Author & illustrator Swan Huntley joins the show to celebrate her two new books, I WANT YOU MORE (Zibby Books), and YOU'RE GROUNDED: An Anti-Self-Help Book to Calm You the F*ck Down (Tarcherperigee). We talk about how ghostwriting a memoir for a Real Housewife of New York led her to write I Want You More, a thriller novel about fame, identity, and murder, why she uses the first person in fiction and loves the challenge of lying to the reader, how we're seen by others and how we want to be seen, and the fun of writing thrillers and melding character with a big plot. We also talk about how You're Grounded took shape as a melding of words and drawings, how she settled on "anti-self-help", how her various addictions shaped her identity and what it meant to be herself as she overcame (some of) them, how taking up drawing in a writing lull helped bring out different voices, and the need to calm the f*ck down. We also discuss the creation of identity vs. the discovery of identity, why she biked the El Camino pilgrimage solo, the memoir she's working on, the nature of celebrity & our reactions around famous people (& her upcoming essay, "My Best Friend Is Famous"), how she found her place in Los Angeles, and more. Follow Swan on Instagram • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal and via our e-newsletter