Writing

Novelist and memoirist Susan Cheever never thought she'd follow in her father John Cheever's footsteps as a writer. Drawing on the memories of his final days, her newest book, Doctors and Women, deals with cancer patients and their families.

James Crumley's increasingly popular mystery novels feature the detective Milo Milodragovitch, who is as flawed as the criminals he pursues. Unlike the urban settings of classic hard-boiled fiction, his books take place in Montana.

John Nichols' new novel dwells on the horrors of the Vietnam War. Earlier in life, he moved to New Mexico to work as a political activist. Those experiences were the basis of his popular New Mexico Trilogy.

Writers Michael Dorris and Louise Erdrich work together to complete their acclaimed books; however, whoever writes the first draft gets their name on the cover. The couple joins Fresh Air to discuss their marriage and upbringing in Native American communities.

Kati Marton's new autobiographical novel follows the life of journalist who returns to her home country. Like the book's protagonist, Marton's parents were political prisoners in Hungary. She is married to television news anchor Peter Jennings.

The white South African writer hopes that her works have educated her readers about the realities of apartheid in her home country. Her newest book is called A Sport of Nature.

Nicholas Proffitt's book Garden of Stone, inspired by his ceremonial role in the Army during the Vietnam War, was recently adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola.

British novelist Julian Barnes takes great pleasure in quoting bad writing, as well as how words often fail to convey their intended meaning. His new book is called Staring at the Sun.

Diane Johnson's first novel in eight years deals with an American woman's affair during the Iranian revolution. She joins Fresh Air to talk about writing biographies and screenplays and why it took her so long to finish her newest book.

Novelist William Kennedy and his son Brendan collaborated on a children's book called Charlie Malarkey and the Belly-Button. Despite the elder Kennedy's success as a novelist, the two received a series of rejections before finally getting their work published. Kennedy also talks about his recent work as a screenwriter.

Broadcast journalist Robert MacNeil is producing a new television series called The Story of English, which examines how the language is changing. His experience working in three Anglophone countries--Canada, England, and the United States--has given him unique insights into the subject. He joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to talk about his experiences as a journalist in conflict zones, as well as his start in television broadcasting.

Spencer joins Fresh Air to talk about how became a writer and what life is like now that he's established himself. His newest book, Waking the Dead, grapples with ideas of loss -- a theme prominent in his breakout novel, Endless Love.

Robert Stone's novels explore the drug culture of the 1960s and the Vietnam War--both of which he lived through. Often associated with Ken Kesey's LSD-fueled Merry Band of Pranksters, Stone now lives a quiet life in New England.

Early in his adult life, the writer believed that the narrow worldview of his Hasidic upbringing was at odds with his ambition to become a writer. Potok, however, is still very much tied to the Jewish tradition, which he explores in his novels.

Spencer joins Fresh Air to talk about how became a writer and what life is like now that he's established himself. His newest book, Waking the Dead, grapples with ideas of loss -- a theme prominent in his breakout novel, Endless Love.

Novelist Kurt Vonnegut discusses his writing, and his work defending the intellectual freedom of writers in America and abroad.

Philadelphia native and novelist Martin Cruz Smith is best known for his 1981 film "Gorky Park." Prior to that work, Cruz Smith had written about 35 genre novels under various pseudonyms. His latest novel, "Stallion Gate," is set in Los Alamos, New Mexico during the development of the atom bomb. The novel's main character is a Native American who boxes and plays jazz and is the driver and bodyguard for J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Robert Parker is a writer of detective and crime novels. His latest work "Valediction" is the eleventh book in the author's "Spenser" series of novels. Parker joins the show to discuss his work and detective and crime fiction and films.

"Seaview" is Toby Olson's second novel, and has been nominated for a Penn/Faulkner Award. The novel follows a golf hustler and dying woman who travel across the U. S. Olson is also well known as a poet, especially in the Philadelphia where he is an active member of the "poetry scene." Olson teaches at Temple University where he is developing a Master's degree program in creative writing.

Norman Mailer is a journalist, novelist, and essayist whose latest novel is "Ancient Evenings." Mailer delivers a talk on "The Problem of Writing" at the University of Pennsylvania.