Podcasts about unbridled books

Virginia Pye discusses the first pages of her wonderfully smart and imaginative novel, The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann. AND, a special gift to our listeners: The ever-brave and generous Ginny also shares with us several paragraphs from her very first “shitty” draft for us to compare (which isn't so “shitty” after all, but sure makes her published pages look even better). We talk about the importance of narrative distance in historical fiction, how not to overly antiquate the prose and dialog, and how quickly we need to feel that trouble is brewing for the main character.Pye's first pages can be found here.Help local bookstores and our authors by buying this book on Bookshop.Click here for the audio/video version of this interview.The above link will be available for 48 hours. Missed it? The podcast version is always available, both here and on your favorite podcast platform.Virginia Pye is an award-winning author of three novels and the short story collection, Shelf Life of Happiness, which won the 2019 Independent Publisher Gold Medal for Short Fiction. Her debut novel, River of Dust, (Unbridled Books), was an Indie Next Pick and a 2013 Finalist for the Virginia Literary Award. Her second novel, Dreams of the Red Phoenix, (Unbridled Books), was named a Best Book of 2015 by the Richmond Times Dispatch. She is Fiction Editor for Pangyrus, a literary journal based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a board member of the Women's National Book Association, Boston Chapter. Virginia grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and moved back after thirty-five years living up and down the East Coast.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

With the long road of a novel ahead of her, Julia Phillips mined her obsessions, and based her debut, DISAPPEARING EARTH, on her love of Russia's Kamchatka peninsula and her desire to portray the effects of violent acts on women. She and James talk about the cost of being horrified, the surprising realization that not everyone loves Soviet architecture, the book that unlocked her book, and the need to keep readers from chopping the vegetables. Then James talks to Jon Sealy about his new press, Haywire Books.  - Julia Phillips: http://www.juliaphillipswrites.com/ Buy DISAPPEARING EARTH: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780525520412 Julia and James discuss:  JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PEOPLES TEMPLE  Kamchatka Peninsula  THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN  Fulbright Fellowship  Yaddo  Emerson College  PT Anderson  THE ANATOMY OF STORY by John Truby  GOOD TALK by Mira Jacob  ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac - Jon Sealy: http://www.jonsealy.com/ Haywire Books: https://www.haywirebooks.com/ Jon and James discuss:   THE WHISKEY BARON by Jon Sealy  Hub City press  THE UNMADE WORLD by Steve Yarbrough  Unbridled Books   George Singleton  LSU Press The Southern Voices Festival  Mark Powell  Baker & Taylor  Ingram  Consortium  Publishers Group West  Itasca  THE EDGE OF AMERICA by Jon Sealy  HUMMINGBIRD HOUSE by Patricia Henley  FIREBIRD by Mark Powell  Heather Bell Adams  WVU Press  - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

