The Nuts and Bolts of Writing

Today, host Fortunus Games talks to Wren Mafyrneen (Instagram: @wrenby_m) about their graphic novel, “The House on Caple Hill.” Wren appeared on many episodes in Season 1, but this is the first episode they’ve appeared on for Season 2! Wren has talked extensively about their plans and progress on “The House on Caple Hill.” Check out the links in the descriptions to see all of the “House on Caple Hill” episodes.

Wren's bio:

Wren Mafyrneen (they/them) is a graphic novelist, writer, and artist. Their main project is "The House on Caple Hill," a fantasy graphic novel in nine parts that explores the main character's journey to find pieces of themself scattered throughout the cosmos. Wren enjoys creating nouveau-style watercolor paintings and illustrations, dabbling in music ranging in styles from classical to classic rock, writing the occasional poem, and exploring the beaches and forests of their home near the Northeastern US coast.

Hi, Wren, it’s nice to have you back! 

The artwork in the thumbnail is by Wren.

Watch all of “The House on Caple Hill” episodes here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvd4C7fSOawTxVO2FXg_5zK28nzmkGcpF 

Listen to all of “The House on Caple Hill” episodes here: https://www.podpage.com/the-nuts-and-bolts-of-writing/category/wren-mafyrneens-the-house-on-caple-hill/

Hi, everyone. Today, we’re talking to artist and writer Carrie Knowles about her approach to visual art. This is part three of our interviews with Carrie — please check out episodes 211 and 212 for my previous discussions with her about writing fiction and non-fiction, respectively.

Carrie Knowles is a prolific award-winning author and arts advocate. Along with her nine books, she has published short stories, newspaper and magazine articles, and received numerous awards for her writing. 

In addition to being a writer, she is also a visual artist. In 2017, she was invited to be one of seven international artists for a special exhibition in Brisbane, Australia. The seven of them were all artists who worked in more than one genre. The theme of the show was “The Inevitable Past”.  They were tasked with the job of responding to the theme by bringing together their artwork with their other creative voice. 

In thinking about what was inevitable about her own past, Carrie began writing about her father’s mother who died during his birth leaving many unanswered questions as to who she was and where she was going when she arrived at the Door of Hope (a home for unwed mothers in Macon, Georgia) badly beaten, unconscious, and very pregnant.

Here’s what the curator of the show wrote about Carrie’s work:

It has been asked 'is Carrie an author who aeates visual art, or an artist who writes?' For her, it is all part of the one thing. While her literary work has often dominated her creative endeavors, the multi-levelled cross-overs between these fields, though often subtle,are  implicitly present. 

Growing up in middle America with a high achieving father, who was also blind, her drive to do her own thing (be a writer and artist), while rejecting all perceived limitations, WAS almost inevitable. Initially inspired to paint, parental pressure to do something less 'self·indulgent' saw her commence tertiary study in Physical Therapies, before switching to an Engllsh major — Carrie the author was born. Journalism, writing education papers, and teaching (writing and art) followed before postgraduate studies in sociology and psychology. 

Yet throughout, her creative expression in both literary and visual forms continued. Now the author of five intimately moving books (fiction and non-fiction, in which the constant passsage of time is a pivotal context), innumerable articles, short stories, poetry and social commentaries — with a growing number of awards — her equally emotive visual art has always been nascently entwined with her literary practice, and each is increasingly informed by and reflective of the other.

To read more about how writing about her own inevitable past developed into a novel, and how the artwork she presented in Brisbane became a 27 foot-long hand dyed and embroidered linen shroud, go to Carrie’s website: https://www.cjanework.com/the-inevitable-past 

In the past two episodes, we talked to Carrie about her approach to writing fiction and non-fiction. In this episode, we’ll be talking about Carrie’s approach to visual arts.

