Marissa Bell Toffoli

Archive for the ‘author interview’ Category

Interview With Entrepreneur & Writer Ronnie Screwvala

In author interview, Bollywood, books, business, nonfiction, nonfictionentrepreneurship on May 18, 2015 at 10:05 pm
Ronnie Screvala.

Ronnie Screwvala. Photo courtesy of dreamwithyoureyesopen.org.

An introduction to Ronnie Screwvala, the Indian entrepreneur and author of a book of lessons learned, Dream with Your Eyes Open (Rupa Publications, 2015). Screwvala’s candid prose offers inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere. As much about failures as about successes, Dream wIth Your Eyes Open is about “it can be done,” not “I did it.” A first-generation entrepreneur and social philanthropist, Screwvala is behind UTV in India, which has since become a part of The Walt Disney Company, he has produced numerous Bollywood movies, and is the Founder Trustee of Swades Foundation (named after the film Swades starring Shahrukh Khan). Among other accolades, Screwvala has been named on Esquire’s “List of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century” (September 2008), and ranked 78 among the 100 most influential people in the world on the “Time 100” (Time Magazine, 2009). Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Sarah Anne Johnson

In author interview, books, fiction, writing on November 26, 2014 at 11:06 am
Sarah Anne Johnson. Photo courtesy of the author.

Sarah Anne Johnson. Photo courtesy of the author.

An introduction to writer Sarah Anne Johnson, author of the new novel The Lightkeeper’s Wife (Sourcebooks, 2014). Her previous books include The Very Telling, The Art of the Author Interview, and Conversations with American Women Writers. An experienced author interviewer, Johnson shared that, “By asking the writers anything I wanted to know, I filled my writer’s toolbox so that the next time I sat down to write, I could address things that I didn’t have a way to look at before.”

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Interview With Writer Veronica Rossi

In art, author interview, books, editors, fiction, writing, young adult (YA) on June 14, 2014 at 11:17 am
Veronica Rossi. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2014).

Veronica Rossi. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2014).

An introduction to Veronica Rossi, author of the YA trilogy Under the Never Sky, Through the Ever Night, and Into the Still Blue (HarperCollins, 2014). This interview was done with the Rakestraw Books PG-14 Teen Advisory Board, whose thoughtful and fun questions spoke to the heart of Rossi’s work and delved into what life is like for a writer.

When asked about drawing from mythology or other stories and sources, Rossi made a great point about how things can be connected but still unique: “If you’re really writing something that your heart is in, and you’re working hard to be honest in your writing and not copying other ideas, then no one else can write that. It’s okay to borrow ideas, but borrow them and make them your own.” Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Ken LaZebnik

In author interview, directors, essays, film, nonfiction, plays, TV, writing on May 31, 2014 at 11:37 am
Ken LaZebnik. Photo courtesy of the author.

Ken LaZebnik. Photo courtesy of the author.

An introduction to Ken LaZebnik, author of Hollywood Digs (Kelly’s Cove Press, 2014), a book of essays. LaZebnik writes for television, film, and the theater.  His work includes collaborating with Garrison Keillor on Robert Altman’s last film, A Prairie Home Companion, many years of writing for hour-long television dramas, and ten plays. LaZebnik wrote the film Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage, which featured Peter O’Toole and Marcia Gay Harden, and was directed by Michael Campus. For television, he has written on series as varied as Touched By An Angel, Army Wives, When Calls The Heart, Providence, and Star Trek: Enterprise.   Read the rest of this entry »

Interviews With Poets

In author interview, National Poetry Month, poetry, writing on April 25, 2014 at 12:44 pm
Poets on Words With Writers. Photos by Marissa Bell Toffoli.

Poets on Words With Writers. Photos by Marissa Bell Toffoli.

Happy National Poetry Month! To celebrate, here are interviews with poets from the archives. Cheers!

Barry, Sebastian (2011)
Behm-Steinberg, Hugh (2010)
Bell, Virginia (2013)
Budbill, David (2012)
Day, Lucille Lang (2014)
Doyle, Caitlin (2011)
Drewes, Steffi (2010)
Duggan, Patrick (2012)
Flowers, Arthur (2011)
Foerster, Jennifer Elise (2013)
Harmon, Elliot (2011)
Hirshfield, Jane (2011) Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer & Artist Nick Bantock

In art, author interview, books, fiction, nonfiction, writing on February 3, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Nick Bantock. Photo by Yukiko Onley.

