Dennis Palumbo talks about his books and the challenges writers encounter

Dennis Palumbo, author of Fever Dream and Writing from the Inside Out, talks with Barbara about his books and the challenges that writers encounter.

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(Broadcast date: April 4, 2012)

Pie Evangelist Beth Howard talks about her memoir with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Beth Howard, author of Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Love and Pie (Harlequin) discusses how she came to write this memoir about becoming a widow at age 47, and how pie saved her.

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(Broadcast date: April 18, 2012)

Get creative...doing something...anything

Lots of writers do more than write.  Billy Collins not only writes poetry; he draws. Melissa Bank is a visual artist, too.   Lyanda Lynn Haupt sews and knits.  Beth Howard makes pie.  I knit, weave, and make jewelry (and garden, and bake).  Why do we feel constrained, as writers, to only write?  I need my hands and eyes immersed in color, in texture, which is why yarn and beads have my attention.  There's nothing wrong with being a Renaissance woman or man.  If anything, it may make you more content. Because when you're frustrated with writing, you can do whatever else it is you do for creative gratification.  It'll keep you from spending too much time cleaning your house or eating, and you may end up with art or crafts you wouldn't otherwise have. This other creative interest doesn't have to take away from your writing time. You watch movies or TV, right? Don't just sit and watch.  Pick up a sketch pad or skein of yarn and get busy. When you're feeling creative, do you only feel like writing? Or do you do something else? Tell me about it.

Memoirist James Brown on Writers on Writing

Just now podcast: Memoirist James Brown, author of The Los Angeles Diaries and This River spends an hour with me on the show talking about his books, the art and craft of memoir, and the business of publishing.  (He will appear on my memoir panel at Literary Orange on April 14, 2012 at UC-Irvine.  He will also be guest author at our Pen on Fire Writers Salon on May 15, 2012.


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 (Broadcast date: March 28, 2012)