Of the brutal conflicts that characterized the twentieth century, none equaled in scale the catastrophe that struck China when the Japanese occupied the northern part of the country just as the Civil War was picking up steam. According to some estimates, 22.5 million people died in these twin acts of destruction. Dreams of the Red Phoenix (Unbridled Books, 2015)  takes place during a few weeks in the summer of 1937, as seen from the perspective of North American missionaries who only think they understand the local culture and their place in it. Sheila Carson–mourning the recent death of her husband, the Reverend Caleb–can hardly bring herself to get up in the morning, let alone supervise work around her house or rein in her teenaged son, Charles, who soon causes trouble for himself and his mother by taunting the Japanese soldiers who patrol the area. But when attacks on the civilian population send a stream of wounded and hungry people into the mission looking for aid, Shirley, one of the few trained nurses in the compound, is pulled into service, her house turned into a clinic. The mission’s protected status, based on U.S. neutrality in these years before World War II, falls under threat when the Japanese army suspects that the refugees include Nationalist and Communist soldiers, and Shirley must decide whether to leave with her fellow Americans or stay and help the charismatic Communist general whose philosophy appeals to her idealistic nature. Her memories of her husband, her responsibilities as a mother, and her own sense of right and purpose are pushing Shirley in different directions even before outside forces intervene to complicate her path. As in her earlier novel, River of Dust, Virginia Pye here takes stories of her own ancestors–in this case, her grandmother and family friends–and weaves them into a vivid, evocative tapestry of love and loss, belonging and alienation, deception and truth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Of the brutal conflicts that characterized the twentieth century, none equaled in scale the catastrophe that struck China when the Japanese occupied the northern part of the country just as the Civil War was picking up steam. According to some estimates, 22.5 million people died in these twin acts of destruction. Dreams of the Red Phoenix (Unbridled Books, 2015)  takes place during a few weeks in the summer of 1937, as seen from the perspective of North American missionaries who only think they understand the local culture and their place in it. Sheila Carson–mourning the recent death of her husband, the Reverend Caleb–can hardly bring herself to get up in the morning, let alone supervise work around her house or rein in her teenaged son, Charles, who soon causes trouble for himself and his mother by taunting the Japanese soldiers who patrol the area. But when attacks on the civilian population send a stream of wounded and hungry people into the mission looking for aid, Shirley, one of the few trained nurses in the compound, is pulled into service, her house turned into a clinic. The mission’s protected status, based on U.S. neutrality in these years before World War II, falls under threat when the Japanese army suspects that the refugees include Nationalist and Communist soldiers, and Shirley must decide whether to leave with her fellow Americans or stay and help the charismatic Communist general whose philosophy appeals to her idealistic nature. Her memories of her husband, her responsibilities as a mother, and her own sense of right and purpose are pushing Shirley in different directions even before outside forces intervene to complicate her path. As in her earlier novel, River of Dust, Virginia Pye here takes stories of her own ancestors–in this case, her grandmother and family friends–and weaves them into a vivid, evocative tapestry of love and loss, belonging and alienation, deception and truth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few possibilities terrify parents more than the kidnapping of a child. Guilt, grief, helplessness, anger, and immobilizing fear mingle to create an emotional stew with a mix of ingredients that varies just enough from person to person to reveal the cracks in once-solid relationships, leaving individuals struggling alone–and often against each other. If the parents are, in addition, early twentieth-century missionaries in a great and ancient land hidden from them as much by their own cultural arrogance and misperceptions as by the unfamiliarity of the terrain, such a crisis raises additional questions: Has my God forsaken me? Have I sinned against Him? Is the husband I considered the master of my soul capable of guidance, or does he in fact require my assistance to find his way home? Virginia Pye in her luminous debut novel, River of Dust (Unbridled Books, 2013), explores these questions and more through the reactions of Grace Watson and her husband, the Reverend John Wesley Watson, to the abduction of their son by Mongolian nomads in northwest China in 1910. Grace and her husband are committed to their separate missions–he to converting the Chinese to Christianity, and she to supporting him. Yet the prejudices of their time and station bind them, even as their differing responses to the loss of Wesley drive them apart–until, in a dusty, drought-ridden land as barren as their lives have become, Grace finds the courage to change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few possibilities terrify parents more than the kidnapping of a child. Guilt, grief, helplessness, anger, and immobilizing fear mingle to create an emotional stew with a mix of ingredients that varies just enough from person to person to reveal the cracks in once-solid relationships, leaving individuals struggling alone–and often against each other. If the parents are, in addition, early twentieth-century missionaries in a great and ancient land hidden from them as much by their own cultural arrogance and misperceptions as by the unfamiliarity of the terrain, such a crisis raises additional questions: Has my God forsaken me? Have I sinned against Him? Is the husband I considered the master of my soul capable of guidance, or does he in fact require my assistance to find his way home? Virginia Pye in her luminous debut novel, River of Dust (Unbridled Books, 2013), explores these questions and more through the reactions of Grace Watson and her husband, the Reverend John Wesley Watson, to the abduction of their son by Mongolian nomads in northwest China in 1910. Grace and her husband are committed to their separate missions–he to converting the Chinese to Christianity, and she to supporting him. Yet the prejudices of their time and station bind them, even as their differing responses to the loss of Wesley drive them apart–until, in a dusty, drought-ridden land as barren as their lives have become, Grace finds the courage to change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Masha Hamilton is the guest. She is currently working in Afghanistan as Director of Communications and Public Diplomacy at the US Embassy, and her new novel, What Changes Everything, is now available from Unbridled Books. Caroline Leavitt raves "As real and immediate as a racing pulse, Hamilton’s dark jewel of a novel turns the political into the personal with a blazing tapestry of characters, all grappling with the terrifying cost of war and the unbreakable bonds of love. Thrilling and magnificent." And Jillian Cantor says "Intensely gripping and beautifully written, What Changes Everything shows the lengths we will go to save each other and ourselves. A stunning collage of loss, grief, love, and most of all, survival, Hamilton’s characters—and their stories—are richly drawn and achingly real." Monologue topics: Memorial Day, Frances Ha, personal lives of celebrities intruding on the moviegoing experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jennifer Spiegel is the guest. In 2012, she published two books:  The Freak Chronicles, a story collection, now available from Dzanc Books; and Love Slave, a novel out from Unbridled Books. About The Freak Chronicles, bestselling author Lauren Groff says "The Freak Chronicles is a miracle of a story collection: passionately political and a shout of ambivalence about political passion, intensely personal and furiously global. We readers are lucky to find Jennifer Spiegel, a writer who is self-satirizing and vulnerable and elegant as hell." About Love Slave, Publishers Weekly says "Spiegel's novel evokes the psychic angst of Manhattanites presumptuous enough to describe themselves as struggling artistes, yet entitled enough to melt down when they can't order breakfast in a diner after 11am...the writing is fresh and witty, and Sybil is a sympathetic character worthy of rooting for as she searches for something to believe in." Monologue topics:  the gym, stress, running, the woman with magazines, stopping, Lawn Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

