When Finishing Line Press sent me how-to guides on publicizing Woman with Crows, one of the messages included advice on radio interviews. At the time I thought, hmmm, when in the world will I ever do a radio interview? Guess I can ignore this one . . .

Guess again.

Within a week, Monica Hoel, the Director of Alumni Affairs from Emory & Henry College, contacted me. Monica is a spirited advocate, not just for alumni, but for the entire community of E&H. When I was a student, she was on the interview panel when I applied to be editor of The Ampersand magazine. Job interviews may be even more nerve-wracking than media interviews, but Monica seemed to enjoy speaking with me as a person. She even remembered my work years later.

Staff members for The Ampersand, literary arts magazine at Emory & Henry College
I got the job! Ampersand staff at Emory & Henry College, me in the bottom center

So here I am, trying to get the word out about this chapbook, and Monica asked for a radio interview. I’d only been on the radio once, and that was for a local NPR bit about the Highlander Festival; I was supposed to talk about cultural connections and Appalachia, but the only decent quote was, “I really like haggis! Honest!”

A year of teaching on Zoom, however, makes interviews less strange. Monica and I had a fun, upbeat conversation online, and it became part of her radio show, On the Duck Pond Wall.

Here’s her article, with a link to the radio interview and a text of “A Petition for Merciful Salvage,” previously published in Floyd County Moonshine.

Thanks so much, Monica, for once again making a first-time interview a positive and memorable experience!