Libsyn Directory

112 | Choosing to have children as a creative with Dinuka McKenzie and Lee Kofman

Release Date: 03/11/2025

114 | Bonus ep! Winter Writing Retreat with Lynne Ainsworth

James and Ashley Stay at Home

Lynne Ainsworth is the founder of Writers at the Woolshed, an emerging writer, and a person who 'loves hanging out with people who read and write'. She loves it so much, she not only created a pop-up festival to connect authors with regional readers and writers, she's now hosting the first Winter Writing Retreat, featuring masterclasses with Eleanor Limprecht, Betty O'Neil, Audrey Molloy, Ashley Kalagian Blunt and Lee Kofman (from eps 3, 76 and 112). In this special bonus episode, Lynne tells us how she first became a festival director, and shares details of the...

113 | Rewriting your stalker with Pip Drysdale, author of 'The Close-Up'

James and Ashley Stay at Home

How does having a stalker change your life? We talk with bestselling novelist Pip Drysdale about her latest novel 'The Close-Up,' its real-life inspirations, and how surviving a stalker shifted her worldview. We also discuss how to navigate public image and the role anxiety has to play in creative pursuits. Plus, this ep's What Are You Reading? inspires a debate about what's derivative and what's inspired, and if those can be the same thing. . Pip Drysdale is an author, musician and actor. She grew up in Africa, Canada, and Australia, became an adult in New York and...

112 | Choosing to have children as a creative with Dinuka McKenzie and Lee Kofman

James and Ashley Stay at Home

What considerations come into choosing to have a baby for creatives? And once baby enters the picture, how do you balance parenting with your creative practice? We ask Dinuka McKenzie and Lee Kofman, two beloved past guests who happen to be both authors and parents, about their decision to have children and how they manage their writing lives as parents. Plus, James has a big announcement – you'll never guess what it is. Lee Kofman is a Russian-born, Israeli-Australian memoirist, novelist, editor and writing coach. She’s the author of three fiction books and two memoirs,...

111 | Surviving second book syndrome - James and Ashley talk 'Cold Truth'

James and Ashley Stay at Home

Cold Truth, Ashley's new thriller, is out now. James and Ashley discuss just how difficult writing this book was, plus why she chose to set in a city that makes headlines for being colder than the surface of Mars. They also chat about real-life research, including the time Ashley learned how to pick a lock with a credit card. Plus, James horrifies Ashley with a true story about digital privacy. Cold Truth is , your and your library. Books & authors discussed in this episode: Everyone and Everything by Nadine Cohen My Dream Time by Ash Barty Upcoming events: ...

110 | Back to the 90s with Michelle See-Tho, author of 'Jade and Emerald'

James and Ashley Stay at Home

'I always knew I wanted to write a novel, but I didn’t have any ideas that I thought could extend to a novel-length work.' In episode 110, Michelle See-Tho shares her journey from aspiring writer to winner of the 2023 Penguin Literary Prize for her debut novel, Jade and Emerald. Though she started out writing short stories and video game reviews, she discusses how drawing on inspiration from her own life, including her passion for video games, helped her shape the world of her novel. Michelle See-Tho is a freelance writer and copywriter. She has had articles and stories published...

109 | What have we read? Every book recommendation from 2024

James and Ashley Stay at Home

Here it is - the annual end-of-year book recommendation extravaganza! This bumper episode contains every single edition of 'What are you reading?' from 2024, in which James, Ashley and guests discuss the books on their shelves, and why you should read them too (or not). Use it as a last-minute Christmas shopping guide or a wishlist for your own personal library in 2025. Books and authors discussed in this episode (brace yourself, this is a long list): From episode 92 (Kylie Ladd, author of 'I'll Leave You With This') The Vitals by Tracy Sorensen (Kylie) The Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove...

108 | Compelling, subversive, beautiful: the books we loved most in 2024

James and Ashley Stay at Home

It's that time of year again - the annual Bed on a Plinth Awards, in which James and Ashley discuss the best books they've read in the last twelve months! Use this particularly eclectic list to gather Christmas gift ideas, or simply top up your own 'to be read' pile. Books & authors discussed in this episode (spoilers below!): Red River Road by Anna Downes The Last Trace by Petronella McGovern An Ambush of Widows by R.W.R. McDonald (audiobook) Seventeen Years Later by JP Pomare Girl Falling by Hayley Scrivenor The Pulling by Adele Dumont (interviewed in episode 93) Nuclear War by...

107 | Living with dissociative identity disorder/multiple personality disorder with Maggie Walters, author of 'Split'

James and Ashley Stay at Home

'It's not a mental illness. It's actually a creative coping mechanism.' What's it like to discover other people living in your own head? In Maggie Walters' debut memoir, she describes her life with dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder (which remains Maggie's preferred term). After surviving years of abuse as a child, Maggie now lives with 40 alters and has spent much of her adulthood learning to understand herself, as well as how to share her experience with others. In episode 107, she describes living with her alters, how she wrote her memoir,...

106 | The worst decision ever with Richell-Prize-winner Simone Amelia Jordan

James and Ashley Stay at Home

'That was the most naive, worst decision I've ever made in my life, because the disease came back with a vengeance.' In episode 106, Ashley speaks to award-winning memoirist Simone Amelia Jordan about the career that took her from Australia to New York City, and the health crisis that changed everything. We also speak about family heritage and family support, and how writing a memoir helped Simone recover herself and reinvent her career. Simone Amelia Jordan is Australia's most successful hip-hop journalist, with a career spanning print, radio, TV and digital media. At...

105 | Finding community with author and artist Arna Radovich

James and Ashley Stay at Home

In ep 105, James and Ashley interview Arna Radovich, the author of Limits of Forgetting, a collection of stories interwoven with themes of memory, grief and reflection. Arna shares insights into how her own experiences provide the background for her fiction, and how she found the resolve to release her collection after the loss of her husband. We also delve into Arna's multifaceted creative practice, which spans poetry, prose, fiction and nonfiction for both children and adults. We discuss her dedication to both evolving her practice and contributing to her artistic community, affirming how...

More Episodes

What considerations come into choosing to have a baby for creatives? And once baby enters the picture, how do you balance parenting with your creative practice?

We ask Dinuka McKenzie and Lee Kofman, two beloved past guests who happen to be both authors and parents, about their decision to have children and how they manage their writing lives as parents.

Plus, James has a big announcement – you'll never guess what it is.

Lee Kofman is a Russian-born, Israeli-Australian memoirist, novelist, editor and writing coach. She’s the author of three fiction books and two memoirs, including Imperfect, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Nib Literary Award in 2019. Her short works have been widely published in Australia, US, UK, Israel and Canada. Lee’s most recent book is The Writer Laid Bare (Ventura Press).

Dinuka is the author of the Detective Kate Miles crime series, The Torrent, Taken and Tipping Point, published in Australia and the UK. She was the winner of the 2020 HarperCollins Australia Banjo Prize and has been shortlisted for numerous major Australian crime writing awards. Dinuka lives with her family in Southern Sydney on Dharawal country.

Mascara Literary Review is looking for essays, flash fiction and poetry from disabled and chronically ill writers – closes 31 March.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

Cyril Connolly
The Lady's Handbook to Her Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey
Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko
At the Strangers' Gate by Adam Gopnik
Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart
Your Baby Doesn't Come with a Book by Daniel Golshevsky
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

Upcoming events

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library.

Learn more about James's award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

ashleykalagianblunt.com
jamesmckenziewatson.com
Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

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