We interview Daisy Goodwin, novelist and screenwriter, about her latest novel, Diva (Head of Zeus March 2024), inspired by the life of the brilliant soprano Maria Callas.

The novel opens at a time when Callas is at the height of her extraordinary career but in a stultifying marriage and haunted both by her unhappy childhood and the ever-present fear of losing her voice.

When she meets Aristotle Onassis, she believes she has finally met her soulmate. But as the novel makes clear, just like the tragic heroines she embodies on stage, even her fame and brilliance cannot save Callas from heartbreak.

We talk to Daisy about the nature of the word 'diva', musical genius and the fragile nature of the human voice.

Daisy Goodwin is the author of the New York Times bestselling novels The American Heiress and The Fortune Hunter. She is the screenwriter of the PBS/Masterpiece drama Victoria and lives in London.

She is also Tabitha Potts' sister and they have worked together in the past.

This month we have two auto-fiction stories about parents and children.

Our first auto-fiction piece, "Close to Revelation" written by Janet Lawrence, is set during the pandemic and tells the story of a woman trying to get pregnant using IVF while chaos erupts all around her.

Janet Lawrence is a writer, journalist, and video producer based in New York City. In her writing, she often examines life's "small" moments to try and find truths that unite us. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and her two children.

Narrator/Voice Over actor: Alexandra Echavarri

Music Composer: Olga Gonithellis

Our second auto-fiction piece, "Check Your Tire Pressure" by Corinne Noufi, tells the story of a father and daughter and how their love for each other is expressed in seemingly mundane, but very important, rituals that bring them closer together.

This episode contains a swear word.

Corinne Noufi is a marine scientist dedicated to promoting sustainable ocean practices and preserving our waters for future generations. With 17 years spent in Colorado and another decade in Washington State, Corinne now calls Brunswick, Maine, home. She brings her passion and expertise to her role at the Aquaculture Research Institute at the University of Maine, where she runs her own podcast, "Salty Talks." In her free time, Corinne enjoys biking, hiking, cooking, and, of course, podcasting! Join her on "Salty Talks" as she dives into fascinating conversations about aquaculture, marine conservation, and the future of our oceans

The readers are Corinne Noufi and her father Rommel Noufi.

Music used in "Check Your Tire Pressure" is courtesy of Podcastle/Salty Talks.

Story Radio interviews Katie Willis, author of The Quiet Act of Loving Bones, published by Joan Publishing. We discuss bones, inspiration, the colour yellow, Russia and lucid dreaming.

"It is rare to come across a book that feels, at the same time, overwhelmingly strange and delightfully familiar. The Quiet Act of Loving Bones takes you into a world that is intimate and physical but also ghostly and ecstatic. You'll dance with it until you feel dizzy and transformed. I think Katie Willis has written a classic."

- Toby Litt

Katie Willis has written a beautifully precise dance anti-narrative. Her story is about the quiet defiance of using an interior world to navigate the complexities of embodied life. This book is for anyone who has been an adolescent or a dreamer.

- Laura Joyce

About Katie Willis

Katie Willis was a ballet dancer. She lives in London, close to a river, dividing her time between water and land, home and hospital. She writes about women and water, bodies and bones, and the stories that bones hold individually and collectively. This is her first novel.

This episode was produced by Tabitha Potts.

Music: dark piano-loop in f-minor 2 by Baz_Odink_NL -- https://freesound.org/s/442780/ -- License: Creative Commons 0