Living The Writing Life Podcast with Nancy Christie

In Conversation With … Eric Walker, author

As an amateur genealogist and family historian, Eric Walker was impelled to write his debut novel Lost Souls Recovered when he discovered the richness of family stories through research of historical documents and those stories told to him by relatives.

As he read historical documents and talked to relatives, he envisioned a way to bring to life in fiction form many of his ancestors who lived a hardscrabble life and who worked to overcome hardship. Eric believes the written word can unlock doors as well as the imagination and unite our spirits through our visions.

A lawyer who lives in Ohio, Eric is working on a second novel involving land loss in the early post-Reconstruction era.

For more about Eric, visit his author page and follow him on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook at @Sennachietyme.

In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about the importance, and the value, of understanding the past—our own and that of others.

Thoughts on writing and life for January 2024

Just a few thoughts on why we need to do “different” to have “different.”

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In Conversation With … Michael Bourne, author

Michael Bourne is the author of Blithedale Canyon (Regal House, 2022). He is a long-time contributing editor at Poets & Writers Magazine and he has written for the New York Times, the Globe & Mail, The Economist, Literary Hub, and Salon.

His fiction has appeared in more than a dozen literary magazines including, most recently, december, The Southampton Review, and Tin House. Blithedale Canyon is his first novel. He grew up in Northern California and now lives in Vancouver, Canada, with his wife and son.

For more about Michael, visit his website and follow him on Instagram (michaelrbourne) and Twitter/X (@bournewriter).

In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about the reality of transitioning from being a published short story writer to a published novelist—both the creative aspect and the business side of it.

Thoughts on writing and life for December 2023

Just a few thoughts on the importance of being willing to make revisions: in writing and in life.

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In Conversation With … Molly Giles, author

Molly Giles is the award-winning author of six story collections and two novels. Rough Translations won The Flannery O’Connor Prize the Boston Globe Award, and the Bay Area Book Reviewers’ Award.

Other notable accolades have been awarded from the Small Press Best Fiction Award for Creek Walk, which also earned a Commonwealth Silver Medal Award for Fiction, and was a New York Times Notable Book. Bothered won the Split Oak Press Flash Fiction Award; and All The Wrong Places won the Spokane Prize for Fiction.

Molly’s work has also earned The O. Henry Award and the Pushcart Prize, and she has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Marin Arts Council, and the Arkansas Arts Council. Wife With Knife was the Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize.

Her latest book, the novel The Home For Unwed Husbands was released in August 2023, and published in the U.S. by Leapfrog Press and by Can of Worms Enterprises in the U.K.

For more about Molly, visit her website and follow her on Facebook.

In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about longevity as an author: how to keep the creative spark alive and strong.

 

 

Thoughts on writing and life for November 2023

Just a few thoughts on why we need to take regular breaks to refresh and renew our creative spirit.

 

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In Conversation With … Gillian Felix, author and entrepreneur

Gillian Felix has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil, and as of this writing, she is the author of 10 books. She enjoys creating characters that could be your next-door neighbor, but would you want them as your neighbor is another story.

Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Miss Felix moved to the United States in 1998. She has been involved in the entertainment industry for over ten years. She is trained in the Meisner and Stanislavski technique of acting, which she credits as an asset to her character development and writing.

Miss Felix is also an entrepreneur and advocate for children's and women's rights. Her company, Karma Centric Solutions builds SEO compliant websites for small business and provides marketing from a karma centric perspective.

For more about Gillian, visit her Plain Talk Book Marketing website and her Karma Centric Solutions website. You can also follow her on LinkedIn, Instagram (GillianFelix23 and PlainTalkBookMarketing), Goodreads, and on Facebook (Family Portrait Novels and Plain Talk Book Marketing). You can find her book, Adriana, A Banovic Series Book 1 here and information about her Family Portrait Novels here.

In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about how to find our way back to writing after an unplanned (and unwelcome) hiatus.

Thoughts on writing and life for October 2023

Just a few thoughts on why our focus as authors should be on building relationships, not just on selling books.

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In Conversation With … Egyptologist Mary Ann Marazzi, PhD

Mary Ann Marazzi is an Egyptologist with a doctoral degree in Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology/Egyptology, who has 27 years of experience working at archaeological sites in the US, Italy, and Egypt.

She has taught art history and world cultures at colleges and universities, edits academic journals and has written numerous articles for educational publications and children’s magazines.

For more about Mary Ann, visit her LinkedIn page.

In today’s conversation, we’ll talk about her work as an Egyptologist and how it is about discovery: what is found, what isn’t found (which is a discovery in and of itself), who those people were and how they lived.

And the correlation between that and fiction writing, which is about uncovering the truth about the characters and the surprises that can result from unexpected “finds.”

Thoughts on writing and life for September 2023

Just a few thoughts on why we need to put our money (and time) where our mouth is when it comes to our writing career.

 

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