An Evening with fiction writers Katie Arnoldi and Marisa Matarazzo

Last night was another wonderful night at the spectacular SCAPE Gallery in Corona del Mar. The evening renewed my belief that Orange County does indeed want, and need, literary events like this one. We had a full house for these two authors, whom I admire in so many ways. Take a look:

















Find more on Katie Arnoldi here and more on Marisa Matarazzo here. If you were in attendance, feel free to post comments below. What did you get out of the evening?






Thanks to Allison Johnson and Travis Barrett for photography.

My friend, the author, Susan Straight sent this to me. Please read:

May 11, 2011

To: Students in the Creative Writing Department, and all UC Students, Their Families and Faculty

From: Professor Susan Straight

I’ve never written a letter to all the students in our department, or to families and faculty, but this is a critical time for us. In my 23 years of teaching at UCRiverside, I have never felt our educational future so threatened.

The cuts in our state budget will deeply affect classes not only in the Creative Writing Department, but in all departments and on all campuses, this fall. The cuts will affect your education (and my ability to teach you in the way that I know is best) and cannot be accepted.

As a state, California is funding developers, financial institutions, private and public corporations, but it is forcing deep cuts onto the premier public university system in the United States. Money is being taken away from the young people and graduate students of all ages who will keep California alive in the coming years. You, the UC students, along with your fellow students in the Cal State University system and the California Community College system, will be the scientists and researchers who invent and test new technologies for everything from computers to crops; you will become the teachers who pass on knowledge necessary for survival; you will become the doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists who will navigate complicated health care futures; and you will become the businesspeople, artists, and yes, the writers the state needs.

In contrast to recent news stories about corruption in government at many levels, what we do here on our ten campuses has been extremely positive for this state. We are truly the future of this large economy. My former students teach people all over the world; they work for magazines and publishers, write books, and work as doctors, lawyers, dentists, ad writers, geologists, entomologists, and research scientists.

But this budget will strip us of faculty, lecturers, TAs, and staff. This means we cannot offer enough classes this fall to ensure that incoming students will likely graduate in four years. (Many of you are already forced to take a fifth year because UC course offerings have been reduced.) It also means that courses which used to have 15 students, and which currently have 30 students, will have 75 students in the fall. Other courses will have 200 students. (In other departments, courses have up to 800 students and more!)

I will go so far as to call it unethical to enroll freshmen students who will not be able to enroll in classes they will need; I will also call unethical the degradation of your education if you are forced to sit in overcrowded classes and not get the individual attention you need from your professors. I love teaching here. I love my students, as many of you know, and everywhere I speak I tell audiences that my students at UCR are the finest in the nation, that you tell stories and write poems and craft essays no other writers in America can. My fellow faculty will attest that you are better than many undergraduate students at Ivy League and private colleges. I’m not flattering you. I’m being truthful. So I want you to write to your Chancellor Timothy White, and your UC President Mark Yudof, and to your state legislators, and let them know how you feel about these cuts, and your education. I want you to pass this letter on to your parents, grandparents, spouses and families, and have them write letters as well, because they are helping you pay for this education, and you deserve better.

You and your families worked hard for years so you could be here. Write your story, tell us what you did before you got here, what your parents did, and what you plan to do with your life with your degree – whatever your major, whatever your career, whether you’ve just arrived or are in graduate school or are working. If you’re in high school and plan to attend a UC, write about your plans. If you’re graduated, let us know what you do.

Professor Michael Jayme suggested this to me, when I felt despair about this budget, and he is a perfect example of our campus excellence. He was my student, many years ago, and now he dedicates most hours of his week to writing comments on your work. We cannot do that if classes are cut and if others are forced to huge enrollments, and if we lose you because of tuition out of reach for most families.

We want to hear your voices. Don’t be silent. Write to your legislators, post on Facebook, write for newspapers, write your stories.

Sincerely,

Professor Susan Straight

UC President Mark Yudof: president@ucop.edu
UCR Chancellor Timothy White: timothy.white@ucr.edu
Senator Bob Dutton: senator.dutton@senator.ca.gov
Rep. Brian Nestande: assemblymember.nestande@assembly.ca.gov
Rep. Jeff Miller: Assemblymember.Miller@assembly.ca.gov
Gov. Jerry Brown: governor.brown@governor.ca.gov

Postscript - Below is a letter sent to faculty by The President of the University of California, Mark Yudof. I agree with him – we need to be sure your voices, and the voices of your families, are heard.