Nick Bantock. Photo by Yukiko Onley.

An introduction to Nick Bantock, author of the Griffin and Sabine books and a new book on creativity, The Trickster’s Hat (Perigree, 2014). In The Trickster’s Hat, Bantock shares exercises for writers and artists that explore elements of creativity such as where to begin, working from dreams and archetypes, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, silence, the unexpected, the mysterious, and more. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Lucille Lang Day

In author interview, books, editors, fiction, memoir, poetry, writing on January 24, 2014 at 3:52 pm
Lucille Lang Day

Lucille Lang Day. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2013).

An introduction to writer and editor Lucille Lang Day. She is the author of eight poetry collections, a number of short stories and creative nonfiction pieces, and the children’s book, Chain Letter. Her latest book, Married at Fourteen, won the 2013 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award in the category of memoir. Day holds an MA in English, an MFA in Creative Writing, an MA in Zoology, and a PhD in Science/Mathematics Education. She’s also the founder and director of a small press, Scarlet Tanager Books. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Antoine Laurain

In author interview, books, fiction, journalism, writing on October 3, 2013 at 8:22 am
Antoine Laurain. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2013).

Antoine Laurain. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2013).

An introduction to Antoine Laurain, author of the novel The President’s Hat (Gallic, 2013; originally Le Chapeau de Mitterrand). A fifth-generation Parisian, Laurain is a journalist, screenwriter, director, antiques collector, and novelist. His previous books include Ailleurs si j’y suis, Fume et tue, and Carrefour des Nostalgies. Talking with Laurain after he arrived in the US to begin his book tour, there was an air of excitement to the uncommonly sunny San Francisco day. A certain light shown through his personality befitting of the afternoon and the thoughtful playfulness behind The President’s Hat. There was already a hint of the surreal in the atmosphere before Laurain shared a story about the cover for the French edition of the book. After, there was nothing to do but marvel at how fiction and reality mingle in unexpected ways:  Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Duff Brenna

In author interview, books, fiction, memoir, nonfiction, short stories, writing on September 13, 2013 at 10:30 am
Duff Brenna

Duff Brenna. Photo courtesy of the author.

An introduction to Duff Brenna, author of nine books including The Book of Mamie, Minnesota Memoirs, and Murdering the Mom. He is a freelance writer and Professor Emeritus of English literature and creative writing at California State University, San Marcos. Brenna finds ideas for his own writing from reading, and also from talking to people: “I know how to listen when I’m with people. Stories often pop out of their mouths that I use to write my own version of what they were saying. I also use my own life.” Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Deanne Stillman

In author interview, books, essays, fiction, journalism, nonfiction, writing on August 16, 2013 at 11:58 am
Deanne Stillman

Deanne Stillman. Photo courtesy of the author.

An introduction to Deanne Stillman, author of Desert Reckoning: A Town Sheriff, A Mojave Hermit, and the Biggest Manhunt in Modern California History. Her previous books include Mustang and Twentynine Palms. Stillman is a member of the core faculty at the UC Riverside-Palm Desert Low Residency MFA Creative Writing Program. When asked how she balances content with form, Stillman shared, “Place drives everything; in my stories, the desert or the land shapes the story and the characters, and often is a character itself.”

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Interview With Writer Jennifer Elise Foerster

In author interview, books, poetry, writing on July 12, 2013 at 3:36 pm
Jennifer Elise Foerster

Jennifer Elise Foerster. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2013).

An introduction to Jennifer Elise Foerster, author of the debut poetry book Leaving Tulsa (University of Arizona Press, 2013). In a discussion of how and why she writes, Foerster described the magic of writing: “The mind is a great labyrinth, and when I write I feel like I’m in the labyrinth.” Foerster holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has received numerous fellowships and was Wallace Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University. Foerster’s poems have been anthologized in Sing, New California Writing 2011, and Turtle Island to Abya Yala. Read the rest of this entry »