Jonathan Dee joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest novel, The Locals, and its relevancy in the rise of Trump. He talks about the complications of class relations, as well as craft issues including point of view, writing challenges he sets for himself, and what that wonderful first chapter does for the rest of the novel.

In the second half, Shari Lepena talks about her new thriller, A Stranger in the House. She talks about creating suspense, how to craft a compelling thriller, the subtle psychological issues underlying the plot, and creating unreliable narrators.

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(Broadcast date: August 9, 2017)

Benjamin Ludwig joins Marrie Stone to talk about his debut novel, Ginny Moon. Benjamin shares his personal experiences raising an adopted autistic daughter, the ways in which being immersed in this world gave birth to Ginny Moon, how to establish an effective voice of an autistic narrator, and more.

In the second half, young adult writer Melissa de la Cruz joins Marrie to talk about her novel, Alex & Eliza. She talks about writing historical fiction, managing minor characters, balancing history against the love story, writing historical dialogue, and more.

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(Broadcast date: July 26, 2017)

Novelist Maile Meloy, author of Do Not Become Alarmed joins Nicole Nelson to talk about what she learned about plot from having written for kids, learning to push through scenes, and how writing is a muscle that we need to work as much as possible, to improve.

In the second half of the show, literary agent Sarah Bowlin of Aevitas Creative Management talks about her switch from editor to agent, her new home as a Los Angeles-based agent with Aevitas Creative Management, and advice about querying, first pages, synopses and more.

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(Broadcast date: July 5, 2017)

Ahkil Sharma, author of the short story collection, A Life of Adventure and Delight, and Scott Spencer, author of River Under the Road talk with Barbara about their current projects, and the art and business of writing.

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(Broadcast date: July 12, 2017)

Novelist Thrity Umrigar, author of Everybody’s Son, joins Marrie Stone to talk about issues of race, class, authority to tell another person’s story, and the somewhat magical way this book came to her.

In the second half, Elizabeth Kostova joins to talk about her novel, The Shadow Land. She discusses her connection to Bulgaria, what her research revealed, why this novel has gained importance in our political climate, and more.

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(KUCI-FM broadcast date: June 28, 2017)