Joan Frank joins Suzanne M. Lang on A Novel Idea (Aired: November 29, 2020)

image005image004Northern California writer Joan Frank is a woman who quotes Dorothy Parker with ease and whose conversations are as good as her books. Joan’s published her third book of 2020; The Outlook for Earthlings is a stunning work of prose and an insightful look into lives over time and experience. Joan Frank joins Suzanne M. Lang in conversation.

A Novel Idea airs on the first and fifth Sundays of every month at 10:00 am on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org /Download the FREE KRCB mobile app @ iTunes & Google Play!

(Photos: Courtesy of the author)

 

 

A Novel Idea

July 01, 2022

Amy Edelstein and Kathleen C. Stone on A Novel Idea - Sunday at 10am

Inner strength and agency over our lives is what we explore with Amy Edelstein, whose book is Adventure in Zanskar, a young woman’s solitary journey to reach physical and metaphysical heights, her story of solo trekking in one of the highest and remotest parts of northern India, the Zanskar Valley.…
June 03, 2022

Barbara Graham and Caitlin Hamilton Summie on A Novel Idea (Aired: June 5, 2020)

Best-selling nonfiction author Barbara Graham and award winner Caitlin Hamilton Summie join Suzanne M. Lang in conversation on their novels. Both women are longtime writers, steeped in the literary life, yet each has just published a first novel. Graham’s What Jonah Knew is a psychological thriller…
May 27, 2022

Neal Thompson and Connie Hertzberg Mayo on A Novel Idea (Aired: May 29, 2022)

The Late 19th Century tells us as much about ourselves as looking in the mirror. Two writers explore the late 19th century, though one writes fiction and the other nonfiction, their methods of steeping themselves and their work in period detail is striking. Neal Thompson joins Suzanne Lang with his…
April 28, 2022

Poet/novelists Andrei Codrescu and Barbara Quick on A Novel Idea (

Long-time NPR commentator, editor of Exquisite Corpse, novelist, and poet Andrei Codrescu joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his life, writing, and language. His upcoming works include a collection of pandemic poetry, Too Late for Nightmares, and one of his earliest novels —revisited by his…
April 01, 2022

Greg Sarris and Julene Bair on A Novel Idea (Aired: April 3, 2022)

Story, memory, place, and water converges with our two guests. Suzanne Lang is joined by Greg Sarris, author, educator and Tribal Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. Greg talks about his book Becoming Story, A Journey among Seasons, Places, Trees, and Ancestors. Julene Bair talks…
Mar 03, 2019

Michael Morey – March 3, 2019

Author and independent historian Michael Morey’s book, Fagen: An African American Renegade in the Philippine-American War, unpacks American…
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Dec 02, 2018

Thomas E. Cochrane – December 2, 2018

Oil makes the world go round and geologist Thomas E. Cochrane delivers candid and lively remembrances of his life and experience in the American…
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Oct 24, 2018

Susan Hand Shetterly – October 7, 2018

Seaweed. It plays a vital role in ocean ecology, and also in our health and diet, and in our local and global economies. Seaweed Chronicles: A World…
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Sep 30, 2018

Gregory Couch – October 1, 2018

Gregory Crouch joins Suzanne M. Lang in conversation on his epic western history of California wealth and the Comstock Lode, bringing focus to one of…
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Aug 05, 2018

Jonah Raskin – August 5, 2018

Jonah Raskin has a large and ranging body of non-fiction books and articles and now has come out with a detective fiction of a different order, Dark…
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Jul 29, 2018

Bruce Holbert – July 30, 2018

San Francisco’s City Lights Bookstore, the landmark independent bookstore founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin, recently…
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Jul 01, 2018

Brad Herzog – July 1, 2018

A timely encore presentation of Rosemary Manchester in conversation with Brad Herzog, collaborator on Carolyn Goodman’s memoir, My Mantelpiece: a…
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Apr 01, 2018

Bruce Holbert – April 1, 2018

To celebrate the release of Bruce Holbert’s third novel, Whiskey, here is a reprise of two previous conversations between Bruce and Suzanne M Lang on…
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Nov 13, 2017

Jeffrey Miller – January 31, 2016

This episode of KRCB’s A Novel Idea is an “encore” presentation of a favorite broadcast, originally broadcast in 2010, featuring Andre Codrescu and…
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Nov 13, 2017

Eva Rutland – March 6, 2016

To honor Black History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8th) we present Rosemary Manchester with an encore presentation of a show featuring…
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Nov 13, 2017

Abby Geni, Lewis deSoto – April 3, 2016

Big Nature, Big California The Farallon Islands, remote and mysterious, is the setting of Abby Geni’s novel of nature and mystery, The Lightkeepers.…
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Nov 13, 2017

Wendy E. Simmons – July 4, 2016

Wendy E. Simmons is a world traveler. Not a novice. Not a pushover. Her trip to North Korea challenged every bit of her perceptions of herself and…
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Nov 13, 2017

Kenneth Wishnia – August 7, 2016

Mystery writer Kenneth Wishnia joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his latest novel, The Fifth Servant, which is set in 1592 Prague, where a young…
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Nov 13, 2017

William Luvaas – September 4, 2016

William Luvaas, NEA grant recipient who has been recognized for his short stories and novels alike, joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his third…
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Nov 13, 2017

Meg Waite Clayton – October 2, 2016

New York Time’s bestselling author Meg Waite Clayton joins Suzanne M. Lang in conversation about The Race for Paris, Clayton’s compelling novel of…
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Nov 13, 2017

Heather Lyn Mann – April 3, 2017

15,000 nautical miles, six years, and a world of insight ….Heather Lyn Mann joins Suzanne Lang in conversation about Heather’s journey as expressed…
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Nov 13, 2017

Gary Soto, Gerald Haslam – May 7, 2017

Encore presentation of a 2013 broadcast features Suzanne Lang in conversation with author and poet Gary Soto and Rosemary Manchester talking with…
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Nov 13, 2017

Peter Afrasiabi – October 1, 2017

Top intellectual property and entertainment lawyer Peter Afrasiabi joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his recent book Burning Bridges, America’s…
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Nov 13, 2017

J. Jaye Gold – October 29, 2017

J. Jaye Gold has been a hustler and gambler in his life, but sought a new way of being in his that lead him on a journey around the globe, and
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