20 min listen
Novelist Susan Straight, Mecca
FromWriters on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
Novelist Susan Straight, Mecca
FromWriters on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
ratings:
Length:
20 minutes
Released:
Aug 8, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Susan Straight, author of the novel, Mecca, which Michael Connelly called "a masterpiece," talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her new novel and how it came to be. Susan Straight was born in Riverside, CA, and still lives there with her family. She’s passionate about home, California, the Santa Ana River, the foothills and the deserts, and has been writing about southern California and the inland area for forty years. From her kitchen window, she can see the hospital where she was born, which her three daughters find kind of hilarious and pathetic; most days, she walks her dog Angel beside the Santa Ana River as she has since childhood, and then past the classrooms at Riverside City College, where she wrote her first short story, at 16, which is also kind of hilarious, but hopeful. She has written about the people of California for her new memoir, In the Country of Women, based on women’s stories told for five generations to Straight and her daughters, in driveways and trucks, at parks and funerals. She’s published that memoir, eight novels, and two books for children. Her short stories and essays have been published everywhere from The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Guardian to Alta, The Believer, McSweeneys, Zoetrope, Reader’s Digest, Real Simple, and Family Circle. She’s been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Lannan Prize for Fiction, a California Gold Medal for Fiction, and the Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. Download audio. (Recorded on July 12, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Support the show on Patreon! Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com
Released:
Aug 8, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Debut crime writer Dwyer Murphy, author of "An Honest Living": Dwyer Murphy is the editor-in-chief of CrimeReads, Literary Hub‘s crime fiction vertical and a popular destination for thriller readers. A former litigator, Murphy is the author of the debut novel An Honest Living (publishing on July 26, 2022 by Viking). Murphy joins Marrie Stone to talk about writing crime fiction and what he's learned about crime writing in his years working in the industry. He gives insights into New York in the early 2000s and setting a novel before the social media and technology boom. He also talks about creating recurring characters, how to maintain suspense, and other aspects of creating compelling crime fiction. For additional writing tips, prompts, and perks, visit our Patreon page here. Download audio. (Recorded on July 7, 2022) (Broadcast date: July 18, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.m by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers