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A podcast for and about writers—the business side and the creative perspective—and how our life experiences intersect with our writing work. How we do it, why we do it and what keeps us going as we navigate the creative environment. Because, published or not, wildly popular or still unknown, we are all writers. ”Living the Writing Life” is a copyrighted podcast solely owned by author Nancy Christie. For more information, visit her website at www.nancychristie.com.
Episodes
Jan 20, 2021
Jan 20, 2021
29 min
Scientist, educator, conservationist, author, and poet, Annette Libeskind Berkovits, was born in Kyrgyzstan and grew up in postwar Poland and the fledgling state of Israel before coming to America at age sixteen.
After her retirement as Senior Vice President at the Wildlife Conservation Society, Berkovits has channeled her passions into writing. Her first memoir, In the Unlikeliest of Places, a story of her remarkable father’s survival, was published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press in 2014. Her second memoir, Confessions of an Accidental Zoo Curator (based on her amazing wildlife career), was published in 2017. Erythra Thalassa: Brain Disrupted is her first poetry chapbook.
For more about Annette, visit her website and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
In today's conversation, Annette and I discuss how her son’s stroke and the aftermath inspired her poetry collection, Erythra Thalassa: Brain Disrupted, and how writing can serve as a lifeline when tragedy strikes.
Jan 2, 2021
Jan 2, 2021
7 min
Just a few thoughts on how recognizing our own vulnerability can push us to find our courage and continue to move forward with our writing and with our life.
Did you enjoy this excerpt? Sign up for my newsletter, The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!
Dec 2, 2020
Dec 2, 2020
5 min
Just a few thoughts on how challenging life events and experiences can become sources of inspiration for our writing.
Did you enjoy this excerpt? Sign up for my newsletter, The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!
Nov 18, 2020
Nov 18, 2020
32 min
Dr. Dawn Reno Langley wrote her first published work at the age of nine, an essay on the Cuban missile crisis, and since then, she has written extensively for newspapers and magazines, published more than 30 books (children’s, adult novels, and nonfiction), and award-winning short stories, essays, and poetry, as well as theater reviews and blogs.
A Fulbright scholar and TedX speaker with an MFA in Fiction and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, Langley lives on the North Carolina coast. Her latest book, You Are the Divine Feminine will be released in Spring, 2021.
For more about Dawn, visit her website and her Rewired Creatives company website, follow her on Facebook and Twitter, and check out The Mourning Parade, her novel about motherhood and elephants.
In today’s conversation, Dawn and I discuss how place and space—where the writer is physically—can influence the type of writing and even the creative process itself.
Nov 3, 2020
Nov 3, 2020
5 min
Just a few thoughts on how a place to write can be a physical location, a state of mind or both.
Did you enjoy this excerpt? Sign up for my newsletter, The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!
Oct 21, 2020
Oct 21, 2020
35 min
Camilla Downs is a bestselling author, indie publisher, mentor, and mother of two who lives in northern Nevada.
Nature and life experiences serve as a constant source of inspiration for her writing, and in her heartfelt free-verse poetry memoir, Words of Alchemy, Camilla invites you to walk with her to share her love of Nature and Life.
During her daily strolls, she is mindfully present as she delves into life in the raw and experiences her heart’s observations. Camilla embraces what happens when she opens her heart and invites the written words to flow. The Alchemy of Love and Healing is what happens.
For more about Camilla, visit her website and follow her on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
In today’s conversation, Camilla and I are exploring the role of mindfulness in artistic creation and the connection between art and nature.
Oct 3, 2020
Oct 3, 2020
3 min
Just a few thoughts on how practicing mindfulness on a regular basis can help me be a better writer.
Did you enjoy this excerpt? Sign up for my newsletter, The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!
Sep 16, 2020
Sep 16, 2020
40 min
Alan Sharavsky is the author of Boarding School Bastard, a memoir about his life at Girard College, a famous Philadelphia orphanage, from 1962 to 1970.
Leavening the tragedy with humor, Boarding School Bastard reveals a world we’d prefer to avoid but is too riveting to ignore. To understand how a child survives the loss of his father, the abuse of his guardians, and the crushing loneliness of being this stunning debut memoir is essential reading.
For more about Alan, follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
In this conversation, we discuss the challenges and unexpected rewards of writing about painful events from one's past.
Sep 3, 2020
Sep 3, 2020
5 min
Just a few thoughts on the need to incorporate some “Nantucket time” into my daily schedule to help cope with the stress and uncertainty of life.
Did you enjoy this excerpt? Sign up for my newsletter, The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!
Aug 19, 2020
Aug 19, 2020
37 min
Patricia Averbach, a native Clevelander, is the former director of The Chautauqua Writers Center in Chautauqua, New York. Her second novel, Resurrecting Rain (Antelope Press, 2020) is a finalist for Chanticleer's Somerset Award for Contemporary Fiction and a semi-finalist for Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Award.
Other publications include her debut novel, Painting Bridges (Bottom Dog Press, 2013) and an award-winning poetry chapbook, Missing Persons (Ward Wood Publishing, 2013) which was cited by Times of London Literary Supplement (November 2014) as one of the best small collections of the year.
For more about Patricia, visit her website and follow her on Twitter (@pataverbach), Facebook and Goodreads.
In this conversation, we talk about the intersection of poetry and prose.