Novelist Susan Straight, Mecca

Susan Straight, author of the novel, Mecca, which Michael Connelly called "a masterpiece," talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her new novel and how it came to be. Susan Straight was born in Riverside, CA, and still lives there with her family. She’s passionate about home, California, the Santa Ana River, the foothills and the deserts, and has been writing about southern California and the inland area for forty years. From her kitchen window, she can see the hospital where she was born, which her three daughters find kind of hilarious and pathetic; most days, she walks her dog Angel beside the Santa Ana River as she has since childhood, and then past the classrooms at Riverside City College, where she wrote her first short story, at 16, which is also kind of hilarious, but hopeful. She has written about the people of California for her new memoir, In the Country of Women, based on women’s stories told for five generations to Straight and her daughters, in driveways and trucks, at parks and funerals. She’s published that memoir, eight novels, and two books for children. Her short stories and essays have been published everywhere from The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Guardian to Alta, The Believer, McSweeneys, Zoetrope, Reader’s Digest, Real Simple, and Family Circle. She’s been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Lannan Prize for Fiction, a California Gold Medal for Fiction, and the Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. 

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(Recorded on July 12, 2022) 

Music and sound design by Travis Barrett 

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Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com 

Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com 

Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

Monique Roffey, author of "The Mermaid of Black Conch"

Monique Roffey is the author of six works of fiction and the 2012 memoir, With the Kisses of His Mouth. The British-Tobagonian author's latest book, The Mermaid of Black Conch, was released by a small press during the height of the 2020 pandemic. But, much like Roffey's outcast mermaid, the novel is enjoying a second life, winning prestigious awards, getting picked up by Knopf in the United States, and garnering praise in the press.

Roffey joins Marrie Stone to talk about the novel's unlikely journey, from her decision to launch a crowdfunding campaign in 2019 to the book's ultimate award-winning success. She also discusses writing compelling sex scenes, how Jungian analysis changed the trajectory of her writing, using television-style treatments for her manuscripts, why she needs 20 strong scenes before she begins writing, and so much more.  

For more information about the show, as well as additional writing tips, prompts, and perks, visit our Patreon page here.

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(Recorded on July 29, 2022)
(Broadcast date: August 1, 2022) 

Music and sound design by Travis Barrett
Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com
Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com
Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

 

Memoirist Tad Friend

Memoirist Tad Friend, author of In the Early Times, and Barbara DeMarco-Barrett discuss getting to the truth in memoir, what to do when you're asked to record your own audio book (and don't want to), revision, backstory vs. front story, and so much more.

Tad Friend has been a New Yorker staff writer since 1998. An excerpt of this book was published in an April issue, which is when we became aware of the memoir and knew we had to have Tad on the show. 

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(Recorded via Zoom on July 7, 2022) 

Music and sound design by Travis Barrett. More typewriter music on Spotify: Just My Type

Consider becoming a Patreon supporter. Now that we're no longer at the station, it's a bit more complicated producing shows so every donation helps more than you know. Here's the link. 

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com 

Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com 

Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

Debut crime writer Dwyer Murphy, author of "An Honest Living"

Dwyer Murphy is the editor-in-chief of CrimeReads, Literary Hub‘s crime fiction vertical and a popular destination for thriller readers. A former litigator, Murphy is the author of the debut novel An Honest Living (publishing on July 26, 2022 by Viking). 

Murphy joins Marrie Stone to talk about writing crime fiction and what he's learned about crime writing in his years working in the industry. He gives insights into New York in the early 2000s and setting a novel before the social media and technology boom. He also talks about creating recurring characters, how to maintain suspense, and other aspects of creating compelling crime fiction. 

For additional writing tips, prompts, and perks, visit our Patreon page here.

Download audio.  

(Recorded on July 7, 2022)
(Broadcast date: July 18, 2022) 

Music and sound design by Travis Barrett
Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com
Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com
Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

Novelist Julie Clark

Julie Clark, author of the new novel, The Lies I Tell, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about how she found her way to the domestic thriller genre, why she finds female con artists fascinating, her revision process, how she finds time to teach full-time and get her writing done, and so much more. 

Julie Clark is the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight. It has earned starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal, and the New York Times has called it “thoroughly absorbing.” It’s been named an Indie Next Pick, a Library Reads Pick, and a Best Book of 2020 by Amazon Editors and Apple Books. Her debut, The Ones We Choose, was published in 2018 and has been optioned for television by Lionsgate. She lives in Los Angeles with her two sons and a golden doodle with poor impulse control.

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 (Recorded in June, 2022) 

Support the show on Patreon.com/WritersonWriting!

 Music and sound design by Travis Barrett 

 Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com 

Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com 

Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com