Jim Foster: Conversations On The Coast

Gillian Flynn, author of "Dark Places," talks about why she thought it was important to write about a different type of woman than the ones often portrayed on many novels.  The full interview from a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: gillian-flynn.com.

Doug Fine, author of "Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living," talks about how he exchanged his Subaru for a 'roat' and the surprising smell that came from the exhaust of the new vehicle.  The full interview from a 2008 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: dougfine.com. 

Marie Lawson Fiala, author of "Letters from a Distant Shore," talks about how a prayer group was formed organically after all medical solutions had been exhausted in an effort to help her young son Jeremy recover from a sudden medical event.  The full interview from a 2010 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts. 

Jared Farmer, author of "Trees in Paradise: A California History," talks about why eucalyptus and palm trees became such a large part of the California landscape and what has changed in recent decades.  The full interview from a 2013 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: Robert Costa.

James Fallows, author of "China Airborne," talks about who the Klapmeier brothers are and how China came to own their revolutionary aircraft manufacturing company.  The full interview from a 2012 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  

Harold Evans, the late author of "They Made America: From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine: Two Centuries of Innovators," talks about how A.P. Giannini helped change the banking industry by expanding services to the middle-class, and also speaks on what he did for the San Francisco Bay Area.  The full interview from a 2004 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard n...

T.J. English, author of "Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution," talks about the entertainment scene in 1950s Cuba and the revolution that destroyed it toward the end of the decade.  The full interview from a 2008 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: tj-english.com.

James Ellroy, author of "Blood's a Rover," talks about what makes the way he writes about American History so unique.  The full interview from a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: jamesellroy.net.

Joseph J. Ellis, author of "American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic," talks about why John Adams wanted more credit for writing the Declaration of Independence.  The full interview from a 2007 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: josephellishistorian.com.

Barry Eisler, author of "Fault Line," talks about how two brothers who don't get along find a way to come together and rely upon each other anyway.  The full interview from a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: Douglas Sonders/barryeisler.com.

Gretel Ehrlich, author of "Facing The Wave," talks about how she went about learning the truth of what happened when a tsunami hit Japan in 2011, with the help of her interpreter guides, and the aftermath for the many people affected by the natural disaster.  The full interview from a 2013 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Pho...

Jennifer Egan, author of "The Keep," reads an excerpt from the novel and gives her answer to the question "Can the imagined become the reality?"  The full interview from a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: jenniferegan.com/Pieter M. van Hattem

John Dunning, the late author of "The Bookman's Promise," talks about the differences between a bookman and antiquarian, and how the bookman in the novel begins his own search for a book and a killer.  The full interview from a 2005 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  

Cassandra Dunn, author of "The Art of Adapting," reads an excerpt from her novel that illustrates how women dealing with a personal crisis sometimes delve into taking care of other people rather than focusing on their own problems.  The full interview from a 2014 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: cassandradunn.com.

Sarah Dunant, author of "Sacred Hearts," reads an excerpt from her novel in which the young main character, Serafina, starts to find her voice within the confines of an Italian convent in the year 1570 and makes her plans to escape.  The full interview from a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: sarahdunant.com

Robert Dugoni, former Civil Litigator and author of "The Conviction: A David Sloane Novel," talks about the downside of the privatizing of the criminal justice system in the world, and how he illustrated the issue in his novel.  The full interview from a 2012 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: robertdugonibooks.com.

Jennifer DuBois, author of "Cartwheel," talks about how people can reach different conclusions about an event with the same set of facts, and the similarities her novel has to the real life case of Amanda Knox.  The full interview from a 2013 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: jennifer-dubois.com.

Ken Dornstein, author of "The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky: A True Story," talks about the last letter his brother wrote before his tragic death on Pan Am Flight 103, and Ken's reply to him many years later.  The full interview from a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: theboywhofelloutofthesky.com

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of "The Palace of Illusions," talks about how a woman named Panchaali becomes powerful in a world where few women do, and how she handles the unusual responsibility of having five husbands.  The full interview from a 2008 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: https://www.chitradivakaruni.c...

Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of "The Language of Flowers," talks about the adjustment parents and children often go through when the children are ultimately adopted.  The full interview from a 2011 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts. 

Matthew Diffee, editor of "The Rejection Collection Vol. 2: The Cream of the Crap," talks about what questions cartoonists said they would ask of editor Bob Mankoff if they could ask him just one, while Jim offers why he thinks some of the rejected cartoons shouldn't have been.  The full interview from a 2007 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get...

Frank Delaney, the late author of "Simple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea," tells a story illustrating how the very diverse ship crew of the freighter S.S. Flying Enterprise showed bravery in the middle of a huge storm in a 1951 voyage to America from Europe.  The full interview from a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your pod...

Frank Deford, the late author of "Over Time: My Life as a Sportswriter," tells a story about his stint with the 'lite beer all stars' and interactions with Rodney Dangerfield and Ben Davidson.  The full interview from a 2012 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts. 

Cal Crosby talks about the excitement that surrounded the opening of a Books Inc. store in Berkeley.  The full interview from a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  

Robert Crais, author of "The Forgotten Man: An Elvis Cole Novel," talks about what happened when the main character ran away as a young boy and the unlikely father figure he found in his life.  The full interview from a 2005 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: robertcrais.com