Making It Up with Michael Kardos, author of Quick Change

“What I noticed was that I started writing stories and just doing things like, ‘oh, wait, when I write, I don't need other guys. And I don't need a sound man. And I don't need a stage. And I don't need gear.’ It was so nice to be able to make something without all the crap associated with it.” — Michael Kardos

Michael Kardos is the author of the novels Fun City Heist, Bluff, Before He Finds Her, and The Three-Day Affair. His story collection Quick Change and One Last Good Time won the Mississippi Institute of Arts & Letters Award, and his short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, and have won two Pushcart Prizes. He is also the author of The Art and Craft of Fiction: A Writer’s Guide, which is taught at universities across the country, and he co-directed the creative writing program at Mississippi State University for 15 years.

Among other things, Michael and Carter discuss how Michael went from a career in music to getting his MFA, their thoughts on craft books for new writers, and feeling uneasy most of the time while you’re writing a book. At the end of their conversation, they make up a strange story using a line from Kristen Perrin’s How To Solve Your Own Murder.