Annexed and Roy P. Clark, author of The Glamour of Grammar.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: October 13, 2010)

Marrie Stone interviews Nicole Krauss, author of Great House: A Novel.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: November 17, 2010)

I’ve been receiving private emails from dear friends about Christmas cards and my blog post from the other day, and feel that maybe some clarification is called for.

First, the only cards I truly object to are those mass emailed holiday greetings that present a simple greeting. The images tend to be washed out, the words hard to read. And the fact that they’ve gone out to a hundred–maybe a thousand–of the sender’s closest friends and colleagues does not inspire the Christmas spirit, at least not in me.

I do enjoy emailed cards that contain lots of photos or images. Yes, they’ve gone out to a bunch of people, but the sender has also put some time into the creation of the card.

I enjoy holiday letters. Yes, they’re a recap of the year, but so what? The only thing I don’t like about them is when they’re written in the third person. Someone in the family: Take ownership! Make it your letter and write about you and everyone else in the family.

What about the paper waste? Well, yeah, there’s that, and I don’t mean to minimize it. But I’ve a feeling that those who are complaining about paper waste also happily take cardboard cups from their local cafe, will order take out (which is boxed), use paper napkins, use paper and plastic sacks from the market rather than bring a cloth bag, and use all sorts of other paper. The “waste” comment doesn’t hold up for me.

The main thing is this: It’s the one time all year that you make it a point to send holiday wishes. So why not make them count? Put some time into creating a card at Smilebox.com or another online site. Who wouldn’t love that? I do.

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Debra Ginsberg, author of The Neighbors Are Watching.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: Nov 24, 2010)

On today’s show, my guests will be Jo-Ann Mapson, author of Solomon’s Oak (Bloomsbury) and Debra Ginsberg, author of The Neighbors are Watching (Shaye Areheart Books). Tune in at 9 a.m. PT at 88.9 KUCI-FM in Southern California, or listen online at www.KUCI.org or at iTunes, news/talk radio.

………
And a little about quotations. I love quotes. Quotes immortalize writers–perhaps even more than our books do. That’s a scary thought. But I love them. Here are a few that I especially relate to, today, as I work my way though my work in progress:

Plot from the murderer’s point of view and write from the detective’s point of view.
~Erle Stanley Gardner, mystery writer

Layers don’t come from subplots, but from additional problems in the protagonist’s life.
~Donald Maass, editor and writer

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
~Jack London

Thanks to Mystery Writers Ink. More here.