DIY MFA Radio
485 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 102 ratingsTake your writing from average to awesome, and learn tools of the trade from bestselling authors, master writing teachers, and publishing industry insiders. This podcast will give you tools and techniques to help you get those words on the page and your stories out into the world. Past guests include: Delia Ephron, John Sandford, Steve Berry, Jojo Moyes, Tana French, Guy Kawasaki, and more.
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Episodes
282: The Themed Anthology - Interview with Sam Hooker and Seven Jane
December 04, 2019 13:15 - 47 minutes - 52.8 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sam Hooker and Seven Jane. Sam Hooker writes darkly humorous fantasy novels about things like tyrannical despots and the masked scoundrels who tickle them without mercy. He knows all the best swear words, though he refuses to repeat them because he doesn't want to attract goblins. Seven Jane is an author of dark fantasy and speculative fiction. Seven is a member of The Author's Guild and Women's Fiction Writing Associat...
281: The Art of the Space Odyssey — Interview with Kristyn Merbeth
November 27, 2019 13:15 - 39 minutes - 44.3 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Kristyn Merbeth. Kristyn is an author who’s obsessed with SFF, food, video games, and her dog. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, and her book Fortuna launches a new space opera trilogy that will hook you from the first crash landing. In this episode Kristyn and I discuss: How a NASA discovery and a TV show inspired the world and story of Fortuna Techniques for building multiple worlds Creating complex family and cultural d...
280: Writing and Illustrating a Picture Book Series - Interview with Amanda Noll and Howard McWilliam
November 20, 2019 13:15 - 39 minutes - 44.7 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Amanda Noll and Howard McWilliam, author and illustrator of the I Need My Monster picture book series. Amanda Noll was born and raised in Canberra, Australia and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. After marrying her college sweetheart, she began working in the purchasing division of a private university (which is ironic, since she despises shopping). She left the business world to attend to the business of raisin...
Episode 280: Writing and Illustrating a Picture Book Series - Interview with Amanda Noll and Howard McWilliam
November 20, 2019 13:15 - 39 minutes - 44.7 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Amanda Noll and Howard McWilliam, author and illustrator of the I Need My Monster picture book series. Amanda Noll was born and raised in Canberra, Australia and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. After marrying her college sweetheart, she began working in the purchasing division of a private university (which is ironic, since she despises shopping). She left the business world to attend to the business of raisin...
279: The Seventh Level for Writers - Interview with Amanda Slavin
November 13, 2019 13:15 - 53 minutes - 60.1 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing my friend and fellow New Yorker, Amanda Slavin. Amanda is the founder and CEO of the award-winning brand consulting firm CatalystCreativ, the author of The Seventh Level book, and the creator of the Seventh Level Engagement Framework. She uses this framework to guide brands like Coca-Cola, Google, and HubSpot to connect more meaningfully with their customers and improve their bottom lines. So you may be wondering, “How does ...
278: Writing for Newly-Independent Readers - Interview with Megan McDonald
November 06, 2019 13:15 - 1 hour - 67.8 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Megan McDonald, the author behind the popular Judy Moody series. Megan grew up the youngest of five sisters, so knows a thing or two about speaking up for herself. Before she became a writer, she worked in museums, libraries, and bookstores; she has also made a living as a storyteller and a park ranger. In addition to the best-selling Judy Moody and Stink series, she is the author of three Sisters Club stories, two books abou...
277: How to Make Your Setting Come to Life - Interview with Brenda Jackson
October 30, 2019 12:15 - 52 minutes - 58.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Brenda Jackson. Brenda Jackson is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over 100 novels and novellas, including two that have been turned into films—One Special Moment and Truly Everlasting. Brenda is a recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award and an NAACP Image Award nominee for Outstanding Literary Fiction for her book, A Silken Thread. She is an advocate for diversity in...
Episode 277: How to Make Your Setting Come to Life - Interview with Brenda Jackson
October 30, 2019 12:15 - 52 minutes - 58.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Brenda Jackson. Brenda Jackson is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over 100 novels and novellas, including two that have been turned into films—One Special Moment and Truly Everlasting. Brenda is a recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award and an NAACP Image Award nominee for Outstanding Literary Fiction for her book, A Silken Thread. She is an advocate for diversity in...
