DIY MFA Radio

Hey there word nerds!

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Robert Dugoni.

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Internationally Best-Selling Author of 17 novels in The Tracy Crosswhite police detective series set in Seattle, the David Sloane legal thriller series, and the Charles Jenkins espionage series.

He is also the author of several standalone novels including The Eighth Sister and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, both #1 Amazon kindle downloads, as well as The 7th Canon and The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post best book of the year. Several novels have been optioned for television series. Robert is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for fiction and many other awards. We'll be talking about his book A Cold Trail which is out now.

• The power of dedicated, daily work
• Revisiting an old crime in a new book
• The particular appeal of a small town as a mystery setting
• The interplay between setting, theme and characters
• The myth of originality

For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/291

Hey there word nerds!

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Samuel Shem, a novelist, playwright, and activist. He is a Professor in Medical Humanities at NYU School of Medicine, and Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome. His novels include The House of God, Fine, Mount Misery, In the Heart of the Universe, and The Spirit of the Place (which won two national "Best Literary Novel" awards in 2008 and 2009). He is coauthor with his wife, Janet Surrey, of The Buddha's Wife, and the award-winning Off-Broadway play Bill W. and Dr. Bob, about the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous, and also We Have to Talk: Healing Dialogues Between Men and Women.

Also, just a quick heads up, we have a teeny bit of explicit language towards the end of the interview. Due to the nature of the discussion I decided not to bleep anything out, but I wanted to let you know in case you have small children in the room or you, yourself, are not comfortable with explicit language.

• The desire that inspired the novel
• Putting parts of yourself into a novel
• Fictionalizing true things
• Writing -- or not writing -- for a specific audience
• The necessity of character change
• How computers depersonalize medicine
• Writing a sequel that still stands alone

For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/290

Hey there word nerds!

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Constance Sayers talking about her debut novel, A Witch in Time, which is forthcoming in February.

A finalist for Alternating Current's 2016 Luminaire Award for Best Prose, her short stories have appeared in Souvenir and Amazing Graces: Yet Another Collection of Fiction by Washington Area Women as well as The Sky is a Free Country.

Her short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She received her master of arts in English from George Mason University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts in writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She attended The Bread Loaf Writers Conference where she studied with Charles Baxter and Lauren Groff. Currently, she is a media executive at Atlantic Media (publisher of The Atlantic).

She lives in Maryland and is the co-founder of the Thoughtful Dog literary magazine.

• How a painting inspired A Witch in Time
• Blending together multiple storylines into a cohesive narrative
• Managing pacing with different storylines
• Balancing writing and researching
• Novel-writing lessons from writing short stories

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/289

Hey there word nerds!

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Janae Marks!

Janae is an award-winning children's book author living in Connecticut. She has an MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in Writing for Children and Young Adults from The New School, and is an active member of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Her debut is the middle grade novel, From the Desk of Zoe Washington, which we'll be discussing today.

Janae also happens to be one of my dearest writing besties. She's known me since before DIY MFA was even a twinkle in my eye, like back when it was still just a "crazy idea" I was kicking around on my personal blog. She and I were also in the same thesis critique group so she has seen my writing in all its many forms: from the good, to the bad, to the… what the heck were you thinking, Gabriela?

One of my favorite things—one of the things that brings true joy to my heart—is when I get to introduce my favorite people to the word nerd community. I've known Janae for a long time; I know how much of her heart and soul she's poured into this book and I am so excited for the world to discover Zoe Washington and this sweet, heart-felt middle grade novel.

Without further ado, welcome Janae! It's so great to have you here.

• How Serial and Making a Murderer inspired From the Desk of Zoe Washington
• Aging a character down from YA to middle grade
• Weaving serious, real-world issues into a middle grade story
• Balancing parenting and writing
• Different types of writing friends and communities
• Finding a community-focused writing conference

For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/288

Hey there word nerds!

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Kiley Reid!

An Arizona native, Kiley Reid is a recent graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was the recipient of the Truman Capote Fellowship. Her short stories have been featured and are forthcoming in Ploughshares, December, New South, and Lumina. With the latter publication, her short story won first place in the 2017 Flash Prose Contest.

In Summer 2018, Kiley attended the Cuttyhunk Island Residency as the recipient of the Paul Cuffee Scholarship. Such a Fun Age is her debut novel, and the film and TV rights have already been acquired.

