Diy Mfa Radio

Today, Lori is interviewing Kendare Blake. They’ll be talking about her new book One Girl in All the World and writing a reboot series. Kendare Blake is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Three Dark Crowns series, the Anna Dressed in Blood duet, All These Bodies, and others. She lives and writes in Gig Harbor, Washington, from under a pile of dogs and cats. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   In this episode Kendare Blake and Lori discuss: The pros and cons of writing fan fiction, and how it can up your authorial game. Dealing with the drama that comes with writing a reboot for a beloved series. Orienting new readers into an existing world without bogging things down. Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/445

Today, Lori is interviewing Iris Yamashita. They’ll be talking about how her experience as a screenwriter helped her create tension in a closed setting. Iris Yamashita is an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter for the movie Letters from Iwo Jima. She has been working in Hollywood for fifteen years developing material for both film and streaming, has taught screenwriting at UCLA, and is an advocate of women and diversity in the entertainment industry. She has also been a judge and mentor for various film and writing programs, and lives in California. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   In this episode Iris Yamashita and Lori discuss: How culture has affected the trajectory of her career as a screenwriter and novelist. The way her screenwriting background informed her process for maintaining tension and keeping readers on the edge of their seat. Using a multiple voice format to make a shifting, close third POV work across characters with very distinct personal

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Mary Robinette Kowal. We’ll be talking about challenging your default assumption about the world and her latest book The Spare Man. Mary Robinette Kowal is the four-time Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Award-winning author of The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost Talkers, the Lady Astronaut Universe, and The Spare Man. She is a cast member of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. Her stories appear in Asimov’s, Uncanny, and Year’s Best anthologies. Mary Robinette is a professional puppeteer, and she also performs as a voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), recording fiction for authors including Seanan McGuire, Cory Doctorow, and John Scalzi. She lives in Nashville with her husband Rob and over a dozen manual typewriters. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Goodreads.   In this episode Mary Robinette Kowal and I discuss: How she wrote a mash-up of old Hollywood glamour

Today, Lori is interviewing Amy Christine Parker. They’ll be talking about coming up with unsettling ideas and Amy’s book, Flight 171. Amy Christine Parker is the author of the critically acclaimed young adult thriller novels: Gated, Astray, Smash & Grab, and most recently the horror novel, Flight 171. When she is not busy dreaming up unsettling stories, Amy loves to read, go to the movies, and travel around the world in search of story inspiration. She lives and works in Tampa, Florida along with her husband, their two daughters, and two very high-maintenance cats. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Goodreads.   In this episode Amy Christine Parker and Lori discuss: Where she comes up with unsettling ideas and how she deals with fears on the page. The importance of the first line and why the opening chapters are the hardest to write. How she developed the characterization for the ensemble cast in Flight 171. Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Terena Elizabeth Bell. We’ll be talking about experimental fiction and her book of short stories, Tell Me What You See. Terena Elizabeth Bell is a fiction writer. Her debut short story collection, Tell Me What You See (Whiskey Tit), publishes Holiday 2022. Short stories, poetry, and journalism work have appeared in The Atlantic, Playboy, MysteryTribune, Santa Monica Review, Saturday Evening Post, and more than 100 similar publications throughout the US, the UK, Ireland, and Spain. Short fiction has won grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women, Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, and the New York Foundation for the Arts.   She is a 2021 NYFA City Artists Corps winner, a 2018 Arlene Eisenberg Award winner, a 2018 Azbee Award of Excellence winner, and Centre College’s 2014 Distinguished Young Alumna of the Year. Lead editor of the Writing Through the Classics series of books on fiction craft, she has taught creative writing independently and through the New Yo

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Heloisa Prieto. We’ll be talking about all of the puzzle pieces in her book, The Musician. Dr. Heloisa Prieto is one of Brazil's most celebrated children and YA authors. She has sold over two million books in her native country. Her Mano series of YA novels inspired the Time Warner movie The Best Things in the World. She recently published 1,002 Ghosts, and her book Viajantes do Vento was selected for the PNLD Public Book-Purchasing Programme, the biggest of its kind in the world. She has spent a lifetime researching myths and legends-both ancient and modern-and organizing and curating collections of cross-cultural interest. She has created and organized numerous creative writing workshops for children, teenagers, and adults. Heloisa also has a PhD in French literature from the University of São Paulo, and a master's degree in semiotics from the Catholic University of São Paulo. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   In

Today, Lori is interviewing Deeba Zargarpur. They’ll be talking about family trauma and her book House of Yesterday. Deeba Zargarpur is an Afghan-Uzbek American. She credits her love of literature across various languages to her immigrant parents, whose eerie tales haunted her well into the night.  If given the choice, Deeba would spend her days getting lost in spooky towns with nothing but a notebook and eye for adventure to guide her. House of Yesterday is her debut novel. You can find her on her website or follow her on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Goodreads.   In this episode Deeba Zargarpur and Lori discuss: How to write a creepy book your audience will have to read with the lights on. Why she focuses on the grandparent and grandchild relationship in her book. When to edge the supernatural elements of your story toward the chilling.   Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/439

