Join us on Tuesday, May 17, when our authors will be Katie Arnoldi and Maria Matarazzo.

KATIE ARNOLDI has published three novels. The first, Chemical Pink, was a national bestseller. Her second novel The Wentworths squeeked onto the L.A. Times bestseller list as did her most recent book, Point Dume, which was released in May 2010. Katie was the 1992 Southern California Bodybuilding Champion. She was also a competitive longboard surfer, an enthusiastic backcountry survivalist, fanatic scuba diver and a fierce shark advocate. She is currently writing a book about human trafficking, drug cartels, intoxicants and the destructive power of money.

Marrie Stone interviews Amy Alkon, author of I See Rude People: One Woman’s Battle to Beat Some Manners Into Impolite Society, and Tracy Ross, author of The Source of All Things: A Memoir.

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(Broadcast date: Apr 6, 2011)

Marrie Stone interviews Ruta Sepetys, author of Between Shades of Gray, and Alina Tugend, author of Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong.

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(Broadcast date: Mar 23, 2011)

On an upbeat, this coming Saturday is Literary Orange, an all day fest of writers, that will take place once again at UCI. It’s cheap, you get a continental breaky, lunch, and afternoon refreshments, and it’s fun. I’m moderating a fiction panel and Marrie Stone, my co-host on Writers on Writing, will moderate a memoir panel. Here’s more info. (Today online registration ends.) Hope to see you there.

Back from a long five days in Pennsylvania at my brother’s service and visiting with family. Difficult for a couple of reasons. When you have a complicated history with a sibling, some might imagine it’s easy to see that sibling off. It’s anything but. I loved my brother. We shared so many good times, and although we were born many years apart, we shared a history. The difficulties we encountered don’t take away from the love, and that makes it complicated, esp. for family who knew what we went through. Friends have been the most understanding, and for that I’m grateful. My brother was cremated. The box on the table is my brother. The cemetary you see here is in Lansdale, PA, where my mother and the relatives are buried.

My brother Sam passed away today. Here we are, with our mother, many moons ago. I love you, Sam.