276: A Stitch in Time: Pacing, World Building, and Time Travel - Interview with Nicole Valentine
October 23, 2019 12:15 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Nicole Valentine. Nicole Valentine earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and teaches the Brain Trust Workshop at the Highlights Foundation in Honesdale, PA. Before shifting to writing, she used to work at CNN.com in NYC where she helped build the first web publishing tool for a newsroom, so science and innovation have been a huge prat of her career from the get-go. ...
275: Exploring Family Relationships - Interview with Kristan Higgins
October 16, 2019 12:15 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Kristan Higgins. Kristan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly twenty novels, which have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Her books have received many awards and accolades, and she is a six-time nominee for The Kirkus Prize for best work of fiction. Today we’ll be discussing her new novel Life and Other Inconveniences. In this episode...
274: Speculating from Reality and Building a Dystopia - Interview with Rob Hart
October 09, 2019 12:15 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Rob Hart about his latest book The Warehouse. When I heard Rob’s editor talk about this book at the BookExpo Editors’ Buzz Panel, I knew I had to have Rob on the show. Now, if you guys don’t know about Book Expo, it’s a big literary trade show that happens every May in New York City. They have these panels where they feature a selection of books that are getting a ton of buzz. There’s a panel all about books for adults, and...
273: Words, Pictures, and How Story Brings Them Together - Interview with Aaron Becker
October 02, 2019 12:15 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Aaron Becker. Born in Baltimore, Aaron moved to California to attend Pomona College where he scored his first illustration job designing t-shirts for his water polo team. Since then, he's traveled around the world, from Kenya to Japan, Sweden to Tahiti, looking for good things to eat and feeding his imagination. He now lives with his family in Amherst, MA where he's busy at work on his next book project. You can find out more...
272: How to Research and Write a Detective Series - Interview with Archer Mayor
September 25, 2019 12:15 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Archer Mayor. Archer is the author of the highly acclaimed Vermont-based series featuring detective Joe Gunther, which the Chicago Tribune describes as “the best police procedurals being written in America.” He has won the New England Independent Booksellers Association Award for Best Fiction — which is the first time a crime fiction author has received this honor — and in 2011, his 22nd Joe Gunther novel, Tag Man, earned...
271: Write by Instinct and Break the Rules - Interview with RJ Barker
September 18, 2019 12:15 - 52 minutes - 47.8 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing RJ Barker. Now, according to the bio that either he or his publicist submitted when we set up this interview, RJ Barker is a softly-spoken Yorkshireman with flowing locks. He lives in the frozen north with his wife and son, and divides his time between writing and looking after his son. According to the about page on his blog, RJ Barker is (and I quote) “Probably more ridiculous than you already believe.” RJ is the author...
270: Grappling with the Uncomfortable Truth - Interview with NoNieqa Ramos
September 11, 2019 12:15 - 46 minutes - 42.1 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing NoNieqa Ramos. Now if you’re a die-hard word nerd and fan of the show, you probably remember NoNieqa from her previous interview with us (Episode 202). I had such a blast talking with her that when I heard she had a new book coming out, I knew I had to have her back on the show. I mean, how often do I get to geek out about the literary merits of the F-bomb with a fellow writer? NoNieqa and I are definitely birds of a feathe...
269: Writing Speculative Fiction - Interview with Cadwell Turnbull
September 04, 2019 12:15 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Cadwell Turnbull. His novel, The Lesson is a work of speculative fiction is about what happens when a spaceship arrives at the US Virgin Islands with a race of super-advanced aliens on a research mission on board. This story grapples with the tensions between these newcomers and the local Virgin Islanders and explores various themes, including: the nature of belief, the impact of colonialism, and how far are we willing to g...
268: From Bollywood-Inspired YA to RWA - Interview with Nisha Sharma
August 28, 2019 12:15 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBHey there word nerds! Today, we’re doing another one of our live-from-a-conference interviews, this time from RWA annual conference, which is the big event that the Romance Writers of America put on each year. I had the pleasure of speaking at this event a few years ago in San Diego, and this year because it’s back in New York, I’m delighted to be attending it once again. For this episode, I have the pleasure of interviewing Nisha Sharma, whose YA novel, My So-Called Bollywood Life, has ...