Dear Colleagues,
 
We are at a crucial juncture for the University of California. As you know, the proposed state budget calls for a $500 million cut in university support next year — a cut that will significantly impact our academic and research mission, and our service to the people of California.
 
And there is a real possibility that UC could see an even bigger cut in state funding if California closes the entire $26.6 billion state deficit through budget cuts. 
 
An all-cuts budget would be devastating to the university and the students and communities we serve, and put at risk our faculty’s research, a critical driver of future jobs and wealth in California. With so much at stake, I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of our recent efforts to advocate for UC.
 
First, we are telling lawmakers and the people of California that higher education cannot and should not bear an additional burden under an all-cuts budget. Education is simply too important to the future of our state to face further disinvestment. You can view a legislative presentation from Patrick Lenz, vice president of budget and capital resources, here. 

Next, UC and its supporters are making themselves heard in Sacramento and around the state. Since February, thousands of UC supporters have written the governor and lawmakers on UC’s behalf. We also have been a constant presence at the Capitol: On UC Day in March, hundreds of alumni joined us in Sacramento for an event highlighting the university’s contributions to the state and its people. In April, students and campus leaders from UC, CSU and the community colleges met with lawmakers to talk about the importance of affordable, accessible education. And over the next few weeks, I and other UC leaders will be attending Senate Budget Committee hearings to give testimony about the short and long-term consequences of cuts to higher education.
 
Our advocacy is not limited to Sacramento, however. We have been reaching out to the state’s business community, building awareness and support for the vital role UC plays in California’s economy. We are also taking our case directly to the public. In our Stand Up for UC campaign , supporters are using Facebook to post videos and comments about why UC matters to them and their communities. Robert Reich, labor secretary under President Clinton and a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, is particularly eloquent in describing UC’s important role in creating opportunity and upward mobility for students who come from modest means. You can see his video here. 

If you share my passion for the university, if you agree that it represents California’s truest and best idea of itself, please consider joining our advocacy efforts. Send a letter or call your legislators; sign up to become a UC advocate or connect to your campus advocacy network. If you use social media, visit the Stand Up for UC page on Facebook and post a comment or video.
 
Your active participation can help protect this great institution, and this great state. 
 
With best wishes, I am, 
 
Sincerely yours,
 
 
Mark G. Yudof
President
_______________________________________________

KUCI Fund Drive is on

Our fund drive started last week and goes through the weekend. It's how we keep the lights on, basically. The university does little to support KUCI and we're dependent upon tax-deductible donations. Marrie and I are volunteers, and have been as long as the show's been running.

I want to thank the following people for calling in a pledge or sending a check, in the name of "Writers on Writing":

T. Jefferson Parker
Susan Straight
Debbie Gaal
Allison Johnson
Nicole Nelson
Lynn Gibson
Charlie Leister
Adele Peters
Sonia Marsh
Sue Zarrinkelk
Mary Camarillo

If you'd like to donate, you can do so online at www.kuci.org. Follow the links to the Fund Drive and please indicate that you listen to the show. And if you do, let me know so I can list you here.

Again, thanks for your support.

Sarah Porter and Gayle Forman

Marrie Stone interviews Sarah Porter, author of Lost Voices, and Gayle Forman, author of Where She Went.

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(Broadcast date: May 4, 2011)

Joshua Kendall and Darin Strauss

Marrie Stone interviews Joshua Kendall, author of The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture, and Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life.

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(Broadcast date: Apr 27, 2011)

Olga Grushin and Stewart O'Nan

Marrie Stone interviews Olga Grushin, author of The Line, and Stewart O'Nan, author of Emily, Alone.

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(Broadcast date: Apr 13, 2011)

Victor Infante and Kim Dower: Poetry Month

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Victor Infante, author of City of Insomnia, and Kim Dower, author of Air Kissing on Mars.

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(Broadcast date: April 20, 2011)

This Morning's Show

Greetings!

Join co-host Marrie Stone as she talks with biographer Joshua Kendall, author of "The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture" and novelist and memoirist Darin Strauss, author of "Half a Life."

Tune in this morning, April 27th, at 9:00 a.m. (PT) to KUCI, 88.9 FM in Irvine or listen online at www.kuci.org.

