The Resilient Writers Radio Show

• How to Tell the Truth in Your Novel, with Shani Mootoo

  Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show.If you’ve ever wondered how a writer turns the messiness of lived experience into a story readers can’t put down, this conversation with Shani Mootoo will light you up. Shani—novelist, poet, and visual artist—joins me to talk about her newest book, Starry Starry Night, a work that took root more than 35 years ago and slowly transformed from raw, private pages into a fiercely crafted novel.Shani shares how, in her early years, she was primarily a visual artist and video maker with zero intention of writing. Still, she found herself “brooding,” jotting things down that troubled her. Those notes eventually turned into about 65 pages—never meant for public eyes—until a mentor quietly slipped them to a publisher. What followed was a career of nine books (including one of my all-time favorites Cereus Blooms at Night!), poetry, awards, and the long apprenticeship required to write this book the way it needed to be written.We talk about the slippery line people call “auto-fiction” and why that label can be too reductive. Shani describes the deliberate choice to keep the narrator’s point of view rooted in childhood—from ages four to twelve—without letting her adult intelligence step in to explain. That decision demanded astonishing restraint: a child doesn’t analyze; she perceives, and those perceptions must carry the weight of the story. Shani also reflects on the power (and difficulty) of “becoming every character,” including the abuser in Cereus Blooms at Night, to portray complex human beings rather than one-note villains.You’ll hear how attention to language—word choice, sentence placement, even a single comma—reshaped Shani’s understanding of the story over time. We touch on family, secrecy, memory, and the tender urge to honor the child we once were. There’s a beautiful moment about her father’s final encouragement—“Don’t censor yourself”—and what that permission unlocked. We also talk about epigraphs, photographs (yes, there are real family photos in the book), and how visual art and writing cross-pollinate in her creative life.If you care about voice, point of view, and truth-telling on the page, this episode is for you.

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• Craft, Perseverance, and In the Bear’s House, with Bruce Hunter

  Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show.If you’ve ever wondered how your personal history and lived experiences might shape the stories you write, this conversation with novelist and poet Bruce Hunter will move and inspire you.Bruce joins Rhonda to talk about the re-release of his award-winning novel In the Bear’s House (Frontenac House, 2024)—a powerful story set in 1950s and ’60s Alberta about a young mother raising her deaf son, told through two unforgettable points of view.Born in Calgary on Treaty Seven lands, Bruce was deafened as an infant and has lived with low vision most of his life. His path to becoming a writer was anything but ordinary: he worked as a laborer, equipment operator, and Zamboni driver before earning a poetry scholarship to the Banff School of Fine Arts, where he studied with W.O. Mitchell and Irving Layton.In this heartfelt discussion, Bruce shares how his lived experience shaped both the mother and son in In the Bear’s House—and why empathy, patience, and craftsmanship matter more to him than speed. He also opens up about the deep research that went into the novel, including his discovery of family connections with the Stoney Nakoda people and the true story of a friendship pipe that became a symbol of reconciliation.Rhonda and Bruce talk about:Writing from multiple points of view and why he nearly abandoned the novel halfway through.How In the Bear’s House was translated into Italian before the English edition came out.The importance of place, memory, and sensory detail when writing about the Kootenay Plains.Balancing historical accuracy with emotional truth.The resilience it takes to stay creative across decades.Bruce’s reflections on deafness, isolation, and finding one’s voice—both literally and artistically—make this a moving and unforgettable conversation.Whether you’re deep in your first draft or revisiting work from years ago, this episode reminds us that storytelling is an act of endurance, curiosity, and care.Links mentioned:In the Bear’s House by Bruce Hunter — Frontenac House (2024 edition)Bruce’s website.

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• How to Dictate Your Book, with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

  Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show.If you’ve ever ended a writing day with sore wrists, tight shoulders, and a brain that feels like mush, this conversation is for you. In this episode, I’m joined by my friend Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer—author of 19 books and the creator of two signature programs: Fiction Writing: American Indians (for writing authentic stories that honor Native history and culture) and the Dictation Bootcamp for authors. You may know Sarah from Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn podcast, Jane Friedman’s blog, or Writer’s Digest. She’s generous, practical, and wildly encouraging about helping writers write more comfortably and consistently.Sarah didn’t become a “natural” dictator overnight. In fact, she tried and failed multiple times—starting back in 2013 with Dragon Anywhere—before finding a simple routine that stuck. The turning point? A kitchen-sink moment when a full backstory scene arrived in her head and she spoke it into her phone while doing the dishes. Twenty minutes later she had ~1,500 words that would have otherwise vanished. That one experiment led her to dictate an entire novel, and since then she’s dictated 14 books (11 already published, with more on the way). Her writing speed doubled, but more importantly, she built a healthier, more sustainable practice.In this episode, you’ll hear about:Why dictation isn’t just about speed—it’s about sustainability, creativity, and capturing scenes before they disappear.Practical ways to dictate (curled up on the couch, during a morning routine, on a walk, or at your desk).How to start messy on purpose so your brain learns the new skill without shutting down.The three biggest beginner mistakes—and how to avoid them.About the Dictation Bootcamp: Sarah’s four-day Bootcamp is intentionally beginner-friendly. We start with a casual “pre-party,” then three days of step-by-step training. Day 1 is simply getting your existing device to work (no fancy setup required). Day 2 builds confidence with an easy, low-pressure exercise. Day 3 guides you into dictating your first scene of fiction. There’s community support for device quirks (PC, Mac, Android, iPhone) and simple workflows into your writing software (e.g., Scrivener or Atticus). The goal isn’t to finish a novel in a weekend—it’s to lower the bar so you can take your first real steps.Join Me! I’m signing up for Sarah’s Dictation Bootcamp, and I’d love for you to come with me. Even if you decide it’s not your forever tool, you’ll finish knowing exactly how to make dictation work for your writing life. Click the link above and let’s try this together.

