/
RSS Feed
Veronica Chambers is a prolific author, best known for her critically acclaimed memoir Mama’s Girl, and the New York Times Bestseller Yes Chef, which was co-authored with chef Marcus Samuelsson and won the prestigious James Beard literary award in 2012.
In 2016, Veronica co-authored the book 32 Yolks with celebrated chef Eric Ripert, which soon became her fourth New York Times bestselling collaboration.
In 2003 and 2004, Veronica worked as an executive story editor for the CW network’s hit series Girlfriends and earned a BET Comedy Award for her writing on the show. She has also written and developed projects for Fox and Nickelodeon.
In the magazine world, Veronica has been a top editor at The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Glamour and Good Housekeeping, among others.
And in case that isn’t an impressive enough resume, Veronica has also written more than a dozen books for children and in May 2017 she will publish The Go-Between, a young adult novel about teens, race, culture and class in Los Angeles.
These days, Veronica lives with her husband and daughter in northern California, where she is a JSK journalism fellow at Stanford University.
In this episode, Veronica tells stories from her many years as a working writer. We talk about rejection (she estimates that she has received over 10,000 rejection letters in her career), and she shares her own daily routines and writing process.
We dig into her motto of "foolish bravery" and what that has looked like in her life and work, and she gives great actionable advice for anyone who wants to write a book of their own.
I first found Veronica through two books that she co-authored with world-renowned chefs, and she tells the story of how she wound up writing in the food world and what she learned from creatively collaborating and co-writing books with some of the best and brightest people in that field.
This is such a great conversation for anyone who wants to put themselves out there with their work, and I so appreciated Veronica's thoughtful and honest story sharing. I hope you enjoy listening in!
Connect with Veronica
Selected Links From This Episode
Books, Resources & People Mentioned
- Dorothy West
- Marianne Williamson
- Eric Ripert
- Marcus Samuelsson
- Anthony Bourdain
- Jamaica Kincaid
- Nora Ephron
- The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon
- The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp
- Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott
- Sula, by Toni Morrison
- Possession, by A. S. Byatt
- Draw Me a Song
- The West Wing Weekly podcast
Psst, want access to bonus content & Exclusive Opportunities?
Join the Real Talk Radio support squad over on Patreon (just $8+ per season!) and get immediate access to over 30 hours of bonus content, with more content added every month.
This includes conversations with wonderful guests that aren't aired publicly, solo Q&As (where I’ll answer any/all questions, and it even includes access to the SquadPod, a shorter version of Real Talk Radio where the guests are... YOU, the members of the community.
And that's only the beginning!
You can also access my weekly email series: Notes of Grit and Grace, be featured on an upcoming podcast outro, download all my past tiny books and workbooks, and help shape the future of the show.
So for all of that and more, simply head over to patreon.com/nicoleantoinette to make your pledge.
Thank you so much for your support!!
Join the Conversation