DIY MFA Radio

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Morgan. A USA Today bestselling author Sarah writes lively, sexy contemporary stories for Harlequin. Romantic Times has described her as “a magician with words” and nominated her books for their Reviewer's Choice Awards and their “Top Pick” slot. In 2012 Sarah received the prestigious RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America. Today we’ll be discussing the art and craft behind her latest novel A Wedding in December. In this episode, Sarah and I discuss: How one character inspired A Wedding in December What makes holiday romances so popular Navigating writing a story where “happily ever after” is guaranteed Developing an authentic setting Balancing family secrets in a multi-pov story Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/285

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan. Virginia Loh-Hagan is an educator and author. She is the 2016 recipient of California Reading Association’s Marcus Foster Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in reading. Currently, she is directing the Liberal Studies program at San Diego State University. She has a B.A. in English and a Masters in Elementary Education (K-8) and Special Education, specializing in Learning Disabilities (K-12), from the University of Virginia. She earned her Doctorate in Education with an emphasis in Literacy and her dissertation was a qualitative study on the cultural authenticity of Asian-American children's literature. She serves on various book award committees and is the Cover Editor and Book Nook columnist for "The California Reader," the premier professional journal for the California Reading Association. She has published over 300 children's books and academic publications. She especially likes to write about her Chinese-American heritage. After all, she was born on Flag Day in the Year of the Dragon. She's also interested in writing fun facts about monsters, weird bodily noises, urban legends, hot dogs, and anything else that’s strange and awesome. In this episode Virginia and I discuss: The inspiration behind Nian the Chinese New Year Dragon How a career in teaching informed Dr. Loh-Hagan’s writing Reading for comprehension versus reading for craft Using the rule of three in a picture book Staying true to the world you create Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/284

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Carolyn Crimi and Corinna Luyken, the author and illustrator behind the buzz-worthy middle grade novel Weird Little Robots. Carolyn Crimi is the author of several books for children, including Where’s My Mummy?, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates, and There Might Be Lobsters. Weird Little Robots is her first novel and she lives in Illinois. Corinna Luyken is the author-illustrator of the NY Times Bestseller, My Heart; as well as The Book of Mistakes, which received four starred reviews and has been praised by Entertainment Weekly, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and more.   She is the illustrator for Weird Little Robots, written by Carolyn Crimi and Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse, written by Marcy Campbell. She lives in Olympia, WA with her husband, daughter, and two cats. In this episode Carolyn, Corinna and I discuss: The inspiration behind Weird Little Robots Shifting from writing picture books to full length novels How to maintain creative momentum Building characters that feel alive and real How throwing away eighty pages of work inspired a stronger story and characters Plus, their #1 tips for writers. For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/283

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sam Hooker and Seven Jane.  Sam Hooker writes darkly humorous fantasy novels about things like tyrannical despots and the masked scoundrels who tickle them without mercy. He knows all the best swear words, though he refuses to repeat them because he doesn't want to attract goblins.  Seven Jane is an author of dark fantasy and speculative fiction. Seven is a member of The Author's Guild and Women's Fiction Writing Association. She also writes a column for The Women's Fiction Association and is a contributor to The Nerd Daily.​ They are both authors of stories included in the anthology A MIDNIGHT CLEAR, six stories of not-so-merry yuletide whimsy, from Blackspot Books. In this episode Sam, Seven and I discuss: Writing a short story when you usually write novels Adjusting your writing process to fit a new category Creating suspense in an insular, character-driven story Using winter as the inspiration for a short story Plus, their #1 tips for writers. For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/282

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Kristyn Merbeth. Kristyn is an author who’s obsessed with SFF, food, video games, and her dog. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, and her book Fortuna launches a new space opera trilogy that will hook you from the first crash landing. In this episode Kristyn and I discuss: How a NASA discovery and a TV show inspired the world and story of Fortuna Techniques for building multiple worlds Creating complex family and cultural dynamics Using dual perspectives to create balance and expand world-building How to grapple with real-world issues in a speculative story Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/281