• How the idea of awkwardness and ownership inspired Such a Fun Age
• Using the imbalance of three characters to create a charged scene
• Creating complex and multi-faceted protagonists
• An in-depth analysis of a pivotal scene
• Using external and internal wants to deepen characterization

For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/287

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Marie Force.

Marie is the New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than seventy contemporary romances, including the Fatal Series. Thirty of her books have been New York Times bestsellers, and she has sold more than nine million books worldwide.

Today we'll be discussing book #15 in the Fatal series—Fatal Accusation—and the craft of putting together a romantic suspense series.

• How a news story inspired the Fatal series
• Building a romance series around one couple
• The difference between romance with suspense and romantic suspense
• Managing writing multiple series at once
• Balancing indie and traditional publishing

For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/286

Hey there word nerds!

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Morgan. A USA Today bestselling author Sarah writes lively, sexy contemporary stories for Harlequin.

Romantic Times has described her as "a magician with words" and nominated her books for their Reviewer's Choice Awards and their "Top Pick" slot. In 2012 Sarah received the prestigious RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America. Today we'll be discussing the art and craft behind her latest novel A Wedding in December.

• How one character inspired A Wedding in December
• What makes holiday romances so popular
• Navigating writing a story where "happily ever after" is guaranteed
• Developing an authentic setting
• Balancing family secrets in a multi-pov story

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/285

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan.

Virginia Loh-Hagan is an educator and author. She is the 2016 recipient of California Reading Association's Marcus Foster Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in reading. Currently, she is directing the Liberal Studies program at San Diego State University. She has a B.A. in English and a Masters in Elementary Education (K-8) and Special Education, specializing in Learning Disabilities (K-12), from the University of Virginia.

She earned her Doctorate in Education with an emphasis in Literacy and her dissertation was a qualitative study on the cultural authenticity of Asian-American children's literature. She serves on various book award committees and is the Cover Editor and Book Nook columnist for "The California Reader," the premier professional journal for the California Reading Association.

She has published over 300 children's books and academic publications. She especially likes to write about her Chinese-American heritage. After all, she was born on Flag Day in the Year of the Dragon. She's also interested in writing fun facts about monsters, weird bodily noises, urban legends, hot dogs, and anything else that's strange and awesome.

• The inspiration behind Nian the Chinese New Year Dragon
• How a career in teaching informed Dr. Loh-Hagan's writing
• Reading for comprehension versus reading for craft
• Using the rule of three in a picture book
• Staying true to the world you create

For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/284

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Carolyn Crimi and Corinna Luyken, the author and illustrator behind the buzz-worthy middle grade novel Weird Little Robots.

Carolyn Crimi is the author of several books for children, including Where's My Mummy?, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates, and There Might Be Lobsters. Weird Little Robots is her first novel and she lives in Illinois.

Corinna Luyken is the author-illustrator of the NY Times Bestseller, My Heart; as well as The Book of Mistakes, which received four starred reviews and has been praised by Entertainment Weekly, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and more.

She is the illustrator for Weird Little Robots, written by Carolyn Crimi and Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse, written by Marcy Campbell. She lives in Olympia, WA with her husband, daughter, and two cats.

• The inspiration behind Weird Little Robots
• Shifting from writing picture books to full length novels
• How to maintain creative momentum
• Building characters that feel alive and real
• How throwing away eighty pages of work inspired a stronger story and characters

For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/283

Hey there word nerds!

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sam Hooker and Seven Jane.

Sam Hooker writes darkly humorous fantasy novels about things like tyrannical despots and the masked scoundrels who tickle them without mercy. He knows all the best swear words, though he refuses to repeat them because he doesn't want to attract goblins.

Seven Jane is an author of dark fantasy and speculative fiction. Seven is a member of The Author's Guild and Women's Fiction Writing Association. She also writes a column for The Women's Fiction Association and is a contributor to The Nerd Daily.​

They are both authors of stories included in the anthology A MIDNIGHT CLEAR, six stories of not-so-merry yuletide whimsy, from Blackspot Books.

• Writing a short story when you usually write novels
• Adjusting your writing process to fit a new category
• Creating suspense in an insular, character-driven story
• Using winter as the inspiration for a short story

For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/282