The Mount Kisco Library Podcast

Carrie Ryan's debut novel, "The Forest of Hands and Teeth," has become an instant hit, and will be made into a movie next year, possibly starring Kristen Stewart. In this 35 minute episode of the Mount Kisco Library podcast, Deirdre and Maria talk to Carrie about her book, her inspirations, and her writing process. We then discuss reader reception of her heroine, Mary, and the other characters in Carrie has created. Carrie also tells us about giving up her career as a lawyer in order to become a full time writer. Carrie ends her talk with us by expressing the hope that she can help inspire young people to read, to write, and to create.

In this episode, Megan talks to us about animals and pets, food, the political and religious structures in her novels, and whether she bases any of her characters on real-life people. We also discuss how people choose their careers, and how Megan became a writer. We digress, briefly, on the topic of libraries and librarianship -- especially Reader's Advisory and Cataloging. We also talk about geography, maps, and making maps for novels.

Deirdre and Maria of the Mount Kisco Library, and Mary of the North Castle Library, speak with acclaimed author Megan Whalen Turner. Megan talks about her creative process, how she names her characters, how she constructs her plots, and why she will not answer questions about her books. She reveals why her characters never take her by surprise -- she expects them to be inconsistent, like real people, and does not assume that she knows everything about them. WARNING this interview does contain some spoilers for Megan's first three "Queen's Thief" books.
Many thanks to Megan for this wonderful interview!
We would also like to thank The Illiad for our opening song, and Cursor Miner for our closing song. The song illustrating the Thief's name is "Hey Eugene," from the album of the same name by Pink Martini.
The "Sounis" community referred to in the podcast is here: http://community.livejournal.com/sounis
You can find out more about Megan and her books at her web site, http://home.att.net/~mwturner/, as well as in the next episode of this podcast.

In this 33.5 minute episode, Maria and Deirdre interview 2009 debutante author, Saundra Mitchell. We discuss her book, "Shadowed Summer," her writing process, regional literature and language, ghosts and ghost hunting. Saundra also provides fascinating insights into publishing and marketing. Finally, she tells us about two more suspense /mystery novels she has written that will be published soon.
Opening music: "Are You A Librarian," by The Illiad
Closing music: "The Library," by Cursor Miner
Debutantes website: www.feastofawesome.com

In this episode, we talk to "Nanny Diary" authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus about their creative process and their latest novel, "The Real Real." Emma and Nicola field questions from some local readers, and conclude their visit by reading a passage from "The Real Real." The episode is 29.36 minutes long.

Many thanks to Emma and Nicola, to the Mt. Kisco audience for their great questions, to Kyle and The Illiad for our opening song, and to Cursor Miner for our closing song.

In this episode, Maria and Deirdre interview Fidencia Solomon, whose poem, "Looking for Change," was published in Seventeen magazine when she was fifteen. Her poem has since been republished, both in print and online, and has gained a whole new readership. Fidencia tells us how she happened to write the poem, and gives us some good tips on how to write what you love and love what you write! Here is the text of her poem.

LOOKING FOR CHANGE

I run into a phone booth,
digging through my coat pockets
for some change.

Instead I pull out
a handful of old gum wrappers
and a stale Hershey bar
that I never got around to eating.

Three unemployed hairpins
that once kept the hair off my face.

A note I meant to send
to my best friend,
unopened ketchup packets
from recent binges at Mickey D's.

A shiny gold locket
with a broken clasp
…and a broken heart.…

I find a tissue to wipe away
a single tear
running down my cheek,
and still no change.

— Fidencia Solomon, age 15, Brooklyn, New York

In this episode, we interview Gaby Biederman, a local teenager whose poetry has been published in a novel. We talk about what can inspire young people's creativity, and about the importance of finding a genre you really love. We also hear a song, "Frozen," by Amy Snow, of "Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons."

Thanks to Gaby and Juliana for the interview, and to The Iliad, Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons, and Cursor Miner for our music.

We discuss first time author R.J. Anderson's "Spellhunter" series. R.J. reveals some of the subtleties of her novel. She also talks about the writing process, the persistence it takes to get published, and what we can look forward to in her next books!

We conclude with some library news, including Summer Reading club information.

Many thanks to R.J. Anderson, and to The Illiad for our theme song, and Cursor Miner for our closing song.

In this episode, Maria and Deirdre focus on storytelling, to get listeners ready for the Sunflower Story Arts festival, which will be taking place in Mount Kisco over Memorial Day weekend. They also present three examples of stories: 1. Courtesy of storynory.com, "The Monkey and the Boar," told by Natasha. 2. "The Blackbird," a story song written and performed by Mary 3. "The Legend of the Sword," a short story by G.K. Chesterton, read by Deirdre.

We hope you enjoy this episode, and we would love to see you at the festival this weekend!

Many thanks to Hugh and Natasha of Storynory for the wonderful Japanese story, Kyle and the Illiad for our opening song, and Cursor Miner for our closing song.

And, don't forget! Visit your local library for all your storytelling and information needs!

Deirdre and Maria of the Mount Kisco Library talk with Kristin Cashore, author of "Graceling," about her novel, her writing process, her upcoming books, and her ideas on YA literature.