Maggie Wellman has been collecting short stories for several years now, and has just published her second collection, "Falling Into the Silence." The fictional stories are often told from the perspective a young girl just learning the shape of the world, an observer who says little and misses nothing. As actor Bruce Davison wrote, "These short stories are compelling little gems that sparkle like the pastiche of a master water colorist."

Wellman has lived in Ojai for three decades, growing up in Los Angeles as the seventh child (hence her middle name) of legendary director William A. Wellman (winner of the very first Oscar in 1927) and Dorothy Coonan, a former dancer, his fourth wife. She talks about her writing process, the insights she seeks to convey through the written word, enduring through the pandemic in Ojai,  her pet pig, dogs and children. She also talks about growing up in Hollywood as the youngest in a large, well-connected family, of her own turn in show business and leaving that world behind.

We did not talk about the Battle of Midway, Mexican jumping beans or ranked choice voting.