We're often presented with binary choices. You can be this or you can be that -- but you can't be both. You can't be all things to all people. You can't serve both God and Mamon. You can only fool some of the people some of the time. You get the idea. Well, not everyone … Continue reading Digressing with Ming Holden

Chris .J. Farley has written five novels and several biographies and other books of non-fiction. He’s also an executive editor at Audible. One of the fascinating things about Chris is that he's such a polymath (except, I think, when it comes to sports). He's as comfortable talking about his relationship with Beyonce as he is … Continue reading Digressing with Chris J. Farley

Lance Olsen is the author of Skin Elegies (Dzanc Books), and a smart, fascinating, and sweetheart of a guy who splits his time between Utah and Idaho with his artist wife Andi. During our podcast, we talked about the landscape and ecology of writing that doesn't come from the top-5 New York-based publishers, and how … Continue reading Digressing with Lance Olsen

I just dropped a new episode of "But I Digress" (How Writers Make it Work) with the amazing Nick Kolakowski. I've always admired Nick, loved his writing, and been curious about his professional and artistic journey. I'm very grateful he agreed to do this podcast, which I think you'll find very interesting. A few of … Continue reading Digressing with Nick Kolakowski

We're lucky to have Sheila Kohler. She's a brilliant storyteller, a mordant observer of human character, and a real tough cookie. And I mean that in the kindest way possible. She truly believes that the best thing we can do is teach one another what we know -- as if perhaps the true vocation of … Continue reading Digressing with Sheila Kohler

Please check out my digression with poet, novelist, and short story writer Michele Herman. An adopted New Yorker, she shares how she has manages to live in one of the most expensive cities on earth without either a trust fund, a Wall Street salary or a sugar daddy -- all while raising a family, being … Continue reading Digressing with Michele Herman

Many years ago, in the aftermath of a Gigantic launch party, I ran into Annie DeWitt on a Manhattan-bound F train. The magazine was called Gigantic, it published only tiny stories, and Annie was one of its hugely talented founding editors. She was a force of nature then, and she’s a force of nature now. … Continue reading Digressions with Annie DeWitt

One of the most interesting things about my conversation with Lincoln Michel was our discussion of genre fiction – not because he’s a “genre writer” but because he’s a “genre-bending” writer. The funny thing is that he talked about the odd segregation between genre and literary writers, genre and literary awards, and genre and literary … Continue reading Digressing with Lincoln Michel

My first podcast episode of But I Digress is now live! Michael Gottlieb, the author of more than 20 books, joins me to talk about the role of art in life, which he says is "to help us live our lives." He talks about New York, the hidden New York, how poets live their lives, … Continue reading But I Digress… with Michael Gottlieb

The lines between fiction and memoir are often blurred. This is problematic for anyone who writes and still has loved ones! I'm grateful to the blogger Tim Ferris for providing this timely quote, as I try to find an agent for The Factory: A Novel Based on a True Holocaust Story. “A writer—and, I believe, … Continue reading On Borges, Fiction’s Clay and Purpose