Everybody's got a Story

Award-winning author and screenwriter Herb Williams-Dalgart joins us in this podcast to discuss his writing journey, thoughts on UCI's writing program and the commmunity of writers he found there, and his two novels - The French Girl's War and Jingle Boys (see more at HerbTheWriter.com).

Herb's work has been recognized by national and regional writing competitions for developing rich, memorable stories, layered characters, and fresh dialogue across many genres. His debut novel, The French Girl’s War, was a quarter-finalist in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award contest. His latest novel, Jingle Boys was awarded five stars from Readers’ Favorite and was named Finalist for the Page Turner Award for Writing.

The son of immigrants and the grandson of a World War II veteran after whom he was named, Herb maintains a great respect for and fascination with “the greatest generation” and with the period. He holds a degree in English and an emphasis in creative writing from UC Santa Barbara and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA’s Writer’s Program. When not writing fiction or screenplays, he spends time with his wife, their children and grandchildren, and the family dog in Southern California.

Social Media genius and The Best of Laguna Beach maven Diane Armitage offers writers advice and "how to" tips on the subject of promoting their writing. Diane discusses the importance of "leverage" and why writers owe it to themselves and their readers to make sure they "don't paddle around the harbor" but get their work out there! Diane also reveals that it's OK for writers to make money and provides practical insights on how to build readership and potential income streams through joint ventures with others (click here to learn more about her masterclass).

Diane, Bob Proctor's writing partner for 27 years, has leveraged the learnings of her experiences to create an awesome magical life. Through a series of blogs and websites as well as her radio show here on KXFM she provides her perspective on follies, foibles, "Best of Laguna Beach" discoveries and constant reminders that you, too, can fly as high as you dare to go.

We experienced a bit of a plot twist when today's guest came down with the flu so we pivoted to a new feature - selected readings of first chapters from books by authors who have previously appeared on the show!

This episode features Becoming Modigliani, by Henri Colt; Signs of Life, by Randy Kraft, and The Dream Stitcher, by Deborah Gaal. Click on the title of each work for more information. I also threw in a quick review of the Laguna Beach Writers' Calendar where I highlight upcoming literary events occuring in the coming month. One notable event I failed to mention is Love Out Loud, an open mic reading event put on by Third Street Writers hosted at Laguna Beach Books on February 13, 2025 starting at 6:00PM. These reading events are always an extremely fun and engaging night out as well as a great opportunity to meet and network with local authors. Hope to see you there!

Please feel free to email me at [email protected] with any suggestions for guest, topics, ideas or just general questions and chit chat. I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for listening to the show!

Producer, writer, director in film and television, and professor Christine Fugate takes us behind the camera to give writers insights into how to use perspective, story telling, and the well crafted lie in dialogue to enhance our tales. Along the way we discuss talent meeting opportunity, advice on travel, an interlude with the rock band KISS and thoughts on the power of one-act plays.

Although we didn't chat about it in this episode, I encourage listeners to check out Christine's film, Queen Moorea and learn more about the silent disability Williams Syndrome (EDS), with which Christine herself has been diagnosed.

Christine is an award-winning producer and director whose work has been screened in theaters and broadcast on channels around the world. She has produced pilots and programming for networks including Discovery, VH1, Disney, A&E, Sundance, Travel Channel, PBS, and HBO. She has also spent time interviewing celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, Julie Andrews, and Anne Hathaway. For her unscripted work, she was named one of Showbiz's Top 100 Directors. 

Before working in unscripted, she spent years working in feature films as a Senior VP of Creative Affairs at Pacific Rim Productions and Schroeder & Hoffman Productions at Sony Pictures, and as a 2nd Unit Director at Five Star Productions in Bangkok, Thailand. She has also spent time filming in Fiji, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Malawi, and Thailand. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Documentary and Narrative Film at Chapman University.

KXFM's own Jason Feddy joins the show this week but not for the reason you think! A Laguna Beach icon and music legend, Jason takes us in a different direction - he shares his thoughts on Apologies - how to do it well and why you need to do it more now than ever.

Jason discusses his youth and coming of age in England, early years with rock bands and music, his discent into the dark night of the soul and subsequent resurrection here in Laguna Beach. Along the way Jason learned some things about himself and his relationships with others that became the seed of a book (working title - Cringe).

In this week's episode we mind our Ps & Qs and leave no participle dangled as guest author Rebecca Lyles joins us to humorously explore communication stumbling blocks, reveal common errors in the use of the English language, and provide time-tested advice on how to write and speak effectively. We also discuss the importance of finding a good editor and -- SPOILER ALERT -- reading the best writers in whatever genre you prefer in order to become a better writer!

Rebecca shares her observations and advice from her book, From the Errors of Others, a collection of crisp, witty and slyly informative essays on the subject of communication - good, bad and patently bizarre, which Richard Nordquist, PhD. describes as a "...refreshing alternative to those heavy hand-books we never opened in school. It is not only far more entertaining than those dreary tomes,...it's also much more enlightening. Imagine that, a smart book about writing and speaking effectively that people will actually enjoy reading."

As an added fun bonus, I encourage you to listen to the song, Thank You for Your Time by Gotye that strikes a similar chord with a passage found on p.31 of From the Errors of Others

Rebecca worked for thirty years as a technical writer, editor, and manager for companies including AT&T, FileNet, and IBM and has helped numerous business improve their communication and training procedures. She has also contributed paradoy songs for more than a decade for No Square Theater.

Deborah Gaal has published two novels: Synchronicities on the Avenue of the Saints and The Dream Stitcher. Deborah enjoys crafting novels that bring darkness into the light, touch on societal issues, and make our personal trials seem relevant and manageable through the allegory of relatable characters.

In today's episode, Deborah stitches us a picture of her mothers's and father's respective histories provided the inspiration for her two novels, each weaving tales grounded in history with a sense of wonder, mysticism, and an endearing charm for readers. Deborah shares her process, which involves listening mindfully to the muses who speak with her as well as the importance of feedback and editing as we learn the fantastic backgound to her journey from business owner and corporate success to fulfilling her own artistic dreams.

Host John Tynan rings in the New Year by paying homage to Holiday Digest 2024, a collaboration with the Laguna Beach Independent and Third Street Writers that appears during the holiday season. For the past seven years, selected writers have shared holiday-themed stories with readers of the Indy.

In the first episode of Season 2, John reads ten original stories written by members of Third Street Writers and printed in The Indy's Holiday Digest between November 22 and December 20th: The first story printed in the 2024 edition can be found here - Home is Where the Heart Is at Thanksgiving.The additional nine stories featured in this episode can be found by searching The Independent's archives: https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/.

Whether your new to Flash Fiction or a seasoned pro, this episode looks to bring a new perspective to the genre by looking at select songs and their lyrics as a form of flash fiction. In particular, we feature the songs "Jericho Bay" and "Charlie's Sky" (Icehouse), "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" (Jim Croce), "The Night That the Lights Went Out in Georgia" (Vicki Lawrence), and "Family Snapshot" (Peter Gabriel) to illustrate various tips and tricks on how to write fast fiction.

Norma Sadler reads from her book of poetry (Chasing the Past and Other Poems) and discusses how she has evolved since writing her two novels (Krystal's Notebook and Flight of the Swan). Along the way we discuss how her writing was influenced from her experience growing up in Pittsburgh and the midwest, coming of age in the 1960s, and her eventual move to California. Norma also shares some keen insights on her process, including the importance of shredding paper, and her experiences with Third Street Writers.