Elizabeth’s stories and essays have appeared in The Idaho Review, The Rumpus, PANK, and elsewhere, and have received numerous Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. She is also a regular contributor to Ploughshares Blog. Her debut novel Mona at Sea was a finalist in the 2019 SFWP Literary Awards judged by Carmen Maria Machado, and is out now. We’ll be discussing her book and her writing process in today’s interview.

In this episode Elizabeth and I discuss:

• How she wrote about an unemployed character in an interesting and refreshing way.
• The importance of assembling a good critique group and reading good craft books.
• Why persistence and patience are major parts of the publishing journey.

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About Elizabeth Gonzalez James

Elizabeth Gonzalez James’s stories and essays have appeared in The Idaho Review, The Rumpus, PANK, and elsewhere, and have received numerous Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. She is also a regular contributor to Ploughshares Blog. Her debut novel Mona at Sea was a finalist in the 2019 SFWP Literary Awards judged by Carmen Maria Machado, and is available now anywhere books are sold.

You can find Elizabeth on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Here is the list of writing books that Elizabeth recommends during her interview:

• On Writing by Stephen King
• The Art and Craft of Novel Writing by Oakley Hall
• The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot by Charles Baxter

Here are the books by former teachers that Elizabeth references during her interview: 

• Middle Men: Stories by Jim Gavin
• A Master Plan for Rescue: A Novel by Janis Cooke Newman

Mona at the Sea

A darkly funny coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of the Great Recession that takes the audience on a wild journey through a strange, uncertain modern America. For fans of Chloe Caldwell’s I’ll Tell You in Person and Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

Mona Mireles is a quintessential overachiever: a former spelling bee champion and valedictorian of her college class, she has a sterling résumé and a wall of plaques and medals in her bedroom that stretches floor to ceiling. She’s also broke, unemployed, back at home with her parents, and completely adrift in life and love. 

Mona is seven months out of college and desperately trying to reassemble the pieces of her life after the Wall Street job she had waiting for her post-graduation dissolves in the wake of the Great Recession. When her reaction to losing her job goes viral and she is publicly branded the “Sad Millennial,” Mona begins a downward spiral into self-pity, bitterness, and late-night drunken binges on cat videos. Mona’s the sort who says exactly the right thing at absolutely the wrong moments, seeing the world through a cynic’s eyes. 

Set in suburban Tucson amid the financial and social malaise of the early 2000s, 23-year-old Mona must not only find a job, but quickly learn to navigate the complexities of adult relationships within the black hole of her parents’ shattering marriage. 

At her mother’s urging, Mona grudgingly joins a support group for job seekers, and slowly begins to see that all is not lost, and that perhaps losing the job on Wall Street was a blessing in disguise. She might even learn what it is she finds meaningful in life. The question is: Will she be brave enough to go after it?

If you decide to check out any of the books on this page, we hope you’ll do so via the Amazon affiliate links provided, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 376

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 376: Persistence and Publishing, a Debut Author’s Story – Interview with Elizabeth Gonzalez James appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today I am so excited to have Michael Zadoorian on the show!

Michael is an author and recipient of numerous awards such as the Michigan Notable Book award, and the Kresge Artist Fellowship. His writing has appeared in several prestigious journals including The Literary Review and American Short Fiction, as well as in multiple anthologies including Detroit Noir.

He is the author of The Leisure Seeker—which was recently made into a film starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland—as well as the novel Second Hand and the story collection The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit.

His latest novel, Beautiful Music, is a coming of age story set against the backdrop of his hometown of Detroit in the 1970’s and is available now.

Listen in as we talk about this amazing book, and how to enrich your story with sensory writing.

In this episode Michael and I discuss:

• How to determine the genre label for your story by finding your audience.
• Conveying sound through your characters’ emotions.
• Engaging all five senses of your reader.
• The role of parents in a literary coming of age story.
• Creating a strong sense of place in your writing.

Plus, Michael’s #1 tip for writers.

About Michael Zadoorian

Michael Zadoorian is a recipient of a Kresge Artist Fellowship in the Literary Arts, the Columbia University Anahid Literary Award, the Michigan Notable Book award, the Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award and was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

His work has appeared in The Literary Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, American Short Fiction, Witness, Great Lakes Review, North American Review and the anthologies Bob Seger’s House, On The Clock, and Detroit Noir.

He has worked as a copywriter, journalist, voice over talent, shipping room clerk, and a plant guard for Chrysler. A lifetime resident of the Detroit area, he lives with his wife in a 1937 bungalow filled with cats and objects that used to be in the houses of other people.

Michael is the author of The Leisure Seeker; a motion picture of which was released in March 2018 starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland.  He is also the author of the novel Second Hand, and the story collection The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit.

His latest novel, Beautiful Music, is now available from Akashic Books.

To connect with Michael check out his website at www.michaelzadoorian.com.

Beautiful Music

Set in early 1970s Detroit, a divided city still reeling from its violent race riot of 1967, Beautiful Music is the story of one young man’s transformation through music.

Danny Yzemski is a husky, pop radio–loving loner balancing a dysfunctional home life with the sudden harsh realities of freshman year at a high school marked by racial turbulence.

But after tragedy strikes the family, Danny’s mother becomes increasingly erratic and angry about the seismic cultural shifts unfolding in her city and the world. As she tries to hold it together with the help of Librium, highballs, and breakfast cereal, Danny finds his own reason to carry on: rock and roll. In particular, the drum and guitar–heavy songs of local legends like the MC5 and Iggy Pop.

In the vein of Nick Hornby and Tobias Wolff, yet with a style very much Zadoorian’s own, Beautiful Music is a touching story about the power of music and its ability to save one’s soul.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 204

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 204: Bringing Sound to Life on the Page — Interview with Michael Zadoorian appeared first on DIY MFA.