Thanks for listening!

An Evening with Katie Arnoldi and Marisa Matarazzo

Join us on Tuesday, May 17, when our authors will be Katie Arnoldi and Marisa Matarazzo.

Visit the Salon page for more info, and to register.

Amy Alkon and Tracy Ross

Marrie Stone interviews Amy Alkon, author of I See Rude People: One Woman's Battle to Beat Some Manners Into Impolite Society, and Tracy Ross, author of The Source of All Things: A Memoir.

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(Broadcast date: Apr 6, 2011)

Ruta Sepetys and Alina Tugend

Marrie Stone interviews Ruta Sepetys, author of Between Shades of Gray, and Alina Tugend, author of Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong.

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(Broadcast date: Mar 23, 2011)

Literary Orange 2011

On an upbeat, this coming Saturday is Literary Orange, an all day fest of writers, that will take place once again at UCI. It's cheap, you get a continental breaky, lunch, and afternoon refreshments, and it's fun. I'm moderating a fiction panel and Marrie Stone, my co-host on Writers on Writing, will moderate a memoir panel. Here's more info. (Today online registration ends.) Hope to see you there.

Back from the funeral: Sam DeMarco 1946 - 2011

Back from a long five days in Pennsylvania at my brother's service and visiting with family. Difficult for a couple of reasons. When you have a complicated history with a sibling, some might imagine it's easy to see that sibling off. It's anything but. I loved my brother. We shared so many good times, and although we were born many years apart, we shared a history. The difficulties we encountered don't take away from the love, and that makes it complicated, esp. for family who knew what we went through. Friends have been the most understanding, and for that I'm grateful. My brother was cremated. The box on the table is my brother. The cemetary you see here is in Lansdale, PA, where my mother and the relatives are buried.

Sam DeMarco RIP

My brother Sam passed away today. Here we are, with our mother, many moons ago. I love you, Sam.

Dori Ostermiller & Memoir Panelists Lisa Catherine Harper and Katherine Ellison

Marrie Stone talks with Dori Ostermiller, author of Outside the Ordinary World and, in the second half hour, moderates a memoir panel with Lisa Catherine Harper (A Double Life: Discovering Motherhood) and Katherine Ellison (BUZZ: A Year of Paying Attention).

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(Broadcast Date: March 9, 2011)

Jo-Ann Mapson

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews JoAnn Mapson, author of Solomon's Oak.

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David Vann

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews David Vann, author of Caribou Island: A Novel.

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(Broadcast date: February, 2011)

Jessie Sholl

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Jessie Sholl, author of Dirty Secret: A Daughter Comes Clean About Her Mother's Compulsive Hoarding.

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(Broadcast date: March 2, 2011)

Allison Brennan and Alisa Bowman

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Allison Brennan, author of Kiss Me, Kill Me: A Novel of Suspense and Alisa Bowman, author of Project: Happily Ever After: Saving Your Marriage When the Fairytale Falters.

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(Broadcast date: February 2, 2011)

Tomorrow's Show: Ruta Sepetys and Alina Tugend

Greetings!

Join co-host Marrie Stone as she talks with Ruta Sepetys, author of "Between Shades of Grey" and, in the second half hour, Alina Tugend, author of "Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong."

Tune in at 9 a.m. PT on Wednesday, March 23rd, at KUCI-FM 88.9 in Orange County, CA, or listen online at www.kuci.org or at iTunes-News/Talk radio.

Thanks for listening!

A writer's resource

Check this out. Lots of great writers' resources.

Tomorrow's show: Jessie Sholl, author of Dirty Secret

Tomorrow my guest will be Jessie Sholl, author of the memoir: "Dirty Secret: A Daughter Comes Clean about her Mother's Compulsive Hoarding."

Tune in at 9 a.m. PT at KUCI-FM 88.9 in Orange County, CA, or listen online at www.kuci.org or at iTunes-News/Talk radio.

Thanks for listening!
Barbara

Jill Bialosky and Linda Gray Sexton

Marrie Stone interviews Jill Bialosky, author of History of a Suicide: My Sister's Unfinished Life and Linda Gray Sexton, author of Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide.

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(Broadcast date: January 26, 2011)

Maira Kalman

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Maira Kalman, author of And the Pursuit of Happiness.