267: The Alter Ego Effect - Interview With Todd Herman
August 21, 2019 12:15 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Todd Herman, who I am honored to count as one of my mentors. I first met Todd about five years ago, when he gave a talk at an entrepreneurship event, and right away I could tell that he was speaking my language. You see, Todd is a performance coach who specializes in the mental game. He works with ambitious entrepreneurs, athletes, and leaders who want to achieve wildly outrageous goals, like building a multimillion-dollar bu...
266: The Art of the Travel Memoir — Interview with Natasha Scripture
August 14, 2019 12:15 - 45 minutes - 41.7 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Natasha Scripture. Natasha is an author, poet, humanitarian, and former aid worker. As a spokesperson for the United Nations, she covered humanitarian crises around the world and before the UN she worked for a variety of organizations, including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera English, the World Bank, TED, National Geographic, and Condé Nast Publications. She has been published in the New York Times, the Telegraph, Glamour UK, ...
265: Five Things I Learned from Five Years of Podcasting
August 09, 2019 00:15 - 38 minutes - 35.2 MBHey there word nerds! You might be doing a double-take right now because this episode is airing on a Thursday and not on Wednesday like our usual schedule. In fact, this is a bonus episode to celebrate the 5-year anniversary of DIY MFA. That’s right… exactly five years ago today, we announced this podcast to the world. Since then, we have released a new episode every single Wednesday like clockwork. It’s been a wild and crazy ride and I am so happy and grateful that you’re celebrating th...
264: For the Love of Poetry - Interview With Marybeth Niederkorn
August 07, 2019 12:15 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to our guest, the award-winning journalist, essayist, and poet Marybeth Niederkorn. Marybeth’s work has appeared in The Gasconade Review, Trailer Park Quarterly, Red Fez, and others. A Southeast Missouri native, her work is expressive of her background and roots while still managing to be kind of hilarious. Educated at Southeast Missouri State University, she holds degrees in philosophy and in professional writing, and ...
263: When Big Suspense Happens in Small Towns - ThrillerFest Debut Round Table Interview
July 31, 2019 12:15 - 57 minutes - 53 MBHey there word nerds! Today is one of my absolute favorite episodes of the year because it’s our annual ThrillerFest Debut Authors panel and I am so delighted to have August Norman, D.A. Bartley, Paula Munier, and John McMahon on the show. Every year, I have the pleasure of attending ThrillerFest, which is a fabulous conference put on by the International Thriller Writers (ITW). I’ve attended every year since 2012 (except 2014 because Lady Bug had just been born) and this is one of m...
262: Inside the Mind of a Worldbuilding Junkie - Interview with Fonda Lee
July 24, 2019 12:15 - 52 minutes - 33.5 MBHey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Fonda Lee on the show. Fonda is a recovering corporate strategist, black belt martial artist, and an action movie aficionado as well as the author of several highly acclaimed books of fantasy and science fiction, such as the young adult sci-fi novels Zeroboxer, Exo, and Cross Fire. Her work has been nominated for several awards, including the Nebula and Locus Awards, and been featured on Best of Year lists such as NPR and ...
261: Writing and Publishing the Indie Way - Interview with Aileen Erin
July 17, 2019 12:15 - 47 minutes - 30.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Aileen Erin on the show. Aileen is half-Irish, half-Mexican, and 100% nerd. From Star Wars (prequels don’t count) to Star Trek, she has a severe fascination with the speculative and supernatural. This fascination led her into writing, but after Twilight, Aileen was told that nobody wanted to read another vampire or werewolf story. She didn't agree and wrote one anyway. She proved her critics wrong as her independently publ...
260: Reading and Re-Reading Like a Writer - Interview with Mark Mayer
July 10, 2019 12:15 - 47 minutes - 31.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Mark Mayer to the show. Mark is an author and has an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he was a Michener-Copernicus Fellow, and holds a PhD from the University of Denver. He was also the Robert P. Dana Emerging Writer-in-Residence at Cornell College’s Center for the Literary Arts from 2012-2014. His stories have appeared in American Short Fiction, Kenyon Review, Guernica, Colorado Review, and Mid-American Review. Mar...
