Bonnie Jo Talks to Everybody

Shirley Clay Scott is a scholar of literary romanticism, and she was the former head of the Western Michigan University English Department--that is where I knew her. She later became Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Southern Illinois University and then Hunter College. She kindly joined a group of us at H House to share some stories about loving and living with literature and its writer...

Michigan Author Joe Heywood is the author of 28 books of fiction, including the Woods Cop Mystery series, and he is full of curiosity, wisdom, and plain good advice for writers. Unfortunately I started taping in the middle of his 5-minute master class in writing, so you only get half of it plus the thirty second summary. Listen to the end to hear his harrowing tale of going through a culvert and p...

I just read aloud the Constitution. There are a few hiccups, and I mention a few times where there are amendments, and also I left out the word "male" in one spot, but otherwise, this is me reading the Constitution of the United States of America.

Dawn Burns had a book release party at Everybody Reads in Lansing, Michigan, for her new creation from Cornerstone Press: A Green Glow on the Horizon: T ales from the National Association of Tourist Attraction Survivors For those of you could not attend, you can be a part of the joy by listening to this podcast! Scott Harris introduces Dawn! Dawn's website is here: Dawn Burns – Writer. Connect...

After a long struggle with a very cold snowy winter, Chris and I chat about chickens and eggs and more.

It was great to sit with my friend Andy Mozina at H House and talk about writing and the writing life on the eve of his retirement from teaching at K College. He's quite funny! Born and raised in Milwaukee,  Andy Mozina  majored in economics at Northwestern, then dropped out of Harvard Law School to study literature and write. He’s published fiction in  Tin House ,  Ecotone ,  McSweeney’s,   T...

What a pleasure to spend an hour talking with Kathi McGookey, a prose poet, introvert, mom, and all around great Michigan person. Here's her official bio: Kathleen McGookey has published five books and fourchapbooks of prose poems, most recently Paper Sky (Press 53) and Cloud Reports (Celery City Chapbooks).  Her work hasappeared recently in journals including Copper Nickel, Epoch, Field, Los...

Great to chat with Dawn at H House about writing, teaching, baking and growing up in an Evangelical Christian family. Dawn talks about religious trauma, Indiana life, and her new book, A GREEN GLOW ON THE HORIZON: TALES FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOURIST ATTRACTION SURVIVORS.

This is Chris and I chatting the way we do.

Chris and I are reading in bed and talking about tractors, the political climate, and other timely matters. I have a cold and so I'm talking loudly and can't remember anything.

The brilliant writer and editor Cait West kindly interviewed me about The Waters at Books & Mortar, an independent bookstore in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Sheila and I are heading to the Little Cottage together, and we talk about this and that.

This was a great panel of Southwest Michigan writers sharing their Book publishing experiences with large and small presses. This is unedited, and I started recording after the introductions were well underway so you'll first hear Elizabeth Kerlikowske asking the writers to share a story. Thank you, Andy Mozina, Kathleen McGookey, Susan Ramsey, and Marcel Fable Price.

Our mother planted pawpaw trees, and now we have lots of fruits! So many we have to freeze some of the meat, which involves a bit of work getting them peeled and seeded. We are chatting, and our neighbor Kim comes over to visit.

While visiting the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan I got a chance to chat with Jack Lessenberry, who knows a lot about Michigan Politics, past, present, and even future. I interviewed him at 7am, before he took his dogs out to the park for tug-of-war, so I was kind of dopey. But he sounds just right, so I won't bother trying to edit out my ums and hems and haws. He's the author of a book abou...

Well, Chris and I were just talking about my birthday, weed burning and vapor barriers! I'm always happy when I'm talking to this guy.

Michigan author Steve Amick invited me to take off my shoes and stay a while in his home on Lake Michigan in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We talked about writing and life. His website: https://steve-amick.com/

Ron Riekki, who hails from Michigan's upper peninsula is a kind of Renaissance man. Here we talk about writing, mental health, and humanity!

Ron Riekki and I sat down together and talked for three hours about writing, writing in the Upper Peninsula and beyond, and we got downright philosophical. Ron shared many stories from his life in the military, in medicine, in the literary world.

Always great to talk to my darling Christopher!

Duane is great. He works hard, and can do all kinds of jobs on houses and cars. He drives an old truck with sticker on it that says "All Boobs Matter."

Monica Friedman is a writer and artist and cartoonist living in Tucson Arizona, and she is a delightful conversationalist. She knows how to show a gal a good time, and she took me to the Sonoran Desert Museum. We chatted in the car on the way there.

It's always great to talk to Darling Christopher, about anything.

Talking to my husband again--I never get tired of him. Here we talk about how he is holding down the fort while I am gallivanting around, promoting The Waters.

While I was preparing their food, the donkeys he-honked at me for a minute, and here it is.