Keeping her dad's belt around, and wearing it, is how Meg keeps her dad with her every day.

Dan Reads Books -- Interviews With Authors

Keepsake Ep. 1 Meg's Dad's Belt

Sarah Ockler writes fiction for young adults. Her latest, THE SUMMER OF CHASING MERMAIDS, is a contemporary retelling of The Little Mermaid, with nods to both the Hans Christian Andersen tale as well as the Disney version. We talk about her protagonist, who is black, and the issues of diversity in YA fiction as well as writing outside your own culture and immediate experience. The book looks at ways people -- especially young women -- lose their voice, both literally in this story, as well as in the deeper meanings beneath that idea suggests. Sarah also tells the exciting story about how she landed her first book deal in 2009. If you're a writer, you should hear it. It's pretty cool. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids is available in paperback beginning June 7. PRODUCER: EVAN JAMES

Sarah Ockler -- The Summer of Chasing Mermaids

Daniel Nester grew up in the Springsteen-esque suburb of Maple Shade, New Jersey. There, he discovered music, poetry, and his father's odd yen for conspiracy theories and get-rich-quick schemes. SHADER: 99 Notes on Car Washes, Making Out in Church, Grief, and Other Unlearnable Subjects, is his coming-of-age story about a music-obsessed Catholic boy in search of a new identity.

Daniel Nester -- SHADER

Pamela Skjolsvik (it's pronounced "SHOLES-vik") takes us along on her personal journey, learning how to deal with death, but also how to better manage in the world of the living. Along the way, she meets a man who cleans up after suicides, she trains with hospice volunteers, and befriends a death row inmate weeks before his execution. She also has to figure out how to fire her hairdresser, and take a road trip with a feral cat. READ MY BOOK REVIEW: https://danreadsbooks.com/2016/05/03/ep-2-pamela-skjolsvik-on-facing-death-and-fear-and-bad-haircuts/ BUY THE BOOK: http://www.amazon.com/Death-Becomes-Us-Pamela-Skjolsvik/dp/1519147414/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= @dan_higgins danreadsbooks.com

Pamela Skjolsvik -- Death Becomes Us

The creative process "is more methodical than people think it is," says Rebecca Heyman. Our first guest has been a professional freelance editor for ten years. She's based in Boston, and is the founder and director of The Work Conference, a boutique writer's conference that met for the first time In New York City in March of 2016. Engineer: Evan James https://twitter.com/RFaithEditorial https://twitter.com/theworkconf http://rebeccafaitheditorial.com/

Rebecca Heyman -- Creativity Needs a Container

Interviewing authors about writing and creativity.

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Dan Reads Books -- Interviews With Authors

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