259: Crafting a Police Procedural in a Fantasy World - Interview with Dan Stout
July 03, 2019 12:15 - 43 minutes - 27.5 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Dan Stout on the show. Dan is an author who writes about fever dreams and half-glimpsed shapes in the shadows. His prize-winning fiction draws on travels throughout Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim as well as an employment history spanning everything from subpoena server to assistant well driller. Dan's stories have appeared in publications such as The Saturday Evening Post, Nature, and Intergalactic Medicine Show and his ...
258: Multi-Style Visual Storytelling - Interview with Dylan Meconis
June 26, 2019 12:15 - 44 minutes - 27.7 MBHey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have Dylan Meconis on the show. Dylan is a cartoonist, writer, and illustrator. While she has pursued visual art since she could hold a crayon steady, her formal education has been concentrated in the liberal arts. She studied Western history, literature, philosophy, and French in the College of Letters at Wesleyan University, where she soaked up in-demand, market-ready skills like reading Chaucer in the original Middle English. (She has no re...
257: Doubling Down on Your Dream - Interview with Kelsey Ramsden
June 19, 2019 12:15 - 46 minutes - 28.3 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Kelsey Ramsden on the show. I have long admired Kelsey’s work as she moves the earth, literally and figuratively. She has been named Canada’s top female entrepreneur by PROFIT, not once but twice. And Forbes calls her a “master builder of ideas, businesses and sky’s the limit futures.” She has received numerous awards for her businesses in civil construction and real estate where she builds highways, airports and communities. H...
256: An Inside Look at Tropes in Literature - Interview with Lenore Appelhans
June 12, 2019 12:15 - 43 minutes - 27.2 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Lenore Appelhans on the show! Lenore is the author of several books for children and teens. Her work has received honors such as appearing on the Bank Street Best Books list, winning a SCBWI Crystal Kite award, and getting featured on boxes of Cheerios. Her newest book the YA novel, The Manic Pixie Dream Boy Improvement Project, (which I devoured in practically one sitting!) simultaneously pokes fun at YA literature while also ...
255: Creative Writing and Marketing Combined - Interview with Lee Tobin McClain
June 05, 2019 12:15 - 43 minutes - 26.4 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Lee Tobin McClain on the show! Lee is the Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of eight contemporary romances for Harlequin Love Inspired as well as twenty independently-published novels and novellas. She also recently contracted with Harlequin HQN to write three mainstream romance novels, the Safe Haven series, of which the first and second of these books, Low Country Hero and Low Country Dreams, are out now. When Lee is no...
254: Marketing Books on Amazon - Interview with Rob Eagar
May 29, 2019 12:15 - 53 minutes - 30.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of having Rob Eagar on the show! Rob is a marketing consultant and author who has coached over 600 authors and helped both fiction and nonfiction books hit the New York Times bestseller lists. He is the author of The Author’s Guide book series which includes The Author’s Guide to Email Marketing, The Author’s Guide to Write Text that Sells Books and The Author’s Guide to Marketing Books on Amazon, which will be the focus of our discussion...
253: Turning Characters into People - Interview with Jodi Thomas
May 22, 2019 12:15 - 46 minutes - 28.7 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Jodi Thomas on the show! Jodi is both a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 50 novels and countless short story collections. With five RITA’s to her credit, along with National Readers’ Choice Awards and Booksellers’ Best Awards, Jodi has proven her skill as a master storyteller, and in July 2006, was the 11th writer to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her latest novel The Litt...
252: The Emotional Weight of Storytelling - Interview with Sam Sykes
May 15, 2019 12:15 - 40 minutes - 22.2 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Sam Sykes on the show! Sam is the author of multiple books of fantasy, including the Bring Down Heaven trilogy, the Affinity for Steel trilogy and comics such as Brave Chef Brianna. He currently lives in the United States with his two hounds and, at any given time, is probably yelling at something inanimate. Sam looks forward to being one of the sole providers of fantasy entertainment. Assuming no other authors are actually dis...