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• Writing Historical Speculative, with Aamir Hussain

  Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show.Welcome back to another episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show!This week, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Aamir Hussain, whose debut novel Under the Full and Crescent Moon is officially out in the world. This is no ordinary debut. It’s a speculative historical novel that asks a bold and fascinating question: Could there be a Muslim matriarchy—and what would that world look like?The story follows Khadija, a young woman growing up in the imagined city of Madid al-Agham, where faith, politics, and the law intertwine. Over the course of 11 transformative months, Khadija becomes a mufti—a scholar and writer of fatwas. She’s pulled into debates, courtroom-style conflicts, and life-changing choices, all while negotiating family ties, mentorship, and an intellectual rival who challenges her beliefs and authority.Aamir shares with us how this novel took root. Raised in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and later the Greater Toronto Area, he experienced different expressions of Islam firsthand. After 9/11, he saw the faith misrepresented online—flattened into stereotypes. That disconnect led him to years of research into Islamic history and law, and eventually into the story that became Under the Full and Crescent Moon.We talk about: ✨ The long road to this debut—from early prologue drafts in 2015 to a finished manuscript in 2022. ✨ Writing on Toronto’s TTC and GO Train during his daily commute. ✨ Balancing heavy research with a compelling narrative (and how his editor, Julia Kim, helped cut 40,000 words!). ✨ The challenge of writing a female protagonist with honesty and respect—and how early readers gave him confidence in Khadija’s voice. ✨ What it means to show, not tell, when weaving faith, politics, and history into fiction.What struck me most in this conversation is Aamir’s hope for readers. For Muslim readers, he hopes Khadija’s world reflects the richness and diversity within their own communities. For non-Muslim readers, he hopes the book challenges stereotypes and sparks curiosity about the depth of Islamic history and interpretation. More than anything, he wants readers to see that communities, like individuals, are varied, nuanced, and deeply human.On publication day, Aamir admits to feeling a little overwhelmed—but grateful. He didn’t originally set out to be a writer, but the story insisted on being written. Now, he’s embracing the identity of “novelist” and looking ahead with humility. Will there be another book? Inshallah—God willing.If you love novels that mix immersive worldbuilding with thought-provoking questions, you’re going to love this conversation—and you’re going to love Khadija.Grab your copy of Under the Full and Crescent Moon and join us for a behind-the-scenes look at how it came to be.

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• Poetry Panel: On Crafting Collections, Mentorship, and Finding Your Readers

  Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show.Here's one for the poets!In this special episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, Rhonda Douglas hosts a poetry panel featuring four accomplished poets: Kess Mohammadi, Guy Elston, Lorne Daniel, and Melissa Powless Day. Together, they read from their latest works and share an honest conversation about building poetry collections, navigating mentorship, and growing alongside their readers.Each poet begins by reading a piece from their newest collection. Lorne Daniel shares “Crushed” from What Is Broken Binds Us (University of Calgary Press), a raw reflection on family challenges, addictions, and the small, startling moments that carry us through. Guy Elston lightens the room with humor and poignancy in “Statement from the Board of Directors,” from his debut collection The Character Actor Convention (The Porcupine’s Quill, 2025). Kess Mohammadi reads a dreamlike, image-rich untitled piece from Book of Interruptions (Wolsak & Wynn, 2025), a manuscript deeply influenced by mentorship and philosophical inquiry. And Melissa Powless Day brings us “Tree Museum” from her debut full-length collection A Bow Forged from Ash (Anstruther Press, 2023), weaving Indigenous history and relationships to the land with lyrical power.From there, Rhonda invites each poet to talk about the origin story of their latest books. For some, like Lorne, the poems emerged out of lived experiences and personal struggles, gradually coalescing into a manuscript. For Guy, the breakthrough came when he shifted from confessional writing to persona poems, realizing that even when he inhabited different characters, his own voice still shone through. Kess shares how mentorship opportunities, supported by the Ontario Arts Council, provided guidance for a more intentional project. And Melissa reflects on how themes naturally braided themselves through her poetry, growing into a cohesive collection.The conversation also touches on what it feels like to publish a debut collection versus later works. Guy and Melissa speak to the excitement (and the “high”) of holding a first full-length book, while Kess and Lorne reflect on the evolving nature of readership and how the literary landscape has shifted over decades. Kess notes that book two often feels different, with less external excitement but deeper engagement from dedicated readers.Finally, the poets discuss mentorship—formal and informal. Lorne recalls receiving letters and guidance from Al Purdy, and the importance of staying connected to community. Guy admits he’s still finding his way with mentorship, while Kess explains how seeking a Muslim elder for conversations on Perso-Islamic philosophy shaped Book of Interruptions. Melissa describes mentorship as something rooted in community, often happening organically through relationships, and pays tribute to her “literary auntie,” Shani Ray Rogers.Whether you’re a poet just starting out, working on your first manuscript, or deep into your writing journey, this conversation will leave you inspired. Our guests remind us that poetry is as much about relationships—between writers, readers, and community—as it is about the words on the page.

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