With Writing Show First-Chapter Contest Winner Linda Simoni-Wastila

DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO LINDA SIMONI-WASTILA MP3 HERE

Read Linda's winning chapter from Brighter Than Bright.

Find out what our 2008 first-prize winner is all about.

By day, Linda Simoni-Wastila is a denizen of the ivory tower, crunching numbers to reveal trends and factors associated with psychiatric and substance abuse maladies. Recognizing that  each data point is a living being who possesses a tale, Linda was inspired to write a novel, Brighter Than Bright. So involved is she with her characters that she woke one morning and panicked because a young man she knew only through her imagination was in trouble.

A nationally-recognized academic, Simoni-Wastila has authored numerous published studies that are frequently cited in the mainstream press. Her passion for mental health and substance abuse research underpins many of her stories and poems, and compels her to put a human face to psychiatric conditions. An avid writer, blogger, reader, and gardener, she lives in the greater Baltimore/DC area with her two children and husband.

Please join Linda Simoni-Wastila and host Paula B. as they explore:

• Where her story came from
• What it was like to write in the voice of a 19-year-old boy
• How she would describe her style
• What was easy and difficult in the writing of Brighter Than Bright
• What her writing goals are
• What she'd like her Contemporary Authors entry to say
• Why she writes about the things she does.

Interviewee: Linda Simoni-Wastila
Host: Paula B.
Date: November 16, 2008
Running time: 55:54
File size: 27 megabytes
Rating: G
Linda Simoni-Wastila's Web site: LeftBrainWrite