This Creative Life With Sara Zarr

Episode backstory: I saw Jeff Garvin's second book is out this week, and I called him up to talk about it! I thought this might be a mini-sode but we ended up talking longer than mini but not as long as maxi, so I'm officially declaring this the first midi-sode of the reboot. Jeff and I get into Joseph Campbell vs. Robert McKee, creative reinvention, and an author's right to be private about the personal experiences that go into a book.   Content warning: about 22-ish minutes in, we talk very briefly and nonspecifically about the fact that suicide exists, in the context of Jeff sharing about his bipolar II diagnosis.   For full show notes, see the show's Patreon page, no contribution required! 

In this loose and chatty episode, Katie Cotugno and I pour a drink and talk about our April 7 book releases into a world in which everything is canceled. Given that we have no uncanceled book events, we take some time to talk both process and content of Rules for Being a Girl (co-written by Katie with Candace Bushnell) and Goodbye from Nowhere (by your host, Sara Zarr).    We dig into the fictional appeal of inappropriate relationships, what we're reading now, and how we're getting through it all. We both talk fast and a lot and without much filtering so if that's the type of thing you like, you're welcome! If it's the type of thing you hate, we're sorry!   In support of independent booksellers, Katie and I encourage anyone inclined to buy our books (or any books) to do so in a way that supports our beloved indies. Some handy links to that end: Books mentioned in this and other episodes of this podcast at Bookshop.org Rules for Being a Girl audiobook at Libro.fm Goodbye from Nowhere audiobook at Libro.fm Y

Sara talks with Dan Bowman, Jr., about writing, teaching, and about being #ActuallyAutistic. Watch for Notes from the Spectrum next year and stick around to the end of the episode to hear Dan read a poem. For the full show notes, go to patreon.com/ThisCreativeLife

Sara talks to author Brandy Colbert (The Only Black Girls in Town) about writing, career envy, mortality, and the Real Housewives. For the full show notes, go to patreon.com/ThisCreativeLife

Coe Booth was one of the first YA writers I met when I started mingling with authors as a soon-to-be-published newbie. (I believe our first conversation was about Estelle Getty being alive or dead–she was alive, at the time.) After we met I read her debut novel, TYRELL, and absolutely loved it. Since then, she’s [&hellip

Next week, Malinda Lo returns to the podcast to talk about the effect the success of Last Night at the Telegraph Club on her writing and career. Here's our conversation from the 2015 archives for additional context. Her next book, A Scatter of Light, is out October 4th! Get the This Creative Life newsletter & show notes The This Creative Life book is available now in ebook, paperback, and audio.

E. Lockhart is the author of nine–nine!–novels for young adults, a host of other books under the name Emily Jenkins, and short and collaborative projects. Her 2008 release–The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks–was given a National Book Award Finalist medal and a Printz Honor. She chaired the Young People’s Lit National Book Award judging committee [&hellip