Podcasts about Rene Denfeld

In her fourth novel, acclaimed Denfeld (The Butterfly Girl, 2019) draws on her experiences as a social justice investigator and foster mother to astutely portray neurodivergent characters in a transfixingly atmospheric, brilliantly plotted, heart-seizing drama of cruelty and trauma, cover-ups and murder, and the depthless mysteries of pain and love.” — BooklistIn conversation with Stephanie Oakes, April 2, 2024

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: audiobook listening and keeping track of book recs Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: we boss some TBRs The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) .  .  .  .  :10 - Ad For Ourselves 1:16 - Currently Reading Patreon 5:11 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 12:48 - Our Current Reads 13:25 - True Crime by Samantha Kolesnik (Meredith) 14:38 - 100 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered by Sadie Hartmann 18:48 - Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy (Kaytee) 19:05 - CR Season 6: Episode 40 22:08 - Getting Naked by Patrick Lencioni (Meredith) 22:50 - The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni 26:54 - The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song (Kaytee) 26:58 - Bright Side Bookshop 29:18 - The Dragon Wakes with Thunder by K.X. Song (pre-order, releases Aug 29, 2025) 29:44 - The Hike by Drew Magary (Meredith) 32:21 - The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins 32:57 - Fairy Tale by Stephen King 34:42 - The White Girl by Tony Birch (Kaytee) 34:53 - Garcia Street Books 36:29 - The Dry by Jane Harper 37:47 - Deep Dive: Boss My TBF From Mari M. 38:38 - Life after Life by Kate Atkinson (pick #1) 38:41 - Life of Pi by Yann Martel (pick #2) 38:44 - Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab (pick #3) 38:48 - The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld (pick #4) 38:51 - The Wildest Sun by Asha Lemmie (pick #5) 38:57 - Cold People by Tom Rob Smith 39:00 - Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty From Judith 44:44 - Still Life by Sarah Winman 44:46 - Eve Green by Susan Fletcher 45:14 - The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah (pick #1) 45:17 - The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawking (pick #2) 45:21 - A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (pick #3) 45:26 - The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown (pick #4) 45:29 - Forever Home by Graham Norton (pick #5) 46:03 - Orbital by Samantha Harvey 48:07 - A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos 48:40 - All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker 48:55 - Zorrie by Laird Hunt 49:08 - Meet Us At The Fountain 49:21 - I wish to let everyone know that A Journey To Three Pines will be coming in February and Wicked will be discussed on February 22nd. 49:49 - The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny 50:08 - Wicked by Gregory MaGuire 50:12 - Currently Reading Patreon 54:22 - I wish that somehow Louise Penny would see Inspector Goosemache. (Kaytee) Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. February's IPL comes to you from Fables and Fairy Tales in Marinsville, Indiana! Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.  All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

Becky, Jennifer, Jo, and Jakob talk about library book club selections from September through November 2024! Including: Looking for Alaska by John Green, The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld, Monica by Daniel Clowes, Air by Monica Roe, The Getaway by Lamar Giles, Mexikid by Pedro Martin, Witchlings by Claribel Oretga, the Samantha books from American Girl, and much more!

本期岛上主播：宝婷 “一个男孩跳什么芭蕾？” “什么钢管舞，你跳这样的舞你爸妈知道吗？” 舞蹈是基于身体的艺术，而身体又是性别气质最直接的展演。每每谈起舞蹈，总免不了与最赤裸的性别刻板印象短兵相接。 本期跳岛FM，热爱钢管舞与heels的宝婷，邀请了古典芭蕾的长期学习者端木异，一起将目光转回被经年累月的练习所规训的身体：存在“完美”的舞者身材吗？舞蹈如何帮助我们重新理解自己，理解自己的肉体？ 从身体文化出发，我们也聊到近年来舞蹈界突破传统二元性别气质的种种实践。从《天鹅湖》等经典芭蕾剧目的改编到将性别魅力发挥到极致的舞厅文化，无数舞者都在以肉身吸纳、转化、甚至对抗固有的审美标准。正如编舞家林怀民所言，纸包不住火，个体的闪光终究会超越僵化的凝视。身体与心，皆为表达。在这个吵闹的世界里，不如跳舞。 【本期嘉宾】 端木异，社会文化议题写作者，古典芭蕾长期学习者，也曾练习过足球、拳击、格斗等运动。微博@端木异，豆瓣@小波福娃。 【本期主播】 宝婷，《不可理论》播客主理人，自由作者。（豆瓣和微博ID：tifanie） 【时间轴】 01:28 从足球到瑜伽，从拳击到芭蕾：端木异的运动之路 04:42 拳击的历史和拳手文化中的厌女传统 09:45 “女性打拳击本身就是一种女性主义行为” 13:14 买“原味”，编黄谣：一个舞者要经历多少种性骚扰？ 18:20 跳有性暗示动作的舞就是不女权吗？ 24:00 既是女权主义者又是女拳师的Rene Denfeld 25:36 舞蹈界打破传统二元性别气质的实践 27:06 看懂舞蹈的过程，也应该是破除身材羞辱的过程 34:39 古典芭蕾的训练是一种全方位的身体规训 36:30 独属于舞者的“狂喜”，是一种怎样的体验？ 41:43 端木异分享自己喜爱的芭蕾舞剧目 43:58 “《吉赛尔》是我找到的最接近#Metoo的故事” 47:09 如何看待专业舞蹈界选拔的残酷性？ 50:22 “运动是一种和世界的关系，运动是文本的朗诵者” 【节目中提到的名词】 【人物】 龙达·珍·鲁西，美国职业摔角选手、女演员、作家、前综合格斗家和柔道运动员。UFC首位女子冠军，个人职业生涯以12胜纪录傲视所有女性选手，被称为“十字固女王"。 达拉斯·马洛伊，美国拳击手。曾因身为女性而被美国拳击协会拒绝参加拳击比赛，因此她提起诉讼，最后美国拳击协会于1993年解除了对女子拳击业余比赛的禁令。 勒内·登费尔德，美国作家，第一位获得美国中西部最高规格业余拳击比赛金手套拳击锦标赛的女性。 佩奇·范赞特，美国前UFC拳击手、职业摔跤手、作家、模特。 林怀民，台湾编舞家及作家，为现代舞职业舞团云门舞集创办人，自该团创立后长期担任艺术总监直至退休。 玛莎·C·努斯鲍姆，美国著名哲学家，以其在政治与道德哲学、古希腊罗马哲学、女性主义哲学等方面的工作而闻名。 琼安·露丝·贝德尔·金斯伯格，美国法学家，曾获时任总统比尔·克林顿提名，担任美国最高法院大法官直至其去世，她是继桑德拉·戴·奥康纳之后最高法院第二位女性大法官，也是首位美国犹太裔女性大法官。 勒罗伊·莫加特，南非古典芭蕾舞者，在瑞士著名的洛桑舞蹈比赛中获得了观众选择奖。 【书籍】 Body & Soul：Notebooks of an Apprentice Boxer by Loïc Wacquant Ballet Across Borders by Helena Wulff Kill the Body, the Head will Fall by Rene Denfeld 《叠韵：让边界消失，一场哲学家与舞蹈家的思辨之旅》【法】让-吕克·南希/【法】玛蒂尔德·莫尼耶 《随巴黎起舞》【爱尔兰】科伦·麦凯恩 《高处眼亮》林怀民 【出品人】蔡欣 【制作人】何润哲 广岛乱 【文案编辑】Viann 【运营编辑】黄鱼 不理 【后期剪辑】崔崔 【音乐】钱子恒 【视觉顾问】孙晓曦 【视觉指导】汐和 【平面设计】心心

This is a truly spectacular novel.

Alaxandra introduces listeners to two current favourite suspense reads: Long Bright River by Liz Moore and The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld. These two books will keep you guessing the whole way through!