Today, Lori is interviewing Fran Hawthorne. They’ll be talking about her new book I Meant To Tell You and Broad Topic. Fran Hawthorne has been writing novels since she was four years old, although she was sidetracked for several decades by journalism. During that award-winning career, she wrote eight nonfiction books, mainly about consumer activism, the drug industry, and the financial world.  Ethical Chic (Beacon Press) was named one of the best business books of 2012 by Library Journal, and Pension Dumping (Bloomberg Press) was a Foreword magazine 2008 Book of the Year. She's also been an editor or regular contributor for The New York Times, Business Week, Fortune, and many other publications.  But Fran never abandoned her true love: With the publication of her debut novel, The Heirs, in 2018 and now I Meant To Tell You, Fran is firmly committed to fiction. She’s at work on her next novel and also writes book reviews for the New York Journal of Books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can find her on her

Today, Lori is interviewing Carolyn Hays. They’ll be talking about the freedom that can be found in a pen name and her new book A Girlhood: Letter to my Transgender Daughter. Carolyn Hays is an award-winning, critically acclaimed, bestselling author who has chosen to publish A Girlhood: Letter to My Transgender Daughter under a pen name to protect the privacy of her family.  Her novels have been published by Hachette, Simon and Schuster, and HarperCollins; her books are also widely translated. A Girlhood will have four overseas editions, including those by Picador UK and Flammarion in France.  Her past books have been listed as New York Times Notable Books of the Year and Kirkus’s Best Fiction of the Year, and she’s written for National Public Radio and the Washington Post. You can find her on her website or follow her publishers on Twitter at @PressShopPR and @BlairPublisher.   In this episode Carolyn Hays and Lori discuss: Why writing in second person is perfect when writing about gender. How to recognize

Today, Lori is interviewing Amanda Jayatissa. They’ll be talking about secrets and hidden motivation in her new thriller You’re Invited. Amanda Jayatissa grew up in Sri Lanka, completed her undergrad at Mills College, CA, and lived in the UK before moving back to her sunny little island. She works as a corporate trainer, owns a chain of cookie stores, and is a proud dog-mum to her two spoiled huskies. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   In this episode Amanda Jayatissa and Lori discuss: How to develop your character’s inner life and voice through journaling What to do when the ending you planned for your book changes How to manage misdirection while still keeping your story fair for your reader   Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/436

Today, Lori is interviewing Suzanne Parry. They’ll be talking about the power of art and her book Lost Souls of Leningrad. A former European security specialist, Suzanne writes historical fiction about the Soviet Union. She studied Russian in Moscow and earned a Master's from Princeton University before joining the US Department of Defense. While at the Pentagon, she helped negotiate the first security agreement of the Gorbachev era. She raised a large family, taught university, and coached high school cross-country and track for fifteen years before embarking on a writing career. A veteran of several dozen marathons on six continents, Suzanne now runs slowly and not very far.  You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, and Instagram.   In this episode Suzanne Parry and Lori discuss: Writing a story that people will read about a particularly gruesome event. Structuring the chapter format and perspective to support the story you’re telling. Exploring the bonds that art creates between people.

Today, Lori is interviewing Lenore Borja. They’ll be talking about how she created a natural flow for her characters and her world in her book The Last Huntress. Lenore Borja grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. She attended Arizona State University before moving to New York City to study acting at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After a brief career as an actress, she spent several years working in executive search and human resources in both New York and San Francisco. She now resides in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband and a bossy feline named Maximus. When she’s not writing, she enjoys adventure travel and anything that gets the heart racing, whether it’s hiking, running, or getting lost in a good book.  The Last Huntress is her debut novel. She is currently working on Book 2 of the Mirror Realm  series. You can find her on her website or follow her on Instagram.   In this episode Lenore Borja and Lori discuss: Balance the trust you have in your reader with necessary exposition. Creating a fun fri

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Vitalis. We’ll be talking about voice, perspective, pacing and her books The Wolf’s Curse and The Rabbit’s Gift. Jessica Vitalis is a Columbia MBA-wielding writer on  a mission to write entertaining and thought-provoking literature. As an active volunteer in the kidlit community, she’s also passionate about using her privilege to lift up other voices. She founded Magic in the Middle, a series of free monthly recorded book talks, to help educators introduce young readers to new fantasy books. She was recently named a 2021 Canada Council of the Arts Grant Recipient and featured on CBCs Here and Now. Her first novel, The Wolf’s Curse, published in 2021, and a standalone companion novel, The Rabbit’s Gift, comes out October 25th.  You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   In this episode Jessica Vitalis and I discuss: Balancing multiple perspectives on the same events without boring your reader Weaving folklore, traditi