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(Broadcast date: December 14, 2010)

Caroline Leavitt and Christina Meldrum

Marrie Stone interviews Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You and Christina Meldrum, author of Amaryllis in Blueberry.

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(Broadcast date: February 16, 2011)

Susan Maushart & Cathleen Schine

Marrie Stone interviews Susan Maushart, author of The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale and Cathleen Schine, author of The Three Weissmanns of Westport: A Novel.

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(Broadcast date:February 9, 2011)

Snow, again

Travis' school has ski week (originating years ago when our school district's attendance went way down in Feb, so the school board decided we'd have a ski week) and we're in the mountains, about six hours north of Orange Co., in the Eastern Sierra. Mammoth is an active volcano and an earthquake fault runs under the town, but we'll not talk about that here. Instead, here are some photos of snow, and us, and Trav's cousins, requested by a few friends.

The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love.- Margaret Atwood

In the wintertime, in the snow country, citrus fruit was so rare, and if you got one, it was better than ambrosia.
James Earl Jones

Pen on Fire Salon with Lisa Fugard and Tatjana Soli

An Evening with Novelists Tatjana Soli and Lisa Fugard

Join us on Tuesday evening, March 15, for a conversation with two brilliant novelists hosted by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. The authors will be in conversation with Marrie Stone, co-host of "Writers on Writing," the radio show Barbara launched 13 years ago next month.

Tatjana Soli is a novelist and short story writer. Born in Salzburg, Austria, she attended Stanford University and the Warren Wilson MFA Program. Her debut novel, The Lotus Eaters, was a New York Times Bestseller and 2010 New York Times Notable Book. Her short stories have appeared in The Sun, StoryQuarterly, Confrontation, Gulf Coast, Other Voices, Third Coast, Sonora Review and North Dakota Quarterly among other publications. Her work has been twice listed in the 100 Distinguished Stories in Best American Short Stories and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She lives with her husband in Orange County, California.


Lisa Fugard was born in South Africa and came to the United States in 1980. After working in the theater, performing in New York, London and South Africa, she turned her attention to writing. Her short fiction has been published in Story, Outside and literary magazines. Her many travel articles, essays and book reviews have been published in the New York Times. Skinner’s Drift her first novel has been published in the USA, UK, and South Africa. Named a notable book of 2006 by the New York Times, Skinner’s Drift was also a finalist for the LA Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the runner-up for the 2007 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly lauded that, "Fugard captivates with this searing personal portrayal of the legacy of apartheid.” The Los Angeles Times Book Review called it a, "frighteningly good novel (that) looks at this historic turmoil without wincing or turning away.” She lives in Southern California and is at work on a second novel.

For more information, or to register, click here.

Lyanda Lynn Haupt and Stacy Schiff

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness and Marrie Stone interviews Stacy Schiff, author of the biography, Cleopatra: A Life.

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(Broadcast Date: January 2011)

Rosalind Wiseman and Kim Edwards

Greetings!

Join Marrie Stone as she interviews internationally recognized author and educator Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabes and her debut young adult novel Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials, and Kim Edwards, author of The Memory Keeper's Daughter and The Lake of Dreams.

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Thanks for listening!

Today's show: Allison Brennan and Alisa Bowman

This morning on "Writers on Writing," my guests will be suspense writer Allison Brennan ("Love Me to Death") and nonfiction author, Alisa Bowman ("Happily Ever After: Saving Your Marriage When the Fairytale Falters").

Tune in at 9 a.m. PT at 88.9 FM KUCI in Orange Co., CA, or listen to KUCI online at iTunes, News/Talk radio.

(The show will be podcast at a later date. Subscribe at iTunes and the show will download for you at that time.)

Arthur Plotnik and Mark SaFranko

Marrie Stone interviews Arthur Plotnik, author of Spunk and Bite and the forthcoming Better Than Great: A Plenitudinous Compendium of Wallopingly Fresh Superlatives and Mark SaFranko, author of Hating Olivia: A Love Story.

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(Broadcast date: December, 2010)

3rd annual reading this coming Sunday Laguna Beach Books

If you're in South Orange County (CA) on Sunday, come hear my students and me read at Laguna Beach Books, 4 p.m. The Literary Posse and Writers Block Party and I will do our 3rd annual reading at the store. No charge! And a great way to spend your late Sunday afternoon, bathed in the late day light as you listen to great writing amongst your tribe.