Editor and publisher Sean McDonald and novelist Monica West join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss how the “reopening” of the country is affecting authors and the publishing industry. First, McDonald, founder of MCD Books, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, talks about publishing in the pandemic, and how that experience may shape the industry going forward. Then, West reads from her debut novel, Revival Season, and shares what it's been like to launch a book during (fingers crossed!) the pandemic's waning days. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub's Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction's YouTube Channel, and don't miss our brand-new website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Selected readings: Sean McDonald MCD x FSG The Electric Eel newsletter Monica West Revival Season   Others: “FSG Names McDonald Head of Experimental Imprint,” Publishers Weekly Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn Until Proven Safe by Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley The Mamba Mentality by Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson and Pau Gasol Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon F/N/F Season 3, Episode 10: Coronavirus and Contagion: Laurie Chen and Richard Preston on Writing About the Spread of Disease F/N/F Season 4, Episode 3: Monsters for President: Maria Dahvana Headley on Modern Mythmaking F/N/F Episode 26: Garrard Conley and SJ Sindu on the Mainstreaming of Queer Identity F/N/F Season 3, Episode 6: Rene Denfeld and Megan Phelps-Roper on Isolating the Language of Abuse in Politics, Gender Relations, and Sexual Abuse F/N/F Season 3, Episode 24: Summer Books Extravaganza: Margot Livesey and Jaswinder Bolina on Beach Reading When the Beach is Closed   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

durée : 00:04:05 - Le Polar sonne toujours 2 fois - par : Ilana Moryoussef - « La Fille aux Papillons » est le deuxième roman d'une série de l’Américaine, Rene Denfeld, qui met en scène une femme, détective privée, spécialisée dans la recherche d’enfants disparus.

Today on READ TO ME we pull up a chair for Food Can Hurt by Rene Denfeld, a new essay published in the new online magazine WE FOUND TIME from Zibby Owens. Reading to you from the backyard shed, I love up commas and clauses, grains of salt and the authority of the body, and arcs to meaning that build and build. Lucky you! You get to savor Rene Denfeld's words!  

I want to talk to you today about a book that is at once extremely sad and incredibly lovely. The book is The Butterfly Girl, by Rene Denfeld. Ms. Denfeld is an author, journalist and licensed public defense investigator. I have previously reviewed her other two novels, The Enchanted, about death-row inmates, and The Child Finder. I won’t tell you too much about the story-line since it is a kind of mystery, and I would not want to be a spoiler.There are two primary narrators in this novel: Naomi, an investigator who specializes in finding lost children, and Celia, a twelve year old girl who lives in a sort of community of street children. Naomi has decided she will not take another case until she finds her younger sister with whom she was abducted years before. Naomi escaped, but her sister did not. She has no picture of her sister and no name, but she is determined to find her. Naomi remembers very little of her own escape, but one lead has led her to Portland, Oregon, and it is there that she continues her search.Celia is on the run from an abusive stepfather and a mother who is an addict. While she occasionally checks in with her mother, she is afraid to give away her location.Celia disappeared inside herself. She was used to doing that. She could make herself vanish even as she stood there, just another street urchin with no future in sight. Celia who believed in nothing but herself and the butterflies, knew that the worst fears of the streets were always real. You can find that out the hard way, or you can be watchful. Naomi and her husband Jerome are staying with one of Naomi’s old friends while Naomi continues her search. She wakens from a dream of still being in captivity, and hearing the voice of her sister “back there. In that place.”She breathed out in relief that the dream was over but still felt the anxious echo of the call. I’m getting closer, she thought. This is why she was here in the city with Jerome. After almost a year of searching for her long-lost sister, their investigation had brought them here.Celia and her street friends Rich and Stoner sleep under an overpass at night, and offer each other friendship and what protection they can provide.When Celia first encounters Naomi on the streets where Naomi is asking questions of street people in hopes of coming up with some leads, Celia does not trust this well dressed and seemingly assured woman, but eventually as the story unwinds she begins to trust her, and Naomi, for her part, cannot ignore this streetwise child even though she is on her own search.Denfeld is an incredible writer, not simply sympathetic to the street people, her connection is much deeper. She could be describing herself as she describes Naomi during a period in her investigations.Naomi was standing outside the Aspire shelter. The smeary brick, the narrow streets, the shapes huddled in the doorways—all felt familiar to her now. She has crossed the threshold. The world of the missing had become her own world. She knew the regulars, the bruised-cherry alcoholics, the families on nodding acquaintance, the street kids like Celia.There is no condescension in Denfeld’s dealings with the homeless, no us/them dichotomy. No wonder she can create such believable characters, can give the reader views from the inside.As in her novel The Child Finder, Denfeld is intrigued by and describes meticulously how children who are held captive and cannot escape may create a kind of escape with their minds. Celia escapes via her world of beautiful butterflies, her guides and guardians on the streets. If you take a burrowing animal and deny it anything but a glass cage, it  will break its  own claws in the madness to escape. Naomi, who once had no escape, had created one with her mind.Margaret Atwood, who is herself an amazing and deeply insightful author says of this book, “A heartbreaking, finger-gnawing, and yet ultimately hopeful novel…”I have no intention of telling you in what ways the novel is hopeful or of revealing much more of the plot, but I am certain you will find this a socially significant and rewarding read. In her acknowledgements Denfeld credits libraries for her books and for her salvation. Like many of us she finds books to be a window into a better world.

Portland-based authors Rene Denfeld & Phillip Margolin discuss writing thrillers and their most recent novels at the 2019 Portland Book Festival.

In this episode, writers Rene Denfeld and Megan Phelps-Roper talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about how the private language of abuse has infected the political rhetoric of the Trump era. Denfeld discusses her work as a licensed investigator and talks about writing about verbal abuse, as well as the difference between investing in mass incarceration and investing in justice; Phelps-Roper recounts how she thought about language and audience as a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, and how she considers the same thing now that she has left it. To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Guests: Rene Denfeld Megan Phelps-Roper Readings for the Episode: Rene Denfeld The Butterfly Girl The Child Finder The Enchanted Megan Phelps-Roper Unfollow I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left, TEDNYC Talk, February 2017 Others Sonia Sotomayor Raises the Alarm Over Border Patrol's Lawless Brutality: The Supreme Court is poised to remove all constitutional limits on border agents' ability to kill. by Mark Joseph Stern, Slate.com, Nov. 13, 2019 Rape is rampant at this women's prison. Anyone who complains is punished, lawsuit says. by Romy Ellenbogen, The Miami Herald, Dec. 4, 2019 The 25 women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, by Eliza Reiman, Business Insider, Oct. 9, 2019 The Language of the Trump Administration Is the Language of Domestic Violence, by Jessica Winter, NewYorker.com, June 11, 2018 Men in Power and the Lies They Tell: On Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump, and the Malleability of Truth, by Lacy Johnson, LitHub, Oct. 2, 2019 Topeka Church Protests at Bethesda's Walt Whitman School Over Poet's Sexuality, by Daniel de Vise, The Washington Post, April 25, 2009 "A Humanist View," by Toni Morrison, speech given at Portland State University, May 30, 1975. Transcribed by Keisha E. McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our live at the library show November 18, 2019. With guests Jennifer King, Chris Skaugset, and Austin Brigden. Where we talked about:  Paper Son by Julie Leung; Harold & Hog Pretend for Real! by Dan Santat; Beavers (Superpower Field Guide) by Rachel Poliquin; Making Friends by Kristen Gudsnuk; Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks; Skyward by Brandon Sanderson; Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert; America Was Hard to Find by Kathleen Alcott; The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld; Everything Under by Daisy Johnson; The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal; Love and Ruin by Paula McLain; There, There by Tommy Orange; The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick; The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle; Useful Phrases for Immigrants by May-Lee Chai;Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado; My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil FerrisCork Dork by Bianca Bosker; Acid for the Children by Flea; Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe; Heavy: an American memoir by Kiese Laymon; Radical Candor by Kim Malone Scott; Calypso by David Sedaris; Word by Word: the secret life of dictionaries by Kory Stamper; Educated by Tara Westover;   and more!  

