Pam Jenoff & Soniah Kamal on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Historical fiction writer Pam Jenoff joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest novel, The Lost Girls of Paris. In an interview full of craft advice for writers, Pam shares her tips for research, structure, voice, inspiration and more.

In the second half, Soniah Kamal joins to talk about her debut novel, Unmarriageable. Soniah shares her origin story as a writer, how her background in acting serves her fiction, transposing a classic novel, cultural appropriation and more. 

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(Broadcast date: February 20, 2019)

Vanessa McGrady and Glen Erik Hamilton with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on Writers on Writing

Memoirist Vanessa McGrady, author of Rock Needs River, and novelist Glen Erik Hamilton, author of Mercy River talk about the art, craft, and business of writing their new books.

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 (Broadcast date: March 6, 2019)

Novelist & Screenwriter Amanda Sthers, KUCI-FM in Irvine, CA

Amanda Sthers, author of Holy Lands (Bloomsbury) talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her new epistolary novel and why she starts with the ending.

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(Broadcast date: February 27, 2019)

Christopher Castellani and Susan Shapiro on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Novelist Christopher Castellani, author of Leading Men, and Susan Shapiro, author of The Byline Bible, join Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on the show to talk about the art, craft, and business of writing.

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(Broadcast date: Feb. 13, 2019)

Tom Barbash on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Tom Barbash, novelist and short story writer, joins Marrie Stone for the hour to discuss his latest novel, The Dakota Winters. Tom shares his research, his background in journalism, his secret to creating compelling short stories and more. We learn a little about John Lennon, and a lot about Tom, in this informative and fun 58 minutes.

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(Broadcast date: February 6, 2019)

Pam Houston with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Pam Houston, author of Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about writing on airplanes, setting, balancing life with writing, finding structure, and more.

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(Jan. 30, 2019)

Tim O'Brien joins Marrie Stone on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Iconic Vietnam War novelist and short story writer Tim O'Brien (author of The Things They Carried, In the Lake of the Woods, Going After Cacciato, and more) joins Marrie Stone for the hour to talk about memory, truth, storytelling, mortality and more. O'Brien shares his philosophy that the sound of the story—its cadence, rhythm, and music—should be its guiding principle. He also discusses his revisitation of Hemingway's work and the powerful persistence of childhood memories.

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(Broadcast date: January 23, 2019)

David R. Gillham and Janet Clare with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

David R. Gillham, author of Annelies, a novel based on Anne Frank and who would she might have been had she lived, and Janet Clare, author of the novel, Time is the Longest Distance, about a woman who learns her father is an Aussie, and goes to find him, talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on this latest episode of Writers on Writing.

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(Broadcast date: January 16, 2019)

Jenn Stroud Rossmann and June Casagrande on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Debut novelist Jenn Stroud Rossmann joins Marrie Stone to talk about her novel, The Place You're Supposed to Laugh. She shares her insights on how she unpacked the novel, writing from a young, black male's point of view, and how her work as a mechanical engineer and professor feeds her fiction.

In the second half, June Casagrande shares her insights and wisdom into grammar and syntax with her latest book, The Joy of Syntax: A Simple Guide to All the Grammar You Know You Should Know. She discusses common mistakes writers make, how to play with syntax in fiction, good examples of bad writing, and more.

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(Broadcast date: January 9, 2019)

Liane Moriarty & Mark Russell Gelade on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Bestselling author Liane Moriarty joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest novel, Nine Perfect Strangers. She shares her process, her weaknesses, and her affinity for multiple points of view, among many other things.

In the second half, Mark Russell Gelade joins to share his debut collection, Navigating by Stars: 24 Very Short Stories of Love & Longing.  He reads a few pieces and talk about their origins, his revision process, his inspirations, arcs across his work and the art of compression.

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(Broadcast date: December 26, 2018).

Actor Omid Abtahi on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM in OC, California, with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Actor Omid Abtahi, featured in American Gods, Boys of Abu Ghraib, Homeland, Argo, etcetera etcetera, spends the hour with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. They talk about the creative process, his roles, and how it all begins with the word.