C.M. Mayo introduces her new ebook, Podcasting for Writers & Other Creative Entrepreneurs (Dancing Chiva, 2012). "Naples Dave" and others from fiverr.com are the big voices, along with music clips from istockaudio.com, uniquetracks.com, plus silly sound effects, and more. C.M. Mayo recorded her portion at ye olde writing desk desk (any snoring sounds are from the dog) and edited the whole shebang on her laptop using Apple's GarageBand. As Mayo says, "If I can podcast, so can you." About the ebook: Based on award-winning writer and avid podcaster C.M. Mayo’s one day workshop at the Writer’s Center, Podcasting for Writers & Other Literary Entrepreneurs provides an introduction and overview of podcasting for writers, from basic concepts to nuts-and-bolts tips. In 10 “easy peasy” steps (along with some “fancy schmancy” for those so inclined), Mayo shows you how to generate and publish your unique podcast—and yes, get that puppy onto iTunes. Read more about this ebook at www.dancingchiva.com C. M. Mayo is the author of the novel, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire (Unbridled Books); which was named a Library Journal Best Book 2009; Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico (Milkweed Editions); and Sky Over El Nido (University of Georgia Press), which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. Mayo started out podcasting in 2009 with a simple recording of her lecture for the Library of Congress about the original archival research behind her novel; since then, it’s just been one podcast after another. Currently she hosts two podcast series, Conversations with Other Writers and, apropos of a travel memoir in progress, Marfa Mondays: Exploring Marfa, TX & Environs in 24 Podcasts.” Her website is www.cmmayo.com

Emily St. John Mandel is the guest.  Her latest novel is called The Lola Quartet, and it is available now from Unbridled Books. Library Journal, in a starred review, raves: In this transcendent third novel, Emily St. John Mandel combines ... Continue reading → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Advice from the author of the novel The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire (Unbridled Books). For more about C.M. Mayo's other books, as well as more resources for writers and information about upcoming workshops at the Writer's Center and in Mexico, visit the workshop page at www.cmmayo.com.  My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-a515e1e2e43fe7bdbe752c9104a39bb6}