DIY MFA Radio

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

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Kristan Higgins. Kristan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly twenty novels, which have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Her books have received many awards and accolades, and she is a six-time nominee for The Kirkus Prize for best work of fiction. Today we'll be discussing her new novel Life and Other Inconveniences. In this episode Kristan and I discuss: Exploring forgiveness, loss and complicated families in writing Balancing dual protagonists Using a compressed timeline How to handle heavy topics in a lighter book The power of asking, "Why?" for character development Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and shownotes: diymfa.com/275

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Rob Hart about his latest book The Warehouse. When I heard Rob's editor talk about this book at the BookExpo Editors' Buzz Panel, I knew I had to have Rob on the show. Now, if you guys don't know about Book Expo, it's a big literary trade show that happens every May in New York City. They have these panels where they feature a selection of books that are getting a ton of buzz. There's a panel all about books for adults, and another featuring YA and Middle Grade. Now, when I used to go to Book Expo, I'd get very overwhelmed with all the books! But these days, after many Book Expos, I'm a little more measured, and it takes a bit more for a book to grab my attention. The Warehouse was one of the books that really made me sit up and take notice. But first, a little bit about our guest. Rob Hart is the author of the Ash McKenna series, as well as the short story collection Take-Out, and the novella Scott Free, which he co-wrote with James Patterson. His latest book, The Warehouse, has sold in more than 20 countries and has been optioned for film by Ron Howard. A fellow New Yorker, Rob lives in Staten Island, NY, with his wife and daughter. In this episode Rob and I discuss: The inspiration behind The Warehouse How adding a third point of view strengthened the story Crafting an immersive world without info-dumping Under-writing instead of over-writing a draft Using a map to plan a world Moving from outlining and research to writing Plus, his #1 tip for writers. For more info and shownotes: diymfa.com/274

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Aaron Becker. Born in Baltimore, Aaron moved to California to attend Pomona College where he scored his first illustration job designing t-shirts for his water polo team. Since then, he's traveled around the world, from Kenya to Japan, Sweden to Tahiti, looking for good things to eat and feeding his imagination. He now lives with his family in Amherst, MA where he's busy at work on his next book project. You can find out more about what he's been up to lately at storybreathing.com. Aaron and I will be talking about his wordless picture book trilogy, Journey, Quest, and Return, as well as his picture book A Stone for Sascha and his newest picture book, You Are Light. In this episode Aaron and I discuss: The story behind the Journey, Quest, Return trilogy Navigating second book syndrome How different age groups approach wordless picture books Changing tones for a second story arc Crafting a picture book inspired by stained glass Using different mediums to craft picture books Plus, his #1 tip for writers. For more info and shownotes: diymfa.com/273

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Archer Mayor. Archer is the author of the highly acclaimed Vermont-based series featuring detective Joe Gunther, which the Chicago Tribune describes as "the best police procedurals being written in America." He has won the New England Independent Booksellers Association Award for Best Fiction — which is the first time a crime fiction author has received this honor — and in 2011, his 22nd Joe Gunther novel, Tag Man, earned a place on The New York Times bestseller list. Before trying his hand at fiction, Archer wrote history books. His most well-known is Southern Timberman: The Legacy of William Buchanan, which is all the lumber and oil business in Louisiana from the 1870s to the 1970s. When he's not writing, Archer is a death investigator for Vermont's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Over the past thirty years, he has also been a detective for the Windham County Sheriff's Office, a volunteer firefighter/EMT, the publisher of his own backlist, and a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers. In this episode Archer and I discuss: Using practical experience for writing research Using curiosity and questions for story inspiration The historical origins of the title Bomber's Moon Keeping a character and world fresh over thirty books The power of treating the reader as a co-storyteller Plus, his #1 tip for writers. For more info and shownotes: diymfa.com/272