On Writers on Writing, Linda Gray Sexton and Jill Bialosky

Join co-host Marrie Stone as she interviews two authors on the subject suicide in memoir.  Marrie will be in conversation with Jill Bialosky, author of History of a Suicide: My Sister's Unfinished Life (Atria, February 2011) and Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Anne Sexton's daughter, Linda Gray Sexton, author of Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide.  

Tune in this morning at 9:00 a.m. (PT) on 88.9FM, Irvine, or listen through our live audio stream at www.kuci.org.  You can always download our podcasts at iTunes (talk/news) or right here!

Thanks for listening!

Barbara

Pen on Fire Salon with T. Jefferson Parker

T. Jefferson Parker was the featured author at the writers salon the other night here at Scape Gallery in Corona del Mar, and it was another stellar evening with great talk and great guests. Jeff was here to talk about his new book, The Border Lords, which received a five star review in the Los Angeles Times yesterday (1/19/11). Here are some photos from the evening, taken by writer C.J. Bahnsen, who gratefully serves as a doorperson, along with his significant other, writer Debra Cross. (They're there in the bottom photo, along with me and Marrie Stone, writer and co-host on Writers on Writing.) Mystery Ink, Debbie Mitsch's fabulous bookstore in Huntington Beach, was on hand selling books. Our next salon will be March 15. Details to come!

Valerie Trueblood and Caroline Fraser

Marrie Stone interviews Valerie Trueblood, author of Marry or Burn: Stories and Caroline Fraser, author of Rewilding the World: Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution.

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(Broadcast date: December 22, 2010)

Julia Glass

Julia Glass, author of I See You Everywhere.

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(Broadcast date: December 10, 2008)

Happy New Year!

We're back from Mammoth. Our last day there was sunny, brisk, and always bittersweet: I want to stay, but I want to get home.

I also have a Pavlovian response to the last day of the year: I automatically reflect on the past year and consider resolutions. It's always a bittersweet holiday season--my mom died Dec. 26, 2001. Around this time in 2001, the three of us were back east, attending the funeral, dealing with the airline's extremely tight--and sometimes stupid--security measures. Travis was very short then--seven years old--and his name was picked for a personal security check. He had to empty his backpack. Whoa--stuffed animals! Games! Books! Years later he said he was worried the airlines would want to keep him.

The fact that we're vaulting into a new decade is just so strange to me. Wasn't it just 2000? This past year was good enough, but did I accomplish enough? Probably not. I meant to finish my novel, Crazy for You, based on my noir short story that was published in April, but did I? Oy. And I hoped my agent would sell my memoir, but it was not to be--not yet, anyhoo.

I did sign up with WeightWatchers online, and lost almost 14 pounds (15 was my goal, oh woe).

I tried to be a better companion to Brian, a better mother to Travis, a better friend, a better teacher.

But why is it that at the end of the year, we always feel we fell short in some way? Or maybe it's just me...

So next year--tomorrow!--I plan to become better organized, lose that last pound at least, accomplish my writing goals, become an even better friend, relative, wife, mother ... all that.

What about you--any goals for 2011?

I wish for you everything you hope for in the New Year, and hope our paths cross real soon.

A leisurely afternoon walk in a blizzard. Great fun, actually, making a memory...

Snow, again.

I love the snow, as my loyal blog readers know. And we're here once again, at Mammoth, and the snow is sublime. Fortunately Mammoth knows how to deal with snow. Last night more than a foot fell.

And I will admit to you right here and now, the only work with words that I've done is the editing I do for The ASJA Monthly. No working on my book, no writing. And sometimes not writing is exactly what's called for. So much of my life is taken up with words, and like you, sometimes I need a break. So I've been enjoying the snow with my son and in-laws, and knitting. My son calls me obsessed, and it's true.

So below you will see this morning's snowfall, and you'll also see the rubber ducky socks I just finished.

What do you do to take a break from writing--or do you never take a break?

New Year's Resolutions, anyone?

I don't tend to make resolutions--although last Jan. 3 I signed up for Weight Watchers online and have so far lost 14 pounds (one more to go to reach my goal).

But I've been pondering a way to get my Internet use under control. Does anyone use Anti-Social or Freedom? Just read this in today's LA Times.