Rene Denfeld is the author of the acclaimed novels The Child Finder, The Enchanted, and The Butterfly Girl. Her literary thrillers have earned glowing reviews from the New York Times Book Review, among other venues. Margaret Atwood, who is the renowned author of Handmaid’s Tale (among other books), has described Rene’s work as “astonishing,” and Rene’s latest novel, The Butterfly Girl, a “heartbreaking, finger-gnawing, yet ultimately hopeful novel.” Rene was the Chief Investigator at a public defender’s office and has worked hundreds of cases, including death row exonerations. In addition to her advocacy work, Rene has been a foster adoptive parent for twenty years. She was awarded the Break The Silence Award in Washington, DC for her social justice work, and was named a 2017 hero of the year by the New York Times. You can get Rene’s new book The Butterfly Girl at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Powell’s.  In this episode Rene and I discuss: How living on the streets as a teenager inspired her latest novel What helped Rene overcome feelings of shame over her past trauma How she preserves the dignity of her fictional characters who survive trauma and abuse How a librarian and a broken typewriter steered her towards careers in social justice and writing The unexpected inspiration she found working with death row inmates Rene’s biggest challenge in writing stories inspired from her personal experience Why it’s never too late to start writing (Rene didn’t become an author until her 40s) What advice Rene has for older aspiring writers My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound). I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals). If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public. You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.

Rene Denfeld, is an advocate, award-winning journalist, and best-selling author. We talked about her latest book, The Butterfly Girl, which tackles the plight of homeless children, a marginalized population she's familiar with after growing up homeless herself. Her beautiful, gripping novel — and her journey — is a story of hope, imagination, and rethinking what survival and trauma mean in our culture.