251: Finding Your Why - Interview with Patrice Gopo
May 08, 2019 12:15 - 56 minutes - 34 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Patrice Gopo on the show! The daughter of Jamaican immigrants who was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Patrice is a personal essayist and often writes about topics of race, immigration, and belonging. Her essays have appeared in numerous publications including Catapult and The New York Times. She also has had radio commentaries appear on her local public radio station, and is the recipient of a North Carolina Arts Co...
250: Crafting an Amish Romance - Interview with Patricia Davids
May 01, 2019 12:15 - 40 minutes - 24.9 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Patricia Davids on the show! Born and raised in Kansas, Pat was an NICU nurse for forty years, before switching careers to become an inspirational writer. She is now a USA Today best-selling author of Amish romance, enjoys playing with her dogs (who think fetch should be a twenty-four hour a day game) and happily dreaming up new stories. Her latest book, The Wish, is the first in her new romance series The Amish of Cedar...
249: Thrillers, Cozies, and Everything in Between - Interview with Jon Land
April 24, 2019 12:15 - 48 minutes - 28.8 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the absolute pleasure of hosting Jon Land on the show! You may remember Jon from a previous episode where he took part in a round table interview live from last year’s ThrillerFest along with two other bestselling thriller authors: Lisa Gardner and Karin Slaughter. Today though he’s here solo to let me pick his brain and give you his own nuggets of writing wisdom. Jon is the USA Today bestselling author of over 44 books, including the critically accl...
248: Embracing the Delete Key to Unlock Your Story - Interview with Tiffany Reisz
April 17, 2019 12:15 - 52 minutes - 31.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have Tiffany Reisz on the show! Tiffany is the USA Today bestselling author of the Romance Writers of America’s RITA®-winning Original Sinners series from Harlequin's Mira Books. She has also received a Lambda Award in Gay Fiction for her novel The King and two Romantic Times Editor's Choice Awards for Best Erotic Romance and Best Series Romance. Her erotic fantasy The Red—self-published under the banner 8th Circle Press—was named an NPR Be...
247: Defying the Western Narrative - Interview with Janet Pocorobba
April 10, 2019 12:15 - 1 hour - 33.4 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Janet Pocorobba on the show! Janet is a former features writer and editor at Metropolis magazine in Tokyo, whose memoirs, essays and reviews have appeared in many notable publications such as The Rumpus, The Writer, and Kyoto Journal. She is the author of the memoir, The Fourth String: A Memoir of Sensei and Me, which is now available. In the memoir Janet shows the relationship between her and her sensei in the initial ye...
246: Writing Magic: Character-Centered World Building in a Fantasy Series - Interview with Rowenna Miller
April 03, 2019 12:15 - 42 minutes - 25.8 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Rowenna Miller on the show! Rowenna is a midwestern born and raised fantasy author and has a Master's in English Film and Literature because she can't shut up about stories. She is also a historical reenactor and seamstress, specializing in the late eighteenth century, and writes fantasy shamelessly inspired by her love of history, especially the history of ordinary people. Her debut novel, Torn, released in March 2018, is th...
245: The Author-Agent-Editor Collaboration - Interview with Samantha Downing, Barbara Poelle, and Jen Monroe
March 27, 2019 12:15 - 38 minutes - 25 MBHey there word nerds! Today’s episode is extra-awesome because I’m speaking with not one, not two, but three fabulous ladies, who have had hand in bringing a truly buzz-worthy novel to life, on the show! First we have author Samantha Downing, whose debut novel My Lovely Wife has been getting a lot of attention. When she was a kid, Samantha’s mom brought her to the library every two weeks, where she would check out a stack of new books that she couldn’t put it down. She walked around with...
244: Showing Up Authentically - Interview LIVE from INBOUND 2018 with Strother Gaines
March 20, 2019 12:15 - 47 minutes - 32.9 MBHey there word nerds! Today we have a little change of pace in store for you. As you may recall, when I’m at different conferences, I’ll sometimes record a live-from-the-conference interview, and this happens to be one of those episodes! This interview was recorded in front of a LIVE studio audience at INBOUND 2018. Now, if you’re not familiar with INBOUND, it’s a fantastic conference hosted by HubSpot and takes place in Boston every fall. INBOUND has featured some truly incredible keyno...