Pen on Fire Speaker Series: Merrill Markoe

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett welcomes Merrill Markoe, author of Nose Down, Eyes Up: A Novel, to the Pen on Fire Speaker Series at the Scape Gallery in Corona del Mar.

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Edwidge Dandicat

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Edwidge Dandicat, author of Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work.

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(Broadcast date: October 20, 2010)

Betsy Lerner and Susan Straight

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews literary agent and writer Betsy Lerner, author of The Forest for the Trees (Revised and Updated): An Editor's Advice to Writers and Susan Straight, author of Take One Candle Light a Room.

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(Broadcast date: October 27, 2010)

Sharon Dogar and Roy P. Clarke

Marrie Stone interviews Sharon Dogar, author of Annexed and Roy P. Clark, author of The Glamour of Grammar.

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(Broadcast date: October 13, 2010)

Nicole Krauss

Marrie Stone interviews Nicole Krauss, author of Great House: A Novel.

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(Broadcast date: November 17, 2010)

Piper Kerman

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison.

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(Broadcast Date: December 8, 2010)

Christmas cards clarification

I've been receiving private emails from dear friends about Christmas cards and my blog post from the other day, and feel that maybe some clarification is called for.

First, the only cards I truly object to are those mass emailed holiday greetings that present a simple greeting. The images tend to be washed out, the words hard to read. And the fact that they've gone out to a hundred--maybe a thousand--of the sender's closest friends and colleagues does not inspire the Christmas spirit, at least not in me.

I do enjoy emailed cards that contain lots of photos or images. Yes, they've gone out to a bunch of people, but the sender has also put some time into the creation of the card.

I enjoy holiday letters. Yes, they're a recap of the year, but so what? The only thing I don't like about them is when they're written in the third person. Someone in the family: Take ownership! Make it your letter and write about you and everyone else in the family.

What about the paper waste? Well, yeah, there's that, and I don't mean to minimize it. But I've a feeling that those who are complaining about paper waste also happily take cardboard cups from their local cafe, will order take out (which is boxed), use paper napkins, use paper and plastic sacks from the market rather than bring a cloth bag, and use all sorts of other paper. The "waste" comment doesn't hold up for me.

The main thing is this: It's the one time all year that you make it a point to send holiday wishes. So why not make them count? Put some time into creating a card at Smilebox.com or another online site. Who wouldn't love that? I do.

Opinionated post...beware....

I haven't made a personal post here in quite some time and I maybe shouldn't right now as I'm feeling a tad under the weather, but because it's timely, and I'm not feeling all that great, I should just let it spill, right?

It has to do with Christmas cards. Does anyone else dislike emailed Christmas cards as much as I do? Perhaps my dislike is out of range. I should just appreciate any communique a person sends, right, whether of the paper sort or email?

But I don't. I receive a card via email and I feel offended, not appreciated. Okay, I'm old school, I admit: I like the personal attention you have to give to writing someone's name on an envelope--or even printing out a sheet of address labels, writing your name (a preprinted card will do) and affixing a stamp. We only do this once a year, right? No one sends out Valentines Day cards anymore, or Easter, or Halloween or Thanksgiving. So how much trouble can it be?

Now, if you don't have someone's address and you want them to know they're in your thoughts, that's different. And of course I want everyone to have a great holiday.

But if someone has my address and still sends me an email card, I hit delete. I don't think, how sweet, how nice, how thoughtful. I think: Well, that was easy. I hope they feel good because I feel worse. I don't feel appreciated at all. Rather, I feel minimized.

At this point, I should delete this post because I know I will offend some of my friends and colleagues who send email cards. In advance, I apologize. My sore throat and general lousy feeling made me hit "publish post."

I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this. Am I being too cranky?

Linda Sue Park and Christian Lander

Marrie Stone interviews children and young adult writer Linda Sue Park, author of A Long Walk to Water and Christian Lander, author of Whiter Shades of Pale: Stuff White People Like, Coast to Coast, from Seattle's Sweaters to Maine's Microbrews.

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(Broadcast date: November 10, 2010)

Debra Ginsberg

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Debra Ginsberg, author of The Neighbors Are Watching.

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(Broadcast date: Nov 24, 2010)

Literary Agent Betsy Lerner

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone take listeners' questions for author, former editor and literary agent Betsy Lerner, author of The Forest for the Trees (Revised and Updated): An Editor's Advice to Writers.

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(Broadcast Date: December 1, 2010)