DIY MFA Radio

Hello word nerds! Today I'm interviewing Ken Zak about writing poetic prose and the process behind his book, The Poet's Secret.

Kenneth Zak is an aquatic nomad of Bohemian-Polish ancestry. As a lad, he dove into Lake Erie in search of a silver coin. Decades later, he surfaced off the island of Crete with a tale filled with mystical sea turtles, sunken treasure and a young woman's search for a reclusive poet, his muse and the myth of eternal love.

A summa cum laude graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in Business and concentration in Art History, Zak went on to receive his JD and follow the waves to California. He eventually shut down a successful law practice in quest of a deeper purpose, freeing his creative self in a mountaintop village in Crete where he began his debut novel, The Poet's Secret. Since his time in Crete, he continued work on the manuscript and his poetry in Bali, Costa Rica, Thailand, Cambodia and South America.

An avid surfer and free diver, Ken's passions also include reading, music, ocean swimming, the Tibetan Rites and yoga. He currently serves as General Counsel for a large private brokerage company and resides in San Diego, California.

In this episode, Ken and I discuss:

• Juggling real life and writing.
• Building a support system to help you achieve your goals.
• The role of poetry in writing prose.
• Being a guy who writes Romance.
• The decision to self-publish and why you should build a publishing team.

Plus, Ken's #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/063

Hello word nerds! Today I'm interviewing Ken Zak about writing poetic prose and the process behind his book, The Poet's Secret.

Kenneth Zak is an aquatic nomad of Bohemian-Polish ancestry. As a lad, he dove into Lake Erie in search of a silver coin. Decades later, he surfaced off the island of Crete with a tale filled with mystical sea turtles, sunken treasure and a young woman’s search for a reclusive poet, his muse and the myth of eternal love.

A summa cum laude graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in Business and concentration in Art History, Zak went on to receive his JD and follow the waves to California. He eventually shut down a successful law practice in quest of a deeper purpose, freeing his creative self in a mountaintop village in Crete where he began his debut novel, The Poet’s Secret. Since his time in Crete, he continued work on the manuscript and his poetry in Bali, Costa Rica, Thailand, Cambodia and South America.

An avid surfer and free diver, Ken’s passions also include reading, music, ocean swimming, the Tibetan Rites and yoga. He currently serves as General Counsel for a large private brokerage company and resides in San Diego, California.

In this episode, Ken and I discuss:

• Juggling real life and writing.
• Building a support system to help you achieve your goals.
• The role of poetry in writing prose.
• Being a guy who writes Romance.
• The decision to self-publish and why you should build a publishing team.

Plus, Ken's #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/063

Hey Word Nerds! Today's episode is going to be so awesome because I'm talking to debut author Kim Liggett, a fabulous YA author and good friend. Her book, Blood and Salt, is out now, and in this episode she and I chat about taking this project from concept to bookshelf.

• World-building, sensory detail, and creative descriptions.
• Having an obsession and using it to fuel your writing.
• Organizing the plot to build suspense, with shifting timelines and surprise reveals.
• Navigating the revision and edit process to get the best result.
• Creative promotion for books.

Plus her #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/062

Hey Word Nerds! Today’s episode is going to be so awesome because I'm talking to debut author Kim Liggett, a fabulous YA author and good friend. Her book, Blood and Salt, is out now, and in this episode she and I chat about taking this project from concept to bookshelf.

• World-building, sensory detail, and creative descriptions.
• Having an obsession and using it to fuel your writing.
• Organizing the plot to build suspense, with shifting timelines and surprise reveals.
• Navigating the revision and edit process to get the best result.
• Creative promotion for books.

Plus her #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/062

Hey there, Word Nerds! Thanks for joining me for today's episode. Today I'll be interviewing Barbara Baig about how to write spellbinding sentences, based on her new book by the same title.

This episode was so much fun to record because as soon as Barbara and I started chatting, I knew I had found a likeminded word nerd and writing teacher. Her approach to writing as a practice and as a teachable skill goes hand in hand with the DIY MFA philosophy and her focus on sentence-level craft will compliment the more "big picture" techniques you learn here at DIY MFA.

I hope you get as much out of this conversation as I did, and if you want to learn more about how to use language in a way that moves and resonates with your readers, check out her books below or enter to win her latest book in a Goodreads giveaway!

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/061

Hey there, Word Nerds! Thanks for joining me for today’s episode. Today I’ll be interviewing Barbara Baig about how to write spellbinding sentences, based on her new book by the same title.

This episode was so much fun to record because as soon as Barbara and I started chatting, I knew I had found a likeminded word nerd and writing teacher. Her approach to writing as a practice and as a teachable skill goes hand in hand with the DIY MFA philosophy and her focus on sentence-level craft will compliment the more "big picture" techniques you learn here at DIY MFA.

I hope you get as much out of this conversation as I did, and if you want to learn more about how to use language in a way that moves and resonates with your readers, check out her books below or enter to win her latest book in a Goodreads giveaway!

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/061

Hey there, Word Nerds! I'm so excited to share this interview with you today. I'll be talking to Linda Fairstein about the world she built in her famed "Alex Cooper" series. Linda is a former Manhattan prosecutor and New York Times bestselling author. Her books are international bestsellers and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Her latest (the 17th in the series) is Devil's Bridge, which is out now.

Before turning to writing, Linda was chief of the Sex Crimes Unit of the district attorney's office in Manhattan for more than two decades, so basically she's like an SVU prosecutor, but for real. Not only that, she is America's foremost legal expert on sexual assault and domestic violence. Linda lives in Manhattan and on Martha's Vineyard.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/060

Hey there, Word Nerds! I’m so excited to share this interview with you today. I’ll be talking to Linda Fairstein about the world she built in her famed "Alex Cooper" series. Linda is a former Manhattan prosecutor and New York Times bestselling author. Her books are international bestsellers and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Her latest (the 17th in the series) is Devil's Bridge, which is out now.

Before turning to writing, Linda was chief of the Sex Crimes Unit of the district attorney’s office in Manhattan for more than two decades, so basically she's like an SVU prosecutor, but for real. Not only that, she is America’s foremost legal expert on sexual assault and domestic violence. Linda lives in Manhattan and on Martha’s Vineyard.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/060

Hey there word nerds! Gabriela here with another exciting interview episode on DIY MFA Radio. Today I'm thrilled to share my recent conversation with Alka Dhillon, author of The OM Factor: A Woman's Spiritual Guide to Leadership.

Alka Dhillon is the founder and CEO of Technalink, one of the leading companies in the Washington Metropolitan area providing Information Technology and Management Consulting services to both government and commercial clients. She has won numerous awards and honors, and she blogs at The Spiritual CEO.

In this episode Alka and I discuss:

• Accessing your creative potential through meditation. (Everyone has two minutes)
• Being able to release your creative agenda to meet your creative inspiration.
• How to be more responsive than reactive.
• Writers and leadership.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/059

Hey there word nerds! Gabriela here with another exciting interview episode on DIY MFA Radio. Today I’m thrilled to share my recent conversation with Alka Dhillon, author of The OM Factor: A Woman's Spiritual Guide to Leadership.

Alka Dhillon is the founder and CEO of Technalink, one of the leading companies in the Washington Metropolitan area providing Information Technology and Management Consulting services to both government and commercial clients. She has won numerous awards and honors, and she blogs at The Spiritual CEO.

In this episode Alka and I discuss:

• Accessing your creative potential through meditation.
  (Everyone has two minutes)
• Being able to release your creative agenda to meet your creative inspiration.
• How to be more responsive than reactive.
• Writers and leadership.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/059