Novelists Swan Huntley and Affinity Konar with Co-Host Nicole Nelson

Debut novelist Swan Huntley, author of We Could Be Beautiful talks with co-host Nicole Nelson about how writing in the first person allows her to explore the space between what a character is telling us and what we know to be true, how she came to the realization that her original ending wasn't right for the story, and how she discovered her process as an outliner.

In the second half, novelist Affinity Konar, author of Mischling, talks about how her story grew from hearing dialogue in her head between twins, about going "sound-first" into words, and thus being drawn to the word "Mischling" in spite of its ugly meaning and history, and her writing advice to honor your obsessions.

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[Note: Swan Huntley's reading selection was cut down due to audio issues; therefore, her reading starts in the middle of her first chapter, not the beginning.]

(Broadcast date: September 14, 2016)

Rebecca Schiff and Molly Prentiss with Nicole Nelson

Rebecca Schiff, author of The Bed Moved, talks to co-host Nicole Nelson about finding her voice, revision being the place where much of her characteristic sparseness and humor get sharpened, and her advice to write from a place of being excited rather than to be attached to what you have written.

In the second half, Molly Prentiss, author of Tuesday Nights in 1980, talks about the feelings of doubt that artists face, the conflicts in her story and how they evolved over time, and the value of coincidence in drama.

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(Broadcast date: June 22, 2016)

Asali Solomon and Tracy Barone with Nicole Nelson

Asali Solomon, author of Disgruntled, talks to co-host Nicole Nelson about writing a young protagonist, developing characters from plot, taking an episodic approach to novel writing, and more.

In the second half, debut novelist Tracy Barone, author of Happy Family, talks about pacing the novel, drawing from her experience as a screenwriter and playwright, and writing toward an end that she envisioned early on.

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(Broadcast date: June 8, 2016)

Jennifer duBois and Kate Zambreno

Nicole Nelson talks with Jennifer duBois, author of Cartwheel about the challenges of writing (and discussing) a novel that drew its initial inspiration from a real event, in this case, the Amanda Knox trial and the strong and diverse opinions that people held about the verdict. DuBois also talks about learning to relax into a scene, and writing plays to sharpen her dialogue skills. Kate Zambreno, author of Green Girl and Heroines, talks about her experience re-releasing Green Girl -- how the re-release came to pass and what it was like to have the option to revise a work that was published years earlier. She talks about developing the shopgirl protagonist Ruth, who tries to sell the scent "Desire" to people, and achieving urgency in her prose by writing toward confrontation.

[The show begins abruptly due to the loss of the very beginning (but the interviews are complete).]

Download audio. (Broadcast date: July 30, 2014)

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett with fiction writers Nathan Englander and Pam Houston

Nathan Englander, author of What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, and Pam Houston, author of Contents May Have Shifted talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on this fantabulous show. Two authors that any serious student of writing should be digesting their fiction. One of my favorite shows, of late. (Of late...my son hates that phrase, and so do I! But you get the gist.)

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(Broadcast date: February 29, 2012)

Luis Alberto Urrea and Peter Orner

Marrie Stone interviews Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Queen of America, and Peter Orner, author of Love and Shame and Love.

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(Broadcast date: December 14, 2012)

Tom Perrotta and Jane Mendelsohn

Marrie Stone interviews Tom Perrotta, author of The Leftovers and Jane Mendelsohn, author of American Music.

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(Broadcast date: September 21, 2011)

David Vann, Ellen Bell, Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

Marrie Stone interviews David Vann, author of Last Day on Earth: A Portrait of the NIU School Shooter; Ellen Bell, author of Irvine (Images of America); and Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, co-authors of The Future of Us.

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(Broadcast date: November 19, 2011)

Carole Moore and Stephen Wetta

Marrie Stone interviews Carole Moore, author of The Last Place You'd Look: True Stories of Missing Persons and the People Who Search for Them and Stephen Wetta, author of If Jack's In Love.

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(Broadcast date: October 19, 2011)

Dori Ostermiller & Memoir Panelists Lisa Catherine Harper and Katherine Ellison

Marrie Stone interviews Dori Ostermiller, author of Outside the Ordinary World and, in the second half hour, moderates a memoir panel with authors 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)

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 and 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)

Maira Kalman

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

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(Broadcast date: December 14, 2010)

Rosalind Wiseman and Kim Edwards

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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(Broadcast date: January 19, 2011)

T. Jefferson Parker and Joan Schenkar

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews T. Jefferson Parker, author of The Border Lords (Charlie Hood) and Marrie Stone interviews Joan Schenkar, author of The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith.

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(Broadcast date: January 5, 2011)

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)

Nicole Krauss

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

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(Broadcast date: November 17, 2010)

Amy Bloom and Hilary Davidson

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone interview Amy Bloom, author of Where the God of Love Hangs Out: Stories and Hilary Davidson, author of The Damage Done.

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(Broadcast date: October 2010)

Dennis Palumbo and Daniel Pyne -- Pen on Fire Writers Salon

The Pen on Fire Writers Salon presents Dennis Palumbo, author of Mirror Image and Daniel Pyne, author of TwentyNine Palms.

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(Event date: September 14, 2010)

Daniyal Mueenuddin and Shawna Ryan

Marrie Stone interviews Daniyal Mueenuddin, author In Other Rooms Other Wonders and Shawna Ryan, author of Water Ghosts.

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(Broadcast date: August 4, 2010)