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(Broadcast date: Jan. 2, 2019)

Memoirist Beth M. Howard with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Memoirist Beth M. Howard, author of Hausfrau Honeymoon, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her new memoir, a prequel to Making Piece, on KUCI-FM 88.9. The show is first broadcast from UC-Irvine Campus and later podcast on iTunes. Subscribe to the show on iTunes and when a new show is uploaded, you'll receive it in your podcast file.

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(Broadcast date: January 2, 2019)

Happy New Year!

Janet Fitch with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Janet Fitch, author of The Revolution of Marina M, talks with Barbara about her newest novel, why she's a novelist and not a memoirist, composite characters, her undergraduate focus on Russia and her stay in Russia as a student, and so much more.

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(Broadcast date: Dec. 19, 2018)

Karen Bender with Marrie Stone on Writers on Writing on KUCI, 88.9FM

Novelist and short story writer Karen Bender joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest collection, The New Order. Bender discusses her writerly instinct to create order from chaos, and how events in the real world shape her art. She shares her "octopus theory" for creating scope in short stories, as well as her "container theory" for stories.

Bender dissects a few of her stories from original concept to final draft, and highlights some of the steps in her revision process. She also notes several stories she uses for teaching these various techniques. All this, and much more.

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(Broadcast date: December 12, 2018)

Literary agent Betsy Amster with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Los Angeles-based literary agent Betsy Amster talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the state of publishing, self-publishing, query letters, what she's looking for, and more.

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(Broadcast date: Dec. 5, 2018)

Los Lobos Founding Member Louie Pérez and Poet Grant Hier on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM, Irvine

Louie Pérez, founding member of the American rock band Los Lobos, and Grant Hier join Marrie Stone for a round-table discussion of poetry, lyric-writing, prose, visual arts, music and more.

Hier and Pérez collaborated on the double CD Joyride: Friends Take the Wheel, a compilation of various artists (including George Saunders) interpreting the words and music of Louie Pérez. The CD was created as a special companion piece to Pérez's new book, Good Morning, Aztlán: The Words, Pictures & Songs Of Louie Pérez.

Hier is the author of several poetry collections and a forthcoming historical flash fiction book. His most recent work is Similitude. 

Pérez and Hier discuss their creative process, the origin of some of their work, how setting personal boundaries breeds creativity, and much more. We also are treated to some Los Lobos songs.



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(Broadcast date: November 28, 2018)

Jonathan Lethem & Deborah Gaal on Writers on Writing, 88.9 FM, at UC-Irvine

Jonathan Lethem, author of The Feral Detective, and Deborah Gaal, author of The Dream Stitcher, talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing.

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(Broadcast date: Nov. 21, 2018)

Marie Lu and Rita Dragonette with Marrie Stone on Writers on Writing, KUCI 88.9FM

Young adult writer Marie Lu returns to "Writers on Writing" to talk with Marrie Stone about her latest duology, Warcross and Wildcard. She talks about the intersection between video gaming and her novels, how to build a compelling world, how her sketchbooks help her build character, and more.

In the second half, debut novelist Rita Dragonette joins to discuss her novel The Fourteenth of September. In addition to talking about the impact of the Vietnam War on her life, she discusses the difficulties of writing a novel over the course of 12 years, mining your own life as a starting point in fiction, the role of critique groups in her writing and more.

The interviews were pre-recorded and ran longer than the allotted on-air time. To access the longer interviews, click on the links below the podcast.

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Download full length Marie Lu.

Download full length Rita Dragonette.

(Broadcast date: November 14, 2018)

Hallie Ephron and Lisa Brackmann talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on Writers on Writing

Hallie Ephron, author of You'll Never Know, Dear, and Lisa Brackmann, author of Black Swan Rising, talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing mysteries and suspense. 

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(Broadcast date: Nov. 7, 2018)

Marcus Zusak and Lisa Unger on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM, with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Marcus Zusak, author of Bridge of Clay and The Book Thief, and Lisa Unger, author of Under My Skin, talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing.

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(Broadcast date: 10/24/2018)