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Writers on Writing

Fiction, Writers on Writing

Oct 02: The Mapmaker’s Daughter & Lie to Me

September 20, 2017

She was one of the most remarkable women in history, yet her story is little known.  In The Mapmaker’s Daughter, debut novelist Katherine Nouri Hughes blends fiction with history, examining the desires and motives of a young Venetian girl who became wife to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Katherine, Iraqi-Irish by birth, attended Princeton University, receiving a Master’s Degree in Near Eastern Studies.  She currently serves her alma mater in an advisory capacity.

Also today, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J.T. Ellison writes domestic noir and psychological thrillers, and her latest, Lie To Me, combines grief, betrayal, jealousy, and murder, gradually destroying the facade of the perfect literary couple.

J.T. has written 17 critically acclaimed novels, is coauthor of the “A Brit in the FBI” series with Catherine Coulter, and co-hosts the Emmy Award-winning A Word on Words.

 

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Biography, Fiction, Writers on Writing

Sep 04: Her Again: Becoming Meryl Steep & This is the Part Where You Laugh

August 25, 2017

Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep is the first thoroughly researched biography of the actress, providing an intimate look into the years that shaped her into the icon she is today.

Michael Schulman paints an indelible portrait of the artist as a young actress, leaving no stone unturned.  Michael has contributed to The New Yorker since 2006, currently serving as the arts editor.

From returning guest Peter Brown Hoffmeister comes an unforgettable account of growing up, making mistakes, and growing out of the shadow of drug abuse.  

This is the Part Where You Laugh chronicles his expulsion from three high schools, being homeless for parts of his sophomore and senior year,  and even living in a Greyhound Bus Station for a short while.  Peter is an author, rock climber, public speaker, outdoor expert, and athlete gear-tester for Ridgemont Outfitters.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

Aug 28: Story Sparks & The Doll Funeral

August 24, 2017

Whether you have a treasure chest of ideas and a thimbleful of creativity, or the talent to compose riveting stories but the muse is absent, returning guest Denise Jaden can help!

Story Sparks: Finding Your Best Story Ideas and Turning Them Into Compelling Fiction is her guide to transforming your potential tales into captivating fiction, or getting “unstuck” if you have the dreaded writer’s block.  Denise is an award-winning author of young adult novels and has also penned several nonfiction books for those looking to explore writing.

Imagine a mystical world where ghosts of the past and the present, the living and lost, haunt the land of the living.  The Doll Funeral, Kate Hamer’s highly anticipated follow-up to The Girl in the Red Coat, uses her mastery of atmosphere and language to explore intense family relationships while drawing you into a world of paranormal specters.

In addition to her novels, Kate is a prolific and award-winning writer of short stories and has written articles for The New York Times, The Independent, and The Sunday Mail.

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Inspirational, Personal Development, Writers on Writing

Aug 14: Insight Into Self-Awareness & Our Story Begins

August 5, 2017

Ninety-five percent of people believe they are self-aware, but approximately 10-15% actually are.  INSIGHT: Why We’re Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and In Life  explores the most common misconceptions about how to become more self-aware and focuses on how to make better career, love, and life choices through understanding our own values, aspirations, and impact on others.

Author Dr. Tascha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, researcher, and New York Times best-selling author.

Each of our stories finds its foundation in the honest and vulnerable years of our childhood.  Many of our thoughts and inspirations from those times are long since lost or forgotten, but for some, they remain a cherished look back at the shaping of our current and future selves.

In Our Story Begins: Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew as Kids, compiled by award-winning author Elissa Brent Weissman, we get a firsthand glimpse at the quirky and smart early drawings and writings of some of today’s  foremost children’s authors, revealing the evidence of their nascent talent in their most formative years.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

Aug 07: Award Winning Summer Reads

August 5, 2017

The dog days of summer are upon us, and the cool evening breezes bring about the perfect time to settle on the back porch with a glass of wine and a good book.

Our first guest today delivers a compelling exploration of family, politics, and the fight for racial equality in her debut novel, The Talented Ribkins.  Author Ladee Hubbard won both the 2016 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award and the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition in the Short Story category.

Glen Erik Hamilton’s debut novel, Past Crimes, was wildly successful, and he returns today to discuss the third novel in the lauded Van Shaw series, Every Day Above Ground.