Today, Lori is interviewing S.K. Ali. They’ll be talking about feeling and emotion in YA fiction and her new book Love From Mecca to Medina. S.K. Ali is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of several books, including Saints and Misfits, a finalist for the William C. Morris award, winner of the APALA Award and Middle East Book Award, and Love from A to Z, a Today Show's "Read with Jenna" Book Club selection. Both novels were critically acclaimed and named best YA books of the year by various media including Entertainment Weekly and Kirkus Reviews.  Her novel, Misfit in Love, was a People magazine best book of summer 2021. Her books for younger readers include the widely acclaimed middle grade anthology Once Upon an Eid and the New York Times bestselling picture book, The Proudest Blue. She has a degree in Creative Writing and lives in Toronto with her family, a very vocal cat named Yeti, and a very quiet cat named Mochi. Her newest novel, Love From Mecca to Medina, went on sale October 18,

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Susan Austin. We’ll be talking about how she imagines the childhood of a historical figure in her book Drawing Outside the Lines. As an educator, Susan J. Austin knows the minds of young readers. Her first novel, The Bamboo Garden, is set in Berkeley, California, 1923, and describes an unlikely friendship between two girls that is tested by a fierce fire that threatens to destroy their town. Currently, she is writing about twelve-year-old Goldie, a whiz kid in the kitchen who hopes that her culinary magic can help her family’s delicatessen out of a pickle in 1928 Hollywood. Her characters are always brave, strong willed risk-takers. Writing historical fiction offers her a way to educate and excite her readers about the past. She and her husband live in Northern California, surrounded by family, their splendid but fussy rose bushes, and a lifetime collection of books. Learn more at www.susanjaustin.com.   In this episode Susan J. Austin and I discuss: Organizing your

Today, Lori is interviewing Carol Van Den Hende. They’ll be talking about finding purpose and her new book Orchid Blooming. Carol Van Den Hende is the award-winning author of the Goodbye, Orchid series. She’s also a speaker, global marketer, digital strategist, Climate Reality Leader and Board Trustee. One secret to her good fortune? Her humorous husband and twins, who prove that love really does conquer all. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest, YouTube, LinkTree, LinkedIn, Bookbub and Goodreads. You can also get a chapter for free by entering your email here.   In this episode Carol Van Den Hende and Lori discuss: Finding freedom in the different experience that each reader has with a story. Crafting your purpose and gaining energy from it. Creating characters that inspire fondness and familiarity in readers. Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/430

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Jeffrey James Higgins. We’ll be talking about his closed setting thriller novel Furious: Sailing Into Terror. Jeffrey James Higgins is a retired supervisory special agent who writes thrillers, short stories, scripts, creative nonfiction, and essays. He has wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor. Jeffrey has been interviewed by CNN, Fox News, and The New York Times. He is a #1 Amazon bestselling author and has won sixteen literary awards, including PenCraft’s Best Fiction Book of 2021. He was just nominated for Silver Falchion Awards for Best Suspense and Best Thriller and a Claymore Award for Best Mystery.  You can find him on his website or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Goodreads, IMDB, Amazon, and BookBub.   In this episode Jeffrey James Higgins and I discuss: How to maintain tension a

Today, Lori is interviewing Helen Scheuerer. They’ll be talking about some of the lessons in her new book How to Write a Successful Series. Helen Scheuerer is the fantasy author of the bestselling trilogy, The Oremere Chronicles and the Curse of the Cyren Queen quartet. Her work has been highly praised for its strong, flawed female characters and its action-packed plots. More recently, she has also delved into publishing advice for authors with her debut nonfiction book, 'How To Write A Successful Series'. Helen’s love of writing and books led her to pursue a Bachelor of Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong and a Masters of Publishing at the University of Sydney. Now a full-time author, Helen lives amidst the mountains in Central Otago, New Zealand and is constantly dreaming up new stories. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.   In this episode Helen and Lori discuss: How to create, maintain, and use a story bible and style guide. The importance of allowing you

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Nova McBee. We’ll be talking about the rapid release model and her book series Calculated. Nova McBee is an avid traveler and culture nerd who has lived and worked in Europe, the Middle East and Asia for half her life. She speaks multiple languages, including Mandarin, and lived in China for more than a decade. She thrives on complex plots, adventure, making cross-cultural connections and coffee. She currently resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband and three children. Calculated is currently in development to become a major motion picture. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   In this episode Nova and I discuss: How to plan a launch by observing book launches you admire. The importance of setting deadlines and maintaining flexibility in writing. What it’s like to have your work adapted for film.   Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/427

Today, Lori is interviewing Khristin Wierman. We’ll be talking about how she explores the theme of overcoming differences in her debut novel Buck’s Pantry. Khristin Wierman spent twenty years rising through the marketing ranks of Fortune 500 companies, building a career that was lucrative, ego-boosting, and a little bit soul-crushing. So she quit. And had no idea what to do with her life. Writing novels ensued. She was born and raised in a small East Texas town—which means she came into this world a Dallas Cowboys fan and ardently believes “y’all” is a legitimate pronoun. Some things she enjoys are playing golf with her husband and stepson, poker, yoga, chocolate, the Golden State Warriors, and the daily adventure of life with an adorably imperfect cat named Rocco. She lives in San Francisco, California. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook.   In this episode Khristin Wierman and Lori discuss: How to ensure each character has their own distinct voice and mannerisms Seeing the good in