Interview: Best-Selling Author Pam Houston On Contents That May Have Shifted

Pam and Dante in the San Juan Mountains, CO.

By Anita Jones

TWITTER: @pam_houston

Pam Houston, known for her cowboy-loving and adventure-seeking novels, lives in her own paradise on this remote Colorado ranch at 9,000 feet near the headwaters of the Rio Grande. And she brings that natural world with her wherever she goes. She recently kicked off the book tour for her new novel, Contents May Have Shifted, and I had the pleasure of interviewing her before her talk at Book Passage, in Corte Madera, CA.

“It is so obvious for me to write autobiographically and then to shape it into a story…it’s like breathing or eating.”  Pam Houston

Contents is her fifth book coming after two collections of best-selling short stories, Cowboys Are My Weakness and Waltzing the Cat.  Once you talk with Pam for a few minutes you soon understand that her job as a writer is to experience the world and come back to write truthfully about her observations.  On top of that, Pam is very easy to talk to. We laughed a lot!…

Interview: Tiger Mom Author Amy Chua One Year After The Uproar

By Stacey Gualandi

A year ago, Amy Chua’s controversial memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, ignited a firestorm when she dared to tackle the subject of raising a family.  This Yale law professor has been called mother-of-the-year by some and vilified by others.

“It’s just about believing in your children and teaching them that they are capable of so much more than they think…”    Amy Chua

Many moms believed that the book implied that Chinese mothers were superior to American mothers.  Well, you’d think she’d started World War III.  I’m exaggerating, but Amy did touch on a very big nerve.  Now her controversial book is available in paperback.  Recently, I was delighted to talk to Amy on “The Women’s Eye Radio Show” to find out if, a year later,  the dust has settled.  Here’s an excerpt of that interview…   

Interview: Singer-Songwriter Tracy Newman On Ellen, Ageism And Being A Late Bloomer

Photo: Jeff Fasano

By Stacey Gualandi

At 63, Tracy Newman went from award-winning TV writer to fledgling singer-songwriter.  Tracy was a founding member of the improv troupe  The Groundlings with her sister and Saturday Night Live alum, Laraine Newman.   She had won an Emmy and a Peabody for co-writing the “coming out” episode of Ellen.  She wrote for Cheers; and she co-created According to Jim.

But just when most people start thinking retirement, Tracy did a rewrite on her career.  Now she tours all over the country with her band, The Reinforcements,  and is currently working on her second CD.

In the 60’s, she scored a significant song publishing deal and even appeared on The Tonight Show.   By returning now to music, Tracy is now proving age is just a number.   I caught up with Tracy between gigs recently to find out why she made the tough decision to return to her first love and whether or not you can start over…