Go Ahead, Write Something! Podcast
With Patricia (TM) Dunn & Tessa Smith McGovern
Listen to Episodes
Go Ahead, Write Something! is for writers who want motivation and the deep-down truths about getting published, and how to find joy in writing and sharing your work with the world. Listen in to hear the stories of a variety of authors, from bestsellers to those debuting with their first book.
About the hosts:
Tessa Smith McGovern is a published author, writing instructor and coach. She teaches on Zoom for the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, as well as two free weekly writing sprints for the Westport Library's 'WestportWRITES' program.
Patricia Dunn, aka T.M. Dunn, is a novelist, writing instructor and coach. Her latest novel, Her Father's Daughter, a psychological thriller, (Crooked Lane Books) is coming July 18, 2023.
Produced by Verso Studios
Episode 11: How to blend art & creativity and make a living with author & HBO consultant Clint McCown
Clint McCown shares actionable, essential advice gleaned from decades of writing, teaching, publishing, and consulting.
Clint McCown is an American author, poet, journalist, editor, actor, and university professor. He teaches fiction writing and screenwriting in the Department of English at Virginia Commonwealth University and in the low-residency Master of Fine Arts program for the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Episode 10: How debut novelist Olesya Salnikova Gilmore tapped into Eastern European folkore to write The Witch and the Tsar
Olesya Salnikova Gilmore was born in Moscow, Russia, raised in the US, and graduated from Pepperdine University with a BA in English / political science, and from Northwestern University School of Law with a JD. She practiced litigation at a large law firm for several years before pursuing her dream of becoming an author. She is happiest writing historical fiction and fantasy inspired by Eastern European folklore. She lives in a wooded lakeside suburb of Chicago with her husband and daughter. The Witch and the Tsar is her debut novel.
Episode 9: How T.M. Dunn tapped into the voice of a serial killer in her new suspense novel, Her Father’s Daughter
T.M. Dunn (Patricia Dunn) is the author of three novels, Her Father's Daughter (Crooked Lane, July 2023), Last Stop On The 6 (Bordighera Press, 2021,) and Rebels By Accident (2014). She has served as Senior Director of the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, where she holds an MFA in creative writing. In addition to writing, she coaches aspiring and established writers and teaches creative writing workshops.
Patricia lives in Stamford, Connecticut, where she is currently working on her next novel, with her rescue puppy Blanqui snuggled at her side.
Episode 8: Kate Brandt discusses the ups and downs of publishing her debut novel, Hope for the Worst
Kate Brandt is a graduate of the MFA Writing program at Sarah Lawrence College. Her work has appeared in literary anthologies, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Literary Mama, Ginosko, and Redivider, among other publications. She’s a teacher trainer in adult literacy in New York City.
Hope for the Worst is an autobiographical novel that illuminates the twists and turns we take in seeking wisdom and spiritual understanding. Kirkus Reviews has called this book “illuminating,” commenting that “keen perception and frank self-awareness… spare, direct writing style and pithy descriptions of people and places vividly portray late 1980s New York City …[and] draw the reader in.”
Kate says, “I write because I have a problem to solve or a question to ask, thus writing becomes a form of meditation for me--a way to escape time but also ruminate on the questions that concern me. These questions are the fundamental ones--what is the right way to live, to be happy, and to be in tune with reality. I chose to write this story because I knew it would take me a long time, but I also knew I would not get tired of it. This book is really for people who are concerned with loss and deep disappointment, and how we navigate around those.”
For more information on Kate and her writing go to her website, Katebrandt.net. You can also find her on instagram and twitter @Kbrandtwriter.
Episode 7: Marcia Bradley - experienced writer, first time novelist
Marcia Bradley earned her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College after receiving her BA from Antioch University Los Angeles. She was awarded a Bronx Council on the Arts/New York City Department of Cultural Affairs BRIO Award for Fiction and has been published in Two Hawks Quarterly, Hippocampus Magazine, Drunk Monkeys, Electica, the Capital Gazette, and in The Writing Disorder. A natural born wanderer, Marcia grew up in Chicago and moved to Santa Monica where she raised her daughters. She now teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in the Bronx, New York.
https://marciabradley.com/
Check out her debut novel, The Home for Wayward Girls, here.
Episode 6: Award winning NYT bestselling author Chris Pavone - focus on writing and let go of what you can't control
CHRIS PAVONE is the author of five international thrillers, beginning with the The Expats in 2012 and most recently the instant bestseller Two Nights in Lisbon. His novels have appeared on the bestseller lists of the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and IndieNext; have won both the Edgar and Anthony awards, and have been shortlisted for the Strand, Macavity, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize; are in development for film and television; and have been translated into two dozen languages.
He has written for outlets including the New York Times Book Review and Magazine, the Telegraph, and Salon; has appeared on Face the Nation, Good Day New York, All Things Considered, and the BBC; and has been profiled on the arts’ front page of the New York Times. He is a member of PEN, the Authors Guild, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America, for which he has served as an Edgars judge.