Shortcut to finding our characters’ worst flaws and deepest fears? Yes, thank you.All Sarina had to do was say “protagonist character analysis” and we were off. Enneagrams, for those who have never heard of them [raises hand high] are descriptions of character types intended for “journeys of self-discovery.” But when it comes to knowing more about your protagonist (and love interest and antagonist and their mother and all the people) they’re pure solid gold, especially if you go romping down the rabbit hole of reading what people in various types (there are 9, with a “wing” in one direction or another) think of themselves and their relationships. Suddenly, you can think about how your character would play fantasy football, or interview for a job. But the best part is diving deep into how your character behaves at her/his/their very worst, and very best, along with what they most fear and what they believe they want. It’s like real butter on movie popcorn, people.Episode links and a transcript follow—but first, a preview of the #WritersTopFive that will be dropping into #AmWriting supporter inboxes on Monday, October 14, 2019: Top 5 Resources for Dictating Your Work. Not joined that club yet? You’ll want to get on that. Support the podcast you love AND get weekly #WriterTopFives with actionable advice you can use for just $7 a month. As always, this episode (and every episode) will appear for all subscribers in your usual podcast listening places, totally free as the #AmWriting Podcast has always been. This shownotes email is free, too, so please—forward it to a friend, and if you haven’t already, join our email list and be on top of it with the shownotes and a transcript every time there’s a new episode. To support the podcast and help it stay free, subscribe to our weekly #WritersTopFive email.LINKS FROM THE PODCASTThe Enneagram Institute (length type descriptions and relationships between the types under the “LEARN” tab).Free Enneagram test (there are many; this is the one KJ talked about, chosen largely at random for brevity and for being free) from eclecticenergies.com.Enneagram and Coffee on Instagram.#AmReading (Watching, Listening)Jess:  The Butterfly Girl and an essay “The Green River Killer and Me” by Rene Denfeld and Demi Moore’s memoir, Inside OutKJ: The Great Believers, Rebecca MakkaiSarina: The Play, Elle Kennedy#FaveIndieBookstorePrairie Path Books, Wheaton ILThis episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwritingfor details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s Inside-Outline template.Find more about Jess here, Sarina here and about KJ here.If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship.The image in our podcast illustration this week is from enneagramandcoffee on Instagram, and I asked permission to use it, although I confess that I’m posting it pre-reply. But I feel good about our odds. Plus, fun follow for everyone!Getting Ready to NaNoWriMo?Every episode of #AmWriting is sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. One key to that is the INSIDE OUTLINE, a tried and tested tool developed by Jennie Nash that can help you start a book, to help you rescue one that isn’t working, and to guide a revision.Author Accelerator is hosting a webinar about the Inside Outline just in time for NaNoWriMo prep on Monday, October 14 at Noon Pacific/2 PM Central/3 PM Eastern.Register even if you can’t attend live, as a replay will be sent to everyone who has registered.REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR NOWTranscript (We use an AI service for transcription, and while we do clean it up a bit, some errors are the price of admission here. We hope it’s still helpful.)KJ:                                        00:01                    Hey Book people, before today’s episode of #AmWriting, I want to tell you about something new from our sponsor, Author Accelerator. No matter where you are in your own work, you’ve probably found yourself working with other writers on theirs. If that time spent encouraging, editing and helping someone else turned out to be pure joy for you, you might want to consider becoming a book coach yourself. Author Accelerator provides book coaching to authors (like me) but also needs and trains book coaches. If that’s got your ears perked up, head to https://www.authoraccelerator.com and click on “become a book coach.” Is it recording?Jess:                                     00:01                    Go ahead.KJ:                                        00:01                    This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone like I don't remember what I was supposed to be doing.Jess:                                     00:01                    All right, let's start over.KJ:                                        00:01                    Awkward pause, I'm going to rustle some papers.Jess:                                     00:01                    Okay.KJ:                                        00:01                    Now one, two, three. Hey I'm KJ Dell'Antonia and this is #AmWriting. We are the podcast about all things, writing short things, long things, fictional things, non-fictional things, memoirs things. And as I say, every single week in a variety of different ways, this is the podcast about sitting down and getting your work done.Jess:                                     01:23                    And I'm Jess Lahey. I'm the author of the Gift of Failure and a forthcoming book on preventing substance abuse in kids that is due in seven days. And you can find my writing at various places including the Washington Post and the New York Times.Sarina:                                 01:41                    I'm Sarina Bowen, the author of more than 30 romance novels and you can find me at sarinabowen.com.KJ:                                        01:49                    And I am KJ Dell'Antonia author of How To Be a Happier Parent and have a novel that will be coming out next summer. And the former editor of the New York Times' Motherlode blog. For the most part at the moment you can find me sitting in front of my laptop writing a new novel. And I'm going to just own that Sarina and I are snuggled up in our small town library, gazing out at there are a lot of really pretty trees, but these that we can see are not super spectacular and that, I forgot my microphone. So we might sound a little echoey.Jess:                                     02:24                    And from my perspective, I'm looking out on the woods behind my house and there are a couple of red leaves out there, but it's Vermont and it's just starting to get that orangy glow to it. It's really pretty. What was crazy is this week I went from Vermont - where I was wearing a sweatshirt - and I traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina where it was oppressively hot, it was like 95 degrees. And then I went New York where it was cold again and then back here. So it's just been a really interesting week of summer and getting into fall. So, I'm ready for fall. I'm happy about it.KJ:                                        03:09                    And now this is the podcast about all things weather, and enough of that. I am so excited about our topic today because this is going to be super fun. We're going to talk Enneagrams, which is a rabbit hole that Sarina went down one day. And then quickly texted to me and I immediately dove right in after her. But let me just say before you all go, 'Wait a minute, wait a minute'. We're not talking about our own Enneagrams, although we might. We're going to talk about doing it for characters, because it's so cool. But before we do, what is an Enneagram for those of us who don't know, which was actually mostly all of us until we started this. You can do the defining.Sarina:                                 04:07                    Oh good. The Enneagram, which seems to have had most of its big talk in the 60s with psychiatrists. Working in psychiatry in the 1960's and 70's is a framework for explaining various human psychological profiles, personality typing.KJ:                                        04:34                    It is not the one where you get I,D, J, H, Q, B, Y. This is the one where you get a number.Sarina:                                 04:42                    So there's nine numbers in a shape. And you were referring to the Myers-Briggs system personality typing, which I'm honestly not a huge fan of. Partly because it was forced upon me by my corporate overlords in my previous work life.Sarina:                                 05:03                    But the Enneagram is, as we'll discuss, uniquely useful for writers. Because both personality type systems have a lot to do with preferences and how you prefer to handle things and how you see the world. The Enneagram I quickly discovered is also really focused on character flaws. Like your super power is also your greatest weakness, right?KJ:                                        05:28                    Which is so perfect for creating both main characters and secondary characters. I mean, that's exactly what you need to know. What does this person fear? And what do they want? And that's what these nine types are. And also, I mean partly because there are nine and then they sort of spread out. There's like, the enthusiastic who leans towards the challenger or leans towards the loyalist. You get a lot of different - this is not cookie cutter, it's got a lot to it.Sarina:                                 06:03                    Right. And if you get a book about Enneagrams and you take a look, you'll see some discussion of the wings, which is a theory with the Enneagram that each of the nine types also has a secondary type, which is the adjacent number.KJ:                                        06:38                    So 27 possibilities, but all of which have a lot of range within them and happily you don't have to get a book on this, you can just hit our friend uncle Google.KJ:                                        06:52                    Right. And there's some nice reliable sources for information.Sarina:                                 06:57                    And our favorite is the Enneagram Institute. I was pointed there (I'd like to give a shout out to author Nana Malone) who is the first person who ever said the word Enneagram to me. And I had to go look it up and Nana Malone is a romance writer and now I need to go read everything she's written because she has a wonderfully nuanced understanding of how this all works for character typing. And she really sort of walked me through how she looks at it and I was immediately hooked.KJ:                                        07:27                    We're enchanted, in part because one of the things I like about this (besides that it helps you) we all start with a character and we have this sort of mental picture, and I think we often start from something kind of flat. You often start with a stereotype. So you're often like, 'Well, my person is a real type A, or my person is a real introvert. Like you kinda just start with one word and then you build from there. And after you've spent a little time building, then you can dig into these Enneagrams and you'll find the one that fits the person that you're creating. And then you can sort of start reading a little more and go, 'Oh yeah, totally.' We're in the Enneagram Institute right now and we're looking at the peacemaker. So peacemakers are accepting, and trusting, and stable. And you could see that could be a character, but then you know, you can go like really sort of down into it and they have a universal temptation to ignore the disturbing aspects of life and seek peace and comfort. They numb out. You can see how you can really use this to create someone.Sarina:                                 08:51                    So everybody's biggest super power is also their biggest weakness. And even though we like the sound of that as fiction writers, this really shows you how to do it.KJ:                                        09:03                    I'm just looking at nine here. It even tells you exactly what it is that nine is. We're not proposing you just grab this and like stick it into a book cold. But if you have a character who's a nine, their want is for everything to be peaceful and pleasant and can't we all just get along? But their need, which is right here on the bottom of the list of description of nine, is to remember that the only way out is through and you can't just brush your troubles under the carpet. And there you go. I mean, that's practically a plot right there.Sarina:                                 09:40                    It is. And they all are. Maybe we should just dive in and give a few examples. I'm writing a nine right now. Well, nine is, as you said, that the peacemaker or the peaceful mediator. And most any gram resources will tell you what is that person's greatest fear? And nine's fear being shut out. And they fear being overlooked. They fear losing connection with others and all kinds of conflict, tension, and discord. So, what they're longing for is that their presence really matters. And their desire is for inner stability and peace of mind, because of those basic fears. And so you can see that their weakness then would be to hide from the stuff that isn't quite hitting their peacemaker senses. So, you could remain in an idealistic place psychologically and not cope with the things going on around you.KJ:                                        10:51                    So this person needs to sort of break through that desire to keep everything idealistic and feeling like it's all safe and calm and get to a point where they actually feel secure.Sarina:                                 11:07                    So let's contrast the nine with a seven.KJ:                                        11:09                    That's perfect because I'm writing a seven.Sarina:                                 11:11                    Me too.KJ:                                        11:12                    Oh, excellent.Sarina:                                 11:14                    Well, my seven is a party boy.KJ:                                        11:16                    My seven is a failed child actress.Sarina:                                 11:21                    Well, this number is usually called the enthusiast. And their basic desire is to be happy and satisfied, fulfilled and engaged. So sevens hate boredom and they're easily bored. And I was listening to a podcast with Ian Cron who has what is probably the most popular Enneagram book out there. And it has a bright yellow cover, The Road Back To You, I think. And he was very clear about how sevens leave a wake of unfinished projects behind them because of their attention span. And there's always something more interesting to be doing. And I really particularly liked his descriptive appeal about all of these. And there's one, I don't think it started like this in the 60's and 70's, but a lot of the writings about Enneagrams now are from a faith-based kind of Christian perspective. I don't read much faith-based stuff, but he had a really light touch that that made me want to seek out his book anyway. Even if even if the Christian angle is not what's interesting to me about it. So the seven and the nine don't look at the world the same way, even though they're in the same world together sometimes and have to have to sort through that. And in each case you're handed weaknesses. And so if you look at the Enneagram Institute site, it will actually tell you what a romantic pairing.KJ:                                        13:05                    We can just look that up right now. Relationships types, we've got a seven and a nine here and I'll just go under seven and hit the nine. And we can see what each type brings to the relationship.Sarina:                                 13:21                    They bring a good mix of similar and opposite qualities. Fundamentally, they're both positive outlook types who are optimistic, upbeat, and prefer to avoid conflicts.KJ:                                        13:33                    There's gotta be a but here.Sarina:                                 13:34                    Oh, there's absolutely always a but. That's why we like Enneagrams. So sevens are more active and self-assertive than nines. They tend to take initiatives and to make the plans and have multiple interests and they bring the fun and sparkle and the party atmosphere. Well nines bring a sense of steadiness and support so you can see how that might build.KJ:                                        13:56                    And that's one of the things sevens want is somebody to take care of them. One of the seven's weaknesses that I've found that I'm exploiting in my person is that they want to feel like somebody else. They would like to seed the decision making to someone else. So that they can just sort of party along, having a good time and you know, getting a chance to try everything and do everything and experience everything, but not necessarily have to make any hard choices. So here are the potential trouble spots for that possible relationship between the seven and the nine. Sevens are more equipped to talk about whatever's bothering them. But they often feel they cannot help themselves and honesty demands they tell the nine how unhappy they are with them.Sarina:                                 14:54                    That's a good scene.KJ:                                        14:55                    One of the sunniest and most carefree couples can become one of the most hopelessly tortured if they become unwilling or unable to really talk with each other. Why do I have a feeling that is going to happen to the poor seven and nine?Sarina:                                 15:10                    But that's also like the classic Harry Potter and Dumbledore problem, right? Just knock on his office door, Harry.KJ:                                        15:17                    That's every book. I mean, it's not a good book unless you're shouting, 'Just tell them. Just tell people, just tell everyone what's wrong. Just tell them the truth.'