243: Crafting Rich Settings - Interview with Heather Graham
March 13, 2019 12:15 - 42 minutes - 27.2 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the absolute pleasure of hosting New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Heather Graham on the show! A theater arts major at the University of South Florida, Heather began her career with several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals and bartending. After the birth of her third child, she decided to stay home and that’s when she began to write. Since then, she has written over two hundred novels and novellas including category, suspense, hi...
242: Challenging the Status Quo - Interview with Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams
March 06, 2019 13:15 - 52 minutes - 32.2 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the absolute pleasure of speaking with co-authors Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams on the show! Anita is an award-winning media critic and the creator and executive director of Feminist Frequency, an educational nonprofit that explores the representations of women in pop culture narratives. She is best known as the creator and host of the highly influential video series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, and she dreams of owning a life-size replica of Buf...
241: Twisting the Tropes of Military Science Fiction - Interview with Glynn Stewart
February 27, 2019 13:15 - 39 minutes - 25.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the absolute pleasure of speaking with Glynn Stewart on the show! Glynn was liberated from a bleak future of being an accountant by his unstoppable writing habit which led him to write several science-fiction, space opera, and fantasy series. He is the author of the Starship’s Mage, a bestselling science fiction and fantasy series where faster-than-light travel is possible—but only because of magic. His other works include science fiction series Exile...
241:Twisting the Tropes of Military Science Fiction - Interview with Glynn Stewart
February 27, 2019 13:15 - 39 minutes - 25.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the absolute pleasure of speaking with Glynn Stewart on the show! Glynn was liberated from a bleak future of being an accountant by his unstoppable writing habit which led him to write several science-fiction, space opera, and fantasy series. He is the author of the Starship’s Mage, a bestselling science fiction and fantasy series where faster-than-light travel is possible—but only because of magic. His other works include science fiction series Exile...
240: The Intricate Design of Romantic Suspense - Interview with B.J. Daniels
February 20, 2019 13:15 - 41 minutes - 27 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author B.J. Daniels! After a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist, B.J. wrote and sold over 37 short stories before she finally wrote her first book, Odd Man Out, which went on to be nominated for Best First Book and Best Intrigue for 1995 in the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards. Since then she has sold more than 40 short stories and over 100 books, and has won nu...
239: Science and Intrigue in Thrillers - Interview with Dan Grant
February 13, 2019 13:15 - 47 minutes - 25.1 MBHey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have Dan Grant on the show! Dan is an author with a background in electrical engineering who has always loved the world of stories and intriguing tales, especially suspense and thrillers that weave science, medicine, or technology into the fabric of the drama. As a licensed professional engineer he’s had the unique opportunity to work with a variety of medical and technological projects and to get behind the scenes at military facilities. A...
238: Pushing the Boundaries of Noir - Interview with Tony Bellotto
February 06, 2019 13:15 - 32 minutes - 20.6 MBHey there word nerds! Today I am so excited to be hosting Brazilian author Tony Bellotto on the show! As some of you may know, my parents are from Brazil and my first language is actually Portuguese. Though I was raised in the U.S. I consider myself as much Brazilian as American so I am super thrilled to have a Brazilian author here today! Tony is the author of the best-selling Bellini mystery novels, which have been released as major feature films and translated widely, establishing h...
237: Embracing the Fear of Writing - Interview with Kevin Brooks
January 30, 2019 13:15 - 49 minutes - 24.5 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Kevin Brooks on the show! Kevin is a critically acclaimed young adult novelist whose first book, Martyn Pig, was named a Publishers Weekly “Flying Start” selection. Kevin has written many books since then including Black Rabbit Summer, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Carnegie Medal, and The Bunker Diary, which won the Carnegie Medal in 2014. His most recent novel, Born Scared, is a terrifying thriller about a 13-year-old boy...
236: Writing Without Rules (or Pants) - Interview with Jeff Somers
January 23, 2019 13:15 - 57 minutes - 35.5 MBHey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Jeff Somers on the show! I first met Jeff at BookExpo this past spring and had the opportunity to hear him speak at the Writer’s Digest Conference this past summer, and the moment we crossed paths I knew that we were going to be instant writing besties. First off, he’s hilarious. Second, he’s an iconoclast, so not really into following the rules, which is totally my jam. Plus, his wife is also super-awesome which means he h...