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Amanda Noll and Howard McWilliam, author and illustrator of the I Need My Monster picture book series. Amanda Noll was born and raised in Canberra, Australia and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. After marrying her college sweetheart, she began working in the purchasing division of a private university (which is ironic, since she despises shopping). She left the business world to attend to the business of raising children and concentrate on her writing. As her kids grew up, she completed a Master’s degree in Education and became an Elementary School Librarian.  Amanda blames her fundamentally twisted sense of humor on either genetics or being raised on a steady stream of Australian humor and sci-fi. She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and children. Howard McWilliam left his career as a U.K. financial magazine editor and journalist in 2005 to concentrate on illustrating. He is cover artist for The Week in the U.S. and U.K. and has illustrated dozens of children’s novels, puzzles, and picture books, including the bestselling I Need My Monster series. He lives in Cheltenham, England, with his wife Rebecca and three young sons. In this episode, Amanda, Howard and I discuss: The inspiration behind the My Monster series How one book turned into a series  How the author-illustrator relationship works Navigating the line between safe and scary for kids Making picture books accessible for boy and girl readers Plus, their #1 tips for writers. For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/280

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing my friend and fellow New Yorker, Amanda Slavin. Amanda is the founder and CEO of the award-winning brand consulting firm CatalystCreativ, the author of The Seventh Level book, and the creator of the Seventh Level Engagement Framework. She uses this framework to guide brands like Coca-Cola, Google, and HubSpot to connect more meaningfully with their customers and improve their bottom lines. So you may be wondering, “How does this apply to us writers?” Amanda and I were chatting over coffee some time ago, and as she described the 7th Level framework, I started to see connections between this marketing framework and how we as writers create books as an experience for our readers. Amanda has spoken at events like SXSW, TED, and INBOUND about the Seventh Level and her writing has been featured in places like Inc., Forbes, Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, and Time. She lives in New York City with her husband and her cockapoo. In this episode Amanda and I discuss: How the “Seventh Level” framework applies to writers The origins of the Seventh Level How a Seventh Level statement applies to literary themes Using levels 1-3 keep your target readers engaged Using character change to inspire and connect with readers Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/279

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Megan McDonald, the author behind the popular Judy Moody series. Megan grew up the youngest of five sisters, so knows a thing or two about speaking up for herself. Before she became a writer, she worked in museums, libraries, and bookstores; she has also made a living as a storyteller and a park ranger. In addition to the best-selling Judy Moody and Stink series, she is the author of three Sisters Club stories, two books about Ant and Honey Bee, and many other books for children. Today we’ll be talking about the latest Judy Moody book, #15 Judy Moody, Book Quiz Whiz. In this episode Megan and I discuss: The personal origins of the Judy Moody books The question from kid readers that helped inspire the series Tailoring vocabulary for an early reader How to keep a story super focused Keeping a series fresh, new and exciting for readers Plus her #1 Tip for Writers. For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/278

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Brenda Jackson. Brenda Jackson is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over 100 novels and novellas, including two that have been turned into films—One Special Moment and Truly Everlasting. Brenda is a recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award and an NAACP Image Award nominee for Outstanding Literary Fiction for her book, A Silken Thread. She is an advocate for diversity in romance and was the first African American author to make both the USA TODAY and New York Times bestseller lists in series/category romance genre. Today we’ll be talking about her Catalina Cove series, and its third book Finding Home Again is out now. In this episode Brenda and I discuss: Structuring a series around a setting Starting with plot instead of character Building a world that comes alive for readers Keeping track of an evolving fictional world How to make a tried and true romance plot feel fresh Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/277

Hey there word nerds!  Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Nicole Valentine. Nicole Valentine earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and teaches the Brain Trust Workshop at the Highlights Foundation in Honesdale, PA. Before shifting to writing, she used to work at CNN.com in NYC where she helped build the first web publishing tool for a newsroom, so science and innovation have been a huge prat of her career from the get-go. She is also the former chief technology officer at Figment.com (now called GetUnderlined.com) and Space.com. But her talents don’t stop there. A fellow crafter, when she was placed on bedrest pregnant with her daughter, she designed a line of literary needlework samplers that got picked up by a national distributor and became very popular for a number of years. Nicole loves science and as a writer enjoys pondering the times when science falls short of explanation and magic has room to sneak in. She’s the founder of steaMG.org, The Middle-Grade Sci-fi Authors Alliance. A Time Traveler’s Theory of Relativity is her debut novel. When not engaged in fictional world-building, Nicole can often be found with a hawk on her arm. She lives in Pennsylvania with her human family, two giant dogs named Merlin and Arthur, and two small cats named Tink and Pickwick. In this episode Nicole and I discuss: The origins of A Time Traveler’s Theory of Relativity  Using “real life anchors” to create a realistic magical worlds Using adults in middle grade fiction Time travel as a metaphor for grief Carving a place for upper middle grade Bringing real science to time travel Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and shownotes: www.diymfa.com/276