.Sarina:                                 15:28                    You know what, though? You make a good point because that is in every book, but it's not always good in every book. So you have to earn it.KJ:                                        15:36                    And it has to be different and the person has to have a really good reason for not telling the truth. So you have to understand why they're not going to. And if they don't, if you're sitting there reading along going, 'Oh, come on. Like you know, this character would just tell her boss everything or whatever, then that's it.' You're not going to keep going. So, Enneagrams can help you to find the reasons that your character is not telling the deep dark secret. Not telling the deep, dark secret is not revealing everything about themselves or whatever. And then you can also head out and have a look. So one of the things I think is fun about the Enneagram is that it's a great way to find some things about your character that would be true to this person that you have created, that are also quirky. And a funny way to do that if you just want to sort of wander through the world of quirks of different things is to (I mean there's probably a lot of places to do this) but we happened to have found the Instagram account for Enneagrams and Coffee. It's lovely, it's really funny. So, for example there's a post here where she says, 'I need someone who for each Enneagram type. So sevens need someone who doesn't stop on my ideas and nine needs someone who asks them really good questions and genuinely listened to the answers. Sometimes these are funny, sometimes they're not. But the reason I loved it is you can come up with a bizarre quirk that your person always does. So walking down the sidewalk sevens are dance walking. And you could use that. And what you get is sort of quirks that are gonna be consistent with a personality type that maybe you are not, but you know people that are like this, you can feel it. You can sort of get their three-dimensionals. For example, when they play fantasy football they're the one that's always trying to trade. Or whatever. That might not occur to you, but it might be perfect for your person. And it's just fun.Sarina:                                 18:04                    I liked the fantasy football one, too. I read that one. We should do a few more types because it makes our examples better. So type one is the reformer, the moral perfectionist. And I have to say, that I think I might be this type.KJ:                                        18:21                    We will put a link to a quiz you can take that is free. And frankly the link was chosen entirely because I Googled free Enneagram test and this one was free and kind of long and seemed good. So we'll put a link and you can figure out your own because of course that's fun. Alright, so type one, possibly Sarina.Sarina:                                 18:43                    You really like rule following. I don't like to make the rules, but I like to make sure that everyone else is following them. Number two, the helper, the supportive advisor. So the number twos are the people who are making sure that there's somebody working in the soup kitchen on Christmas Eve and they really, really love helping other people and it really feeds them.KJ:                                        19:11                    But they also like to be appreciated for their doing of this. I'll talk about this in a later episode if I'm not quite done with it, but I just read The Logger Queen of Minnesota and loved it. And there's a total two, like one of the main characters and there is just two, two, two. They're always doing exactly that, but their inner thought is always, 'You know, basically maybe when I'm dead everyone will appreciate how much I did.'.Sarina:                                 19:39                    And number three is the achiever. So that's the person in the CEO office burning the midnight oil, you know, making sure he's on top of the heap. And I think, in my earlier life I was more of a three before I found my inner one.KJ:                                        19:58                    I've got a three in my next book. I've got a broken down, beaten up, three. In the book I'm writing.Sarina:                                 20:07                    Okay. So four is the romantic individualist. So the who's the Harry Potter character?KJ:                                        20:13                    Luna Lovegood.Sarina:                                 20:13                    Writing the poetry, gazing at the moon, singing a song, interpretive dance.KJ:                                        20:22                    I remember some fun stuff I liked about this one. Also empathy, they see themselves as uniquely talented, special, one of a kind, but also uniquely disadvantaged or flawed. So you see this in a lot of characters where they feel like they're super special and they're different from everyone else. And one of the things that they often have to discover, which I'm sure I could find if I sort of scroll down here, is that other people also share their needs, or share their interests, or are willing to sort of be part of them. My longings can never be fulfilled because I now realize that I'm attached to the longing itself and not to this best specific result. So that's what the four needs is to figure out how to be attached to something besides this sort of dream of themselves as special.Sarina:                                 21:25                    Type five, the investigative thinker. And that's supposed to be the most analytical personality type. And also tending toward introvert.KJ:                                        21:37                    So it's a little obvious, but if you were writing in the mystery genre, you probably at least would want to hit this so you could figure out whether your person had this or didn't have this. And if your main character doesn't, there's probably someone in your plot that does. I could see that.Sarina:                                 21:54                    So five is like Sherlock Holmes.KJ:                                        21:57                    Yeah. I'm looking at this - so perceptive and innovative, sure. But also secretive and isolated. I mean, that's a thousand detective story heroes. But they're all interesting and deep and it's not like a two dimensional thing. Alright. Six the loyalist. What do you have on the loyalist?Sarina:                                 22:19                    You know, I haven't done enough that I understand this one so well. But, sixes know how to be on a team, but they're a bit anxious. Like they're Woody Allen, making all of my anxieties, wearing them on the outside.KJ:                                        22:38                    The cool thing about the Enneagram Institutes, their key motivations are they want to have security, they want to feel supported by others, to test the attitudes of others towards them, and to fight against their anxieties and securities. I mean, once again, I could write a dozen plots in that. Oh, this one gives George Costanza. Okay, so now we know what a six is. A six is George Costanza. Do you like me? Do you really like me? I don't think you like me. I'm just going to be really awful until I see whether or not you like me. But I'm also going to be completely loyal to you at all times. That's a six, I like a six. Then, just to keep sort of going with what we can do character wise here, if you scroll down to the bottom of this extremely useful free site, they talk about how at their best the six is self affirming, and trusting of others, and independent, belief in themselves leads to true courage. Okay, that's where your six gets to at the end of your book, right? But at the beginning, your six is ... let's don't go all the way down to hysterical. I guess this is probably where they drop down to.Sarina:                                 23:55                    Yeah, that's the darkest moment.KJ:                                        23:58                    The darkest moment for the level six - they're self destructive and suicidal. They're on skid row.Sarina:                                 24:05                    Okay, well that's pretty dark. Not in a comedy, maybe.KJ:                                        24:09                    Yeah, maybe in a comedy you only go to level seven.Sarina:                                 24:12                    But you do bring up a good point, which is that Enneagram writers like to talk about, what an unhealthy version of each one of these things looks like. And my friend Nana Malone was saying that she looks at these unhealthiest levels, like what's the worst version of that character's self? And then she sort of looks at that to be the dark moment of her novel. And tries to make those things pan out each time.KJ:                                        24:44                    And it's really cool reading this stuff about the six. You can see them sort of deteriorating. You know, to compensate for their insecurities they become sarcastic and belligerent, blaming others for their problems. And then they just sort of keep sinking lower. But then hopefully they come back around and end up believing in themselves and finding their true courage. I'm not sure that ever happened for poor George Costanza yet.Sarina:                                 25:08                    The series ended before he got there.KJ:                                        25:10                    We can hope that he found himself in a prison cell.Sarina:                                 25:13                    The only one we haven't mentioned is number eight.KJ:                                        25:16                    Okay, well conveniently enough, number eight is the one I dropped into.Sarina:                                 25:23                    Really? So tell me about eight, because I don't think I understand this one.KJ:                                        25:26                    Eights are challengers, rebels. Yeah, that would be me. And the quirky thing about eight, the thing that kept popping up everywhere is that eights also wants to try everything. So eights are ordering everything in the restaurant because they don't want to miss out on everything. So that's an eight characteristic. Decisive, willful, prefers other people to do what they want. That might be me. Yeah, I was sort of in between. I was like, 'Am I seven or am I eight?' But I tested out as an eight.Sarina:                                 26:02                    So the fear here is of being controlled, like letting someone else make all their decisions.KJ:                                        26:08                    To be in control of their own life, says the unemployable, freelance writer. So that would be me. Yeah, I didn't spend a ton of time on it, but apparently I could rebuild a city, run a household, wage war, make peace. I have all kinds of things within my Enneagram. It's a rabbit hole, we can't deny it. But man, it's a useful rabbit hole. When you're thinking about your character and trying to create someone who is three-dimensional and whole, who isn't either too perfect or too flawed. You can't read this and go, 'Okay, well I'm just going to apply this Willy nilly.' You have to go, 'Well, okay, what would somebody in my character's situation who has these fears, that has these desires, what might they do? You know, what might they have done at some moment in their past? What would be affecting what they do now?' It's hugely fun.Sarina:                                 27:15                    So it's been really useful for me on the book that I need to finish next, in a couple of months or whatever. But I have to say that I have discovered a big question in my head about how this all fits together because when you use the Enneagram as your character basis, it almost, but not accurately... So here's a moment where once I learned more about it, I'll find my answer. But the other way we build characters is to look at their big emotional wound and to understand how this thing that happened earlier in life is shaping all of their decisions and their outlooks now, which is somewhat in conflict with the idea that you're born seeing the world a certain way. So yeah, I mean if you want to go with that character background that you know, he witnessed a horrible accident or you know, some big thing in his or her past made that person be the way they are right now, there's a little bit of struggle there. And between that framework for making your character arc and this sort of innate diversion.KJ:                                        28:33                    I think that when it comes to creating character, I can probably work with either way. You need to have the emotional wound or the moment in their background or the lengthy experience. You know, there are a lot of options there. It doesn't have to be a single event that gives them whatever misbelief that they're sort of traveling through life with, right? But I feel like I personally can take the Enneagram and either start it there, it doesn't bother me, I'm cool. They don't have to have been born with it. I find that I can't make a person - like basically the minute I start to make a person and I want to give the person a name, I have to know who their parents are and sometimes even who their parents are. Not like in depth, but I can't even name you unless I know what your mother and father would have named you.Sarina:                                 29:30                    Well that's really healthy as a fiction writer because you will save yourself time, I think. Because I actually kind of take the opposite approach whereas that I usually know some dramatic thing that's going to happen at the 50% point. And so the beginning part of my characterization sounds like I'm holding a Barbie doll and a Ken doll, one in each hand. And the dialogue that's coming is just as bad as it sounds like it would be. And I have to sort of bumble through that a while until I figure out what they're really saying to each other. So, if I knew who their parents and grandparents were, the first draft of chapter one would be a lot better.KJ:                                        30:11                    Maybe. Sometimes you get lots and lots of pages on who their parents and grandparents are that you really, really don't need. But yeah, I can't even give them a name until I know where the name would've come from. And then to know that, sometimes I have to know why the parents' names were what they were. I guess I think names are really important. I could probably find a naming rabbit hole, I've found them all.Sarina:                                 30:37                    I've bought baby books when my kids were already teenagers, just for this purpose. Seriously, there's a lot of baby books in the world.KJ:                                        30:45                    I just Google, you know, common surnames or common first names for people with X descent and that kind of thing.Sarina:                                 30:54                    And I'm sure you've discovered this social security naming database. So in case our listeners don't know, this U.S. Social Security database publishes the most popular 100 names for girls or boys for every birth year, going back a good amount.KJ:                                        31:14                    Right. Which is great because if you need to bring somebody's grandmother or great aunt into the story, you don't want to name them Madison. That'd be wrong.Sarina:                                 31:24                    So you would go back and you would look at the database for the year of 1939 and see that Sally who was the number 17 or whatever.KJ:                                        31:37                    Character creation is so fun. I felt like I could just create characters all day, but darn it, then they have to go and do something and I have to be mean and make terrible things happen to them. And I have to have them make terrible choices. And that is where the glorious thing about this Enneagram is that man, does it give you the reasons that your characters make really, really, really terrible choices. And contrary to all appearances Jess is still here.Jess:                                     32:08                    I'm still here. No, I was going to say, recently I'd noticed a Sarina posting things to her Sarina Facebook group that she's been doing mean things to characters lately and I've been wondering about what kind of evil stuffs been going on over in Sarina's writing world.KJ:                                        32:26                    You got to do mean things. I think I put it up somewhere - woke up, did mean things to character. I don't remember what it was.Sarina:                                 32:35                    I feel like I haven't always been very good at that.KJ:                                        32:38                    Yeah, it's a weakness of mine, too. Like, why don't they just make all the great choices and the whole book will just be the happy middle.Sarina:                                 32:47                    Well plus, honestly, I let readers' angst into my head. Like, I'm writing a book about two characters that my readers have already met and I know that they're not gonna want me to make him make bad choices. Like I can the already hear the, 'Don't make him do that.' And those voices are kind of hard to shut off sometimes.KJ:                                        33:13                    Yeah I have to just have the voice that's like, 'Oh, you know that's just too hard. That's just too much. That's too awful. Nobody wants to read about that.' But yeah, we do. We absolutely do. That's exactly what we want to read about. And speaking about what we want to read about - should we talk about what we have been reading about?Sarina:                                 33:31                    Absolutely.KJ:                                        33:32                    Alright.Jess:                                     33:33                    Who's going first?KJ:                                        33:35                    You go first cause we haven't heard from you for awhile.Jess:                                     33:38                    Okay. So because I've been traveling this week and I've been doing a lot of audio book listening and I listened to some really interesting things. I also want to talk about the fact that Renee Denfeld's book The Butterfly Girl came out this past week. She also published (and I know I've talked about her before) She wrote The Enchanted, she wrote The Child Finder and The Butterfly Girl is the next book in a sequence with the same protagonist that was in The Child Finder. But what's so interesting about Renee is that she's just decided, I have never seen her do this before, she just wrote something, memoiry for crimereads.com. It was an essay called The Green River Killer and Me because Renee was a teen runaway, she lived on the streets. She grew up in a very unsafe situation. And so the stuff that she writes about, these kids on the streets that get lost and sort of lost in the system and lost in the world, she's lived that. And so it was really fascinating. I've been so engrossed in Renee Denfeld's fiction, to suddenly read this piece of memoir from her. It was such a gift and it's a beautiful piece of writing. Crimereads.com. The Green River Killer and Me. But then I have something really fun. I decided to do something a little bit light for this trip. And so I listened to Demi Moore's memoir called Inside Out. And you know when there are those memoirs where you feel like you're hearing a little too much. Like, I don't think I should be hearing this. She spills everything and I got a little uncomfortable. And it was also really weird cause I read it right after it came out, which is when they were looking for like Ashton Kutcher for his response to what she accuses him of in the book. And so in real time I could see on Twitter how people were responding to this book. If you're looking for a juicy, sort of scoopy memoir, this is the one for you. And you know, I also didn't realize she'd been through some of the stuff that she's been through. But it also made me a little uncomfortable.KJ:                       

