Everybody's got a Story

Members of the 2025-26 Laguna Beach Arts Alliance (LBAA) Board & Advisors hang out with us on this episode to talk about the tremendous advocacy, collaboration, and impact the LBAA has on the Laguna Beach arts scene. Michael Ervin (President), Jay Kramer (Vice President), Amy Dechary (Advisor), and Nancy Villere (Advisor) join me (newly appointed Treasurer) to talk about the organization's history, benefits of membership, and incredible work to keep the arts foremost among the culture of Laguna Beach.

Along the way we discuss a number of the programs, networking, and serendipitous partnerships the LBAA has helped bring to life; take a deep dive into the annual Art Stars awards gala; wax poetic about the Stu News Arts Calendar; give thanks for the strong collaboration with the city; and share appreciation for the hotels who help support the arts through the occupany tax.

Our guests also share a bit about their LBAA member organizations (Laguna Beach Arts Commission, Laguna Beach Community Band, Third Street Writers, the Sawdust Arts Festival), the not-so-hidden gems of the Laguna Art Museum and LCAD, and share some of the exciting events coming up in the near future.

Third Street Writers members Claire Purcell and Norma Sadler, winners of the two top prizes in the 2025 John Gardiner Poetry Contest, are joined by Laguna Beach poet extraordinaire Ellen Girardeau Kempler. In this episode, the trio discuss the history of the John Gardiner Contest, his legacy, and their experiences taking part in and winning prizes in this year's competition.

The theme of the 27th Annual John Gardiner Poetry contest, sponsored by the Laguna Beach Public Library, was "Worlds of Wonder". Claire's poem, "New Mexico Blue Corn" took first prize; Norma's work, "Too Many Tomatoes" was awarded second prize. Both poets read their prize winning poems at a special public event on June 7 and again on today's show!

Our good friend Ellen Girardeau Kempler returns to the show with her recently publihed book of poetry, Fire in My Head / Flame in My Heart - Poems for the Pyrocene. A fiting release in the midst of Earth Month, this collection of evocative, thought provoking works challenges the reader to think about their impact on this blue orb we all call home.

If Escher's drawing were turned into novels you would enter the world and mind of Tim Wombly. Author of two novels, A Bonafide Detective and Road To Eden, Tim writes "with a pen dipped in the vibrant ink of magical realism and historical intrigue...In Twombly’s universe, the mundane deftly intertwines with the miraculous. What would seem harrowing, suddenly morphs into the hilarious."

In edition to his novels, Tim and I discuss fourth grade girlfriends, being signed by Capitol Records at the age of fifteen, playing bass guitar on tour with Ike and Tina Turner and a whole lot of other subjects that you just have to hear to believe!

Cecile Sarruf is an Arab-American author originally from Southern California. Born to a mother of Syro-Lebanese ancestry from Cairo and a Midwestern father, Cecile is the eldest of five. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from CSULB and an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles. Educated in the high arts: opera, piano, painting and literature, Cecile explores all means of self-expression in order to make her voice heard. 

Cecile is author of Kitchen in Beirut: a Memoir. Her other work can be found online in literary journals, as well as in print within anthologies. She is fluid in walking between East and West as a feminist, and is keen on the socio-political when standing at the edge of cultural crossroads. She also enjoys writing the occasional anecdotal essay from her personal life.

Sara Winokur introduces listeners to the worlds of genetic forensics, the people of Iceland, and a series of murders! In her Nordic noir novel “Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders,” a young boy disappears from a fjord in Iceland. Years later, his twin sister Brynja, a DNA scientist, searches for him but lands in a world of trouble. Sara's second novel, the historical thriller “Ivory Bones: The Lewis Chessmen Murders,” finds Brynja racing against time to find the valuable medieval chess pieces before she herself becomes the target.

Sara Winokur is a geneticist, researcher, and author. Her historical fiction and cultural thrillers embody elements of DNA and forensic science, as she has a Ph.D. in molecular genetics. Her research helped identify mutations underlying muscular dystrophy, and Huntington’s disease.

As an ovarian cancer thriver, Sara has a sense of gratitude, strength, and perspective that she extends to family, friends, work, and her writing. On her journey from science to writing, she says “Let go of who you are and become what you might be. Do what scares you.” A mother of three, Sara resides with her husband and writes in Southern California. That is, when she is not traveling the world in search of unique stories.

Randy Kraft returns to the studio during Women's History Month to discuss three ground-breaking women writers: Willa Cather, Emma Wharton and Virginia Woolf.

An American writer and designer, Wharton realistically portrayed in her works the lives and morals of the Gilded Age. In 1921, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Age of Innocence. Her other well-known works are The House of Mirth, the novella Ethan Frome, and several notable ghost stories.

In contrast to Wharton, Cather's novels featured life on the Great Plains, including O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Ántonia. She became the second woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours, a novel set during World War I.

Virginia Woolf was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th century modernist authors. She pioneered the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Her works include The Voyage Out, To the Lighthouse, Orlando: A Biography, and Between Acts.

Katy Motiey joins the show today to discuss her writing journey that led to the publication of her book, Imperfect, the story of one woman’s loss, courage, love, and perseverance before and during the Iranian Revolution. Based on the experiences of the author’s mother, the story is old as a fictionalized account of true events as Vida Shamsa’s life takes an unexpected and dramatic turn with the sudden death of her young husband in 1971.

Katy is an attorney, the Chief Legal, Administrative and Sustainability Officer at a US publicly traded company. She graduated from Georgetown University, undergraduate and law school. Born in Iran, she immigrated to the US from Iran at age ten with her mother and brother during the Iranian Revolution. Katy enjoys spending time with family, including her remarkable mother, the subject of her first novel, her loving significant other, Robert, a childhood classmate from Iran, and their adorable dog Molly (aka “Killer”). During her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, skiing, working out, and spending time with amazing friends and neighbors.

Author, high school teacher, and graphics design artisit David Block joins us this week to discuss how he combined his passion for graphic design and storytelling to create "The Dragon Codex: Quest for the Relics of Design," a captivating middle-grade fantasy adventure that weaves together the principles of graphic design with an enchanting narrative. Inspired by his daughter, whose artistic creativity and beautiful spirit are immortalized in the story through Aqureil's Ring, David seeks to educate and inspire young readers through the tale of three young dragons who must learn magic and graphic design in order to save their realm from creative destruction.

David's introduction to the basics of graphic design and application of its principles provides writers with a set of additional tools and practical tips through which to think about perspective, imagery, scene setting, and designing their stories to achieve maximum impact.

David Block is a seasoned graphic designer and educator with over 30 years of experience in the field. As a Graphic Design and Logo Designer, he has dedicated his career to both professional design and teaching the next generation of creative minds. David's commitment to excellence is evident in his role with North Orange County ROP at El Dorado High School, where he runs a work-based learning program for advanced and honors students, preparing them for real-world success.

In addition to his teaching and writing, David is the host of "The Design Rescue Show," a YouTube series that explores the journeys of creative professionals across various fields. His ability to connect with and celebrate the stories of others has made the show a valuable resource for aspiring designers.