Writing & Editing

My guest is Gigi Microys, who is now a retired family physician. She graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1963, and has held academic positions as teacher in the departments of family medicine. She has written and lectured about physician health, the medical marriage, and women in medicine. She published her memoir, A Journey Through Medicine: Memoirs of a Female Immigrant ,...

My guest is Alex Freeman , who is a theatre director who also does voicework. He has directed plays across the US and has voiced over 50 audiobooks . He’s done acting and teaching as well, and has an MFA in directing from Western Illinois University. We talk about how a director works with the playwright’s script and with the actors, how audiobooks are made, and the differences between directing t...

My guest is Louise Harris, who is an editor and writer based in St. Petersburg, Florida. We focus on her editing work, including  blog posts and press releases, but also have an extended discussion about the importance of flow to the reader.

My guest is Colleen Tews, who is an author with a taste for writing about strong women who take strength even from their weaknesses. Colleen has established her own imprint, Delphian Hope Publishing , to publish her work and hopes that she can also some day publish others’ as well. Her novel Onyx is forthcoming in March.

My guest is Robin Landa , who holds the title of Distinguished Professor at Michael Graves College of Kean University in Union, New Jersey. She’s also a “creativity guru” who advocates for industry inclusion and equity, and provides scholarships for meritorious students or students in need. Robin’s expertise is in creative advertising, branding, graphic design, and social media. Her new book, just...

My guest is Harker Jones (no relation), who provides a witty self-bio, but of whom I can say more newscastery, so to speak, that he’s an artist who works and has worked in many different media for a few decades now. He published the Amazon #1-bestselling gay love story called Until September. Harker has also written many screenplays, and directed and produced several short thrillers that have play...

My guest is Oscar Martens , who is a writer based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Oscar is also a good friend of mine whom I’ve known for over 30 years, when I met him in a writing class in Ottawa. He has since published two collections of literary short stories to excellent reviews: The Girl with the Full Figure Is Your Daughter in 2002, and No Call Too Small in 2020. In this second part of...

My guest is Oscar Martens , who is a writer based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Oscar is also a good friend of mine whom I’ve known for over 30 years, when I met him in a writing class in Ottawa. He has since published two collections of literary short stories to excellent reviews: The Girl with the Full Figure Is Your Daughter in 2002, and No Call Too Small in 2020. In this second part of...

My guest is Heather Buzila, who is past president and a current member of the national executive council of Editors Canada , the professional association for editors in Canada. She has been an editor for over 15 years and currently works for Athabasca University in Edmonton, Alberta, where she edits materials for online courses in humanities and the social sciences. Heather also has broad experien...

My guest is Emily McPherson , who writes for young adult readers, with several fantasy projects in the works. She describes herself as “an Irish dancer with a slight obsession with mythological creatures.” Emily lives in Connecticut, and her debut novel, Mother of the River , will be published by Eyebright Books in March.

My guest is Les Madewell, who is a professional photographer with a wide range of experience, from event photography to fashion. We also talk about his interest and forays into writing. 

My guest is Julie Ann, who is the founder and CEO of Influence Publishing in British Columbia, Canada. She also hosts retreats for writers in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where she also lives. We talk about her own life story, as well as some of the aspects of her corner of publishing, with discussion of how hers differs and the current state of traditional publishing.

My guest is Alan Kolok, who is a professor at the University of Idaho and Director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute , based in Moscow, Idaho. He is an expert in toxicology and author of the Modern Poisons: A Brief Introduction to Contemporary Toxicology . He’s also author of the sci-fi novel Twist . We talk about poisons as well as making the transition from science to science ficti...

My guest is Julie Coraccio . She is a professional organizer, who writes books and gives talks about the effects that go way beyond just having a messy home. Julie is based in Wheeling, West Virginia, and also hosts a podcast called Clear Your Clutter Inside & Out . We talk about clutter and the various reasons that some people can’t help themselves from doing it. Please listen.

My guest is Doug MacLeod, who has a doctorate degree from SUNY Albany and is an associate professor at SUNY Cobleskill —teaching intercultural communication, script writing, visual media, cinema, mass media, literature and composition (the latter by using standup comedy). He has published widely as well, on topics as diverse as religion and Bonnie and Clyde. He lives in Cobleskill, New York, about...

My guest is Mercedes Killeen , who has extensive experience as a poet, a freelance writer and editor, and a digital marketer. She is based in the Niagara area in Ontario, Canada. Our conversation covers the theory of writing, the place of poetry in modern culture, and mental health, among other things. Please listen.

My guest is Jennia D’Lima , who is a freelance editor offering the full range of editing services. 

My guest is Richard Anderson, who has written a book called The Evolution of Life , with a broad timeline: starting 13.8 billion years ago, and then a new phase for humans around 2120.

My guest is Brian Sachetta, who has published books about both anxiety and depression, and maintains a website and a blog. He also does personal coaching. We talk about his approach as well as the various other methods that are used to deal with these increasingly prevalent mental illnesses. 

My guest is Rob Broadhead , who has written about the practicalities and pleasures of his coding career—and about the death of his wife. 

My guest is Alison Ver Halen , a writer who writes for her clients or helps them do it themselves.

My guest is Douglas Smythe, who describes himself as a “Male Grooming & Shaving Guru.” He’s written, blogged, and podcasted about shaving—yes, that kind of shaving, of your face—and has a website where he sells all manner of shaving stuff. This is not using an electric razor: this is using one of those old-timey-style blade shavers and shaving soap (not lather or cream). He had lots of informa...

My guest is Lyn Barrett , who is a writer as well as a facilitator of Writers’ Workshops and Memoir Classes for People with Dissociative Disorders . Her latest book is called Crazy: Reclaiming Life from the Shadow of Traumatic Memory. Note: Lyn is grateful for the work of her *second* editor, Sarah Chauncey , who skillfully coached her through the writing of the book.

My guest is bestselling writer Tom Fowler . He is the author of the C.T. Ferguson mysteries and the John Tyler thrillers, both of which are set in his home town of Baltimore.

My guest is Jill Phillips , the author of Lamlash Street: A Portrait of 1960’s Post-War London Through One Family’s Story .