Writing & Editing

Wayne is solo today and he talks about a concept that he and his co-host Jennia D’Lima were discussing recently—important in approaching any kind of fiction. Irony. What exactly is it? Why is it important to be aware of as you read fiction, or frankly experience any art form? And how can an appreciation of irony help you perhaps even enjoy a novel that you might otherwise despise or avoid outright?
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David Cross
https:/...

My guest on today’s episode is Professor Stephen Blackwell, who teaches at the University of Tennessee Knoxville in the US. His scholarship focuses on the work of the great Russian-born writer, Vladimir Nabokov, who spent much of his life in the United States and died in 1977 in Switzerland. Professor Blackwell was kind enough to indulge me in a discussion of a novel that Nabokov published in...

Beth Young is an associate professor in the English department at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, United States. She is also the coordinator of the ongoing project to digitize the dictionary of English compiled by Samuel Johnson and first published in 1755.
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Beth’s Profile
https://cah.ucf.edu/english/faculty-staff/profile/163
Johnson’s Dictionary Online
https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.co...

Wayne published My Sam Johnson: A Biography for General Readers on October 24, 2023 (in paperback and ebook). The audiobook version, narrated by Veronica Saretsky, was published on the 26th. Wayne chats with Veronica about the process and technicalities of how audiobooks are made. And stay tuned till the end when Veronica reads a snippet of how English was spoken about 11 centuries ago.
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Veronica’s Website
https://www....

Before I get started with the interview with my guest today, I have a happy announcement to make … Jennia D’Lima, whom you’ve heard as an occasional co-host on the show, is now becoming my permanent co-host. I’m really thrilled. She’s smart and funny, has deep experience in editing and publishing, and frankly is also a joy to work with. We haven’t worked out all the details yet, but sometimes you’ll h...

My guest today is Lauren Erickson. She’s an author who’s written a memoir, her (as the subtitle has it) “Summertime Chronicles of a Yellowstone Housekeeping Employee,” and now she works to help other authors launch and promote their books. We talk about launching virtually and in real life, and of course the role of social media.
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Lauren’s Website
https://www.laurenericksonwrites.com/
Lauren’s Book
https://laur...

My guest today is Liz Mugavero. Her writing career, and finding her creative niche, have been interesting. She wrote from an early age, studied writing at college, and ultimately wrote a mystery novel. But somewhere along the path of trying to get it published, she lost her “mojo,” as she puts it. It took her years to get it back, but now she writes several mystery series, some under her own name and some under the name Cate Conte....

My guest today is Alex Sanfilippo. Alex is an entrepreneur and the CEO and founder of PodPros, a software company focused on the podcasting industry. He is also a podcast host of the top-rated podcast called Podcasting Made Simple. I invited Alex on the show to talk a bit about those things, but mostly to talk about the various kinds of writing he needs to do in order to carry out the numerous lines of his business. Does he plan an...