Today’s author interview guest is Rene Denfeld, author of The Butterfly Girl: A Novel. “A heartbreaking, finger-gnawing, and yet ultimately hopeful novel by the amazing Rene Denfeld.” —Margaret Atwood, via Twitter After captivating readers in The Child Finder, Naomi—the investigator with an […]

Dmae talks with Portland author Rene Denfeld about The Butterfly Girl, her sequel to the The Child Finder. Her follow up to her book about Naomi, a private investigator, an exceptional young woman who has a talent for finding lost children. In this new book follows Naomi’s search for her own sister who has been missing for […]

Click here to buy: https://adbl.co/2HGAhdA Naomi Cottle is an investigator who finds missing children. But the one child she has never been able to find is her sister. The two were abducted when they were very young but only Naomi managed to escape. Now, twenty years later, there is at long last a clue that her sister might still be alive. Celia is a street child. Her life is tough and she has seen more things that any child should. But the local librarian turns a blind eye when she goes there almost every day to gaze at her favourite book, where she escapes, through her imagination, into a world of wheeling, colourful butterflies. However someone is watching Celia. Street children have been going missing and the town has been turning a blind eye. It is only when Naomi turns up, looking for her sister, that they find someone who will listen to them. And someone who might give them hope.

Procrastination and Writer's Block might just be the same thing around here. What about you? Show Notes: Hello Indie Authors! I'm Valerie Ihsan, and This is Season Two, Episode 21 of the podcast and it's 8/21/2019 as I record this. Main Topic: Procrastination/Writer's Block But first the personal update segment: • Course work for Sweet Spot Strategy. I finished writing my Origin Story and I'm working on a production calendar --trying to figure out how many times I want to offer my signature coaching program. I'm getting really excited about this! • If you want to talk to me for a 30-minute interview and tell me what your challenges are and what you think can help you, you can book yourself a call at indieauthormentor.as.me and choose the Interview Call option. • I'M READING: In fiction, Just finished Elizabeth George's first YA novel called The Edge of Nowhere. It was a fast read. Now reading The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld; Non-fiction: Resonance by Nancy Duarte, on how to give presentations that the audience, well, resonates with--doesn't make them fall asleep. PATREON: No new patrons this week. I'd like to remind everybody that this podcast is sponsored by my supporters at Patreon. Being a Patron of the Arts is a totally cool thing to do. For as low as a $1/mo, you can get sneak-peeks into my creative world, become a patron of the arts, and of me! Find me at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. Resources: Trying out a new-to-me podcast on business called Seanwes podcast; looks like it has a lot of good content. Next week I'll have an interview for you! I'll be talking with author Cai Emmons about her latest book and what her take is on mindset. Plus, what her upcoming talk at the Eugene Willamette Writers chapter meeting is about. And now: Procrastination and Writer's Block ▪ Where are you? (In between books? Stuck in the middle? On deadline?) ▪ Why? (Self-doubt? Too hard? Too big of a project? Distracted? Emotionally/Creatively dry? Exhausted?) ▪ What can you do about it? ⁃ Accept it. Clean out that closet. Maybe you really can't write until you've cleaned your office. ⁃ Research theme and character motivations. ⁃ Sleep. ⁃ Go play. ⁃ Take a walk. Or a shower. Do yard work. ⁃ Write about something different. ⁃ Journal. Or do other writing exercises or prompts. ⁃ Set a timer and just do it. Be miserable for 25 minutes, until you aren't. ⁃ Wait for the story. Do another hobby. (Knitting, or snorkeling.) ⁃ Meet up with other authors and discuss the perceived problem. ⁃ Chip away at it. Trust that if those wretched 300 words took 90 minutes to write and the scratched at you the whole time, when you read you manuscript before editing, you won't be able to tell where those 300 words are. ⁃ Affirmations. "I'm doing the best I can right now." Remember, your best yesterday doesn't equal your best today. You're different every day.

