We can figure it out as we go.
Author Steph West joins the International Firebird Book Award Circle of Winners COLUMBUS, Ohio – Speak Up Talk Radio announced the recent 2023 FIREBIRD BOOK AWARDS contest winners. Award-winning journalist and producer Steph West won in the category of memoir for her debut book On Fire, a memoir that readers are calling a heartbreaking and sometimes … More “On Fire” wins its first book award of the year
There is a horror film called Body Parts—the film I’m discussing is not that film. The Body Parts I’m talking about is a 2023 documentary that looks at how sex scenes are shot in Hollywood, the demeaning way in which women have had to get naked, and how the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements brought about … More Body Parts: Sex scenes in Hollywood and the women who pushed back
Britney Spears battled the music and I…I battle the blank page. I write every day. Every single day. Whether it’s a screenplay, a novel, a creative nonfiction work, a poem, an email, a text, this blog—my brain is always in a state of creating words for story, entertainment, or just plain, old communication. And no, … More Survey says: Flesh and blood are the cure
“If the camera is predatory, then the culture is predatory as well.” — 2022 Documentary, Brainwashed: Sex—Camera—Power from filmmaker Nina Menkes. If you don’t know Nina Menkes or her films, then it will help to peruse her website now to get a feel for who she is and what she stands for. You can view … More One of the most important documentaries of our time: “If the camera is predatory then the culture is predatory as well.”
The new Ben Affleck-helmed film AIR: Courting a Legend, starring Matt Damon, Affleck, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, Jason Bateman, and Marlon Wayans, is coming in hot as a must-see for any sports fan. Especially those of us who saw Michael Jordan play at his peak. I still remember the game I saw in Chicago. We … More New Ben Affleck-helmed AIR a must-see for sports fans
If you haven’t seen the Toronto Raptors cringeworthy video that dampened the start of Women’s History Month yet, you’re lucky. But just so we can cringe together, you can see it here in this Deadspin article. I mean, honestly. Kudos to the NBA for making an attempt to honor women. I can appreciate that men’s … More Women’s History Month off to a cringe-y start
One of my favorite things in the whole world to do is to sketch. My mother is a brilliant artist and I have two cousins with similar visual and artistic skills. I used to sell some of my work at the MAC in Worthington and didn’t do too bad, but after a while, I realized … More Sketch Artist
All of us have known rejection. It comes in all forms and flavors, from romance to work and everything in between. It varies in impact and pain, livelihood and acceptance. It is a ubiquitous vein of pain we all share in some form or another. And the more you live, the more chances you take, … More Rejection is useful in all its forms
In my new book On Fire, there’s a chapter that talks about my good friend driving me from Columbus to New York for an interview with a major sports league. During the drive, she queued up this mash-up from the DJ Wick-it the Instigator, which features The Black Keys and Big Boi and is titled … More PRESS PLAY: What I’m listening to
As a writer, you spend a lot (A LOT) of time by yourself. Weeks, months, years on end of just you and your trusty writing equipment (computer, paper, typewriter…whatever) crafting a story that you hope other people will connect with. And then the day comes and you finally have the opportunity to put that hard-won … More Loving all the photos of people with my book!
Steph West 