{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 39: The art of writing in the rain with Garth Stein","description":"Even Garth Stein cries over his books. \u201cThe Art of Racing in the Rain\u201d is well-known to readers and movie-goers as a tearjerker. Stein says he rented space at a Seattle pizza restaurant when he was writing the book. \u201cI\u2019d get to an emotional part and be crying,\u201d Stein says. \u201cPeople would be like, \u2018What\u2019s wrong with that guy?\u2019 Although published in 2008, Stein says the recent release of the movie with Kevin Costner giving voice to the dog character, Enzo, catapulted the book to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. \u201cWhen that happened, I told my kids they had to call me \u2018Dad, Numero Uno,\u2019\u201d Stein says, adding that his demand was summarily ignored. Co-hosts Kurt Batdorf and Jim Hills get behind the wheel in this episode for a drive with Stein through his experiences with cars, racing and writing novels with strong Pacific Northwest and Alaskan settings. Stein also talks a bit about two upcoming releases, a new novel titled, \u201cA Couple of Old Birds\u201d and a graphic novel involving mutant goat people titled, \u201cThe Cloven.\u201d While not autobiographical, Stein says all of his novels include some of himself. Stein says he began with screenwriting as a career target, but found he had a \u201cbizarre allergic reaction to it.\u201d Stein then spent nearly 10 years making documentary films. The foray into documentaries helped, Stein says, because his feeling was, \u201cAt age 25, I\u2019m not really, as a writer or a person, mature enough to have anything to say.\u201d He eventually came back to books with his first novel \u201cRaven Stole the Moon,\u201d at age 32. An early love for theater also prompted him to write a play for his high school alma mater, Shorewood High School in Shoreline, Wash., just north of Seattle. So where did the car racing in \u201cThe Art of Racing in the Rain\u201d come in? Stein and his family had been living in New York for years when they decided to move back to Seattle. He got involved in racing Mazda Miata cars (something Stein and Batdorf have in common). Stein says it was fun, but became a pull away from his family. He had decided to quit racing, would sell his car, but entered one last race. That race ended for him, he says, \u201cGoing backward, 100 miles an hour into a Jersey barrier. \u201cWe don\u2019t necessarily recognize our own situation when we\u2019re in it,\u201d Stein says. \u201cIf I\u2019d had clarity, I probably would\u2019ve said, \u2018You know, today\u2019s not a good day to race.\u2019\u201d Episode length: 59:39 Episode links Garth\u2019s official bio The Art of Racing in the Rain A Sudden Light How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets Raven Stole the Moon Sports Car Club of America Spec Miata Granite Curling Club ","author_name":"Check It Out!","author_url":"https:\/\/podcast.sno-isle.org\/","html":"