March 9, 2020
Today’s guest is Reuben "Tihi" Hayslett who confronts identity politics, racism and homophobia in his debut short story collection "Dark Corners," which has been selected by Kirkus Reviews as best book of the year (2019). Hayslett’s characters, most of them black, brown, and/or queer, have their personal problems complicated by their outsider status, by ominous politics, and by occasional eruptions of madness and the macabre. Tihi joined me today to talk about writing and art as a form of protest. Also covered: looking inward to step into your power before taking your work outward for a broader audience, and the art form of the short story, and how sometimes being succinct is how you allow your reader to fill in the blanks.
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March 2, 2020
Today’s guest is Kiley Reid, a recent graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop where she was the recipient of the Truman Capote Fellowship. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Such A Fun Age is her first novel. Kiley joined me today to talk about Such A Fun Age, and how writing two dimensional characters – people who are both good and bad – is how to make them true to life. Also covered, work life without a living wage, representing race on the page through language choice, and the truth that resides in fiction.
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Site: https://kileyreid.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kileyreid/
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September 2, 2019
Today’s guest is T. Jefferson Parker, the bestselling author of 13 stand alone noir crime novels, as well as three separate series featuring the characters Merci Rayborn, Charlie Hood and his latest, Roland Ford. He joined me today to talk about knowing when it’s time to create a new character, as well as the bittersweetness of leaving an old one behind. Also covered: the importance of setting in fiction, and how to create a place readers want to return to, what has changed in publishing over time, and how to stay invigorated as a writer.
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All the Walls of Belfast by Sarah Carlson
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![Bethany C. Morrow: The Need For Inclusion In Publishing]()
May 21, 2018
Today’s guest is Bethany C. Morrow author of MEM releasing in May from Unnamed Press. Bethany graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Sociology (but took notable detours in the Film and Theatre departments). Following undergrad, she studied Clinical Psychological Research at the University of Wales, in Great Britain before returning to North America to focus on her literary work. Bethany joins host Mindy McGinnis to talk about her query process, as well as writing in a post-election world as a black woman, and the concern that minority authors need to be looking for agents that want to represent them for a long-term career, not just as a response to a trend and whether or not white writers should attempt to write main characters of color, and the difference between that and being inclusive in your writing.
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Freya’s Daughter by Rachel Pudelek
Fat Girl On A Plane by Kelly DeVos
October 9, 2017
Today’s guest is Elsie Chapman, whose work includes the YA Sci-Fi series DUALED and DIVIDED, as well as the upcoming ALONG THE INDIGO. Born and raised in western Canada and a graduate of UBC with a degree in English Literature, Elsie Chapman currently lives in Tokyo with her family.
Elsie joins host Mindy McGinnis to talk about how so much of the pain of publishing goes unspoken, the luck of hitting a trend, the downside of that trend falling out of style, writing the book of your heart even when you know it might not get published, and putting together teams for theme focused anthologies.
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The Wood by Chelsea Bobulski
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September 18, 2017
Mindy McGinnis welcomes Tiffany Jackson, author of ALLEGEDLY. Tiffany talks about setting goals while in the query trenches, and how skills developed working in TV crossed over to writing fiction for Tiffany. She also shares about how a hurricane made her go unplugged and provided the backdrop she needed to produce that first book, and how interviewing girls in the juvenile justice system helped shape Allegedly.
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