You can purchase and see some of Carrie’s art through Marguerite Guitreau’s online store: https://www.chairish.com/shop/margueriteguitreau 

Marguerite Guitreau’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marguerite_guitreau/ 

Today, host Imelda Wei Ding Lo (@fortunusgames) talks to artist and writer Carrie Knowles about her approach to writing non-fiction. Check out our previous episode, ep 211, about her approach to writing fiction.

Carrie Knowles is a prolific award-winning author and arts advocate. 

Along with her nine books, she has published short stories, newspaper, and magazine articles, and received numerous awards for her writing. 

She was named the North Carolina Piedmont Laureate for Short Fiction in 2014. 

Carrie has published five novels: Lillian’s Garden, Ashoan’s Rug, A Garden Wall in Provence, The Inevitable Past, and A Musical Affair, as well as Black Tie Optional, a collection of 17 of her short stories. Her memoir: The Last Childhood: A Family Story of Alzheimer's, has been described as a “must read” for family members caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s.

During her time as the 2014 Piedmont Laureate, conducting writing workshops across five counties in North Carolina, she wrote a writing workbook aimed at providing the basic tools a new writer would need to get started: A Self-Guided Workbook and Gentle Tour on Learning How to Write Stories from Start to Finish.

She writes a personal perspectives column for Psychology Today, Shifting Forward, and has recently published a collection of the first 50 stories from her column titled: Shifting Forward: Fifty Reflections on Everyday Life.

To learn more about Carrie, go to her website: www.cjanework.com  

Last episode, we talked to Carrie about her approach to writing fiction. In this episode, we’ll be talking about Carrie’s approach to writing non-fiction.

In this episode, Imelda asks Carrie these questions:

Today, co-hosts Tete DePunk and R.N. Roveleh review Christopher Nolan's movie, "Oppenheimer" (2023). Find out why both of them loved it so much!

Today, host Imelda Wei Ding Lo (@fortunusgames) talks to artist and writer Carrie Knowles about her approach to writing fiction. We will continue our conversation with her in episodes 212 and 213, where we’ll talk about her approach to writing non-fiction and visual art, respectively.

Carrie Knowles is a prolific award-winning author and arts advocate. 

Along with her nine books, she has published short stories, newspaper, and magazine articles, and received numerous awards for her writing. 

She was named the North Carolina Piedmont Laureate for Short Fiction in 2014. 

Carrie has published five novels: Lillian’s Garden, Ashoan’s Rug, A Garden Wall in Provence, The Inevitable Past, and A Musical Affair, as well Black Tie Optional, a collection of 17 of her short stories. Her memoir: The Last Childhood: A Family Story of Alzheimer's, has been described as a “must read” for family members caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s.

During her time as the 2014 Piedmont Laureate, conducting writing workshops across five counties in North Carolina, she wrote a writing workbook aimed at providing the basic tools a new writer would need to get started: A Self-Guided Workbook and Gentle Tour on Learning How to Write Stories from Start to Finish.

She writes a personal perspectives column for Psychology Today, Shifting Forward, and has recently published a collection of the first 50 stories from her column titled: Shifting Forward: Fifty Reflections on Everyday Life.

To learn more about Carrie, go to her website: www.cjanework.com  

In this episode, we’ll be talking about Carrie’s approach to writing fiction. Imelda asks her the following questions:

Today, co-host R.N. Roveleh interviews author Peggy Payne about her books. She asks Peggy the following questions:

1) You’ve just released a new novel entitled, “My Life of Earth and Elsewhere”, a Young Adult story with a 16-year-old protagonist, Darcy. Which is interesting, because your previous books, Sister India, Cobalt Blue, Revelation, are adult fiction, with heavy themes and very mature experiences. What inspired you to write a Young Adult book?

2) Darcy, your protagonist, in spite of her supernatural experiences, is a very relatable character. How do you approach creating relatable and authentic teenage characters?

3) What are some of the main themes that you’ve tackled in this book?

4) How do you balance entertainment and storytelling with addressing important issues or conveying meaningful messages in your Young Adult novels? 

