Elizabeth Wetmore on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
Debut novelist Elizabeth Wetmore joins Marrie Stone for the hour to talk about her novel, Valentine. On the morning after Valentine's Day, 1976, a 14-year old Hispanic girl
turns up on the doorstep of a ranch house outside Odessa, Texas after
being brutally raped in the oilfields. What follows is the portrait of a
Texas oil town—with all its complexity, racism, and heartbreak—as told
by seven of the town's women.
Elizabeth talks about the book's origins, bringing this town to life, and the fully realized and complicated women who won't leave your mind well after the book is done. She also shares writing wisdom she accumulated both from life, working a long series of various jobs, as well as from her professors at the Iowa Writers Workshop. She talks about the big questions—writing from the POV of other cultures and the importance of asking for help. She also discusses the smaller stylistic decisions: not using quotations marks, choosing tense and POV, and keeping notebooks. There's so much wisdom and inspiration in this hour.
Download audio.
(Broadcast date: April 29, 2020)
Elizabeth talks about the book's origins, bringing this town to life, and the fully realized and complicated women who won't leave your mind well after the book is done. She also shares writing wisdom she accumulated both from life, working a long series of various jobs, as well as from her professors at the Iowa Writers Workshop. She talks about the big questions—writing from the POV of other cultures and the importance of asking for help. She also discusses the smaller stylistic decisions: not using quotations marks, choosing tense and POV, and keeping notebooks. There's so much wisdom and inspiration in this hour.
Download audio.
(Broadcast date: April 29, 2020)