Sanjay dives into the fraught history of domestic adoption in the United States. First, he'll speak with adoption historian Dr. E. Wayne Carp to get some context and hear about the role that secrecy has played in American adoption practices. Then, writer Rene Denfeld shares her heartwarming story of starting a family. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

With Week 1 of the French Open in the books, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen assembles a roundtable of journalists in Paris to break down what we've learned so far, where Garbiñe Muguruza has looked impressive, Elina Svitolina's exit was surprising, and we buckle up for another installment of Serena vs. Maria XXII.  Joining the podcast are Reem Abulleil, freelance journalist for Sport360 in Dubai, Ben Rothenberg, editor for Racquet Magazine and freelance journalist for The New York Times, Rene Denfeld, writer for MyTennis in Germany, and David Avakian, editor for Tennis Magazine in Holland. 

Ros Satar and Rene Denfeld look back over Day Four of the 2018 French Open

Tennis writer Rene Denfeld previews the main draws of both women's and men's draws.

Tennis writer Rene Denfeld previews the main draws of both women's and men's draws.

Of the children she had found, the ones who did best over the long term were the ones who found a way to play. They created fantasy  worlds in which to hide. Some even talked their captors into giving them toys. Escaping into another world was a way for them to disassociate safely, without losing touch with reality—unlike someone like Naomi, who had blanked it all out. Yes, the ones who did the best in the long run made a safe place inside their very own minds. Sometimes they even pretended to be someone else.  Naomi didn’t believe in resilience. She believed in imagination.So says the lead character and investigator/ child-finder in Rene Denfeld’s superb novel, The Child Finder. Denfeld is a licensed investigator who specializes in death penalty work. Many of you readers will already know of her through her non-fiction writing or her excellent debut novel, The Enchanted, which I reviewed in 2014.Naomi (the child finder) has, herself, lived under captive conditions, and we readers are introduced to her as she looks for a girl, Madison, a girl who disappeared three years before when she was five years old. I have no intention of laying out much of the story here, since it is a finely woven mystery, and giving away much at all of the plot would be a sure spoiler.I will tell you that one of Madison’s favorite folk tales is a Russian one of a snow child. Indeed, I just came across the folk tale this year in reading and reviewing Eowyn Ivey’s lovely novel The Snow Child. Madison decides that she, too, was rolled from the snow by her captor.In this time of great awakening, the snow girl learned much about herself and the world. She learned the world was a lonely place, because when she cried no one came. She learned the world was an uncertain place, because one moment you were one person and the next you landed on your head all goofy and woke up in a dream. She learned the world was a wild place, full of imagination, because that was the only possible explanation for what had happened.Ms. Denfeld skillfully takes us from the point of view of Naomi and her work to Madison’s, and she is so deft in her weaving together of the two tales that the reader is kept on edge but occasionally hopeful. Hopeful that Naomi will uncover more of her own blocked past via her search, and also that somehow, miraculously, Madison may be found.Besides great descriptions of the Pacific Northwest and the icy Cascades, Denfeld also shows her tremendous compassion for children and through telling this tale makes evident her own great imagination.I found this book totally enchanting, and actually read it in a long, single sitting, not something I do very often. It is very difficult to put down.  On the jacket cover for the book, one commentator says, “Rene Denfeld has a gift for shining bright light in dark places.”  Indeed she does, and rather than risking being a spoiler, I’m going to stop now and urge you pick up the book for yourself. It deserves all the praise it has gotten and more.

With women’s Day just behind us, I am focusing my reading this month on women authors. I notice more and more when I peruse big distributors like Amazon that there is now a genre called “Women’s Fiction.” Not so long ago, this same genre might have been called romance novels, and I take both designations as at least faintly negative, alerting readers that this is light fiction, all about squishy love and relationships, unlike the more muscled serious literature produced by men. In fact, if a reader really wants to read about relationships, between men and women, women and women, parents and children, and even our relationships with other animals, I think the category to look to is women’s fiction.Indeed, when I look back over women authors of the last century or more, I think most could be put in this category. Simone de Beauvoir, Iris Murdoch, Penelope Lively, Doris Lessing, and even Nadine Gordimer write primarily about family and relationships. Yes, Murdoch’s novels are deeply philosophical, and Gordimer’s deeply political, but the stories told are about relationships. Take for example one of Gordimer’s later novels, A Sport of Nature, Lively’s The Photograph, Lesssing’s The Golden Notebook, de Beauvoirs’ The Mandarins; all of these novels are about relationships, and all (as I read them) feminist novels. But I want to put in a word or two today for even more popular so-called romance writers like Jojo Moyes, Joan Silber, and Miranda Beverly-Whittemore. Recently, after finally finishing an agonizingly long and gruesome psychological thriller, a reader friend loaned me a stack of library books when I told her I needed to read something more hopeful and optimistic. The stack included Jojo Moyes, The Last Letter From Your Lover, and The Horse Dancer both of which were deeply perceptive about how relationships go wrong, and how they can sometimes be righted, perhaps with just a few moments of real honesty or a real attempt to un-self, in Murdoch’s words, to really attend to the other. The Horse Dancer not only reveals much about how secrets and  hiding of insecurities prevents real understanding between lovers, and between children and parents, it also describes a beautiful relationship between a girl and her horse, and much advice about how we ought to attend to and treat animals in our lives. Now I agree that romance novels often become formulaic, with too much talk of six-pack abdomens and hot, smoky sex. And, as in The Last Letter From Your Lover, too much jerking around of the readers, first giving one hope of a breakthrough, a reunion, a happy ending, and then ripping the carpet out from under those hopes, only to begin to build a new anticipation of resolution, a new thread of hope cut off again, and again. Still, the characters in the novels mentioned are believable and fully fleshed out, and the circumstances usually quite plausible. Miranda Beverly-Whittemore’s fine novel, Set Me Free not only describes human relationships well and perceptively, it also tells us a lot about racism and the broken promises Native Americans have continually faced. I’m sure some readers would want to insist that Set Me Free is much more than a romance or women’s fiction book, but my point is that many in this poorly defined genre are much more than romances.I learned long ago that I loved what many critics deride as ‘chick flicks,’ for many of the same reasons I find so-called romance novels important and uplifting. When I look back and recall why I so loved Edith Wharton. Alice Munro, Willa Cather, I discover that it was their acute understanding of relationships that endeared them to me. Would Jane Austin and Emily Bronte (were they writing today) be labeled romance writers? Certainly, relationships between lovers were key part of their works. At various times in my reading life I have rejected whole genres of writing: science-fiction, mysteries, only to discover my reasons were superficial and largely unjustified. So-called romance novels are, I suppose, my latest treasure-trove of overlooked or too quickly rejected novels. Jojo Moyes has made me laugh out loud and cry as she describes the sad but often laughable antics of lovers.I have not learned much from self-help books on how to make relationships work, or how and when to jettison ones that don’t, but novels (especially those by women) have shown me just how deceit tarnishes and/or destroys relationships, just how even moments of real honesty can restart a relationship in trouble. I am a reader who loves to read about families, and here, again, I think the place to go is often this slippery genre I’m trying to characterize.Next week I will return to my usual habit of reviewing a single novel when I review Rene Denfeld’s The Child Finder, another novel primarily about relationships. But today, I am happy to be recommending to you women’s fiction, which is neither soft nor shallow.

