Michael Datcher, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir RAISING FENCES, talks with Nicole Nelson about his new novel AMERICUS and discusses writing dialogue, layering conflict, and getting from draft number one to draft number 19. In the second half,  Leni Zumas, author of the story collection FAREWELL NAVIGATOR, and the novel THE LISTENERS, discusses her work and the value of defamiliarization, learning to use autobiographical elements discerningly, and tips on writing past clichés.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: October 22, 2014)

T. Jefferson Parker, author of the new mainstream literary novel, Full Measure, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about his book, writing, the books he re-reads and much more.

Jeff will be the featured author, in conversation with Barbara, at the Pen on Fire Speaker Series in Corona del Mar, CA, on Tuesday night, Oct. 14. If you’d like to attend, click here for more information.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: Oct. 8, 2014

Courtney Moreno, author of the debut novel IN CASE OF EMERGENCY talks to guest host Nicole Nelson about incorporating setting in the story, developing her characters, and balancing the daily chaos and trauma that is a part of life for her EMT protagonist with quieter moments on the page. Then Orange County writer Cindy Muchnick, author of WRITING SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE APPLICATIONS, talks about ways in which she enjoys the publicity and marketing side of being an author, her experience collaborating with her teenage son on one of her nine books, and her advice to fellow writers to “just write it.”

 Download audio

(Broadcast date: October 1, 2014)

Rebecca Makkai, author of The Hundred-Year House, talks with Nicole Nelson about telling a story backwards, writing humor, and the Google problem for fiction. We also talked about her Ploughshares blog, where she covers everything from an alternative MFA program she envisions and why it’s prudent to steer clear of movie quotes and song lyrics in fiction. Stuart Rojstaczer, author of The Mathematician’s Shiva, talks about balancing tragedy with comedy, the similarities between writing an academic paper and writing a novel, and how the third time, novel-writingwise, can be the charm.

Download audio.
(Broadcast date: September 17, 2014)

Novelist Scott Spencer, author of Endless Love, Willing, Man in the Woods, A Ship Made of Paper, and more, was my guest for the entire hour.  I’ve loved his work for so long so it was a major treat to talk with him.

Download audio.

 (Broadcast date: Sept. 24, 2014)

Bret Anthony Johnston, author of Remember Me Like This (Random House, 2014) joins Barbara for an hour of literary talk about his new novel, how it began, revising, and much more.

Download audio. 

(Broadcast date: Aug. 20, 2014)