Glen will also share his approach to living up to the lofty expectations set by his first two books, and what it takes to develop a realistic character who grows with the series.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

Jul 31: The Essex Serpent & Tropic of Kansas

July 27, 2017

Today’s guest authors both created believable fictional universes — one gothic, one of a dystopian future. We’ll discuss what it takes to bring realism into fiction to help readers suspend their disbelief.

Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent delivers us into 1893 London, where an intrepid amateur naturalist sets out to prove a mythical, murderous beast, is actually an undiscovered species.  Sarah has turned her PhD in creative writing into a burgeoning career as a novelist, with The Essex Serpent, her second novel, winning the British Book Awards Book of the Year. 

Our second author, Christopher Brown, takes us into a haunting future where the United States has broken into warring territories and the center of the landmass is a ravaged wasteland known as the Tropic of Kansas.  Christopher is a lawyer and renowned short story writer whose work has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies.

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Fiction, Personal Development, Writers on Writing

Jul 10: Lies and Other Acts of Love & Smarter Faster Better

July 8, 2017

Returning guest Kristy Woodson Harvey’s new book Lies and Other Acts of Love is a moving examination of the lies we tell to protect our loved ones — and the life-altering consequences of a hidden truth revealed.

It’s not about doing more — it’s about understanding human behavior and creating space to enjoy more. Pulitzer-Prize Winner, New York Times investigative journalist, and author Charles Duhigg joins us for the 3rd time — this time with his new book: Smarter, Faster, Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business.

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Fiction, Health & Wellness, Writers on Writing

Jun 12: Dan Millman’s Return of the Peaceful Warrior & Mary Simses’ The Rules of Love and Grammar

June 3, 2017

Dan Millman provides a calm harbor in the storm of today’s ever-changing daily news cycles and stresses in his new book, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior.  He intertwines fiction and autobiography, and shows how to stay centered, focused, and present.

Dan Millman is a former world champion gymnast, coach, martial arts teacher, and college professor, and has authored 17 books.

Later, Mary Simses gives a valuable lesson in the futility of striving for perfection in her second novel,  The Rules of Love and Grammar.  Bestselling author James Patterson calls it a “… smart, well-told story about memory, family, and of course, love.”

Mary Simses enrolled in a fiction writing course while working as a corporate attorney, and her experiences getting short stories published led her to write her first novel, which was adapted into a Hallmark movie.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

May 01: The Story You Need to Tell & Steve Berry’s The Lost Order

April 18, 2017

We all have a story to tell.  Some of them are harder than others, and oftentimes writing can be a cathartic way of releasing inner turmoil.  In her upcoming new book, The Story You Need to Tell: Writing to Heal from Trauma, Illness, or Loss, Sandra Marinelli shares true stories that illustrate how her methods of understanding and communicating your personal stories can lead you on the road to renewal.

Sandra Marinelli is an award-winning teacher and writer, who has literally taught thousands of writers while giving over 200 workshops.  Her experience with breast cancer in 2012 led her to embrace writing as a way of healing.

Later, Steve Berry returns to Conversations Live with his latest adventure starring popular hero Cotton Malone, who finds our country’s dark past could lead to a darker future.

The Lost Order is a riveting thriller that weaves its way through countless plot twists, starting at the Smithsonian, heading to rural Arkansas, and culminating in the rugged mountains of New Mexico.

Steve Berry is a New York Times and international bestselling author who specializes in historical fiction.

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Inspirational, Memoir, Personal Development, Self-help, Writers on Writing

Mar 20: 1] The Education of Will 2] Chuck Wendig’s Thunderbird

March 20, 2017

Sometimes it takes the convergence of extraordinary circumstances to make us face our own demons. For many years, Dr. Patricia B. McConnell grappled privately with intense fear, shame, anxiety, and guilt.

In her latest book, The Education of Will: A Mutual Memoir of a Woman and Her Dog, McConnell takes an unflinching look at her own trauma and how a problem dog helped her grow beyond it, ultimately healing both dog and owner.

Dr. McConnell is a Zoologist and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. For more than 25 years she’s specialized in canine aggression, consulting with pet owners on serious animal behavioral problems.

Chuck Wendig is a novelist, graphic comic writer, screenwriter, and game designer.

He talks “… a lot about writing. And food. And pop culture. And his kid. [And] uses lots of naughty language.” Best know for his New York Times Bestselling Star Wars: Aftermath series, Wendig’s latest book is Thunderbird, the fourth installment in the continuing saga of Miriam Black.

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