5) Young Adult fiction usually has a more poignant didactic purpose than other genres, since it’s supposed to introduce young readers to certain topics or to educate them. Do you think there is more pressure on a Young Adult writer when tackling sensitive topics? More censorship, in this sense?

6) You know quite a bit about writing sex, based on your previous books - it is, after all, one of the main themes in Cobalt Blue. What makes a good sex scene?

7) Do you have a unique approach to sex or romance scenes in Young Adult, since Young Adult is mostly for a younger audience? 

8) Your books are heavily spiritual, and “My Life of Earth and Elsewhere” also features supernatural experiences. What draws you to this theme?

9) How would you describe the supernatural? What is the line between supernatural and fantasy for you?

10) What was the most challenging part about writing this book? How about the most fun part?

11) What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to write Young Adult novels?

Peggy’s website: https://www.peggypayne.com/ 

Peggy’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggypayne

Peggy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Peggy-Payne/author/B001HPQRO0?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

In this episode, host Imelda Wei Ding Lo (a.k.a. Fortunus Games) interviews a special guest: Andrew Steeves, co-owner of Gaspereau Press, a literary publisher and printer based in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada. 

Imelda and one of the podcast co-hosts, Tete DePunk, first became aware of Gaspereau Press when we went to the Fisher Small and Fine Press fair at the University of Toronto back in September 2022. We were immediately struck by the originality and beauty of its books. According to the Gaspereau Press website (which we’ve linked to in the description), the press “employs an unusual mixture of techniques & technologies in its book production, ranging from traditional letterpress printing using metal type and photopolymer plates to modern offset lithographic printing using customized digital type.”

As for Andrew himself, he was born in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. After taking degrees in Criminology and English, he settled near Kentville, Nova Scotia, and founded Gaspereau Press with Gary Dunfield. He spends his time reading, writing, editing, designing, typesetting, printing, binding, marketing, selling and talking about books. 

Among his recent limited-edition letterpress books is Literarum Ex Arboribus: An Exuberant Showing of the Wood Type at Gaspereau Press (2020), a three-year undertaking that resulted in the creation of over 150 wood type specimens.

Imelda asks Andrew the following questions in this podcasts:

1. How is it like to run Gaspereau Press?

2. What does being a small press publisher mean to you? What's the philosophy behind your publishing program?

3. How have you been able to attract so many talented writers?

4. Your books have a unique style - who designs these books? Why are these particular styles chosen?

5. Where do you See Gaspereau Press 5 years from now?

6. What challenges do you face in the press/publishing market?

Links:

Today, R. N. Roveleh, one of the co-hosts of The Nuts and Bolts of Writing, will be interviewing writer Ryan Keating. Four of his poems have appeared in our literary magazine “The Unconventional Courier."

Ryan Keating is a writer, pastor, and winemaker on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. His work can be found in publications such as Saint Katherine Review, Ekstasis Magazine, Amethyst Review, Macrina Magazine, Fathom, Vocivia, Roi Fainéant, and Miras Dergi, where he is a regular contributor in English and Turkish.

R.N. Roveleh asks Ryan the following questions:

Check out the poems Ryan submitted to The Unconventional Courier: https://tetedepunk.wixsite.com/theunconcourier/post/4-poems-by-ryan-keating 

Hi, everyone. Today, it’s just me, Fortunus Games, the host of this podcast.

Today, I’ll be reviewing a book that I read last year, “A Marker To Measure Drift” by Alexander Maksik. I found it on discount through Chapters Indigo back in October 2022 and couldn’t believe I only had to pay 4.99 for such a great book.

My “A Marker To Measure Drift” review on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5017696398 

On Substack: https://fortunusgames.substack.com/p/a-marker-to-measure-drift 

On Medium: https://medium.com/@fortunus.games/book-review-a-marker-to-measure-drift-by-alexander-maksik-8929fdfb4629 

Today, host Fortunus Games and co-host R.N. Roveleh list 10 tips for determining whether you're writing for escapism. This is an important topic because I think all of us have struggled to balance escapism and writing. 

Our 10 tips are: