James and Ashley Stay at Home
Through discussions and interviews with writers, artists and health professionals, author friends James McKenzie Watson and Ashley Kalagian Blunt explore the big questions: how do books get written? How do people navigate life with chronic illness? And just what ARE you reading? Hosted by James McKenzie Watson, winner of the 2021 Penguin Literary Prize, and Ashley Kalagian Blunt, author of 'Dark Mode.'
- Update frequency
- every 16 days
- Average duration
- 41 minutes
- Episodes
- 121
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
82 | Healing from grief and loss through nature with Indira Naidoo, author of 'The Space Between the Stars'
After Indira Naidoo lost her sister to suicide during the pandemic lockdowns, she unexpectedly found herself turning to nature to help her heal.
Speaking with Ashley, Indira shares the journey throug…
81 | 'A good-hearted kid in a difficult environment,' with Mark Brandi author of 'Southern Aurora'
Mark Brandi is the author of four novels, including his latest, Southern Aurora. He joins us to discuss how a short story he began in 2015 became his newest novel, his choice to set the story in rura…
80 | Who can I kill? with Julie Janson, author of 'Madukka the River Serpent'
It wasn’t until a year into working on her novel 'Madukka the River Serpent' that Julie Janson decided to make it a crime novel. At once a story of corporate greed, environmental destruction and gove…
79 | 'It changed my life' – the Ray Koppe Young Writers Fellowship
How can winning an artistic residency impact your creative career? Hear from four Australian authors about their experiences entering and winning the ASA/Varuna Ray Koppe Young Writers Fellowship, an…
78 | Surviving brain surgery with Karina May, author of 'Duck à l’Orange for Breakfast'
The idea for Karina May's novel came to her while she was in the ICU, recovering from brain surgery. In this open-hearted interview, Karina shares the experience of living with a brain tumour for two…
77 | Finding order in chaos with Anna Spargo-Ryan, author of 'A Kind of Magic'
‘There’s a reason that this has happened. Science could predict this outcome for me, even though I feel like I’m in constant chaos.’ Anna Spargo-Ryan is the author of the memoir A Kind of Magic. In t…
76 | Emotional honesty in writing and life with Lee Kofman, author of 'The Writer Laid Bare'
Author Lee Kofman returns to discuss her hugely popular writing memoir and guide, The Writer Laid Bare – James's favourite book of 2022! Lee dives into the concept of emotional honesty and 'nonesty' …
75 | How to manage creative anxiety with psychologist Sanchana Venkatesh
Does anxiety go hand-in-hand with creative ambition Psychologist Sanchana Venkatesh joins Ashley and James to discuss the positives of creativity for mental wellbeing and the common problem of creati…
74 | Launching 'Dark Mode' with author Ashley Kalagian Blunt – mini-ep #4
A garden shop owner goes out for her morning run and discovers the body of a woman who looks just like her. As more murders shake the city, she fears her past is catching up with her.
A riveting psy…
73 | Getting an agent and a publishing deal – 'Dark Mode' mini-ep #3
Keen for insights into how to get an agent and a book publisher? This is the ep for you!
This is one of four weekly mini-episodes in celebration of the March 1st Australian release day!
A riveting p…
72 | Insights into the novel writing process – 'Dark Mode' mini-ep #2
Ashley wrote 40,000 words into the first draft of Dark Mode before scrapping most of it and restarting. Then she ploughed through to the end of a clunky draft in order to create a scene-by-scene outl…
71 | Where the ideas came from – 'Dark Mode' mini-ep #1
A riveting psychological thriller drawn from true events, Ashley's debut novel Dark Mode delves into the terrifying reality of the dark web, and the price we pay for surrendering our privacy one clic…
70 | The secret of work/life balance with Dr Hilton Koppe, author of 'One Curious Doctor'
What happens when your job results in PTSD, forcing you into unexpected retirement? You write a memoir, of course! At least, that's what Dr Hilton Koppe did when he suddenly had to leave his practice…
69 | All the reading: the best book recommendations of 2022
This special episode gathers the best 'What Are You Reading?' segments from 2022 into a comprehensive summary of book recommendations from Australian and international authors. These well-informed hi…
68 | Digging into shame with Hayley Scrivenor, author of 'Dirt Town'
'When I sat down to write, it felt like I had killed someone.' Hayley Scrivenor opens up about managing creative anxiety, what it means to write through our feelings, and the experience of having her…
67 | Learning with a beginner's mindset with urban ecologist Darryl 'The Bird Guy' Jones
'I regard my seventh book, Curlews on Vulture Street ... as my first real writing. You know, this is the one I'm most proud of. It was the biggest challenge and the one I enjoyed the most.' Urban eco…
66 | How to say goodbye with Jackie Bailey, author of 'The Eulogy'
How do you work through a major edit on your book when you have a traumatic brain injury? And how do you write about the death of a loved one while you're grieving? Jackie Bailey, author of debut nov…
65 | The writer and the advocate with Al Campbell, author of 'The Keepers'
Author Al Campbell joins us to discuss her debut book 'The Keepers,' a fictionalised account of her own life both as the mother of two autistic boys and the survivor of an abusive parent.
Al shares …
64 | The most successful episode ever: a conversation about 'Denizen'
***Warning! Spoilers for Denizen by James McKenzie Watson in this episode***
Heads up, this episode of James and Ashley Stay at Their Respective Homes in Separate Cities is full of spoilers for Deniz…
63 | Rest, recovery and writing with Bronwyn Birdsall, author of 'Time and Tide in Sarajevo'
Author Bronwyn Birdsall joins us to discuss the writing of her first novel, 'Time and Tide in Sarajevo,' and her life after chronic fatigue syndrome. We discuss living with a mindset of rest and reco…