"There's no such thing as a book you can't put down, but this one came close." – Stephen King
Episode 5: Brooke Lea Foster, author of Gin Lane, talks about her journey from experienced journalist to novelist
Brooke Lea Foster is an award-winning author and journalist who has worked as a writer and editor at The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, The Huffington Post/AOL, and the Washingtonian magazine. She’s currently a contributing writer to Psychology Today magazine. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Parents, PARADE, Scholastic Parent & Child, The Baltimore Sun, The Boston Globe, and Psychology Today, among many others. Brooke's debut novel, Summer Darlings, was featured as a top summer read in People Magazine, named a top summer pick by Entertainment Weekly, and named one of PARADE’s best books of summer. An alumna of The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, she is the author of three nonfiction books. On Gin Lane is her second novel. www.brookeleafoster.com
Episode 4: Christina Thompson, editor of Harvard Review and award-winning author discusses how writers get published in HR
Christina Thompson's first book, Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All, is a '...highly unusual blend of personal memoir, travel writing and anthropology . . . the happy result of a scholarly writer looking round at this particular theoretical minefield and deciding to make it her home.' — Sunday Times (London)
It received the following awards: A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE FINALIST, 2009 NSW PREMIER’S LITERARY AWARD, 2010 WILLIAM SAROYAN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR WRITING.
Her second book, Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia, is the quest to understand who first settled the islands of the remote pacific, where they came from, how they got there, and how we know...
It received the following awards: A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE, WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER, 2020 PRIME MINISTER’S LITERARY AWARD, 2020 VICTORIAN PREMIER’S LITERARY AWARD, 2019 NSW PREMIER’S GENERAL HISTORY AWARD FINALIST, 2019 MOUNTBATTEN MARITIME AWARD, 2020 PHI BETA KAPPA RALPH WALDO EMERSON AWARD, 2019 SIGURD F. OLSON NATURE WRITING AWARD, 2019 QUEENSLAND LITERARY AWARD.
Since 2000 she has been the editor of Harvard Review. The recipient of an NEH Public Scholar Award, as well as fellowships from the NEA, the Australia Council, and ArtsVictoria, she will be a Creative Arts Fellow at the National Library of Australia in 2023. She teaches writing at Harvard University Extension and lives outside Boston with her husband and three sons.
Learn more about Christina at christinathompson.net
Episode 3: Following a bumpy start, author Barbara Josselsohn published four novels in three years. Here's how.
Barbara Josselsohn is the author of five novels: The Cranberry Inn (Bookouture, 2022), The Lily Garden (Bookouture, 2021), The Bluebell Girls (Bookouture, 2020), The Lilac House (Bookouture, 2020) and The Last Dreamer (Lake Union, 2015).
Her articles and essays appear in a range of publications, including New York Magazine, Parents Magazine, Westchester Magazine, WorkingMother.com, and the New York Times.
You can find out more about Barbara and her books at www.barbarajosselsohn.com
Episode 2: Best-seller Naomi Novik's down-to-earth wisdom will help you start (and finish) your stories
Naomi Novik is an acclaimed American author of speculative fiction. She is known for the Temeraire series (2006–2016), an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars involving dragons, and her Scholomance fantasy series (2020–2022). Her standalone fantasy novels Uprooted (2015) and Spinning Silver (2018) were inspired by Polish folklore and the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale respectively. Novik has won many awards for her work, including the Alex, Audie, British Fantasy, Locus, Mythopoeic and Nebula Awards.
Her latest award-winning trilogy, The Scholomance, is available now. The first book in the trilogy is 'A Deadly Education' and here are some reviews:
“A must-read . . . Novik puts a refreshingly dark, adult spin on the magical boarding school. . . . Readers will delight in the push-and-pull of El and Orion’s relationship, the fantastically detailed world, the clever magic system, and the matter-of-fact diversity of the student body.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The magic and mystery of this chillingly lovely novel will appeal to both YA and adult fans of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. . . . An unresolved ending leaves readers eager for the next installment.”—Library Journal (starred review)
You can find out more about Naomi and her books at her website, https://www.naominovik.com/
Episode 1: Successful mystery author Tessa Wegert's winding path to publication
Discover how Tessa kept the faith through years of not selling and how she finally achieved her goals of publication and quit her job to write full time.
Tessa Wegert is the author of the popular Shana Merchant mysteries, which include Death in the Family (a Book Riot Best Locked Room Mystery), The Dead Season (“Deliciously twisty”—Bookreporter), Dead Wind (Publishers Weekly starred review), The Kind to Kill (a Strand Magazine Top Mystery Novel), and the upcoming Devils at the Door. A former journalist and digital media strategist, Tessa has contributed to Forbes, HuffPost, The Globe and Mail, and The Economist. She grew up in Quebec and now lives with her husband and children in Connecticut, where she studies martial arts and is co-president of Sisters in Crime CT.