Megan Devine is a psychotherapist, grief advocate, and author of the book ‘It's OK That You're Not OK.' For almost 20 years, Megan has dedicated her life to helping people live through things they never thought they'd face. Having witnessed her partner drown almost 9 years ago, today Megan is leading an effort to change the Western culture of grief by proposing new models for grief and by creating an online community and resource that helps people survive some of the hardest experiences of their lives. This is a conversation about grief, about what to do when you lose someone you love, what to do with grief and this new set of never-experienced emotions, and about how to best help friends and family members who experienced severe loss. Get Megan's book ‘It's OK That You're Not OK': http://www.refugeingrief.com/book/ Follow Megan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/refugeingrief Learn more about Megan, her work, and how to connect with her: http://www.refugeingrief.com/ And the ‘Writing Your Grief' 30-day e-course: http://www.refugeingrief.com/30daywriting/ Megan's role models: Rene Denfeld http://renedenfeld.com/author/ Dawn Serra https://www.dawnserra.com/ Kate McCombs http://www.katemccombs.com/about/ Thanks to our patrons for this episode: Anna Caroline who coaches leaders in Berlin: http://truthcircles.com/ Caoimhe Keogan https://twitter.com/caoimhekeogan Johannes Kleske johanneskleske.com If you want to help us create The Role Models Podcast in the future, become a patron and chip in $1, $3, $5, or $10 per episode. Read more about the different tiers and rewards on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rolemodels

This episode is a combination of two chats. Matt Zemek gives his Jana Novotna tribute. In the second half - Andrew Burton and Rene Denfeld discuss hot topics like Davis Cup, Shot clock and 16 seeds.

This episode is a combination of two chats. Matt Zemek gives his Jana Novotna tribute. In the second half - Andrew Burton and Rene Denfeld discuss hot topics like Davis Cup, Shot clock and 16 seeds.

Live sessions with Sidewalk Chalk and the star-studded Filthy Friends, plus Rene Denfeld on how her work as a private investigator inspired her book, Artist Rep shakes up the theater season and more.

Rene Denfeld won critical acclaim for her first novel, The Enchanted, inspired by her experience as an investigator on death penalty cases. Her second novel, The Child Finder, is the story of missing children:… Continue reading →

When did Americans come to shun reality? If your answer is "recently," Kurt Andersen, the author of the entertaining book FANTASYLAND: HOW AMERICA WENT HAYWIRE: A 500-YEAR HISTORY, wants you to reconsider. We delve into the book in this week's episode. We also talk to Rene Denfeld, author of the new novel, THE CHILD FINDER, in which a gifted investigator combs Oregon's snowy mountain forests for a missing girl. And our editors reveal which bestsellers this week they think you ought to try out!

Karen Stefano, author of The Secret Games of Words, in conversation with Rene Denfeld, author of the upcoming book The Child Finder (HarperCollins, 2017). Rene Denfeld is the author of the acclaimed novel The Enchanted, as well as essays in publications such as the New York Times.

Despite the missing stars, the 2017 US Open has offered no scarcity of big stories: Sharapova's return, Peak Petra defeating Muguruza, Venus' continued good form at majors, and the excitement around Denis Shapovalov. We're so excited to welcome back the insightful Rene Denfeld to the show. The Tennis Twitter-lebrity is covering the US Open for the first time as a journalist, and he shares his thoughts on Sharapova, Fognini, the draws, and what it's like to be there.   :35 What a day: James just got Twitter famous, Venus won, and Maria lost 8:00 The great women's round of 16s 11:00 Unpacking Sharapova - the scheduling, the "shade," the reception; or as James calls it, "a feeling of grossness" 21:45 Roger and Rafa's rocky starts to the tournament 26:15 The wild men's bottom half - Querrey, Anderson, PCB or Schwartzman in a major final 29:00 The Shapovalov hype! 33:00 #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas Fabio does Fabio. There's a reason that fogna means sewer 38:00 The problem with "I'm only here for the handshake" 42:10 The wonderful Rene Denfeld is back on the pod, straight from Queens 50:40 Talking with Rene about the weird men's draw, Shapo, Rafa's slow starts 1:00:30 What's it like to be on camera as a reporter? (Rene gets gif-ed) 1:03:50 Did you know? Rene was responsible for Naomi Osaka's excellent 'mesothelioma' monologue 1:08:30 Rene's favorite moments so far

We break down the Roland Garros draws with guest speaker Rene Denfeld in Episode 28. Topics include but not limited to Kvitova's return to the certainty that is Rafael Nadal's dominance on clay.

We break down the Roland Garros draws with guest speaker Rene Denfeld in Episode 28. Topics include but not limited to Kvitova's return to the certainty that is Rafael Nadal's dominance on clay.

Just before they reunite again in SW19, Ben and Courtney bring you this treat of an episode from opposite sides of the world. After cameos by Rene Denfeld (of @WTAReactions) and Ernests Gulbis (of top-10 reambitions), we are taken on a tour of the Wimbledon grounds by Alex Willis, who is director of digital and content for the Championships (and Wimbledon.com). From Court 18 to Henman Hill to Centre Court to the Clubhouse, you'll "see" it all! Or, at least, a fair amount of it! Anyhow, the scenery is more interesting than what Courtney experienced in the Dakotas and Saskatchewan, as she'll tell you as we end the show. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

Everything looks different this week somehow — bigger, brighter, more vivid. Is it us? A new projector? A bird? A plane? Or is it the Wonder? Come hear what we have for you: 1:13 - Oregonian reporter Bryan Denson tells us about a breaking art forgery caper. 5:34 - The Hollywood Theatre raises the curtain on its new 70mm projection system with "2001: A Space Odyssey." We hear about the treasure hunt behind tracking down the now defunct technology. Well, almost defunct: the Hollywood might just debut Quentin Tarantino's new film with it, too 15:29 - New in paperback: Rene Denfeld's affecting novel of prison life,"The Enchanted." 23:49 - KMHD sits down with Nicholas Payton for "A Jazz Life." 27:26 - More details on which historic figures will represent Oregon at the National Statuary Hall Collection. 33:23 - Feast on an opbmusic session with Ural Thomas & the Pain as the band goes on tour around the state for McMenamins' Great NW Music Tour. 37:28 - Painter Roger Shimomura's vibrant, provocative show at Hallie Ford Museum. 46:19 - A new story collection called "The Uncanny Reader" walks the line with “possibly supernatural” fiction.

Rene Denfeld's new novel draws on her professional experience as a legal investigator on death penalty cases. It weaves vivid, difficult truths about prison life with poignant explorations of inmates inner lives. Here's some additional sound from the interview excerpt you heard on the show this week. The Enchanted recently came out in paperback (Feb 2015).

We look back at 15 years of Oregon artists on television with Oregon Art Beat. Curator Namita Wiggers helps us look back. Plus, Rene Denfeld's novel Enchanted, the spaghetti western twang of Federale, and poet Primus St. John.

Denfeld is a legal investigator who works on death penalty cases, seeking out information that might be relevant during inmates' appeal process. Her new novel, The Enchanted, is about prison life, the complicated relationship between inmates and the investigators, and the will to find joy in the darkest of places. Here's Denfeld reading an excerpt. Find her Friday night, April 18th at Sunriver Books, and listen for her this weekend on State of Wonder.

Rene Denfeld is the guest. She is an accomplished journalist who has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Oregonian, and other publications. She is also a licensed investigator who specializes in death penalty work. Her debut novel, The Enchanted, is now available from Harper. Publishers Weekly calls it “A striking one-of-a-kind prison novel....[with] rich, haunting prose...A stunning first novel from an already accomplished writer.” And Donald Ray Pollock says “Rene Denfeld is a genius. In The Enchanted, she has imagined one of the grimmest settings in the world--a dank and filthy death row in a corrupt prison--and given us one of the most beautiful, heart-rending, and riveting novels I have ever read.” Monologue topics: Melissa Broder, public bathrooms, darkened anterooms, tall strangers, misunderstandings, micro-paranoia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices