The Story Craft Cafe Podcast: Recent Episodes
storycraftcafe
Story Crafters talking about the magic of storytelling and giving you the tools to craft your story. We’re launching a new kind of online writing community. One where we can all find support, encouragement, ideas, and inspiration. A place where we can all write together. A place where we can celebrate failures and successes, find mentors, and work together to get published.
A protagonist is only as strong as the wall they're trying to break through. Your antagonist isn't the obstacle to your story — your antagonist IS your story.
Pull up a chair. Before we dive into Workshop 4, Hank Garner and Abby sit down for a relaxed fireside conversation about the most underrated character in fiction: the one standing in your hero's way. We're talking villains, rivals, systems, storms, and the quiet "no" that forces your protagonist to change. If you've ever written a bad guy who felt flat, cartoonish, or too easy to beat, this one's for you.
This is the warm-up. Grab a coffee, settle in, and come to the workshop ready to build an antagonist readers can't look away from.
In this chat, Hank and Abby get into:
- The difference between a villain, an antagonist, and a plain old obstacle
- Why the best antagonists are the protagonist of their own story
- How a villain's "no" drives your plot forward, scene by scene
- Desire, wound, and lie — how the tool that builds heroes builds their enemies too
- Sympathetic vs. hateable: when to make readers understand the villain, and when not to
- The antagonists we can't stop thinking about — and what makes them work
- The most common mistakes that make a bad guy fall flat
- Force-of-nature and internal antagonists (when there's no villain at all)
WritingCraft #Antagonists #Villains #WritingTips #AmWriting #NovelWriting #CharacterDevelopment #Fiction #WritingCommunity #StoryStructure
Why do readers stay up until 2 a.m. turning pages?
It's rarely because of the plot.
It's because they care about the person living through it.
In this one-hour writing workshop, Hank Garner breaks down the core principles behind unforgettable protagonists—the characters readers will follow anywhere, even when they aren't always likable.
You'll learn how to build characters with emotional depth, compelling motivations, and authentic character arcs that keep readers invested from the first page to the last.
In this workshop you'll learn:
What a protagonist actually is (and how they're different from your POV character or hero)
The three pillars every great protagonist needs:
Desire
Wound
Lie
The difference between what your character wants and what they truly need
Why readers don't have to like your protagonist—they simply have to be compelled by them
How specificity, contradictions, vulnerability, and voice make fictional people feel real
How to avoid passive protagonists by giving your characters meaningful choices
A simple five-question character test you can use on every novel you write
You'll also complete a practical character-building exercise and see how Dabble's Character Notes and Plot Grid make it easy to organize your protagonist's arc from beginning to end.
Whether you're outlining your first novel or revising your tenth, this workshop will give you a practical framework you can immediately apply to create protagonists readers won't forget.
Readers don't read your book because of your clever plot. Readers fall in love with your book because of your CHARACTERS. Each book is about a person, and your protagonist is the lightning rod of your book.
In this Fireside chat, Hank and Brooke talk about what makes a great protagonist and how to craft characters that bring people back time and again.
This is an exciting week where we finally get to unveil what's new in Dabble 3.0. Join Abby and Hank as they discuss their favorite new Dabble 3.0 features.
Most unfinished manuscripts in the world died somewhere between chapter eight and chapter sixteen. The writer didn't lose interest. They lost the shape of it. The plot started to drift. The scenes started to feel disconnected. The book stalled.
This 65-minute workshop is about the shape. The bones of a novel that works — and the structural diagnostic that tells you, every time, which beat in your draft is the one that needs work next.
Novelist and writing coach Hank Garner walks through Freytag's Pyramid, why it's incomplete for novels, the modernized six-beat story arc that every working novel hits, the midpoint shift that fixes a sagging middle, and the five most common structural mistakes in first-novel manuscripts.
You'll learn:
Why "pantsers vs plotters" is the wrong fight — and what both sides get right
Freytag's Pyramid, the five-part shape underneath every working drama since the Greeks
The six-beat story arc — Hook, Inciting Incident, Rising Action, Midpoint Shift, Climax, Resolution
The three-act translation, and why six beats is easier to write than three
Three ways to use the midpoint — false victory, point of no return, revelation
How to diagnose a sagging middle in 60 seconds
Try/fail cycles, yes-but / no-and, and the chapter-end question that earns the page turn
Five common structural mistakes — and how to fix each one
Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required! Visit our website at www.dabblewriter.com to get started.
Subscribe to our channel for more live events like author interviews, Writing Sprint Wednesdays, Feedback Fridays, and Fireside Chats.
We're all about helping authors hone their craft with engaging, fun, and educational content.
On top of all that, Dabble Premium members get access to exclusive content like Craft Q&A Office Hours, Wordsmith Workshops, Deep Dive articles, bonus resources, and guest speaker workshops.
Happy writing!
Most new writers freeze on the first line because they think it has to be brilliant. It doesn’t. The opening line isn’t the point. The opening page is. And the opening page is doing a job.
In this 60-minute workshop, novelist and writing coach Hank Garner walks through what an opening actually has to do, the three kinds of hooks that work, and a five-question diagnostic you can run on any opening you’ve ever written.
You’ll learn:
The lie about first lines that kills more drafts than anything
The five jobs every working opening must do
Three kinds of hooks — situation, voice, image — and when to use each
What to cut and what to keep in your first 250 words
The prologue trap and the three legitimate uses
A diagnostic you can run on any opening in ten minutes
Join us at DabbleU to continue the conversation about this workshop at https://www.dabbleu.com/c/cafe-chats/join-us-today-for-our-dabble-workshop-how-to-start-a-story
Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required! Visit our website at www.dabblewriter.com to get started.
Subscribe to our channel for more live events like author interviews, Writing Sprint Wednesdays, Feedback Fridays, and Fireside Chats.
We're all about helping authors hone their craft with engaging, fun, and educational content.
On top of all that, Dabble Premium members get access to exclusive content like Craft Q&A Office Hours, Wordsmith Workshops, Deep Dive articles, bonus resources, and guest speaker workshops.
Happy writing!
Beginnings are everything. Not only for starting the journey that you hope the reader takes with you, but the first thing you have to do is HOOK your reader. Want them to go on a journey with you? give them a reason. Join Hank and Abby as they discuss this.
Welcome to First Novel Problems, a brand-new YouTube series from Dabble Writer for anyone who's ever wanted to write a novel and didn't know where to start (or got stuck partway through and gave up).
In this introduction episode, meet your hosts:
Abby Mathews: Community Manager at Dabble, published middle-grade author, and someone who tried (and failed) to write a novel three times before finally figuring it out
Brooke: brand-new to Dabble, brand-new to writing, and signing up to learn the whole process from scratch, on camera, so you don't have to do it alone
Here's the idea: every week, Abby teaches Brooke something real about writing a novel, and you get to learn right alongside her. We'll cover plotting, getting unstuck, picking a genre, the "rules" of writing (and when to break them), and all the roadblocks that stop first-time novelists from finishing.
It's genre-agnostic (although Brooke will have to pick one!). It's beginner-friendly. And it's built on the idea that if you want to write a book, you ARE a writer—you just need someone to walk you through it!
Got a writing roadblock you want us to tackle? Drop it in the comments. Brooke is officially on the hook to ask the embarrassing questions for you.
SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss Episode 1, where we get into the real stuff.
Try Dabble free: https://www.dabblewriter.com/
Free writing resources at DabbleU: https://www.dabblewriter.com/dabble-u
Plot gets a lot of attention, but characters are what make people fall in love with your story. Want to write a memorable book? Create characters that your readers want to invite to Thanksgiving, or run from! Join Hank and Abby as they discuss the most important element in your writing, CHARACTERS.
You have a story in you, I know you do. But where do you start? Does the thought of writing a whole novel give you anxiety and keep you from starting at all?
Join published author Hank Garner from Dabble for a live brainstorming workshop on how to write a book when all you've got is a spark. We'll break down how to mine your creative well for character, setting, and plot ideas that will help you start your first novel (or your fifty-first).
Whether you're staring at a blank page or sitting on a pile of half-baked ideas, this workshop will help you figure out what you actually have — and how to turn it into a book.
WHAT WE'LL COVER
-How to brainstorm character, setting, and plot from scratch
-How to mine your own life, obsessions, and what-ifs for story fuel
-How to tell if your idea is a novel, a short story, or something else
-Hank's method for moving from spark to first chapter
-Brainstorming for plotters, pantsers, and the "I don't know yet" crowd
Download the Brainstorming Dabble template here: https://app.dabblewriter.com/?importTemplate=uFwqT2KkgZrcma8t&_gl=1j974m6_gcl_auMTU0MzUyMDM5MS4xNzc1NTc0NjY2LjE2ODM5NTU0MDMuMTc3NTU3NDY2OC4xNzc1NTc0NjY3_gaMTI4MTEwMzkzNy4xNzc1NTc0NjY2_ga_09N6VRHLQG*czE3Nzc5MDk0NzYkbzYyJGcwJHQxNzc3OTA5NDc2JGo2MCRsMCRoMTAyMjk1MjU1
ABOUT HANK
Hank is a published author with one foot in traditional publishing and one in indie publishing. Between his name and his pen name, he's written over fifty books. (Mostly fiction, some non-fiction too.) He has also spent the last ten years hosting thousands of podcasts on writing, which means he's talked craft with more working authors than most people have read.
ABOUT DABBLE WRITER
Dabble is novel-writing software built by writers, for writers. Outline, draft, revise, and track your whole story in one place. Try Dabble free for 14 days. No credit card required. www.dabblewriter.com
SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE
Subscribe for more live events like author interviews, free writing workshops, and Fireside Chats. We're all about helping writers hone their craft with content that's actually useful.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Did you know Dabble Writer also sponsors the DabbleU Campus, our free online writing community? It's our hub for 2x weekly writing sprints, coffee hours, craft talk, and more. https://www.dabbleu.com
Happy writing!
Get your copy of the workbook and slides here:
https://www.dabbleu.com/c/upcoming-events-e63100/outlining-for-non-outliners
Are you the kind of writer that needs a little extra freedom in your process? Are you frustrated by people that tell you that you need to outline more, but that just makes you feel stifled? This workshop is for you.
Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required! Visit our website at www.dabblewriter.com to get started.
Subscribe to our channel for more live events like author interviews, Writing Sprint Wednesdays, Feedback Fridays, and Fireside Chats.
We're all about helping authors hone their craft with engaging, fun, and educational content.
On top of all that, Dabble Premium members get access to exclusive content like Craft Q&A Office Hours, Wordsmith Workshops, Deep Dive articles, bonus resources, and guest speaker workshops.
Happy writing!
So, you want to write a novel. The question is, where on earth do you start?
Come hang out for a live Dabble Writer Fireside Chat about what to think about BEFORE you start writing that book. We're taking your questions in real time. Plotter, pantser, or anywhere in the middle. Everyone's welcome!
Hi, I'm Abby. I'm a middle-grade author, and I run the writing community at Dabble, the novel-writing software built for real writers. And my partner in crime is Hank, who's done this whole book-writing thing more than 20 times, now.
We'll be talking through the stuff no one tells first-time novelists. The pre-writing questions that actually matter, and the traps we wish we'd avoided.
Bring your questions. No question is too basic! That's the whole point.
WHAT WE'LL COVER
-Premise vs. idea. Do you actually have a book yet?
-Plotter or pantser (and why "a little of both" is a perfectly real answer)
-What pre-writing actually means, and what you can skip
-How to tell if your idea wants to be a novel (or something else)
-The stuff that stops first-time writers before Chapter 1
ABOUT DABBLE WRITER
Dabble is novel-writing software built by writers, for writers. Outline, draft, revise, and track your whole story in one place. Try it free for 14 days: https://www.dabblewriter.com/pricing
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Weekly pep talks and writing sprints, craft breakdowns, and the occasional reminder to just write the ding dong book already! Join us here: https://www.dabbleu.com/feed
howtowriteanovel #writingcommunity #amwriting #firstnovel #plotterorpantser #writingtips #novelwritingtips #writingabook #writingadvice #fictionwriting #dabblewriter #prewriting #writerslife
Does your dialogue feel flat? Do all your characters sound a little too much alike? Bring it to the Dialogue Doctor.
Join Jeff Elkins (author, editor, and host of the Dialogue Doctor Podcast) for a live craft session on dialogue. We're talking how to make every conversation pull its weight, how to build character voices readers can tell apart on the page, and how to turn a scene of people talking into a scene readers can't stop reading.
Bring the dialogue scene that's been giving you trouble. Bring the character whose voice won't stick. Bring your questions.
WHAT WE'LL LIKELY COVER
-How to structure dialogue so it moves the scene forward
-How to build character voices that don't blur together
-How to show emotion through dialogue without going purple
-How to hook readers from the first line of a conversation
-Audience questions and story-specific checkups
ABOUT JEFF
Jeff is the founder of the Dialogue Doctor and host of the Dialogue Doctor Podcast. He's the author of 11 novels, 2 works of nonfiction, and more than 100 short stories. He's worked with hundreds of authors online and edited more than ten full manuscripts. When Jeff talks dialogue, working writers listen.
ABOUT DABBLE WRITER
Dabble is novel-writing software built by writers, for writers. Outline, draft, revise, and track your whole story in one place. Try Dabble free for 14 days. No credit card required. www.dabblewriter.com
SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE
More live events like author interviews, workshops, and Fireside Chats.
Happy writing!
writingdialogue #howtowritedialogue #dialoguedoctor #jeffelkins #charactervoice #writingworkshop #writingcraft #writingcommunity #amwriting #novelwriting #fictionwriting #dabblewriter #dialogueinfiction
Jim Butcher, author of the Dresden Files, Codex Alera, and the Cinder Spires, joins us live on Story Craft Cafe to talk about the hardest moment in any series. The "All Is Lost" beat. The point where everything your protagonist has built comes apart, right before the climax.
We're asking Jim how he lands this beat across a long-running series (one that started over 20 years ago and is still going). How does "All Is Lost" work in book 4 vs. book 14? When do you hold back, and when do you scorch the earth? And how do you keep raising the stakes without breaking the story you've built?
Grab coffee. Bring your craft questions. This is a live recording of the Story Craft Cafe podcast.
WHAT WE'LL COVER
-What the "All Is Lost" moment is, and why you can't skip it
-How to build to it in a single novel vs. across a full series
-Jim's approach to plotting the Dresden Files across 17+ books
-How to raise series stakes without breaking the story you've built
-Writing from deep inside a long-running world
GUEST BIO
Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in the mountains outside Denver, Colorado. Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990's when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist. All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.
ABOUT STORY CRAFT CAFE
Story Craft Cafe is Dabble's podcast for writers who take their craft seriously and their vibes casually. We bring in working authors, editors, and industry pros to get into the stuff that makes stories work. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
ABOUT DABBLE WRITER
Dabble is novel-writing software built by writers, for writers. Outline, draft, revise, and track your whole story in one place. Perfect for series writers juggling multiple books, timelines, and character arcs. Try it free for 14 days: https://www.dabblewriter.com/
FOLLOW ALONG
Subscribe to this channel for more author interviews and live craft conversations.
Come join Hank and Abby for this walk down DabbleU memory lane, as they talk about finding your people in this crazy, noisy online world!https://dabbleu.com
Join Hank as he hosts Steve Beaulieu for an Ask Me Anything, all about writing and publishing. We talked about genre fiction, what is and is not working in publishing at the moment, long term mindset and much more.
We hosted a free live training Thursday, April 9 at 10 am Eastern (watch the replay here) all about developmental editing, one of the most important (and most overlooked) parts of the editing process.
The training was with WSJ bestselling author and book coach, Joe Bunting, who will be talking about how to get the most out of the revision process, plus the dev editing tools that can make the process faster.
In the training, Joe will cover:
- What developmental editing really is (and why it matters so much)
- When your manuscript is ready for developmental editing
- How to find the right developmental editor for your book
- The pros and cons of traditional developmental editing
- How Twig can help you get your book ready for publication
- And so much more
Keith Manley is a pastor, musician, and an avid author who found his writing and output skyrocket when he discovered a process for using AI tools to enhance his creative output. He is an advocate for using tools that keep you squarely in the driver's seat and at the helm of your creative endeavors. The AI-Assisted Author: My Real Workflow for Writing, Designing, and Publishing with Claude, ChatGPT and Amazon KDP https://www.keithmanley.com/index.html
Most of us get into writing because we love the way stories sound and how they make us feel. What happens when you finish pouring your heart into something you are passionate about just to read what you've written and realize that what you imagined just doesn't live up to where your talent currently lives? How can you brige that gap and become the writer you've always seen yourself as? Join us as we talk it out LIVE.
Did you win our 60 day Novel Challenge? Need a tune up this summer? Join us for the epic wrap up show and relive the 60 day glory, or use this as motivation to write a new novel this summer.
Elizabeth Arnott is an award-winning writer and journalist and has written critically acclaimed historical fiction as Lizzie Pook. Her work—covering everything from true crime to Arctic exploration—has featured in publications including The Sunday Times, National Geographic, The New York Times Book Review, and The Guardian. She lives with her husband and their young daughter in London, where she spends far too much time drinking iced coffee and watching serial killer shows.
When writing a series, or even a standalone books, doing some prework can not only make you job as a writer easier, it can even ensure that your readers will have a better experience with your books. How do you go about it, and how can this addition to your process make you a better story teller?
Trope has become a dirty word in some writing circles, but the truth is that tropes are the building blocks of genre fiction. So, how do you keep your writing consistent with reader expectations (using tropes), while also allowing you to tell a story that is fresh and exciting? This is what we'll explore next to the fire. Come join us!
TAYLOR ADAMS is the author of several acclaimed thrillers, including The Last Word, Hairpin Bridge, and No Exit. No Exit has been published in thirty-two languages and is a Hulu Original film. Adams lives in Washington State.
Revered by authors and readers alike for his singular cinematic intensity and the tenacious, unforgettable characters who drive it, Adams plunges us deep underground in this harrowing tale of a caving expedition gone horribly wrong. Blending the terrifying confinement of The Descent with the psychological complexity of a domestic noir, the novel follows two friends who discover that the darkness inside the cave is matched only by the secrets they brought with them.
The story centers on Tess, a shy and claustrophobic legal assistant struggling to make ends meet, who finally succumbs to pressure from her best friend, Allie, to join her on a trip deep underground. Their lives have taken drastically different paths since high school: while Tess scrapes by, Allie has become a confident, globe-trotting travel influencer. Tess reluctantly agrees to this spelunking trip, suppressing her fears for the sake of their friendship.
When the pair arrives at the cave mouth, their adventure quickly turns sinister. They encounter a stranger in the dark—a man who claims to be a fellow caver but whose behavior becomes threatening. When the bold, take-no-prisoners Allie confronts him before setting off with Tess, the situation simmers, paranoia brews, and danger soon follows: Tess finds herself separated, trapped in a narrow crawl space hundreds of feet beneath the surface, fighting a desperate battle for survival against the elements and a relentless aggressor.
Twenty-four hours later, as Tess recounts her ordeal from a hospital bed, a detective reveals shocking new information about Allie’s past. These revelations force Tess to question everything she thought she knew about her best friend and suggest that the brutal attack in the deep was far from random.
Adams’s writing is suffocatingly tense, expertly utilizing the atmospheric setting of the cave to ratchet up the suspense. The narrative taps into primal fears of confinement, while exploring themes of survival, betrayal, and the complex, often envious nature of friendship.
HER LAST BREATH is a tour de force of suspense that will leave readers gasping for air. Fans of the high-octane pacing of Adrian McKinty and the twisting, character-driven mysteries of Riley Sager will find themselves captivated by this relentless ride.
Writing a book is hard work, but hard work can be satisfying and fun. Having an idea and knowing where that idea is going can sometimes be the easy part. We've all heard the trite question, "where do your ideas come from?" asked of every author we've come to respect and admire. But here's the truth: Ideas are EVERYWHERE. The bigger, and most important, question is: How do you take that whisp of an idea and turn it into an actionable PLAN? Hank and Abby explore this topic on this week's Fireside Chat.
Preston & Child, the New York Times bestselling author duo known as Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child individually, are at the top of their game. Their writing has been praised as “consistently exciting and never predictable” (Associated Press) and “[there’s] nothing else like them” (Washington Post).
PENDERGAST: The Beginning joins Pendergast as a brazen rookie under the supervision of Special Agent Chambers. While investigating a gruesome crime in the Mississippi bayou, they uncover a string of grisly, ritualistic killings that defy any known serial killer profile. With Pendergast’s brilliance and unorthodox methods, they solve the case and find the killer… and that is when the true horror begins.
Matthew F. Jones is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels as well as a number of screenplays. His novels have been widely translated and several times have been named on best novels of the year lists. Three of his novels, A Single Shot, Deepwater and Boot Tracks, have been made into major motion pictures. He has taught creative writing at a number of colleges and universities, including Randolph Macon College, Lynchburg College and the University of Virginia. He grew up on a horse and dairy farm in rural upstate New York and currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
It’s been five years since heiress Clare Monroe tragically died on New Year's Eve at her family's fabulous Italian estate. Since that time, her college roommates have harbored a dark secret--their lies and misdeeds led to her death all those years ago.
What happened that fateful night was a series of horrible accidents, but Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David are guilty, nonetheless. And their desperate decision to conceal the truth destroyed their once-close bond.
Now, the estranged friends are each the recipient of an invitation from Clare’s family to an all-expenses-paid trip back to the Monroe's lakeside palazzo for a long-overdue celebration of life party. It’s an invitation none of Clare’s friends want to accept, but they can hardly refuse.
Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David have barely settled into the idyllic estate with the rest of Clare’s family before they become targets of a series of unsettling occurrences. Someone here knows the truth, and as the menacing taunts and threats escalate, it becomes swiftly clear that nothing is as it seems at the Monroe palazzo, and their secret—and their lives—are in danger.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kit Frick is a MacDowell Fellow and International Thriller Writers Award finalist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA from Syracuse University. She is the author of the adult suspense novels The Split and Friends and Liars, the young adult thrillers Before We Were Sorry (originally published as See All the Stars), All Eyes on Us, I Killed Zoe Spanos, Very Bad People, and The Reunion, and the poetry collection A Small Rising Up in the Lungs. Kit loves a good mystery but has only ever killed her characters. Honest. Visit Kit online at KitFrick.com and on Instagram @KitFrick.
We all love a good writing challenge, don't we? NaNoWriMo (RIP) was an excellent challenge that helped a ton of writers get started as writers. We at Dabble even started our very own 60 Day Novel Challenge to help encourage and empower people to take that plunge and get their novels written, but do we have to wait until October or November to write? What if you're inspired in the middle of Spring? The good news is that most writers are always writing or thinking about writing. In today's Fireside Chat, join Abby and Hank as they discuss being a year-round and lifelong writer.
As authors we envision a life of creating stories that entertain and move readers, or so we hope. The reality is, though, that we must learn to balance art and commerce. As authors we must wear many hats throughout our career. Join us as we talk it out.
Blaine Pardoe is an award winning New York Times bestselling author who lives in Spotsylvania, Virginia. He is the author of numerous science fiction, military history, true crime, horror, and business leadership books. He is considered one of America's best writers about the Great War. His books have been published in six languages and he has been a featured speaker at the U.S. National Archives, the United States Navy Museum, and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs.
Welcome to the 60-Day Novel Challenge Live Show. It’s your place to ask questions, get unstuck, and stay motivated throughout the 60-Day Novel Challenge!
Each week during the challenge, we go live to:
Answer your questions
Troubleshoot common writing roadblocks
Share tips to help you plan, draft, and finish your novel
Highlight upcoming challenge events and writing sprints
This week, we're wrapping up our novels by discussing the third act and reflecting on all the effort you've put in so far. Plus, we answer all your burning questions!
Still need to join the challenge?
It’s free! And if you sign up for a free trial of Dabble and connect it to your 60-Day project, we’ll extend your trial until the end of the Challenge, all with no credit card required!
Join the Challenge: https://www.dabbleu.com/feedDabble Free Trial: https://www.dabblewriter.com/
Let’s write that novel—together!
AmWriting #60DayNovelChallenge #WritingCommunity #NaNoWriMo #DabbleWriter
Welcome to the 60-Day Novel Challenge Live Show. It’s your place to ask questions, get unstuck, and stay motivated throughout the 60-Day Novel Challenge!
Each week during the challenge, we go live to:
Answer your questions
Troubleshoot common writing roadblocks
Share tips to help you plan, draft, and finish your novel
Highlight upcoming challenge events and writing sprints
This week, we're talking about the second half of act two: the midpoint and second plot point, and what those mean for your character. Of course, we're answering all your burning questions, too.
Still need to join the challenge?
It’s free! And if you sign up for a free trial of Dabble and connect it to your 60-Day project, we’ll extend your trial until the end of the Challenge, all with no credit card required!
Join the Challenge: https://www.dabbleu.com/feedDabble Free Trial: https://www.dabblewriter.com/
Let’s write that novel—together!
AmWriting #60DayNovelChallenge #WritingCommunity #NaNoWriMo #DabbleWriter
Welcome to the 60-Day Novel Challenge Live Show. It’s your place to ask questions, get unstuck, and stay motivated throughout the 60-Day Novel Challenge!
Each week during the challenge, we go live to:
Answer your questions
Troubleshoot common writing roadblocks
Share tips to help you plan, draft, and finish your novel
Highlight upcoming challenge events and writing sprints
This week, we're looking at the thrilling things you want to harass your protagonist with: the rising action, subplots, and the antagonist!
Still need to join the challenge?
It’s free! And if you sign up for a free trial of Dabble and connect it to your 60-Day project, we’ll extend your trial until the end of the Challenge, all with no credit card required!
Join the Challenge: https://www.dabbleu.com/feedDabble Free Trial: https://www.dabblewriter.com/
Let’s write that novel—together!
AmWriting #60DayNovelChallenge #WritingCommunity #NaNoWriMo #DabbleWriter
Welcome to the 60-Day Novel Challenge Live Show. It’s your place to ask questions, get unstuck, and stay motivated throughout the 60-Day Novel Challenge!
Each week during the challenge, we go live to:
Answer your questions
Troubleshoot common writing roadblocks
Share tips to help you plan, draft, and finish your novel
Highlight upcoming challenge events and writing sprints
This week, we're talking about the first act: ordinary world, inciting incident, and the first plot point.
Still need to join the challenge?
It’s free! And if you sign up for a free trial of Dabble and connect it to your 60-Day project, we’ll extend your trial until the end of the Challenge, all with no credit card required!
Join the Challenge: https://www.dabbleu.com/feedDabble Free Trial: https://www.dabblewriter.com/
Let’s write that novel—together!
AmWriting #60DayNovelChallenge #WritingCommunity #NaNoWriMo #DabbleWriter
Welcome to the 60-Day Novel Challenge Live Show. It’s your place to ask questions, get unstuck, and stay motivated throughout the 60-Day Novel Challenge!
Each week during the challenge, we go live to:
Answer your questions
Troubleshoot common writing roadblocks
Share tips to help you plan, draft, and finish your novel
Highlight upcoming challenge events and writing sprints
This week, we're looking at theme, Dabble's Plot Grid, and how to set ourselves up for writing success next month!
Still need to join the challenge?
It’s free! And if you sign up for a free trial of Dabble and connect it to your 60-Day project, we’ll extend your trial until the end of the challenge, all with no credit card required!
Join the Challenge: https://www.dabbleu.com/
Dabble Free Trial: https://www.dabblewriter.com/
Let’s write that novel together!
AmWriting #60DayNovelChallenge #WritingCommunity #NaNoWriMo #DabbleWriter
Welcome to the 60-Day Novel Challenge Live Show. It’s your place to ask questions, get unstuck, and stay motivated throughout the 60-Day Novel Challenge!
Each week during the challenge, we go live to:
Answer your questions
Troubleshoot common writing roadblocks
Share tips to help you plan, draft, and finish your novel
Highlight upcoming challenge events and writing sprints
This week is all about conflicts. External conflict, internal conflict, and why these two things matter so dang much.
Still need to join the challenge?
It’s free! And if you sign up for a free trial of Dabble and connect it to your 60-Day project, we’ll extend your trial until the end of the challenge, all with no credit card required!
Join the Challenge: https://www.dabbleu.com/
Dabble Free Trial: https://www.dabblewriter.com/
Let’s write that novel together!
AmWriting #60DayNovelChallenge #WritingCommunity #NaNoWriMo #DabbleWriter
As one of the fantasy genre's most successful authors, R.A. Salvatore enjoys an ever-expanding and tremendously loyal following.
His books regularly appear on The New York Times best-seller lists and have sold more than 30,000,000 copies. Salvatore’s most recent original hardcover, The Two Swords, Book III of The Hunter’s Blade Trilogy (October 2004) debuted at # 1 on The Wall Street Journal best-seller list and at # 4 on The New York Times best-seller list. His books have been translated into numerous foreign languages including German, Italian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Yiddish, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Czech, and French.
Salvatore's first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.
His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computer science to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.
The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer's letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.
Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including "Adventure fantasy" and "Why young adults read fantasy." Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.
When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.
Welcome to the Thursday Live Q&A Show. It’s your place to ask questions, get unstuck, and stay motivated throughout the 60-Day Novel Challenge!
Each week during the challenge, we go live to:
Answer your questions
Troubleshoot common writing roadblocks
Share tips to help you plan, draft, and finish your novel
Highlight upcoming challenge events and writing sprints
This week, we're talking genre, plot brainstorming, and worldbuilding!
Still need to join the challenge?
It’s free! And if you sign up for a free trial of Dabble and connect it to your 60-Day project, we’ll extend your trial until the end of the challenge, all with no credit card required!
Join the Challenge: https://www.dabbleu.com/
Dabble Free Trial: https://www.dabblewriter.com/
Let’s write that novel together!
AmWriting #60DayNovelChallenge #WritingCommunity #NaNoWriMo #DabbleWriter
Julie Artz helps status quo busting writers slay their doubt demons and get their stories reader-ready. She is an Author Accelerator-certified Founding Book Coach and a sought-after writing instructor and speaker. She regularly contributes to Jane Friedman and Writers Helping Writers, and is an instructor for AuthorsPublish. A consummate social justice minded story geek, Julie lives by an enchanted river in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband, two naughty furry familiars, and two college-aged children who occasionally manifest.
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@julieartz
Substack: https://julieartz.substack.com
Is Your Story Reader-Ready? Take the quiz to find out: https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/68599ba553e03200150eff41
This month, I'm running my FREE critique parnter matching service, CP Meet Cute. Join the fun at https://www.julieartz.com/cp-meet-cute by October 24 and get paired with like-minded writers before the year is out!
Chris Pourteau is the bestselling author of the sci-fi thriller novels of the SynCorp Saga (co-authored with David Bruns), the post-apocalyptic Serenity Strain novels, and the military sci-fi collection Tales of B-Company. His first novel, Shadows Burned In, earned the 2015 eLit Book Awards Gold Medal for Literary Fiction. The Lazarus Protocol, the first novel in the SynCorp Saga, placed in the Top Ten in Read Freely's 2018 50 Best Indie Book of the Year contest; it was the highest-rated Sci-Fi novel in the contest.
He’s also edited and curated bestselling short story collections including the two animal-centric collections Tails of the Apocalypse and Tails of Dystopia (with Samuel Peralta), as well as Bridge Across the Stars, a collection of Sci-Fi stories from indie and traditionally published authors published by Sci-Fi Bridge, which Chris co-founded. His dayjob is editor-in-chief for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, which researches cutting-edge technologies across the transportation spectrum.
When he’s not writing, editing, or working the dayjob, Chris loves exercising regularly, watching shows like Star Trek and Stranger Things, and reading his favorite authors. Those include Bernard Cornwell, Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, Edgar Allan Poe, and Max Collins. He lives in Texas with his wife, son, and two dogs. (He’s a HUGE dog person, by the way.)
Find out more about Chris and his writing through his newsletter. Sign up and get free stuff at https://chrispourteau.com/newsletter.
Nick Cole is a former soldier and working actor living in Southern California. When he is not auditioning for commercials, going out for sitcoms or being shot, kicked, stabbed or beaten by the students of various film schools for their projects, he can be found writing books.
Bronze Age Sword and Sorcery meets Military Fantasy in a lost world of long ago…
Flying Ace Mason “Mace” Dickson was once a legend among fighter pilots. Now, in his middle years, that storied life is a distant memory—until NASA drafts Mace for a black book flight test. He’s transported to a strange world forgotten by time, where he wakes on the desert sands of a bloody battlefield. In this land, warfare isn’t fought from the skies at a distance. It’s vicious and hand-to-hand, and arcane spells can kill a man just as quickly as spear or sword.
Mace is pressed into service as a slave for the Black Legion, a renowned company of mercenaries under the banner of the splendid Atlantian Army of the West, currently besieging the fabled City of Serpents. The Legion is the tip of the Atlantian spear aimed straight at the heart of the power-mad Thuman Evol, who marshals red sorcerers, armored war-dinosaurs, and a host of grim fighting men to oppose them.
Out of his depth, Mace is trapped in a no-holds-barred contest of gritty grunt infantry, massive war machines, and strange sorcery, where the soldiers, NCOs, and battle captains of glorious Atlantis fight the enemy and sometimes one another for eternal honor, glory, and ultimate power.
In this brutal world, ruthless circumstances force Mace to face at long last his inner demons. Inspiring him to persevere is the burning desire to return to his family for one more second chance at redeeming a life he once surrendered to fading glory and the bottle. But first he must survive the crucible of deadly magicks, backstabbing intrigues, and the utter savagery that is the lost world of Atlantea...
First, Mace must live through hell...
Our #IndieSummer journey comes to an end this week, but it's not a finish line that awaits us, this is just the beginning. Today Indie author powerhouse Craig Martelle joins us to talk about building a plan to launch your work into the world and to see the success that book deserves.
Craig is a million-selling author of science fiction (post-apocalyptic, military sci-fi, and space opera), thrillers, and non-fiction.
Craig retired from the Marine Corps after a long career in the military intelligence community, having worked with most of the U.S. Government's three-letter agencies. After a short stint with physical security, Craig went to law school, graduated summa cum laude, and went into business consulting. From intelligence, to the inner workings of company board rooms, to on-the-ground leadership, Craig has seen it firsthand.
His books are an extension of his experience, putting the trials and tribulations of a fast-paced world into your hands. Whether in Science Fiction, Thrillers, Fantasy, or even his Non-Fiction, you'll find consistent themes of justice and doing right by those who are counting on their leaders. Leadership is a service, not a crown to lord over others.
No matter where Craig went, he always had a book with him. Thanks to 21st Century technology, He now has thousands of books at his fingertips and with him wherever he goes. How many books would he have read on deployments had he not had to carry a physical book?
No one is encumbered like that now. Craig loves the works of Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, Andre Norton, JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and so many more. He has been compared to Andre Norton and that is humbling - she was an incredible author with a huge list of novels to her credit. With every new book, Craig aspires to live up to those that you, the readers, have compared him to.
Through a bizarre series of events, Craig ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska. He never expected to retire to a place where golf courses are only open for four months out of the year. But that's the way it is. It is off the beaten path. He and his wife get to watch the northern lights from their driveway. Their dog has lots of room to run, just until temperatures reach fifty below zero. They have from three and a half hours of daylight in the winter to twenty-four hours in the summer.
It’s all part of the give and take of life. If they didn’t have those extremes, then everyone would live in the sub-arctic.
Chrystal Schleyer lives in South Carolina with her husband and children. Tucked away in a little black house on an old hay field, she happily lives in the middle of nowhere.
When not writing or reading, she can be found outside with her ever growing number of animals or scouring the shelves of the nearest thrift store.
A celebration at a turn-of-the-century manor takes a deadly twist, and everyone becomes a suspect.
Twin brothers Easton and Weston are both in love with their childhood best friend Eloise. But headstrong Eloise prefers the younger brother, Wes, which is why she is heartbroken when, unexpectedly, Wes proposes to an heiress, and Eloise finds herself engaged to Easton—the twin she cannot stand. Then, during a week of celebration, Wes is poisoned. Murmurs of nightshade slip through the manor, and everyone seems to have a motive.
Was it Della Drewitt—the heiress reluctant to marry Wes? Or did Easton decide killing his brother was the only way to secure Eloise’s affections? Or was it the housemaid Violet, Wes’s previous lover?
As guests turn into suspects, attempts to kill Wes become more relentless than the storms churning the estate—who wants him dead, and why?
Jason Anspach joins us today to talk about the importance of your author newsletter. If you had nothing at your disposal but a newsletter filled with people that enjoy your work, could you build an indie author business? We'll talk about it with Jason.
JASON ANSPACH (1979- ) is the award-winning, Associated Press Best-selling author of Galaxy's Edge, Wayward Galaxy, and Forgotten Ruin. He is an American author raised in a military family (Go Army!) known for pulse-pounding military science fiction and adventurous space operas that deftly blend action, suspense, and comedy.
Together with his wife, their seven (not a typo) children, and a border collie named Charlotte, Jason resides in Puyallup, Washington. He remains undefeated at arm wrestling against his entire family.
Galaxy's Edge: www.InTheLegion.com
Author website: www.JasonAnspach.com
Are you a plotter or a pantser? This is one of the biggest points of debate in the author community. Today we hear from Claire Fraise and get her personal insights into plotting, and how the Plot Grid helps her to envision her stories and keep them on track.
Claire Fraise is the author of five ghostly thrillers. She won the Grand Prize at the 2023 Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards and is active on her YouTube channel, where she records videos sharing resources and writing tips that helped her improve as a writer.
Claire graduated with a B.A. in English from Tufts University and now lives in Montana with her fiancé and two dogs. When she’s not sitting behind a computer thinking about murder, you can find her camping in the backcountry, on the back of a horse, or teaching her undersocialized rescue Chihuahua not to bite people.
Visit Dabblewriter.com to sign up for a 15 day free trial and try out the Plot Grid for yourself.
Liv Constantine is the pseudonym of Lynne Constantine, an Edgar® Award-nominated, New York Times and internationally bestselling author. She is the co-author of The Last Mrs. Parrish, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick, and her critically acclaimed books have been praised by the Washington Post, USA Today, the Sunday Times, People magazine, and Good Morning America, among many others, with more than two million copies sold worldwide. Her work has been translated into twenty-nine languages, is available in thirty-four countries, and is in development for both television and film. When she’s not writing, you can find her curled up with her Labrador and golden retriever, reading a good book or binge-watching the latest limited series.
Nick Cole has built a rabid fan base that eagerly await new releases from him. He and his partner pioneered a successful business plan that allows them to embrace the Amazon ecosystem while also maintaining independence from the corporate world and sell direct to their readers.
Nick Cole is a former soldier and working actor living in Southern California. When he is not auditioning for commercials, going out for sitcoms or being shot, kicked, stabbed or beaten by the students of various film schools for their projects, he can be found writing books.
Nick's Book The Old Man and the Wasteland was an Amazon Bestseller and #1 in Science Fiction.
In 2016 Nick's book CTRL ALT Revolt won the Dragon Award for Best Apocalyptic novel.
In 2018 Nick and his co-author, Jason Anspach, won the Dragon Award for The Savage Wars. Best MilScfi.
The Galaxy’s Edge Series and the Forgotten Ruin books have sold millions of copies.
Josh Hayes continues our #IndieSummer campaign with a chat about formatting and page layout for Indie Authors. Presentation matters, and how you present your work can have a tremendous impact on how people experience your work.
A retired police officer, Josh Hayes is the author of the Valor Trilogy, the Tranquility series w/ Devon C Ford, Stryker’s War (Galaxy’s Edge), and The Terra Nova Chronicles w/ Richard Fox, along with numerous short stories.
His debut solo novel, Edge of Valor, was a finalist for the 2020 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel.
Ever since he watched his first Star Trek episode (TNG not OS), Josh has loved science fiction. Watching it, reading it, and writing it. He grew up a military brat, affording him the opportunity to meet several different types of people, in multiple states and foreign countries. After graduating high school, he joined the United States Air Force and served for six years, before leaving military life to work in law enforcement. During his time with the Wichita Police Department, Josh served as a patrol officer, bicycle unit, community policing officer, and was an assistant bomb technician on the Bomb Squad.
His experiences in both his military life and police life have given him unique glimpses into the lives of people around him and it shows through in the characters he creates.
Josh is also the creator and president of Keystroke Medium, a popular YouTube show and podcast focused on the craft of writing. For the best author interviews, news, and craft discussion on the internet today, visit www.keystrokemedium.com or subscribe to their YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/keystrokemedium.
When Josh is not writing, he spends his time with his four children and his wife, Jamie.
You can find out more about Josh and his writing at www.joshhayeswriter.com and join his fan club on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/joshhayes
This week we turn to jacket copy as we work our way through the #IndieSummer checklist. You've got a great book. Check. You've gotten an eye catching cover. Check. Now let's explore writing that jacket copy that will entice readers to click that buy button on your book.
Jeff Brown has worked as a science fiction and fantasy illustrator and cover designer since 2013. Jeff has designed covers for Tor, Scholastic, Penguin, Bloomsbury and many more.
He has worked on projects such as Eragon, The Devils, The Three-Body Problem, Malazan Book of the Fallen, Riftwar, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and The Dragonbone Chair.
Jeff has been a Dragon Award finalist in 2023 and 2024 for Best Illustrative Book Cover
Kicking off our #IndieSummer campaign is Michelle Hazen. Michelle Hazen is a nomad with a writing problem. Years ago, she and her husband ducked out of the 9 to 5 world and moved into their truck to become desert tortoise biologists. She found her voice with the support of the online fanfiction community, and once she started typing, she never looked back.
As a result, she has written most of her books in odd places, including a bus in Thailand, an off-the-grid cabin in the Sawtooth Mountains, a golf cart in a sandstorm, a rental car during a heat wave in the Mohave Desert and a beach in Honduras.
These days, she works as a freelance editor and writing coach with Sanctuary Editorial mostly based out of Idaho, but thanks to the wonders of Wi-Fi, she and her husband are still soaking up inspiration while they travel the country and work along the way.
She’s currently addicted to Shadow and Bone, rock climbing, and Tillamook cheese.
Michelle is double-agented, so for rights inquiries for romance, psychological suspense, or for her self-published novels, please contact Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary. For fantasy novels and associated rights, contact Naomi Davis of BookEnds Literary.
Find her on Instagram at MichelleHazenAuthor, on Facebook at Michelle Hazen, or follow her on Twitter @michellehazen.
Many writers struggle with resistance—procrastination, perfectionism, writer’s block. Instead of writing, you find yourself scrolling social media, cleaning the kitchen, or calling your mom. You listen to a podcast and tell yourself, Hey, this is still productive, but deep down, you wish you were making your own art. Maybe you run an errand—something necessary, but not urgent—knowing you could have written instead. It feels like you're constantly avoiding the page, and you can’t help but wonder, Why is it so hard to just sit down and write?
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. And here’s the good news: your resistance isn’t a personal failing! You're not "lazy" or "unmotivated." What you're facing can be explained by brain science. In this workshop, you’ll learn the neuroscience behind resistance and discover simple, effective strategies to overcome it. I’ll introduce you to what I call “write or flight” and show you how to rewire your brain so that resistance stops standing in your way. You'll learn about the different parts of the brain and how to work with them when resistance pops up so you can finally reach your writing goals. The key isn’t willpower: it’s understanding how your brain works and using that knowledge to your advantage.
Monica Hay is a writing coach who helps writers overcome resistance and finish their manuscripts (without getting stuck in revision traps). With a Master’s in Publishing from Portland State University and a Bachelor’s from UC Berkeley, she often jokes that she’s a recovering academic. She has worked at two literary agencies and served as the Director’s Assistant for WriteOnCon, an online children’s publishing conference. Her work has been featured in the Perfect Your Process and Writing Brave summits, as well as on multiple podcasts.
Blending her background in social work and book publishing, Monica focuses on creative recovery and mastering the inner game of writing. She's passionate about helping writers embrace the "mess" of the writing process, and her famous catchphrase is "no mess, no magic." She currently lives in Amsterdam with her husband and two cats.
Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required!
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Happy writing!
Claudia Gray is the pseudonym of Amy Vincent. She is the author of the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney Mysteries, which began with The Murder of Mr. Wickham. She is also the writer of multiple young adult novels, including the Evernight series, the Firebird trilogy, and the Constellation trilogy. In addition, she’s written several Star Wars novels, such as Lost Stars and Bloodline She and her husband, Paul, live in Turin, Italy, under the benevolent rule of a small dog named Peaches.
The fourth book in New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray's Jane Austen sequel series, THE RUSHWORTH FAMILY PLOT finds amateur sleuths Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney caught up in the whirlwind of the London Season—and in a murderous scheme involving the family of Edmund and Fanny Bertram
Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney understand each other perfectly; it's a pity their families do not. A series of misunderstandings, misplaced pride, and—indeed—prejudice, has led their parents to deem the pair unsuited to wed. Now, with the Season approaching, Juliet's grandfather, General Tilney, has sent her to London with a new wardrobe and orders to prove herself worthy of someone better than the snobby Darcys. Meanwhile, Jonathan has been forced to accept an invitation to stay in town with old friends Edmund and Fanny Bertram at the house of Edmund's brother, Sir Thomas. Oblivious to and undesiring of female attention outside of Juliet's, Jonathan is at risk of being ensnared by Caroline Bingley's previously rebuffed plans to make herself—or her daughter—mistress of Pemberley.
But when Mr. Rushworth, the former husband of Edmund's sister Maria, is discovered dead in his home, Jonathan and Juliet find themselves with problems far weightier than the marriage market. In one of the greatest scandals of its day, Maria abandoned her new husband in favor of the notorious rake Henry Crawford, and when he wouldn't marry her, was forced to flee to the continent in disgrace. Now Maria is back, accompanied by a daughter she claims Mr. Rushworth fathered after their divorce—and who he wrote into his will just before his death. To spare Edmund and Fanny further social shame, Jonathan and Juliet must unmask a killer before the drama surrounding the Rushworth family fortune claims another victim.
KILL YOUR DARLINGS (William Morrow; June 10, 2025) is New York Times bestselling author PETER SWANSON’s most ambitious novel yet. The book marries an evergreen hook—a terrible secret unravels a marriage—to a one-of-a-kind structure: this is a thriller told in reverse.
Swanson—a “master of suspense” (Crimereads) who specializes in psychological thrillers that subvert expectations—“never disappoints” (NPR). Critics call his novels “ingenious” and “devious” (New York Times Book Review), “inventive” (Wall Street Journal), “complex, twist-filled” (the Associated Press), and “so ruthlessly clever it’s criminal” (Entertainment Weekly).
If you haven’t yet jumped on the Peter Swanson bandwagon, now is the time. KILL YOUR DARLINGS is poised to be the breakout thriller of the summer. A terrible act binds a husband and wife to one another forever. But when the marriage goes south, how far will each of them go to protect their secrets?
Smart, unique, and unnerving, KILL YOUR DARLINGS is the latest incredible read from Peter Swanson.
In this episode we talk with New York Times Bestseller Jayne Ann Krentz about her long career in publishing, the importance of genre, meeting reader expectations, mixing popular genres, and so much more.
With over 50 New York Times bestsellers, Krentz is one of the forerunners of paranormal romance. She writes romantic thrillers, futuristic suspense, and historical mysteries under the Krentz, Castle, and Amanda Quick names, respectively, and her Harmony novels have been praised for their “seamless synthesis of futuristic suspense, magical settings, and scintillating romance” (Booklist, starred review).
KIMBERLY BELLE is the Edgar Award nominated, USA Today and internationally bestselling author with more than one million copies sold worldwide, with titles including The Paris Widow, The Marriage Lie, a Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist for Best Mystery & Thriller, and the co-authored #1 Audible Original, Young Rich Widows. Kimberly’s novels have been optioned for film and television and selected by LibraryReads and Amazon and Apple books editors as best books of the month, and the International Thriller Writers as nominee for best book of the year. She divides her time between Atlanta and Amsterdam.
Linwood Barclay, a New York Times bestselling author with twenty novels to his credit, spent three decades in newspapers before turning full time to writing thrillers. His books have been translated into more than two dozen languages, sold millions of copies, and he counts Stephen King among his fans. Many of his books have been optioned for film and TV, a series has been made in France, and he wrote the screenplay for the film based on his novel Never Saw it Coming. Born in the US, his parents moved to Canada just as he was turning four, and he’s lived there ever since. He lives near Toronto with his wife, Neetha. They have two grown children.
Jenny Morris is a psychology researcher with a fascination in ethics, human behavior, and moral dilemmas. She writes high-concept crime novels that explore deep philosophical questions that started off as conversations with friends like, ‘How much would I have to pay you to eat a human toe?’ Jenny has completed the Faber Academy ‘Writing a Novel' six-month course, and has won short story contests in both Writing Magazine and Writers' Forum. In 2020, she completed a PhD in Psychology. Jenny lives in Kent. AN ETHICAL GUIDE TO MURDER is her first novel.
Thea has a secret. She can tell how long someone has left to live just by touching them. Not only that, but she can transfer life from one person to another—something she finds out the hard way when her best friend, Ruth, suffers a fatal head injury on a night out. Desperate to save her, Thea accidentally kills the man responsible and lets his life flow directly into Ruth.
Thea comes to understand that she has a godlike power, but how to use it quickly becomes a question of self-control. Is it really so wrong to take a little life from a bad person—say, a very annoying boss—and gift it to someone who's truly good? Realizing she needs to harness her newfound skills, Thea creates an Ethical Guide to Murder. But as she embarks on her mission to punish the wicked and give the deserving more time, she finds good and bad aren't as simple as she first thought.
How can she really know who deserves to live and die, and can she figure out her own rules before Ruth’s borrowed time runs out?
One of the world’s most prolific and successful writers, ANTHONY HOROWITZ may have committed more (fictional) murders than any other living author, working across all media formats, from books, to TV, film, plays, and journalism. In January 2022 he was awarded a CBE for his services to literature. He has written two highly acclaimed Sherlock Holmes novels, The House of Silk and Moriarty; three James Bond novels, Trigger Mortis, Forever and a Day, and With a Mind to Kill; the mystery novels featuring book editor Susan Ryeland: Magpie Murders, Moonflower Murders, and now MARBLE HALL MURDERS, and the Detective Hawthorne novels: The Word is Murder, The Sentence is Death, A Line To Kill, The Twist of a Knife, and Close to Death. He is also the author of the teen spy Alex Rider series, which has sold more than nineteen million copies worldwide and has become a hugely successful show on Amazon Prime TV. His breakthrough murder mystery, Magpie Murders, and the follow up Moonflower Murders, were both adapted for TV and aired on PBS. He lives in London with his wife and dog. For more on Anthony Horowitz, visit: https://anthonyhorowitz.com/.
What's a book coach? A book coach gives you editorial feedback, accountability, support, and marketplace intelligence while you write. We’re committed to helping you write the best book you can write — and to make it a little less lonely along the way.
You know what a basketball coach does? A career coach? A leadership coach? Imagine that kind of oversight, nurturing, and guidance while you are writing a book.
Jennie Nash is the founder and CEO of Author Accelerator, a company on a mission to lead the emerging book coaching industry. Author Accelerator has certified more than 160 book coaches in both fiction and nonfiction. Jennie’s own book coaching clients have landed top New York agents and six-figure book deals with Big 5 houses such as Penguin, Scribner, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette, and won dozens of national indie book awards. Client KJ Dell’Antonia became an instant New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick in 2020, and in 2021, client Jenn Lim, hit the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. Jennie is the author of 12 books in 3 genres, including Blueprint for a Nonfiction Book: Plan and Pitch Your Big Idea and the forthcoming Blueprint for a Memoir: How to Write a Memoir for the Marketplace. Learn more about being coached or becoming a coach at authoraccelerator.com.
Jen Braaksma is a book coach and is the author of two young adult novels, Evangeline’s Heaven and Amaranth. A former journalist and high school English teacher, Jen is now a book coach who helps writers develop their stories. She lives in Ottawa, Canada, with her husband (soulmates do exist!), two daughters (Best. Kids. Ever.) and her four cats (who know they’re in charge).
Michelle Hazen is a nomad with a writing problem. Years ago, she and her husband ducked out of the 9 to 5 world and moved into their truck to become desert tortoise biologists. She found her voice with the support of the online fanfiction community, and once she started typing, she never looked back.
As a result, she has written most of her books in odd places, including a bus in Thailand, an off-the-grid cabin in the Sawtooth Mountains, a golf cart in a sandstorm, a rental car during a heat wave in the Mohave Desert and a beach in Honduras.
These days, she works as a freelance editor and writing coach with Sanctuary Editorial mostly based out of Idaho, but thanks to the wonders of Wi-Fi, she and her husband are still soaking up inspiration while they travel the country and work along the way.
She’s currently addicted to Shadow and Bone, rock climbing, and Tillamook cheese.
Michelle is double-agented, so for rights inquiries for romance, psychological suspense, or for her self-published novels, please contact Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary. For fantasy novels and associated rights, contact Naomi Davis of BookEnds Literary.
Find her on Instagram at MichelleHazenAuthor, on Facebook at Michelle Hazen, or follow her on Twitter @michellehazen.
https://michellehazenbooks.com/
https://www.sanctuaryeditorial.com/
In a novel, pacing is everything. During this workshop, we’ll talk about story beats and how to use them correctly, followed by an introduction to the all-powerful micro-beat. Through video clips, I'll teach you how to identify the moments on screen that bring you to the edge of your seat and show you how to apply those techniques to your writing. Learn how to create killer action scenes, nail-biting drama, and romantic moments that will leave your readers swooning for more.
Join us as Devri Walls leads us through the paces (see what I did there) to keep your novel on track. Devri is an international best-selling author. She lives in Meridian, Idaho, with her husband, two children, and one adorable little mutt. Writing in all things fantasy, she would do just about anything for a working magic wand.
Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required! Visit our website at www.dabblewriter.com to get started.
Subscribe to our channel for more live events like author interviews, Word Sprints, and Fireside Chats.
We're all about helping authors hone their craft with engaging, fun, and educational content.
On top of all that, Dabble Premium members get access to exclusive content like Office Hours, Premium Workshops, Deep Dive articles, bonus resources, and guest speaker workshops.
Happy writing!
Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from county Mayo and has been praised for her unique fictional voice. Her debut, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016. She won the Costa Short Story Award the same year. Her second novel, The Hoarder (published as Mr. Flood’s Last Resort in the U.S.), was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club Picks. Her Victorian detective tale Things in Jars, was released to critical acclaim. Jess’s work has been described as ‘Gabriel García Márquez meets The Pogues.’
Jess’ first children’s book Everyday Magic came out in February 2021, published by Canongate. The fourth novel, The Night Ship, will be published in August 2022. She is also developing her own original TV projects with leading U.K. and international TV producers.
Kidd (The Next Ship) pivots to cozies with this delightful series launch about a nun who forsakes her vows to search for a former novice. In 1954, Sister Nora Breen’s friend and former trainee, Frieda Brogan, abruptly stops sending her letters. Frieda’s last known address is the Gulls Nest, a forlorn boarding house in the English town of Gore-on-Sea, and a frightened Nora asks to be released from her monastery after 30 years to track Frieda down. Nora takes a room at the Gulls Nest, ingratiates herself with its ragtag collection of boarders, and soon realizes she’s not the only one concealing a secret past. As she starts to dig into Frieda’s stay there, other boarders begin to die under unusual circumstances, making her wonder whether Frieda might have met a similar fate. At first a thorn in the side of Detective Inspector Rideout, who’s assigned to investigate the deaths, the intelligent and outspoken Nora gradually gains the policeman’s respect. Elegant prose, vivid characterizations, and a fascinating protagonist add up to a thoroughly enjoyable mystery. Readers will be eager for the sequel.
Molly Harper is the USA Today Bestselling author of more than forty paranormal romance, contemporary romance, young adult and mystery titles, most of them through Simon & Schuster, Audible and Sourcebooks Casablanca. Her first book, Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs, came out in 2009. Her latest Audible Exclusive project, the Starfall Point series, launched recently with Witches Get Stuff Done. Most of her titles are available in print, ebook and audio at all major book retailers.
James Blatch is a former BBC Defence Reporter and a former BBFC Film Examiner. He reported for the BBC on the UK military from, among other places, HMS Invincible (Operation Desert Fox build up), Kuwait (Ali Al Salem allied air base), the Arctic Circle as well as covering the UK air offensive during the Kosovo Conflict in 1999.
Blatch works in publishing, teaching authors at learnselfpublishing.com and publishing writers at vinci-books.com. He is the cohost of the weekly podcast for authors indiewritersclub.com.
Complete your short story journey with this final session focused on polishing and celebration of your accomplishment. We will share insider techniques for effective line editing, crafting satisfying endings, and selecting titles that capture your story's essence. We will read from our work, reflect on our progress, and receive feedback. Beyond completing a publishable short story, we’ll leave with sustainable writing habits, revision confidence, and a clear roadmap for our next creative steps.
Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required! Visit our website at www.dabblewriter.com to get started.
Subscribe to our channel for more live events like author interviews, Word Sprints, and Fireside Chats.
We're all about helping authors hone their craft with engaging, fun, and educational content.
On top of all that, Dabble Premium members get access to exclusive content like Office Hours, Premium Workshops, Deep Dive articles, bonus resources, and guest speaker workshops.
Happy writing!
Transform your rough draft into polished prose in this crucial third session. You'll learn to strengthen character arcs, develop thematic depth, and enhance your unique voice through strategic revision choices. We will share a key scene and receive targeted feedback from our fellow participants. These revision techniques will not only elevate your current story but become valuable tools for all your future writing projects.
Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required! Visit our website at www.dabblewriter.com to get started.
Subscribe to our channel for more live events like author interviews, Word Sprints, and Fireside Chats.
We're all about helping authors hone their craft with engaging, fun, and educational content.
On top of all that, Dabble Premium members get access to exclusive content like Office Hours, Premium Workshops, Deep Dive articles, bonus resources, and guest speaker workshops.
Happy writing!
Move from concept to creation in our second session. This week focuses on the architecture of effective scenes, the art of gripping openings, and dialogue that reveals character while advancing plot. We will share techniques for maintaining narrative momentum, balancing showing versus telling, and creating the emotional impact that distinguishes memorable short fiction. In week 2 you'll have transformed your story concept into a complete first draft—an accomplishment worth celebrating!
Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required! Visit our website at www.dabblewriter.com to get started.
Subscribe to our channel for more live events like author interviews, Word Sprints, and Fireside Chats.
We're all about helping authors hone their craft with engaging, fun, and educational content.
On top of all that, Dabble Premium members get access to exclusive content like Office Hours, Premium Workshops, Deep Dive articles, bonus resources, and guest speaker workshops.
Happy writing!
Discover the foundations of compelling short fiction in our first session. Our panel will guide you through proven story generation techniques, character development essentials, and the key elements that make short stories resonate with readers. You'll learn to mine your experiences for authentic material, observe the world with a writer's eye, and transform simple prompts into story gold. From this session, you'll have a fully developed story concept, complete with a memorable protagonist and a clear narrative direction.
Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required! Visit our website at www.dabblewriter.com to get started.
Subscribe to our channel for more live events like author interviews, Word Sprints, and Fireside Chats.
We're all about helping authors hone their craft with engaging, fun, and educational content.
On top of all that, Dabble Premium members get access to exclusive content like Office Hours, Premium Workshops, Deep Dive articles, bonus resources, and guest speaker workshops.
Happy writing!
Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, USA Today bestselling writer, Dean Wesley Smith has published over two hundred novels in forty years, and hundreds and hundreds of short stories across many genres.
At the moment he produces novels in five major series, including the time travel Thunder Mountain novels set in the old west, the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe series, the urban fantasy Ghost of a Chance series, and the superhero series starring Poker Boy, and the highly acclaimed puzzle mystery series The Cold Poker Gang.
His monthly magazine called Smith’s Monthly, consisting of only his own fiction, premiered in October 2013 and each month has over 60,000 words per issue, including a new and original novel every month.
During his career, Dean also wrote a couple dozen Star Trek novels, the only two original Men in Black novels, Spider-Man and X-Men novels, plus novels set in gaming and television worlds. Writing with his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch under the name Kathryn Wesley, they wrote the novel for the NBC miniseries The Tenth Kingdom and other books for Hallmark Hall of Fame movies.
He wrote novels under dozens of pen names in the worlds of comic books and movies, including novelizations of almost a dozen films, from The Final Fantasy to Steel to Rundown.
Dean also worked as a fiction editor off and on, starting at Pulphouse Publishing, then at VB Tech Journal, then Pocket Books, and now at WMG Publishing where he and Kristine Kathryn Rusch serve as executive editors for the acclaimed Fiction River anthology series. He is now also the editor of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine and Writers of the Future.
https://deanwesleysmit...
Workshops on Teachable…
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https://wmgbooks.com/
Rosa Linda Román is an Emmy-nominated, William Randolph Hearst Award-winning reporter, anchor & podcaster. Rosa Linda’s broadcasting career includes WCTV Tallahassee, KVIA El Paso, KOAT-7 Albuquerque, KSAZ Fox 10 Phoenix, WTVT-13 Tampa & KION-46 Salinas/Monterey. She’s also a successful independent director & screenwriter.
In 2005, Rosa Linda left TV news to start her family. In 2007 she created New Mexicast, New Mexico’s 1st video podcast, which became a weekly, ½ hour TV show for 2 seasons.
From New Mexicast sprang New Mexi-Castaways audio podcast chronicling life aboard sailing catamarans, s/v Hakuna Matata & s/v Dawn Treader, with 3 kids & a German Shepherd; also the subject of her memoir, Losing Sight of the Shore; How to Live on a Boat Without Killing Your Family.
Rosa Linda holds a BS in Telecom from UF & "Ducktorate" Degree from Disney University. She’s currently finishing a trilogy of thrillers while cruising the Mediterranean with her family on m/v Kungaloosh!
Jesse Q Sutanto grew up shuttling back and forth between Indonesia, Singapore, and Oxford, and considers all three places her home. She has a Masters from Oxford University, but she has yet to figure out how to say that without sounding obnoxious. Jesse has forty-two first cousins and thirty aunties and uncles, many of whom live just down the road. She used to game but with two little ones and a husband, she no longer has time for hobbies. She aspires to one day find one (1) hobby.
Elly Griffiths has always written short stories to experiment with different voices and genres as well as to explore what some of her fictional creations such as Ruth Galloway, Harbinder Kaur, and Max Mephisto might have done outside of the novels. The Man in Black gathers these bite-sized tales all together in one splendid volume.
There are ghost stories, cozy mysteries, tales of psychological suspense, and poignant vignettes of love and loss.
In the title story, Ruth Galloway crosses paths with a mysterious man in a bookstore, setting in motion a rescue mission that hinges on the legends and lore of Norfolk.
Looking into the past, a young magician in 1920s Leeds wonders just what happened to his missing landlady in “Max Mephisto and the Disappearing Act.”
In “Justice Jones and the Etherphone,” a witty girl detective investigates the dire prediction of a fortune teller in dreary postwar London.
A flashback in time reveals Harbinder Kaur as a Detective Sergeant surviving her first day on the job at Shoreham DCI.
To celebrate the holidays, Ruth gets her very first Christmas tree, and her beloved cat narrates his own seasonal story in “Flint’s Fireside Tale.”
And readers can armchair travel with stories set on the Amalfi Coast, in Capri, and in Egypt as Ruth and DCI Nelson experience their very own version of Death on the Nile.
The Man in Black illustrates the breadth and variety of Elly Griffiths’s talent for blood-chilling, page-turning stories all with her trademark humor and heart.
Elly Griffiths is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway and Brighton mystery series, as well as the standalone novels The Stranger Diaries, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel; The Postscript Murders; and Bleeding Heart Yard. She is the recipient of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives in Brighton, England.
Today we talk about writing and publishing short stories. Have you thought about how writing short fiction might help your creative process? Tune in today to hear these four masters talk craft with Hank.
Henry Herz has authored fourteen picture books and edited eight anthologies for Albert Whitman & Co., Blackstone Publishing, and others. His short stories have been published by Weird Tales, Baen Books, Pseudopod, Metastellar, Titan Books, Highlights for Children, and Ladybug magazine. He holds a BS in engineering from Cornell University, an MS in engineering from George Washington University, and an
MA in political science from Georgetown University.
Number one New York Times bestselling author Scott Sigler is the creator of eighteen novels, six novellas, dozens of short stories, and thousands of podcast episodes. He is an inaugural inductee into the Podcasting Hall of Fame. His podcast fans fervently anticipate their weekly story fix, so much so that they’ve dubbed themselves “Sigler Junkies” and have downloaded over fifty million episodes.
Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times bestselling author, five-time Bram Stoker Award winner, four-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, and comic book writer. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-Wars, became a Netflix original series. He writes horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, thriller, and more. He is the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and the editor of
Weird Tales magazine.
David Mack is the award-winning New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty-six novels and numerous short works of science fiction, fantasy, and adventure, including the Star Trek Destiny and Cold Equations trilogies. Mack’s writing credits span television (for episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine), film, and comic books. He also has worked as a consultant on the animated television series Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy. The International Association of Media Tie-in Writers honored him as a Grandmaster with its Faust Award.
It's another Fireside Chat with Hank and Doug. This week we tackle the topic of how to get started as an author. You have a great idea for a story that needs to be told, but how do you go about bringing that story idea out into the light of day? Doug and Hank tackle that today.
Join us for a cozy, candid Fireside Chat where we dive into all things writing goals! In this session, we’ll reflect on the highs, lows, and lessons learned from the past year, celebrating our wins and examining what didn’t quite go as planned. Then, we’ll look ahead to the new year, discussing how to set realistic, motivating writing goals that align with your aspirations as an author.
Welcome back for 2025! It's a new year and we hope you are enjoying it so far and that you have big plans for your writing this year. Join us today as Hank and Doug answer some of your questions about the writing life. Stay tuned for more great content as the year unfolds.
Join us at storycraft.cafe to find your tribe.
Scott Moon is the co-author of the bestselling Homeworld Lost, The Last Reaper, Terran Strike Marines, and Darklanding series. His solo works include Blue Sun Armada, Invasion Day, the Chronicles of Kin Roland, and more. As a lifelong fan of reading and a chronic daydreamer, he has retired from twenty-six years of public service to make his own schedule, indulge his imagination, and pursue a variety of hobbies. He’s an 80s kid who survived to (relative) maturity and it shows.
You can join his Facebook Group, The Scott Moon Base, or learn more than you ever wanted to about his writing process at Scott’s Science Fiction Substack.
Writing isn't easy. As much as we love it, we know there are roadblocks, hurdles, and areas we can improve.
In this Fireside Chat, Hank and Doug discuss their own writing weaknesses, how they discovered them, how they work on them, and ways you might do the same.
Day 22: Final Q&A Session - Friday
❓ Last Q&A with Hank & Doug!
As we approach the end of NaNoWriMo, this is your last chance to bring your story questions to Hank and Doug! Whether it’s plot twists, character development, or just some final advice, they’re here to help you end NaNoWriMo strong. Let’s get those stories wrapped up beautifully! ✨
📌 Get more answers at: www.dabblewriter.com/nanowrimo-day/2024-nano-day-22
WritingQandA #NaNoWriMo #StorySupport #DabbleWriter
Day 26: 60 Days with Hank and Doug - Finishing Up - Tuesday 🎬 Finishing Up Your Novel & Wrapping Up the Month We’re almost there! Join Hank, Doug, and Josh as they share their final tips for wrapping up NaNoWriMo and finishing your novel. Whether you’re writing the last scene or just looking to end strong, this session is all about those final steps. 📌 Watch the full session here: www.dabblewriter.com/nanowrimo-day/2024-day-26-nanowrimo #NaNoWriMo #FinishYourNovel #FinalPush #DabbleWriter
The final Challenge live stream is all about the end of your novel; in Week Eight of the 60-Day Novel Challenge, we’re talking all about writing the thrilling conclusion to your story. It’s time for The Third Act and Climax, where all your plotlines and character arcs converge in an epic resolution.
Each week we will be:
- Discussing our own work for week's activities and exercises
- Talking about the wins and struggles of the week - ours and yours!
- Sharing personal insights from our own author journeys
- Answering questions from viewers and participants
This week’s focus: Writing the climax, resolving your main conflict, and finishing your story strong.
We’ll walk through the final template information, discuss how to land a satisfying resolution, and answer any questions you have about wrapping up your novel!
Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of these streams. We’re all in this together—let’s get writing!
🔗 Template Download: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVh
🔗 Join the Challenge: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-the-challenge/
Sarah Hawley is the author of Servant of Earth and the Glimmer Falls series (A Witch’s Guide to Fake-Dating a Demon, A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch, A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire). She has an MA in archaeology and has excavated at an Inca site in Chile, a Bronze Age palace in Turkey, and a medieval abbey in England. When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats.
As we go into Week Seven of the 60-Day Novel Challenge, we hit one of the most pivotal points in your story: the midpoint. It’s where your protagonist faces their biggest challenges, weaknesses, and must make a significant shift.
Each week we will be:
- Discussing our own work for week's activities and exercises
- Talking about the wins and struggles of the week - ours and yours!
- Sharing personal insights from our own author journeys
- Answering questions from viewers and participants
This week’s focus: Crafting a powerful midpoint, revealing key information, and shifting your protagonist from reactive to proactive.
We’ll cover this week’s template exercises and talk about how to keep your midpoint meaningful and impactful!
Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of these streams. We’re all in this together—let’s get writing!
🔗 Template Download: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVh
🔗 Join the Challenge: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-the-challenge/
Join Hank, Doug, and Josh as they dive into writing an unforgettable first act. For more resources, videos, tips, and prizes, check out https://www.dabblewriter.com/nanowrimo
Lou Diamond Phillips is currently starring in the FOX series “Prodigal Son,” having recently starred on the acclaimed Netflix series, “Longmire,” based on the Walt Longmire mystery novels by Craig Johnson. Other recent credits include Amazon’s “Goliath,” SyFy’s “Stargate Universe,” CBS’ “Blue Bloods,” and recurring roles on Fox’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and Netflix’s “The Ranch.” He received an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Drama or Comedy” for his roles in both Amazon’s “Conversations in LA” and History Channel’s “Crossroads of History.” Recent film credits include Warner Brothers’ “The 33,” “Created Equal” directed by Bill Duke, and Sundance Festival favorite “Filly Brown,” for which he was named Best Actor at the Imagen Awards.
As a director, Phillips recently helmed episodes of AMC’s hit series “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Longmire,” and ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. As a writer, Phillips has co-written the screenplays for ‘Trespasses,’ and HBO’s ‘Dangerous Touch.’ He wrote the Miramax feature ‘Ambition.’ He recently produced his play ‘Burning Desire,’ a romantic comedy in two acts, which received it’s world premiere at The Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury, Connecticut. Phillips was also asked by his good friend, novelist Craig Johnson, to write the forward to his collection of short stories ‘Wait For Signs.’
Originally born in the Philippines, Phillips was raised in Texas and is a graduate of University of Texas at Arlington with a BFA in Drama.
Drawing from a lifetime of work in the film industry, Lou used his screenwriting experience in order to write an original science fiction novel called The Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira. It is his first novel, inspired by a reading of the famed fable of the same title by Hans Christian Andersen.
It’s Week Five of the 60-Day Novel Challenge and time to start writing! In this live stream, we’ll be tackling The First Act—setting the stage for your novel, introducing key characters, and establishing your story’s world. If you’ve been following along, you’ll have everything you need to get started once the writing portion of the Challenge starts tomorrow!
Each week we will be:
- Discussing our own work for week's activities and exercises
- Talking about the wins and struggles of the week - ours and yours!
- Sharing personal insights from our own author journeys
- Answering questions from viewers and participants
This week’s focus: Writing the first act, setting up your story, and introducing key elements.
We’ll also cover the exercises from the template and talk about how to hook your readers right from the start!
Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of these streams. We’re all in this together—let’s get writing!
🔗 Template Download: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVh
🔗 Join the Challenge: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-the-challenge/
Madeleine Roux is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Asylum series, which has sold over a million copies worldwide. She is also the author of the House of Furies series and several titles for adults, including Salvaged and Reclaimed. She has made contributions to Star Wars, World of Warcraft, and Dungeons & Dragons. Madeleine lives in Seattle, Washington, with her partner and beloved pups.
Welcome to Week Four of the 60-Day Novel Challenge! Now that you’ve developed your plot, characters, and conflict, it’s time to start pulling everything together in this last week of our prep month. That means this week is all about refining your outline and preparing to start writing in November.
Each week we will be:
- Discussing our own work for this week's activities and exercises
- Talking about the wins and struggles of the week - ours and yours!
- Sharing personal insights from our own author journeys
- Answering questions from viewers and participants
This week’s focus: Reviewing and refining your outline, thinking about themes, and preparing your Plot Grid and character profiles in Dabble.
We’ll go over the template exercises, talk about setting goals for November, and give you tips on staying organized for the writing phase.
Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of these streams. We’re all in this together—let’s get writing!
🔗 Template Download: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVh
🔗 Join the Challenge: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-the-challenge/
Rhett C Bruno is the USA Today and Washington Post Bestselling & Nebula Award Nominated Author of 'The Circuit Saga', 'Children of Titan Series', 'Buried Goddess Saga', 'Vicarious', 'The Roach', and 'The Luna Missile Crisis' (Audible Originals); among other works.
He has been writing since before he can remember, scribbling down what he thought were epic stories when he was young to show to his friends and family. He is currently a full-time author and publisher living in Delaware with his wife, daughter, and dog Raven.
Find out more here: http://rhettbruno.com/
Steve Beaulieu (Also writing as Jaime Castle) was born in 1984 in East Hartford, CT. Having spent most of his life in Palm Beach County, Florida, he and his wife moved to Fort Worth, TX in 2012. He loves comic books, fantasy and science fiction novels.
He married the love of his life in 2005 and he fathered his first child in 2014, Oliver Paul Beaulieu. His namesake, two of Steve’s favorite fictional characters, OliverTwist and The Green Arrow, Oliver Queen. Baby #2, Juneau Grace Beaulieu was born in August of 2017.
Steve co-owns Aethon Books with his writing partner Rhett C. Bruno.
It’s Week Three of the 60-Day Novel Challenge! This week, we’re diving into one of the most important elements of your story: conflict. We’ll explore how to map out internal and external conflicts that challenge your protagonist and keep your readers engaged.
Each week we will be:
- Discussing our own work for week's activities and exercises
- Talking about the wins and struggles of the week - ours and yours!
- Sharing personal insights from our own author journeys
- Answering questions from viewers and participants
This week’s focus: Mapping out your novel’s internal and external conflicts, and ensuring they tie into your character’s journey.
We’ll explore the template exercises, including tips on creating subplots and building tension.
Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of these streams. We’re all in this together—let’s get writing!
🔗 Template Download: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVh
🔗 Join the Challenge: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-the-challenge/
Susan Stokes-Chapman is a writer based in North Wales. She grew up in the Georgian city of Lichfield, before spending four years in the town of Aberystwyth and graduating with a BA in Education and English Literature and an MA in Creative Writing. Her debut novel Pandora was an instant #1 bestseller in the UK, was shortlisted for the 2020 Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, and longlisted for the Bath Novel Award.
Welcome to Week Two of the 60-Day Novel Challenge! This week is all about Characters—building compelling protagonists, antagonists, and supporting cast members that will drive your story forward.
Each week we will be:
- Discussing our own work for week's activities and exercises
- Talking about the wins and struggles of the week - ours and yours!
- Sharing personal insights from our own author journeys
- Answering questions from viewers and participants
This week’s focus: Building out your character profiles, including their goals, motivations, and arcs.
We’ll walk through the exercises in the template, talk about key relationships, and offer advice on developing character dynamics.
Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of these streams. We’re all in this together—let’s get writing!
🔗 Template Download: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVh
🔗 Join the Challenge: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-the-challenge/
HI! I’M PENN COLE
I’M AN HYBRID FANTASY ROMANCE AUTHOR IN THE MIDST OF PUBLISHING MY DEBUT SERIES, THE KINDRED’S CURSE SAGA
While my life has taken me through a lot of ups and downs, my love for reading and writing has forever been my true north. I’ve been writing stories since my childhood, filling mountains of notebooks with wild worlds and angsty romances. I received my undergraduate degree in Creative Writing, hoping to write the Next Great American Novel, but... well… we plan, Fate laughs. After a detour as an attorney and small business owner, I am thrilled to finally be pursuing my lifelong dream of becoming an author.
I’m a regular participant in NaNoWriMo, and I love meeting and supporting other new authors, especially female authors and BIPOC/LGBTQ+ authors. When I’m not writing, I love reading fantasy, rom coms, and humorous non-fiction.
While I’m a Texas girl born and bred, I currently live in France with my husband, where I can usually be found drinking way too much wine and eating far too many pastries.
We're kicking off the 60-Day Novel Challenge by looking at the big picture of your novel! That means understanding your genre, nailing down the high-level plot points of your story, and getting started on worldbuilding (if you need to).
Each week we will be:
Discussing our own work for week's activities and exercises
Talking about the wins and struggles of the week - ours and yours!
Sharing personal insights from our own author journeys
Answering questions from viewers and participants
This week’s focus: Crafting a high-level outline of your story, identifying key plot beats, and getting clarity on your genre.
We’ll cover the exercises from the template, discuss common pitfalls, and share tips to help you start strong!
Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of these streams. We’re all in this together—let’s get writing!
🔗 Template Download: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVh
🔗 Join the Challenge: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-th...
After an unsuccessful career in radio, and a middling-successful career as a stand-up comic, Scott Meyer found himself middle aged, working as a ride operator at Walt Disney World.
In his spare time, he produced the successful web comic Basic Instructions. He slowly built a following of fans all over the world, to whom he sold his first self-published novel, Off to Be the Wizard. The book’s success brought him a publishing deal. He has since gone on to write several bestselling novels.
Scott lives in Portugal with his wife and the prettiest two cats on earth.
60-Day Challenge Dabble Template: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVh
Join the Challenge Community: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-the-challenge/
Are you ready to turn your writing dreams into reality? We’re thrilled to announce our 60-Day Novel Challenge—an exciting, guided community challenge to take you from a blank page and an idea to a finished first draft in just two months!
Join us LIVE for the official announcement where we’ll unveil all the exciting details, including:
📖 Challenge Overview: How the 60-Day Novel Challenge works and what you’ll accomplish by the end.
🛠 Tools & Resources: Learn about the curriculum, exercises, and resources we’ve prepared to guide you through each step, including a step-by-step Dabble template for you.
🎯 Weekly Goals & Support: We’ll break down the weekly objectives and share tips for staying on track.
💡 Writing Tips: Get expert advice on outlining, character development, overcoming writer's block, and hitting those word counts!
🎁 Exclusive Offers: Find out how even non-Dabblers can use Dabble to write their novel in 60 Days.
🌟 Q&A: Have questions about the challenge or your own writing journey? We’ll be answering them live!
This is the perfect opportunity to get a head start on your novel, connect with other writers, and stay accountable, whether you're participating in NaNoWriMo or not.
Don’t forget to hit the notification bell and subscribe so you won’t miss this exciting announcement. See you there!
David Ellis is a judge and an Edgar-award-winning author of ten novels of crime fiction, as well as eight bestselling books co-authored with James Patterson. His novels have been translated into more than ten languages worldwide. In December 2014, Dave was sworn in as the youngest-serving Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District. He lives outside Chicago with his wife and three children.
Amber and Danielle Brown both graduated from Rider University where they studied Communications/Journalism and sat on the editorial staff for the On Fire!! literary journal. They then pursued a career in fashion and spent five years in NYC working their way up, eventually managing their own popular fashion and lifestyle blog. Amber is also a screenwriter, so they live in LA, which works out perfectly so Danielle can spoil her plant babies with copious amount of sunshine. Find them at https://www.amberanddanielle.com/
Rick Partlow is that rarest of species, a native Floridian. Born in Tampa, he attended Florida Southern College and graduated with a degree in History and a commission in the US Army as an Infantry officer.
His lifelong love of science fiction began with Have Space Suit---Will Travel and the other Heinlein juveniles and traveled through Clifford Simak, Asimov, Clarke and on to William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams and Peter F Hamilton. And somewhere, submerged in the worlds of others, Rick began to create his own worlds.
He has written over 40 books in a dozen different series, and his short stories have been included in twelve different anthologies.
He lives in central Florida with his wife, two children and two lovable mutts. Besides writing and reading science fiction and fantasy, he enjoys outdoor photography, hiking and camping.
Burnout among authors is not only real, it can affect you many times throughout your author journey. It's a sneaky little monster that can completely destroy your love and passion for your current story or writing in general.
In this Fireside Chat, Hank and Doug talk about what burnout is, when we've experienced it, and what you can do to prevent it or minimize its impact.
Don Bentley is the New York Times Bestselling author of eight books including the Matt Drake thriller series (Forgotten War, Hostile Intent, The Outside Man, Without Sanction), the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan, Jr. series (Weapons Grade, Flash Point, Zero Hour, Target Acquired), and the Vince Flynn Mitch Rapp series (beginning in 2024).
Don spent a decade as an Army Apache helicopter pilot during which time he was stationed in South Korea, Germany, and Texas. While deployed to Afghanistan as a Troop Commander in support of Operation Enduring Freedom VI, Don was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal with "V" device for valor. Following his time in the military Don worked as an FBI Special Agent and was a member of the Dallas Office Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.
After leaving the FBI, Don worked for companies that developed technology for the U.S. Special Operations Community. He holds a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Ohio State University, and an M.F.A in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University.
Kevin Tumlinson is an award-winning and bestselling novelist, living in Texas and working in random coffee shops, cafés, and hotel lobbies worldwide. His primary work is in thrillers—including his wildly popular Dan Kotler Archaeological Thrillers. But he also successfully published science fiction, fantasy, and escapist fiction.
Kevin grew up in Wild Peach, Texas, where he was raised by his grandparents and given a healthy respect for storytelling. He often found himself in trouble in school for writing stories instead of doing his actual assignments, and he doesn't regret that in the least. And as Wild Peach was in no way metropolitan, or even approaching suburban, young Kevin had plenty of time to put his imagination to work crafting entire universes of characters, settings, and artifacts that would later inform his adult career choice.
Kevin's love for history, archeology, and science has been a tremendous source of material for his writing, feeding his fiction and giving him just the excuse he needs to read the next article, biography, or research paper, visit the next city or country, and embark on the next adventure. Kevin and his wife, Kara, can often be found traveling as van-lifers, along with their little chihuahua terrier, Mini.
Learn more about Kevin and his work, and get a free ebook, at KevinTumlinson.com
Nick Cole is a former soldier and working actor living in Southern California. When he is not auditioning for commercials, going out for sitcoms or being shot, kicked, stabbed or beaten by the students of various film schools for their projects, he can be found writing books. Nick's Book The Old Man and the Wasteland was an Amazon Bestseller and #1 in Science Fiction. In 2016 Nick's book CTRL ALT Revolt won the Dragon Award for Best Apocalyptic novel. Currently he is writing the bestselling Science Fiction series Galaxy’s Edge with co-author Jason Anspach.
Craft Q&A Office Hours are meant to answer your most pressing questions. During our live events, we always get a bunch of questions spanning the entire spectrum of writing and storytelling. So we decided to dedicate some time to answer them.
Craft Q&A Office Hours are one of our premium perks for Dabble Premium Subscribers. If you would like to participate live in an Office Hours session, consider becoming a premium Dabble Subscriber.
Dabblewriter.com
Authors have more options than ever when deciding how they want to achieve their writing goals. The two big options - self-publishing and traditional publishing - are still mysterious and, quite frankly, confusing, to some writers.
Join Hank and Doug in this Fireside Chat as we discuss what it means to publish on each path and what the pros and cons of each publishing style are.
Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required! Visit our website at www.dabblewriter.com to get started.
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Randy Ingermanson is the author of six novels and three bestselling books on how to write fiction. He is known around the world as “the Snowflake Guy” in honor of his wildly popular Snowflake method of designing a novel. Randy has a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of California at Berkeley and still works half-time as a scientist for a biotechnology company in San Diego. He publishes the free monthly Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with zillions of subscribers. Randy lives in southern Washington state with his beautiful, smart, and longsuffering wife. Also three surly cats. Visit his web site at http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com
Steven James is a critically acclaimed author of eighteen novels and numerous nonfiction books that have sold more than 1 million copies. His books have won or been shortlisted for dozens of national and international awards. In addition, his stories and articles have appeared in more than eighty different publications, including the New York Times. He is also a popular keynote speaker and professional storyteller with a master’s degree in storytelling.
James’ latest thriller, FATAL DOMAIN, is available. The new series follows Travis Brock, a redactor for the Department of Defense who must attempt to unearth the truth of a personal tragedy while trying to stop a terrorist group from stealing one of the military’s most highly guarded technological breakthroughs.
Since 1996, James has appeared more than two thousand times at events spanning the globe, presenting his stories and teaching the principles of storytelling to writers, speakers, teachers, and leaders. He also hosts the weekly podcast The Story Blender, on which he has interviewed more than 150 of the world’s leading writers and storytellers. In 2020, he was inducted into the Christy Award Hall of Fame for excellence in fiction writing. Publishers Weekly has called him “[a] master storyteller at the peak of his game.”
When he’s not writing or speaking, you may find him playing basketball or disc golf, or hiking near his home in the Appalachian Highlands of East Tennessee. He may or may not watch too many science fiction movies while eating bottomless bowls of chips and salsa.
Glynn Stewart is the author of 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 Duchy of Terra, Castle Federation and Exile, as well as the urban fantasy series ONSET and Changeling Blood.
Writing managed to liberate Glynn from a bleak future as an accountant. With his personality and hope for a high-tech future intact, he lives in Southern Ontario with his partner, their cats, and an unstoppable writing habit.
Stephen Aryan is a fantasy author from the North East of England.
Growing up, he read fantasy books by authors including Tolkien, CS Lewis, Ursula Le Guin, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Terry Brooks, David Eddings, before moving on to authors that include David Gemmell, Tad Williams, James Barclay, Stephen King, Robert Jordan, and Robin Hobb.
In 2013, after over a decade of rejections, Stephen submitted his latest novel to a literary agent. Battlemage, his debut novel, was published in 2015, and was the first of a trilogy called the Age of Darkness. Since then, he has gone on to publish several fantasy series.
Stephen is a lapsed gamer and a wannabe forest ranger, who likes spending time outside in the woods. When he's not extolling the virtues of Babylon 5, he can be found drinking real ale and reading comics. He lives in the West Midlands with his partner and two cats.
Liv Constantine is the pen name of sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine. Lynne and Valerie are Wall Street Journal and USA Today international bestselling authors with over one and a half million copies sold worldwide. They are Library Reads Hall of Fame authors. Their books have been translated into 29 languages, are available in 34 countries, and are in development for both television and film. Their books have been praised by The Washington Post, USA Today, The Sunday Times, People Magazine, and Good Morning America, among many others. Their debut novel, THE LAST MRS. PARRISH, is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection.
Ellery Lloyd is the pseudonym for the London-based husband and wife team of Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos whose last novel, instant New York Times bestseller The Club, a “smart, stylish, and savage” (People Magazine), was a Reese’s Book Club pick. The former deputy editor of Grazia Middle East, content director of Elle (UK), and editorial director at Soho House, Collette studied History of Art at Trinity College, Cambridge, and has worked in Sydney, Dubai, and London. She has written for the Guardian, the Telegraph, and the Sunday Times. Paul is the author of two previous novels, Welcome to the Working Week and Every Day Is Like Sunday. He is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Greenwich.They are also the authors of People Like Her.
Christopher was homeschooled by his parents. As a child, he often wrote short stories and poems, made frequent trips to the library, and read widely. Some of his favorite books were Bruce Coville’s Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, Frank Herbert’s Dune, and Raymond E. Feist’s Magician (now available in volumes one and two), as well as books by Anne McCaffrey, Jane Yolen, Brian Jacques, E.R. Eddison, David Eddings, and Ursula K. Le Guin.
The idea of Eragon began as the daydreams of a teen. Christopher’s love for the magic of stories led him to craft a novel that he would enjoy reading. The project began as a hobby, a personal challenge; he never intended it to be published. Before he began writing Eragon, he plotted out the entire adventure. He found that doing some of the same things as his characters allowed him to better understand their world, as well as to think of descriptions that otherwise would not have occured to him. To this end he forged his own knives and swords, made chain mail, spun wool, camped in the Beartooth Mountains, made his own bow, built survival shelters, learned to track game, fletched arrows, felled trees, hiked, and camped. In short, the books embody a great deal of his experience of living in Montana.
His work also combined elements gathered from research and from his imagination. He read a huge amount of folklore while growing up, ranging from the Brothers Grimm to Beowulf, Nordic sagas, and the Aeneid, along with contemporary fantasy and science fiction. In addition, he learned about weaponry, food, clothing, and customs from the Middle Ages, which is roughly the era he envisioned Eragon living in. Armed with that information, he daydreamed the scenes with his characters. Then he took pen to paper and tried to recreate those images with words.
Christopher was fifteen when he wrote the first draft of Eragon. He took a second year to revise the book, and then gave it to his parents to read. The family decided to self-publish the book and spent a third year preparing the manuscript for publication: copyediting, proofreading, designing a cover, typesetting the manuscript, and creating marketing materials. During this time Christopher drew the map for Eragon, as well as the dragon eye for the book cover (which now appears inside the Knopf hardcover edition). The manuscript was sent to press and the first books arrived in November 2001. The Paolini family spent the next year promoting the book at libraries, bookstores, and schools in 2002 and early 2003.
Michael La Ronn talks about how you can be the most productive and creative by making adjustments to your mindset, and accomplish more than you thought possible. Guest workshops like Michael La Ronn's Level-Up Your Author Mindset are just one of the great new features we're bringing to Dabble Premium for now extra cost. The Dabble Premium experience isn't just about providing the world's best novel-writing platform, but we're there to help you achieve your author dreams with resources and events like:* Workshops and guest speakers * Live Office Hours * Opportunities for personalized feedback * Deep-dive articles and custom resources for serious authors
If you want to take your writing to the next level, check out all Dabble Premium has to offer: https://www.dabblewriter.com/pricing
Craft Q&A Office Hours are meant to answer your most pressing questions. During our live events, we always get a bunch of questions spanning the entire spectrum of writing and storytelling. So we decided to dedicate some time to answer them.
Michael La Ronn (also known as M.L. Ronn) has published over 80 science fiction & fantasy novels and self-help books for writers.
His fiction includes the urban fantasy Good Necromancer series, the dark fantasy Last Dragon Lord series, and the futuristic science fiction Android X series. Currently, he writes primarily urban fantasy.
His nonfiction books for writers include the bestselling Be a Writing Machine, which teaches how to beat writer’s block forever, and The Pocket Guide to Pantsing, which explains how to write a novel without an outline (with confidence).
Michael also runs the award-winning YouTube channel “Author Level Up,” with over 40,000 subscribers and 2 million views. Writer’s Digest voted the channel one of the “Best Resources for Writers” in 2020.
Michael devoted himself to the writing life in 2012 after a near-death experience, writing 10 to 12 books per year despite working a demanding full-time job as an insurance executive, raising a family, and attending law school classes in the evenings. His productivity methods are so effective that his YouTube subscribers have accused him of being a cyborg in disguise (he pleads the fifth).
For more information on Michael’s books, visit his fiction website at www.michaellaronn.com and his resources for writers at www.authorlevelup.com.
Michael Callahan is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Searching for Grace Kelly and The Night She Won Miss America, as well as a coffee-table history of the famed Musso & Frank Grill restaurant in Hollywood. A contributing editor at Vanity Fair, his work has been published in Esquire, Town & Country, and the New York Times, among others. He lives in Los Angeles.
In the summer of 1959, rising Hollywood ingenue Mercy Welles is on the cusp of stardom when she vanishes without a trace. Almost 60 years later, Kit O’Neill, a young television producer in New York, is stunned to discover that her recently deceased grandmother, the woman who raised her, was, in fact, Mercy Welles. As Kit embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about what happened that fateful summer, long-forgotten correspondence offers a window to the past that reveals the shocking secrets that forever changed Mercy’s life—and may also change Kit’s.
You want to create a cast of characters that your readers want to root for, but readers don't want a character that is so perfect that they become unrelatable. So, how do you create characters that represent real life while also having a character arc that readers will be drawn to? That's what we'll discuss in this Fireside Chat.
An Amazon Top 100 Best Selling Author, Sarra Cannon writes magical contemporary fantasy novels with both teen and college aged characters (and lots of twists you'll never see coming). Her novels often stem from her own experiences growing up in the small town of Hawkinsville, Georgia, where she learned that being popular always comes at a price and relationships are rarely as simple as they seem.
With over three quarters of a million books sold, Sarra loves writing witchy books and connecting with fans.
Connect with Sarra online!
Website: SarraCannon.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/sarracannon
Instagram: instagram.com/sarracannon
Twitter: twitter.com/sarramaria
Goodreads: Goodreads.com/Sarra_Cannon
Sarra goes live on YouTube to hang out, answer questions, and read original stories every single week. Join our amazing community there at 4PM est every Friday. youtube.com/sarracannon
On this week's fireside chat, Doug and Hank talk about mistakes they made in their writing and publishing careers, and share some tips they with they'd known about earlier. Come join in!
Celeste Barclay, a nom de plume, lives near the Southern California coast with her husband and sons. Growing up in the Midwest, Celeste enjoyed spending as much time in and on the water as she could. Now she lives near the beach. She's an avid swimmer, a hopeful future surfer, and a former rower. Before becoming a full-time author, Celeste was a Social Studies and English teacher. She holds degrees in International Affairs (BA), Secondary Social Science (MAT), and Political Management (MPS). She channels that knowledge into creating rich historical romances that bring the heat.
In today's episode we check in with Author Daniel Kenney to talk about maintaining your author career longterm. Burnout is a very real thing that authors deal with, and today we try to dissect the cause of burnout and Dan shares some strategies he uses to combat and to keep the dream moving forward.
In the writing community we love to divide people into one of two camps: Plotters and Pantsers. Do you write with a solid well laid out plan before the drafting begins, or do you write by the seat of your pants and allow the whims and whimsy of the day carry you and your story to new heights and in new directions?
Or can it be something in the middle of these two extremes? Hank and Doug will give you their honest thoughts, and probably include a few hot takes along the way.
Plotting:
Benefits:
Structure: Plotting allows for a well-defined structure in your novel. You have a roadmap that guides you through the major plot points, helping maintain a logical and coherent storyline.
Efficiency: Having a plan can make the writing process more efficient. You know where the story is heading, reducing the chances of getting stuck or experiencing writer's block.
Foreshadowing: Plotting allows for effective foreshadowing. You can plant clues and hints earlier in the story that will pay off later, creating a more satisfying reading experience.
Editing: Plotting can make the editing process smoother. Since you have a clear outline, it's easier to identify and fix any inconsistencies or structural issues.
Drawbacks:
Rigidity: Some writers find plotting too restrictive. Following a predefined structure may stifle creativity and limit spontaneous ideas that could emerge during the writing process.
Loss of Surprise: Knowing the major plot points in advance might reduce the element of surprise, both for the writer and potentially for the reader.
Stress: Creating a detailed plot requires a significant upfront investment of time and effort. This can be stressful for some writers and may lead to burnout.
Pantsing:
Benefits:
Creativity: Pantsing allows for a more organic and creative writing process. Writers can explore unexpected ideas and let the story evolve naturally as they write.
Surprises: Since the writer doesn't have a rigid outline, there is room for unexpected twists and turns, keeping the writing process exciting and surprising.
Character Development: Characters may develop more authentically when the writer discovers their traits and motivations in the moment, rather than adhering strictly to a preconceived plan.
Freedom: Pantsing provides a sense of freedom, allowing the writer to explore different narrative paths and experiment with the story's direction.
Drawbacks:
Lack of Structure: One of the main drawbacks is the potential lack of structure. Without a clear plan, it's easier to meander or lose focus, resulting in a less cohesive narrative.
Editing Challenges: Editing a pantsed manuscript can be challenging, as there may be inconsistencies and plot holes that need to be addressed during the revision process.
Writer's Block: Writers who pants their novels may encounter writer's block more frequently, as they may not have a clear direction to overcome obstacles.
Ultimately, the choice between plotting and pantsing depends on the writer's personal preference and writing style. Some authors even combine elements of both approaches, using a loose outline while allowing for flexibility during the writing process.
Multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is … mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning heartwarming and full of humor novels wherever books are sold and visit her website for a complete book list and blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures. Her newest Sunrise Cove novel, THE SWEETHEART LIST, is out now.
Lover of fairytales, folklore, and mythology, Ines Johnson spends her days reimagining the stories of old in a modern world. She writes books where damsels cause the distress, princesses wield swords, and moms save the world.
Ines writes books for strong women who suck at love. If you rocked out to the twisted triangle of Jem, Jericha, and Rio as a girl; if you were slayed by vampires with souls alongside Buffy; if you need your scandalous fix from Olivia Pope each week, then you’ll love her books!
Aside from being a writer, professional reader, and teacher, Ines is a very bad Buddhist. She sits in sangha each week, and while others are meditating and getting their zen on, she’s contemplating how to use the teachings to strengthen her plots and character motivations.
Ines lives outside Washington, DC with her two little sidekicks who are growing up way too fast.
https://ineswrites.com/
On today's show, Hank Garner and Douglas Landsborough chat about writers' block. Is it real? If so, how do you overcome it? Listen in as these two authors peel back the layers of the author life and try to answer some of the most asked questions about writer's block.
What is writer's block, and why do we fear it?
Does Writer's block mean you are out of ideas, or is it a problem with confidence?
Strategies to try to get rid of the block.
When publishing anxiety invades your writing space, or confusing writing with the business of publishing.
Regaining the joy of writing.
From the author of A Most English Princess comes a rich novel about young Princess Alix of Hesse—the future Alexandra, last Empress of Imperial Russia—and her sister, Princess Ella. Their decision to marry into the Romanov royal family changed history.
They were granddaughters of Queen Victoria and two of the most beautiful princesses in Europe. Princesses Alix and Ella were destined to wed well and wisely. But while their grandmother wants to join them to the English and German royal families, the sisters fall in love with Russia—and the Romanovs.
Defying the Queen’s dire warnings, Ella weds the tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Serge. Cultivated, aloof, and proud, Serge places his young wife on a pedestal for all to admire. Behind palace gates, Ella struggles to secure private happiness.
Alix, whisked away to Russia for Ella’s wedding, meets and captivates Nicky—heir apparent to the Russian throne. While loving him deeply, Alix hears a call of conscience, urging her to walk away.
Their fateful decisions to marry will lead to tragic consequences for not only themselves and their families, but for millions in Russia and around the globe.
The Romanov Brides is a moving and fascinating portrait of two bold and spirited royal sisters, and brings to vivid life imperial Russia—a dazzling, decadent world on the brink of disappearing forever.
Clare McHugh is the author of A Most English Princess, a historical novel about the family of Queen Victoria, and The Romanov Brides. A former newspaper reporter and magazine editor, McHugh graduated from Harvard College with a degree in European history. She currently lives in London and in Amagansett, NY.
A Promise of Peridot (The Sacred Stones)Listen to Kate's first appearance in the Story Craft Cafe here: Dark Magic, Deadly Beasts, And Fantasy Romance With Kate Golden | SCC 124.
The next seductive, sweeping, action-packed installment in the addictive Sacred Stones trilogy.
A prophecy of death. A weapon of hope. A sacrifice of love.
Arwen Valondale is sailing for the mysterious Kingdom of Citrine after the battle of Siren’s Bay. Still reeling from the loss of her mother and the shock of her newfound powers, Arwen directs all of her pain and rage toward the man who betrayed her: King Kane Ravenwood.
But Kane’s presence is unavoidable as he leads Arwen and her friends on an expedition to recover the Blade of the Sun—a legendary weapon with the power to kill tyrannical Fae King Lazarus. Their uneasy truce proves difficult to maintain, as Arwen battles her unresolved feelings, and Kane is willing to become darkness itself to protect her.
Arwen knows failure to fulfill the prophecy will seal both her own fate as well as the fates of those she loves most. But as Arwen faces creatures, foes, and magic beyond her wildest imaginings, her resolve is tested in ways she never could have foreseen.
Kate Golden is the bestselling author of viral sensation and debut novel A Dawn of Onyx. She lives in Los Angeles where she works in the film industry developing movies with screenwriters and filmmakers. When she isn’t telling stories, Kate is an avid book reader, movie fanatic, and functioning puzzle addict. She and her husband can be found hosting cozy game nights and taking hikes with their sweet pup, Milo. You can find her on Instagram at KateGoldenAuthor and on TikTok at Kate_Golden_Author, where she is known to post both spicy and heartbreaking teasers for her upcoming books.
https://www.instagram.com/kategoldenauthor/
https://www.tiktok.com/@kate_golden_author
https://mobile.twitter.com/KateGoldenBooks
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
Iris Yamashita is an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter for the movie Letters from Iwo Jima. She has been working in Hollywood for fifteen years developing material for both film and streaming, has taught screenwriting at UCLA, and is an advocate of women and diversity in the entertainment industry. She has also been a judge and mentor for various film and writing programs, and lives in California.
Leah Konen is the author of You Should Have Told Me, The Perfect Escape, and All the Broken People, as well as several young adult novels, including Love and Other Train Wrecks and The Romantics. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied journalism and English literature. She lives in Brooklyn and Saugerties, New York, with her husband; their daughter, Eleanor; and their dog, Farley.
Jason is the Content Manager for Kindlepreneur.com, and a mythology-inspired fantasy author. He loves mythology, history, and geek culture. When he's not writing, his favorite hobbies include hiking, chilling with his wife, spouting nonsense words at his baby daughter, and developing his website: MythBank.com.
Jason is also The Nerdy Novelist on YouTube, and has one of the most popular channels talking all about using AI in your author career.
Terry Hayes is the New York Times bestselling author of I Am Pilgrim and the award-winning writer and producer of numerous movies. His credits include Payback, Road Warrior, and Dead Calm (featuring Nicole Kidman). He lives in Switzerland with his wife, Kristen, and their four children.
Janice Hallett is a former magazine editor, award-winning journalist, and government communications writer. She wrote articles and speeches for, among others, the Cabinet Office, Home Office, and Department for International Development. Her enthusiasm for travel has taken her around the world several times, from Madagascar to the Galapagos, Guatemala to Zimbabwe, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. A playwright and screenwriter, she penned the feminist Shakespearean stage comedy NetherBard and cowrote the feature film Retreat. She lives in London and is the author of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, The Appeal, The Christmas Appeal, and The Twyford Code.
Katherine is a London-based author and journalist. She studied History at Cambridge University, graduating with a First, then completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Newspaper Journalism. Since then she has been working as an investigative reporter and latterly an editor. Her work has been published in many national papers, and she most recently worked at The Times, where she was the joint Head of News.
While working as an undercover reporter, Katherine won the Cudlipp Award for public interest journalism and was nominated for a string of others. She was also commended by a committee of MPs for 'the highest standards of ethical investigative reporting.'
Katherine was inspired to write her debut novel about the complexity of female friendships after attending NCT classes when pregnant, and her experience of sudden intimacy with complete strangers.
She lives in Hackney, East London, where she grew up, with her husband and two daughters.
Today we bring you Chapter 6 of Let's Write A Book!
This book is a hands-on manual for crafting your story, and we hope you enjoy working through it.
This book has been split into two distinct parts to help you in your writing journey. Part One is all about the things you should be doing before you even get started on a draft or an outline. In this first part, I’m going to be covering the foundational knowledge of a book: what a book is, figuring out your genre and subgenre, and more. I’ll also be talking about the mindset of a writer, what you need to write your book, and where you’ll be writing. Finally, I’ll wrap up Part One with the basics of plotting and planning. Just the idea of planning might make some of you groan, so chill out for a second, because I have ways of outlining and structuring for those who love to plan and those who absolutely hate it.
Part Two is where we get to the good stuff: writing your first draft. I’ll go over the key elements of a kickass book, as well as the more technical stuff like point of view, active and passive voice, and more. Together we’ll do a deep dive into what it takes to make the perfect plot, compelling characters, and tantalizing themes. And I’ll even help you out with ways to actually get your book written (again, it’s a long, sometimes difficult journey) and what to do when you encounter setbacks like the dreaded writer’s block. Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds.
Today we bring you Chapter 6 of Let's Write A Book!
This book is a hands-on manual for crafting your story, and we hope you enjoy working through it.
This book has been split into two distinct parts to help you in your writing journey. Part One is all about the things you should be doing before you even get started on a draft or an outline. In this first part, I’m going to be covering the foundational knowledge of a book: what a book is, figuring out your genre and subgenre, and more. I’ll also be talking about the mindset of a writer, what you need to write your book, and where you’ll be writing. Finally, I’ll wrap up Part One with the basics of plotting and planning. Just the idea of planning might make some of you groan, so chill out for a second, because I have ways of outlining and structuring for those who love to plan and those who absolutely hate it.
Part Two is where we get to the good stuff: writing your first draft. I’ll go over the key elements of a kickass book, as well as the more technical stuff like point of view, active and passive voice, and more. Together we’ll do a deep dive into what it takes to make the perfect plot, compelling characters, and tantalizing themes. And I’ll even help you out with ways to actually get your book written (again, it’s a long, sometimes difficult journey) and what to do when you encounter setbacks like the dreaded writer’s block. Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds.
Turn It Up!: My Time Making Hit Records In The Glory Days Of Rock Music (Featuring Mötley Crüe, Poison, Twisted Sister, Jeff Beck, Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, And More)TOM WERMAN is a former music industry executive and producer who worked with some of the biggest names in rock and metal during the 1970s and ‘80s. Shortly after joining Epic Records in 1970, he brought REO Speedwagon to the label, then discovered, signed, and produced Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, and Molly Hatchet, among others. As an independent producer in the 1980s and ‘90s, he worked with acts including Blue Öyster Cult, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, LA Guns, Poison, Stryper, and Lita Ford. After retiring from producing in 2001, he owned and operated Stonover Farm, a luxury bed-and-breakfast in Lenox, Massachusetts.
A fascinating, rock-star-studded read and vivid time-travel trip, Turn It Up! is also an inspiring memoir for anyone who cares about making and appreciating good music. I look forward to exploring interview opportunities.
This book is a hands-on manual for crafting your story, and we hope you enjoy working through it.
This book has been split into two distinct parts to help you in your writing journey. Part One is all about the things you should be doing before you even get started on a draft or an outline. In this first part, I’m going to be covering the foundational knowledge of a book: what a book is, figuring out your genre and subgenre, and more. I’ll also be talking about the mindset of a writer, what you need to write your book, and where you’ll be writing. Finally, I’ll wrap up Part One with the basics of plotting and planning. Just the idea of planning might make some of you groan, so chill out for a second, because I have ways of outlining and structuring for those who love to plan and those who absolutely hate it.
Part Two is where we get to the good stuff: writing your first draft. I’ll go over the key elements of a kickass book, as well as the more technical stuff like point of view, active and passive voice, and more. Together we’ll do a deep dive into what it takes to make the perfect plot, compelling characters, and tantalizing themes. And I’ll even help you out with ways to actually get your book written (again, it’s a long, sometimes difficult journey) and what to do when you encounter setbacks like the dreaded writer’s block. Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds.
TERRY BROOKS was born in Illinois in 1944. He spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same setting for Running with the Demon. He received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and went on to earn his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.
A writer since high school and heavily influenced by William Faulkner, it took him seven years to finish writing The Sword of Shannara, which published in 1977. It became the first work of fiction to ever appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.
He published The Elfstones of Shannara in 1982 and The Wishsong of Shannara in 1985, both bestsellers.
Since that time, he has written numerous novels in the Shannara, Landover, Word/Void, and Viridian Deep series, including being hand-selected by George Lucas to write the novelization of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, which hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Terry Brooks lives with his wife Judine in the Pacific Northwest and on the road meeting his fans.
SOMETIMES THE MAGIC WORKS
To read an autobiography of Terry Brooks, please discover his memoir and writing guide, Sometimes the Magic Works.
This book is a hands-on manual for crafting your story, and we hope you enjoy working through it.
This book has been split into two distinct parts to help you in your writing journey. Part One is all about the things you should be doing before you even get started on a draft or an outline. In this first part, I’m going to be covering the foundational knowledge of a book: what a book is, figuring out your genre and subgenre, and more. I’ll also be talking about the mindset of a writer, what you need to write your book, and where you’ll be writing. Finally, I’ll wrap up Part One with the basics of plotting and planning. Just the idea of planning might make some of you groan, so chill out for a second, because I have ways of outlining and structuring for those who love to plan and those who absolutely hate it.
Part Two is where we get to the good stuff: writing your first draft. I’ll go over the key elements of a kickass book, as well as the more technical stuff like point of view, active and passive voice, and more. Together we’ll do a deep dive into what it takes to make the perfect plot, compelling characters, and tantalizing themes. And I’ll even help you out with ways to actually get your book written (again, it’s a long, sometimes difficult journey) and what to do when you encounter setbacks like the dreaded writer’s block. Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds.
This book is a hands-on manual for crafting your story, and we hope you enjoy working through it.
This book has been split into two distinct parts to help you in your writing journey. Part One is all about the things you should be doing before you even get started on a draft or an outline. In this first part, I’m going to be covering the foundational knowledge of a book: what a book is, figuring out your genre and subgenre, and more. I’ll also be talking about the mindset of a writer, what you need to write your book, and where you’ll be writing. Finally, I’ll wrap up Part One with the basics of plotting and planning. Just the idea of planning might make some of you groan, so chill out for a second, because I have ways of outlining and structuring for those who love to plan and those who absolutely hate it.
Part Two is where we get to the good stuff: writing your first draft. I’ll go over the key elements of a kickass book, as well as the more technical stuff like point of view, active and passive voice, and more. Together we’ll do a deep dive into what it takes to make the perfect plot, compelling characters, and tantalizing themes. And I’ll even help you out with ways to actually get your book written (again, it’s a long, sometimes difficult journey) and what to do when you encounter setbacks like the dreaded writer’s block. Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds.
This book is a hands-on manual for crafting your story, and we hope you enjoy working through it. This book has been split into two distinct parts to help you in your writing journey. Part One is all about the things you should be doing before you even get started on a draft or an outline. In this first part, I’m going to be covering the foundational knowledge of a book: what a book is, figuring out your genre and subgenre, and more. I’ll also be talking about the mindset of a writer, what you need to write your book, and where you’ll be writing. Finally, I’ll wrap up Part One with the basics of plotting and planning. Just the idea of planning might make some of you groan, so chill out for a second, because I have ways of outlining and structuring for those who love to plan and those who absolutely hate it. Part Two is where we get to the good stuff: writing your first draft. I’ll go over the key elements of a kickass book, as well as the more technical stuff like point of view, active and passive voice, and more. Together we’ll do a deep dive into what it takes to make the perfect plot, compelling characters, and tantalizing themes. And I’ll even help you out with ways to actually get your book written (again, it’s a long, sometimes difficult journey) and what to do when you encounter setbacks like the dreaded writer’s block. Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds.
The Golden Spoon: A Novel“This delicious combination of Clue and The Great British Bakeoff kept me turning the pages all night!” —Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Only Murders in the Building meets The Maid in this darkly beguiling locked-room mystery where someone turns up dead on the set of TV’s hottest baking competition—perfect for fans of Nita Prose, Richard Osman, and Anthony Horowitz.
Every summer for the past ten years, six awe-struck bakers have descended on the grounds of Grafton, the leafy and imposing Vermont estate that is not only the filming site for “Bake Week” but also the childhood home of the show’s famous host, celebrated baker Betsy Martin.
The author of numerous bestselling cookbooks and hailed as “America’s Grandmother,” Betsy Martin isn’t as warm off-screen as on, though no one needs to know that but her. She has always demanded perfection, and gotten it with a smile, but this year something is off. As the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it’s merely sabotage—sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high—but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect.
A sharp and suspenseful thriller for mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon is a brilliant puzzle filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night until you turn the very last page of this incredible debut.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
Peggy Townsend is longtime newspaper reporter who has won multiple state and national awards for her work. She has chased a serial killer through a graveyard at midnight, panhandled with street kids, and sat on a mountaintop with woman who counted her riches in each morning's sunrise. She has rafted rivers, come face-to-face with a grizzly bear and, twice, lived in her van for seven weeks while traveling across the country. She divides her time between the Central Coast of California and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Robyn Carr was a young mother of two in the mid-1970s when she started writing fiction, an Air Force wife, educated as a nurse, whose husband’s frequent assignment changes made it difficult for her to work in her profession. Originally from Minnesota, they lived in all four corners of Texas, Alabama, Florida, California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. Little did the aspiring novelist know then, as she wrote with babies on her lap, that she would become one of the world’s most popular authors of romance and women’s fiction, that 11 of her novels would earn the #1 berth on the New York Times bestselling books list.
Robyn’s A Virgin River Christmas scored her first New York Times success in 2008 and since then, the Las Vegas author’s novels have spent nearly 250 weeks on that prestigious list. Amazingly, sales of her books in digital and print have risen with each successive novel. Her 20-book Virgin River series alone has netted more than 13 million copies. That series’ sixteenth title, Bring Me Home for Christmas, scored the #1 slot not only on the New York Times list but on two others as well—Publishers Weekly and Barnes and Noble.
Proof of Robyn’s international popularity is also in the numbers. Robyn Carr titles have collectively sold over 27 million copies and have been translated into 19 languages in 30 countries.
As a sign of the significant contributions Robyn has made to the genre, the Romance Writers of America, the trade association representing 10,200 members who write romance and live in 35 countries, awarded Robyn the 2016 Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I discovered romance novels when doctors instructed me to stay down and keep my feet up during a complicated pregnancy,” Robyn said. “A neighbor brought me ten paperbacks a week to read. And I was hooked. I started to write them, but it wasn’t an easy ride. After critiquing my third manuscript at a writers’ conference, one novelist suggested I find something to do for which I had talent. Fortunately, I ignored her and persevered. I was first published in 1978, with an historical titled Chelynne, but it took me 30 years to score that first New York Times placement.”
In April 2016, What We Find debuted in hardcover for MIRA Books and launched Robyn’s new bestselling Sullivan’s Crossing series. Set in the heart of the beautiful Rocky Mountains, What We Find explores the healing powers of rural Colorado in a story of fresh starts, budding relationships and one woman’s journey to finding the happiness she’s long been missing. Any Day Now, Sullivan’s Crossing book #2, was a New York Times bestseller and reached #1 on the Publisher’s Weekly bestseller list. The Family Gathering, book #3, was a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Robyn’s women’s fiction novels also rank on bestseller lists. The New York Times and USA Today bestseller, The Life She Wants, October 2016, finds a woman humbly cleaning up after herself, paying her dues and rediscovering herself after poor decisions she made earlier in life. The Publisher’s Weekly bestseller, The Summer That Made Us, is a beautifully woven story about the complexities of family dynamics and the value of strong female relationships. All of Robyn’s books are about strong women
Next up for Robyn: Robyn is now living her dream of writing one stand-alone women’s fiction and one contemporary romance per year. The fourth Sullivan’s Crossing novel, The Best of Us debuted on the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists in Jan. 2019. The View from Alameda Island, Robyn’s 2019 women’s fiction novel is about a woman, on her twenty-fourth wedding anniversary, who decides to leave her perfect-on-the-outside-life.
Robyn has fallen in love with the beautiful Nevada desert and unrivaled spectacle of Las Vegas where she resides. Her children are grown—her son is an orthopedic surgeon; her daughter, a police captain. Robyn says that, in addition to reading her novels and making snide remarks about how she’s used family scenarios to her advantage, they have made her a happy grandmother.
A.N. Sage is a bestselling, award-winning author of mystery and fantasy novels. She has spent most of her life waiting to meet a witch, vampire, or at least get haunted by a ghost. In between failed seances and many questionable outfit choices, she has developed a keen eye for the extra-ordinary.
A.N. spends her free time reading and binge-watching television shows in her pajamas. Currently, she resides in Toronto, Canada with her husband who is not a creature of the night and their daughter who just might be.
A.N. Sage is a Scorpio and a massive advocate of leggings for pants.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
Join us on our YouTube channel!
In this video we explore how writers can use Claude.AI to explore the prewriting process. We go from simple idea to fully fleshed out outline. By the time we're finished, we will be ready to start drafting a mystery novel, with the confidence of a writer with a plan.
Here's the document with our prompts and responses. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PD_Kt6X4yTgaHGwCRlnaKSWNkM2cSZ7i/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115873910777981292642&rtpof=true&sd=true
The Christmas Guest: A NovellaPETER SWANSON is the New York Times bestselling author of nine previous novels, including The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger; Her Every Fear, an NPR book of the year; and Eight Perfect Murders, a New York Times bestseller and Kirkus Reviews book of the year. His books have been translated into thirty languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Atlantic Monthly, Measure, The Guardian (UK), The Strand Magazine, and Yankee magazine. He lives outside of Boston, where he is at work on his next novel.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
If you’ve been hiding from the robot apocalypse and haven’t yet heard of ChatGPT, or Claude, or any of the other AI tools that have appeared on the market lately, then I have some bad news for you. The robots are here.
But the good news is that this robot (for the time being) isn’t currently taking over the world and is actually quite helpful for writing fiction.
In this first video we’re going to look at ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a powerful language model developed by OpenAI that can generate human-like text when provided with a prompt. It can be used for just about anything writing-related. Some artists, including writers, are worried about AI replacing human storytelling and creativity. Luckily, we aren’t there yet.
But today, we will talk about how fiction writers can harness this power for the good of storytelling.
Join us on our Dabble YouTube channel for more content to help you craft your best story.
Sweeten the DealKatie Shepard is, in no particular order, a fangirl, a gamer, a bankruptcy lawyer, and a romance author. Born and raised in Texas, she frequently escapes to Montana to commune with the trees and woodland creatures, resembling a Disney princess in all ways except age, appearance, and musical ability. When not writing or making white-collar criminals cry at their depositions, she enjoys playing video games in her soft pants and watching sci-fi shows with her husband, two children, and very devoted cat.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
Christmas at Corgi Cove: A NovelAnnie England Noblin lives with her son, husband, and three dogs in the Missouri Ozarks. She graduated with an M.A. in creative writing from Missouri State University and currently teaches English and communications for Arkansas State University in Mountain Home, Arkansas. She spends her free time playing make-believe, feeding stray cats, and working with animal shelters across the country to save homeless dogs.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
Join us at YouTube for our Preptober series of videos.
AqueousFrom debut young adult novelist Jade Shyback comes the first in the Aqueous series. On the eve of Earth’s collapse, young Marisol Blaise is taken to live on an underwater mersation known as Aqueous with parents not her own. There, she must compete in the trials, grueling tests designed to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each trainee, hoping to be assigned to the all-male elite diving team known as the Cuviers. Desperate to prove to herself, the residents, and all of her parents, dead and alive, that she is worthy of this prestigious placement, she works tirelessly to shatter misogynistic beliefs, only to discover that it was not only the men who constrained her. A much uglier untruth exists. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones) Kate Golden lives in Los Angeles where she works full time in the film industry developing stories with screenwriters and filmmakers. A Dawn of Onyx is her debut novel, and the first in the Sacred Stones trilogy. In her free time she is an avid book reader, movie fanatic, and functioning puzzle addict. An embarrassing LA cliché, she likes to hike, brunch, and go to the flea market with her fiancé and her puppy.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
The TakedownCarlie Walker attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she first majored in Peace, War and Defense, a feeder program for intelligence services—before realizing that she is way too anxious to be a spy. Having gone on to study at Oxford University and at City, University of London, she worked briefly in publishing before becoming the bestselling author of seven books for children and young adults. She has a registered 250-pound dead lift, volunteers in a cat shelter, and used to spend her Saturdays practicing Krav Maga. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and their American dingo.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
The September HouseCarissa Orlando has a doctorate in clinical-community psychology and specializes in work with children and adolescents. In her “day job,” Carissa works to improve the quality of and access to mental health care for children and their families. Prior to her career in psychology, Carissa studied creative writing in college and has written creatively in some form since she was a child. It was only a matter of time before Carissa, an avid horror fan for much of her life, merged her understanding of the human psyche and deep love for storytelling into a piece of fiction.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
With over 10 years of experience as a co-founder and CEO of Juxtabook, Zach helps current and aspiring authors learn the habits to successfully write, launch, and market their books and author brands. He has a passion for creating and sharing impactful stories that can influence and change our culture.
As a Columbia-certified Professional Executive Coach and a Master's degree holder in Social-Organizational Psychology, Zach has worked with thought leaders and authors from FranklinCovey and other organizations, producing and launching industry-leading books in various fields. He has also guided individuals through career transitions and facilitated coaching skills groups, using my expertise in organizational effectiveness, qualitative analysis, and workshop facilitation.
Beyond the Book Podcast webpage: https://www.juxtabook.com/beyondthebook
Book proposal template: https://www.juxtabook.com/book-proposal
Redemption (Eva "Lightning Dance" Duran Book 1) DEBORAH J LEDFORD is the award-winning author of the upcoming Eva "Lightning Dance" Duran thriller REDEMPTION from Thomas & Mercer Amazon Publishing, set in Northern New Mexico.
Her first series, the Smoky Mountain Intrigue Native American police procedural series, includes the titles, CAUSING CHAOS, CRESCENDO, STACCATO, and The Hillerman Sky Award Finalist SNARE. CAUSING CHAOS and CRESCENDO, are Anthony Award Finalists for Best Audiobook. The recordings are produced by the media production company IOF Productions Ltd, available from Audible.
Edgar Award winner, and three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, she is a former adjunct professor for Arizona State University's Piper Writer Center for Creative Writing, and past-president of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths (AZ chapter).
Part Eastern Band Cherokee, Deborah spent her summers growing up in the Great Smoky Mountains region of North Carolina, where her Smoky Mountain Inquest novels are set. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and an awesome Ausky. DeborahJLedford.com
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
Enchanted to Meet You: A Witches of West Harbor NovelThe Princess DiariesMeg Cabot is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for both adults and tweens/teens. Born in the year of the Fire Horse (a notoriously unlucky astrological sign) and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, Meg also lived in Grenoble, France and Carmel, California (the setting for her bestselling Mediator series) before moving to New York City after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Indiana University.
After working for ten years as an assistant residence hall director at New York University (an experience from which she occasionally draws inspiration for her best-selling Heather Wells mystery series), Meg wrote the Princess Diaries series, which was made into two hit movies by Disney. While over 25 million copies of Meg’s nearly 80 published books have been sold in 38 countries, Meg’s most proud of the letters she’s received from fans thanking her for helping them to overcome their “dislike of reading.”
Some of Meg’s fan favorites include the 1-800-Where-R-You? series (which has been reprinted under the title Vanished and was made into the Lifetime series called Missing), as well as All-American Girl and Avalon High (on which an original Disney Channel movie was based), and several books told entirely in emails and text messages (Boy Next Door/Boy Meets Girl/Every Boy’s Got One). A fourth book told in this format, The Boy is Back, was published by HarperCollins in 2017.
Meg’s first ever adult book in the Princess Diaries series, Royal Wedding, was published in 2015, along with a new Princess Diaries series for younger readers, From the Notebook of a Middle School Princess, which Meg also illustrated. The 4th book in the Middle School Princess Series, Royal Crown, was published in August of 2018, as well as paperback editions of the 2nd and 3rd editions series.
Remembrance, the 7th and first adult book in the Mediator series, became available in 2016, along with a novella titled Proposal. In 2020, Meg signed a franchise deal with Netflix for screen rights to The Mediator series, along with writer/director Sarah Spillane and media powerhouse Debra Martin Chase.
In 2019, Meg authored a Black Canary graphic novel for DC Zoom for middle-grade readers with illustrator Cara McGee, and also launched a new adult contemporary series set on the fictional Little Bridge Island in the Florida Keys. While each book in the series focuses on a different couple and their sometimes humorous, sometimes serious struggles, all guarantee a Happily Ever After (with plenty of sunshine and margaritas). The latest, No Words, debuted in September 2021.
And finally, Meg has written Quarantine Princess Diaries, a new novel for adults in The Princess Diaries series, was released in March of 2023! 10% of Meg’s proceeds from the sale of this book will go to real life royal Princess Mabel van Oranje of the Netherlands’ charity to end child marriage www.vowforgirls.org.
Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in “her books can be habit forming”) currently lives in Key West, Florida with her husband and various cats. If you see her husband, please do not tell him that he married a fire horse, as he has not figured it out yet.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
Salthouse Place: A Novel Jamie Lee Sogn is a Filipina American author of adult thriller novels. She grew up in Olympia, Washington, studied Anthropology and Psychology at the University of Washington and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon School of Law.
She is a "recovering attorney" who writes contracts by day and (much more exciting) fiction by night. While she has lived in Los Angeles, New York City, and even Eugene, Oregon, she now lives in Seattle with her husband, son, and Boston Terrier.
Learn more about her debut novel, Salthouse Place, on her website at www.jamieleesogn.com.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
Joe Bunting is a bestselling writer, novelist, and dad. He has written nine books, is the host of the podcast Character Test, and his organization, The Write Practice, has helped over 10 million people become better writers. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife Talia and their three children. You can follow Joe on Instagram (@jhbunting), Facebook, or on his website, joebunting.com.
https://thewritepractice.com/https://thewritepractice.com/joinhttps://thewritepractice.com/the-write-structure/https://thewritepractice.com/book-coach-certification/ When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
Mother-Daughter Murder Night: A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick Nina Simon has worn many hats: NASA engineer, slam poet, game designer, museum director, and nonprofit CEO. Her work on community participation in museums, libraries, parks, and theaters has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, NPR, and the TEDx stage.
Mother-Daughter Murder Night is Nina’s first novel. She wrote it as a love letter to her mother, as a way to entertain, comfort, and connect with her during a major health crisis. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nina now lives off-the-grid in the Santa Cruz Mountains. More information can be found on her website, ninaksimon.com.
When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.
One Blood: A NovelNew York Times best-selling author DENENE MILLNER is a highly respected and sought after award-winning journalist whose captivating books, columns and essays have secured her foothold in the entertainment, parenting, book publishing and social media industries. The veteran author has written and collaborated on 31 critically acclaimed and bestselling books, penning tomes with Taraji P. Henson, Will Smith, Charlie Wilson and Jessye Norman, among other celebrities, and co-authoring “The Vow,” the novel on which the hit Lifetime movie, “With This Ring” was based. She also has been a frequent contributing entertainment, parenting and relationships writer for some of the nation’s most well-read and respected magazines, penning high-profile cover stories on everyone from hit filmmaker Tyler Perry and Scandal’s Kerry Washington to super star George Clooney and The Walking Dead’s Lauren Cohan, for Essence, Women’s Health, Ebony and other top publications.
Denene also is vice president and publisher of Denene Millner Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint that publishes books featuring African American children. In its debut year, "Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut," won Newbery and Caldecott honors and the Kirkus Prize for Children's Literature. She has since gone on to publish a plethora of critically-acclaimed picture books and young adult novels, all with a singular focus: to celebrate the everyday humanity of Black children. As the sole African American woman with her own children’s book imprint at a Big 5 publishing house, Denene acquires, conceives and edits books for the imprint, oversees their artistic development, and helps conceptualize and execute all aspects of the publishing process, including marketing, publicity and sales, with a focus on creating opportunities for marginalized writers, artists and their stories.
In addition to running her imprint and penning books and magazine cover stories, Millner spent a decade working as a columnist, contributing editor, and blogger for Parenting, a national magazine for which she provided witty, engaging, mom-to-mom advice on everything from childrearing and marriage to work and friendship. Denene is also the founder and editor of MyBrownBaby.com, an oft celebrated, award-winning website that examines parenting and motherhood through a distinctive multicultural lens. Her work as a parenting and relationships expert has been covered extensively on national television, earning Millner regular appearances on the Today show, The Meredith Vieira Show and HLN, and guest appearances on CBS’s The Early Show, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, VH-1, The Nate Berkus Show and The Rachel Ray Show. In 2018, she became a founding co-host on Georgia Public Broadcasting's "A Seat at the Table," a talk show about black women, which led to her founding of the critically-acclaimed NPR podcast "Speakeasy with Denene," a celebration of the beauty of the African American experience.
Denene's upcoming novel, "One Blood," an epic triptych on Black motherhood, publishes on September 5, 2023 from Forge Books.
Denene lives is a graduate of Hofstra University and lives in Atlanta with her two daughters and their adorable Goldendoodle, Franklin.
www.denenemillner.com
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An Improper Courtship: A Regency Romance (Lords & Ladies of Mayfair Book 3)Laura Beers is an award-winning author. She attended Brigham Young University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management. She can't sing, doesn't dance and loves naps.
Laura lives in Utah with her husband, three kids, and her dysfunctional dog. When not writing regency romance, she loves waterskiing, hiking, and drinking Dr Pepper.
You can connect with Laura on Facebook, Instagram, or on her site at www.authorlaurabeers.com.
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The Longmire Defense: A Longmire MysteryCraig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction and the Mountain & Plains Independent Booksellers Association's Reading the West Book Award for fiction. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population 26.
Walt Longmire faces one of his most challenging crime scenes as he tries to reckon with the revelations of his last case where he confronted the ghosts of his past and questioned the very nature of justice and mercy in the hard country of the West.
Deep in the heart of the Wyoming countryside, Sheriff of Absaroka County, Walt Longmire, is called to a crime scene like few others that he has seen. This crime brings up issues that go back to Walt’s grandfather’s time in Wyoming, as the revelations he learns about his grandfather come back to offer clues and motives for Walt’s investigation. Filled with back-country action, and with the great cast of characters that readers have come to love with the Longmire series, this new book will be sure to satisfy both long-time readers and those new to the series.
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Code Red: A Mitch Rapp Novel by Kyle MillsKyle Mills is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three political thrillers, including Code Red, Total Power, Lethal Agent, and Red War for Vince Flynn and The Patriot Attack for Robert Ludlum. He initially found inspiration from his father, the former director of Interpol, and still draws on his contacts in the intelligence community to give his books such realism. Avid outdoor athletes, he and his wife split their time between Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Granada, Spain. Visit his website at KyleMills.com or connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @KyleMillsAuthor.
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Forgotten War (A Matt Drake Novel Book 4)
Don Bentley is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Matt Drake thriller series including Hostile Intent, The Outside Man, and Without Sanction as well as one forthcoming title. Don also writes in the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan, Jr. universe with Zero Hour, Target Acquired, and one forthcoming title.
Don spent a decade as an Army Apache helicopter pilot during which time he was stationed in South Korea, Germany, and Texas. While deployed to Afghanistan as a Troop Commander in support of Operation Enduring Freedom VI, Don was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal with “V” device for valor. Following his time in the military Don worked as an FBI Special Agent and was a member of the Dallas Office Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.
After leaving the FBI, Don worked for companies that developed technology for the U.S. Special Operations Community. He holds a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Ohio State University, and an M.F.A in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University.
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The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spires Book 2) Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in the mountains outside Denver, Colorado.
Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990’s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.
All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.
The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story (A Novel) Mark Helprin belongs to no literary school, movement, tendency, or trend. As many have observed, and as Time Magazine has phrased it, “He lights his own way.” His three collections of short stories (A Dove of the East and Other Stories, Ellis Island and Other Stories, and The Pacific and Other Stories), seven novels (Refiner’s Fire, Winter’s Tale, A Soldier of the Great War, Memoir From Antproof Case, Freddy and Fredericka, In Sunlight and In Shadow, and Paris in the Present Tense), and three children’s books (Swan Lake, A City in Winter, and The Veil of Snows, all illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg), speak eloquently for themselves and are remarkable throughout, for the sustained beauty and power of their language. Helprin’s academic training, military service, decades of journalism, and involvement in politics and statesmanship as an obligation of citizenship, although secondary at best, have gained some attention nonetheless.
Translated into a score of languages, his books include A Dove of the East & Other Stories, Refiner’s Fire, Ellis Island & Other Stories, Winter’s Tale, Swan Lake (with illustrations by Chris Van Allsburg), A Soldier of the Great War, Memoir from Antproof Case, A City in Winter, and The Veil of Snows (both with illustrations by Chris Van Allsburg), The Pacific & Other Stories, Freddy and Fredericka, Digital Barbarism, In Sunlight and in Shadow, A Kingdom Far and Clear, and Paris in the Present Tense.
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Thirty-four years ago, R. A. Salvatore created the character of Drizzt Do’Urden, the dark elf who has withstood the test of time to stand today as an icon in the fantasy genre. With his work in the Forgotten Realms, the Crimson Shadow, the DemonWars Saga, and other series, Salvatore has sold more than thirty million books worldwide and has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list more than two dozen times. He considers writing to be his personal journey, but still, he’s quite pleased that so many are walking the road beside him! R.A. lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their two dogs, Dexter and Pikel. He still plays softball for his team, Clan Battlehammer, and enjoys his weekly DemonWars: Reformation RPG and Dungeons & Dragons 5e games. Salvatore can be found at RASalvaStore.com
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Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including The Family Upstairs and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold over 10 million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages. Connect with her on Twitter @LisaJewellUK, on Instagram @LisaJewellUK, and on Facebook @LisaJewellOfficial.
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Ben Purkert is the author of the poetry collection For the Love of Endings. His work appears in The New Yorker, the Nation, and the Kenyon Review, among others. He is the founder of Back Draft, a Guernica interview series focused on revision and the creative process. He holds degrees from Harvard and New York University, and he currently teaches at Rutgers.
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Gillian McAllister is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the following novels:
Everything But The Truth (2017)
Anything You Do Say (2018) called The Choice in America
No Further Questions (2018) called The Good Sister in America
The Evidence Against You (2019)
How To Disappear (2020)
That Night (2021)
Wrong Place Wrong Time (2022)
All are standalone and can be read in any order.
Her latest release is Wrong Place Wrong Time, available now and selected for the Radio 2 book club and was the Reese's Book Club August '22 pick. It debuted at number 4 on the Sunday Times Bestseller List and number 2 on the New York Times Bestseller List. She has been selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club, the Radio 2 Book Club and is published in over 25 languages.
You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @gillianmauthor and at http://www.gillianmcallister.com.
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Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at freelance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He’s been married for fifty years to a marvelous woman who is a retired attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves.
Krueger writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. His work has received a number of awards, including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, the Dilys Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. His last eleven novels were all New York Times bestsellers.
Ordinary Grace, his stand-alone novel published in 2013, received the Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition for the best novel published in that year. The companion novel, This Tender Land, was published in September 2019 and spent nearly six months on the New York Times bestseller list.
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Mariana Zapatalives in a small town in Colorado with her husbandand two oversized children—her beloved Great Danes, Dorian andKaiser. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, spendingtime outside,forcing kisses on her boys, or pretending to write.
https://youtube.com/live/ET522mLtHQQ
BRAD THOR is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two thrillers, including RISING TIGER, BLACK ICE (ThrillerFix Best Thriller of the Year), NEAR DARK (one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of the Year), BACKLASH (nominated for the Barry Award for Best Thriller of the Year), SPYMASTER (“One of the all-time best thriller novels” —The Washington Times), THE LAST PATRIOT (nominated Best Thriller of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association), and BLOWBACK (one of the “Top 100 Killer Thrillers of All Time” —NPR).
MEDIA CONTRIBUTOR Brad has appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, FOX News Channel, FOX Business Channel, CNN, CNN Headline News, and MSNBC (among others) to discuss terrorism, as well as how closely his novels of international intrigue parallel the real threats facing the world today.
BACKGROUND Brad has served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Analytic Red Cell Unit. He has also lectured to law enforcement organizations on over-the-horizon/future threats, and has been a keynote speaker for the National Tactical Officers Association annual conference.
In 2008, Brad shadowed a Black Ops team in Afghanistan to research his thriller, The Apostle.
Brad graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California where he studied creative writing, film, and television production. Prior to becoming a novelist, Brad was the award-winning creator, producer, writer and host of the critically acclaimed national public television series, Traveling Lite.
A desperate young publicist tries to save her career by turning the charismatic leader of a grungy retreat center into the hot new self-care brand in this “wildly funny, laser-eyed” (Michael Cunningham) debut novel.
Jane Dorner has two modes: PR Jane, twenty-five, chummy, and eager to sell you a feminist vibrator or a self-care/bereavement subscription box; and Actual Jane, twenty-nine, drifting through mediocre workdays and lackluster dates while paralyzed by her crushing mountain of overdue medical bills. When her job performance is called into question, Jane’s last-ditch effort to preserve her livelihood and pay off her debt is to land a white whale of a client.
Enter the impossibly gorgeous Cass—whom Jane discovers scrolling through Instagram—and her unassuming husband, Tom—proprietors of a “wellness retreat” based out of a ramshackle country house that may or may not be giving off cult vibes. Suddenly Jane realizes she might have found the one ladder she can climb—if she can convince them that transforming Cass herself into a high-end wellness brand is the key to all three of their futures. Magnetic yet mysterious, Cass is primed to be an influencer: She speaks in a mix of inspirational quotes and Zen koans, eats only zucchini (the most spiritually nourishing vegetable), and has baby-perfect skin. Despite Tom’s reticence about selling out, Jane sets out to mold Cass into the kind of guru who can offer inner peace and make your skin glow—all at a hefty price, of course. As Jane reckons with her own long-dormant ambitions, she wonders: Can a person really “do good” for others while profiting off them? And what parts of our selves do we lose when we trade power, influence, and beauty?
Sparklingly plotted, deliciously deadpan, and irresistibly entertaining, THE GLOW is a razor-sharp sendup of an industry built on the peculiar intersection of money and wellness, where health is a commodity and self-care a luxury. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jessie Gaynor’s work has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The New Yorker, WSJ Magazine, and elsewhere. She is a senior editor at Literary Hub and she has an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was a Rona Jaffe fellow. Jessie Gaynor lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family.
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The inspiring autobiography of video game designer and DOOM cocreator John Romero
Doom Guy: Life in First Person is the long-awaited autobiography of gaming’s original rock star and the cocreator of DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein—some of the most recognizable and important titles in video game history. Credited with the invention of the first-person shooter, a genre that continues to dominate the market today, he is gaming royalty.
Told in remarkable detail, a byproduct of his hyperthymesia, Romero recounts his storied career—from his early days submitting Apple II code to computer magazines and sneaking computers out of the back door of his day job to do programming projects at night in his garage to a high-profile falling out with his id Software cofounder John Carmack, as well as his continued role in the gaming industry today as the managing director of Romero Games Ltd.
His story is truly one of a self-made man, founding multiple companies after a childhood filled with violence and abuse drove him to video game design where he could create new worlds and places to escape to. An alcoholic father, a racist grandfather who did not approve of Romero’s parents’ mixed-race coupling, and a grandmother who once ran a brothel in Mexico combine for an illuminating story of his youth—a story that has never before been revealed.
After years in the gaming spotlight, Romero is now telling his story—the whole story—in his own words.
Josh Winning is a nostalgia nut, book/film lover and author of The Shadow Glass, The Times’s Book of the Month, which is perfect for fans of Henson Company puppet classics Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, and The NeverEnding Story.
He is senior film writer at Radio Times, has written for Total Film magazine for over a decade, and is the co-host of movie podcast Torn Stubs. He has been on set with Kermit the Frog (and Miss Piggy), devoured breakfast with zombies on The Walking Dead, and sat on the Iron Throne on the Dublin set of Game of Thrones.
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Dwyer Murphy is the author of An Honest Living, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection, and the editor-in-chief of CrimeReads, Literary Hub’s crime fiction vertical and the world’s most popular destination for thriller readers. He practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City, where he was a litigator, and served as editor of the Columbia Law Review. He was previously an Emerging Writer Fellow at the Center for Fiction.
https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Coast-Novel-Dwyer-Murphy-ebook/dp/B0BJNXCJT7?ref_=ast_author_mpb
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Elle Cosimano is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, an International Thriller Award winner, a Bram Stoker Award finalist, and an Edgar® Award nominee. Her acclaimed young adult novels include Nearly Gone, Holding Smoke, The Suffering Tree, and Seasons of the Storm. Elle’s debut novel for adults, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, kicked off a witty, fast-paced contemporary mystery series, which was a PEOPLE Magazine Pick and was named one of New York Public Library's Best Books of 2021. In addition to writing novels for teens and adults, her essays have appeared in The Huffington Post and Time. Elle lives with her husband and two sons in Virginia.
https://www.ellecosimano.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ellecosimano/
https://www.instagram.com/ellecosimano/
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00E6M2074/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=af52645a-8f97-4777-a5d9-526f9b3f82b5
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David Bell burst onto the scene in 2011 with his first (now beloved) novel Cemetery Girl, which won the Prix Polar International de Cognac, a prestigious award for crime writing and has continued to publish some of the most well-received thrillers in the genre. His 2021 novel Kill Your Darlings was nominated for the illustrious Edgar Award. Praised by fellow thriller authors such as May Cobb, Liv Constantine, and Samantha Downing, David Bell is the go-to thriller writer for gripping domestic suspense.
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A young woman trapped in a deeply dysfunctional family in the seedy wilds of 1990s South Florida has to make a choice—save her family, or save herself—in this larger-than-life debut novel from the acclaimed author of Lay the Favorite (a memoir about Raymer’s years in Las Vegas and her work in the sports betting industry, which was made into a feature film directed by Stephen Frears and starring Rebecca Hall and Bruce Willis).
In Beth Raymer’s FIREWORKS EVERY NIGHT (Random House, on-sale 6/27) we meet twelve-year-old CC (named after her father’s beloved Canadian Club whiskey), an unforgettable protagonist who narrates her life story with dark comedy and compassion for her family, even as her parents “opt out of parenthood” as well as society.
CC’s father is a born grifter, a used-car salesman who burns down his dealership in southern Ohio for enough insurance money to set up a life for himself, his wife, and his two young daughters in a place he picks largely at random, because the living seems easy. CC’s mother is thirty-five going on seventeen, a housewife who just wants to drive a Mustang and hang out at the mall. CC’s big sister Lorraine goes from loving Debbie Gibson and jelly shoes to having a full-on drug addiction and listening only to heavy metal, after enduring forms of abuse within her family. In the midst of this dysfunction, CC is trying to stay afloat and make it out—to achieve some semblance of a stable life while coming up against the structural and cultural challenges of growing up in poverty.
While a work of fiction, Raymer’s novel is very much drawn from real life. Hers is a unique voice telling a story with a lot of darkness, but also with incredibly comedy, compassion, and heart. For even as CC is a young woman failed by most of those around her, she still is a character determined to succeed, and one who refuses to disavow the place and people she came from. And while her story is harrowing, I think you will also find it surprisingly poignant.
CLÉMENCE MICHALLON was born and raised near Paris. She studied journalism at City University of London, received a master's in Journalism from Columbia University, and has written for The Independent since 2018. Her essays and features have covered true-crime, celebrity culture, and literature. She moved to New York City in 2014 and recently became a US citizen. She now divides her time between New York City and Rhinebeck, NY.
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Holly Smale is the Number One bestselling, multi-award winning author of the GEEK GIRL series.
She fell in love with writing at five years old, when she realised that books didn't grow on trees like apples. A passion for travel, adventure and wearing no shoes has since led her all over the world: she has visited 27 countries, spent two years working as an English teacher in Japan, volunteered in Nepal, been bartered for in Jamaica and had a number of ear-plugs stolen in Australia, Indonesia and India.
Holly has a BA in English Literature, an MA in Shakespeare, and currently lives in London or at @holsmale.
The GEEK GIRL series has been an internationally bestselling no1. smash-hit. It won the Waterstones Teen Prize of the Year and the Leeds book award, was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Branford Boase award, and was long-listed for the Carnegie.
Alex Marwood is the pseudonym of a former journalist who has worked extensively in the British press. She is the author of the word-of-mouth sensation The Wicked Girls, which won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original; The Killer Next Door, which won a Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel; The Darkest Secret; and The Poison Garden. Her novels have been shortlisted for numerous crime writing awards and been optioned for the screen. She lives in south London.
Matthew Quick is the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook—which was made into an Oscar-winning film—and eight other novels, including We Are the Light, a #1 Indie Next Pick and a Book of the Month selection. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, was an LA Times Book Prize finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a #1 bestseller in Brazil, a Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis 2016 (German Youth Literature Prize) nominee, and selected by Nancy Pearl as one of Summer’s Best Books for NPR. The Hollywood Reporter has named him one of Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors. Matthew lives with his wife, the novelist Alicia Bessette, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
https://matthewquickwriter.com/
https://matthewquick.substack.com/
https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Light-Matthew-Quick-ebook/dp/B09RX3X5KN/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1W14PEWVHYKKW&keywords=matthew+quick&qid=1687266416&s=digital-text&sprefix=matthew+quick%2Cdigital-text%2C126&sr=1-2
T.A. Willberg grew up on a small-holding in South Africa. At 27, she moved to Malta and wrote her debut novel, MARION LANE AND THE MIDNIGHT MURDER which was named one of Amazon's "100 Best Books of 2021" as well as a Strand "Book of the Month", a LibraryReads pick and many more. It has also been translated into multiple languages. The sequel, MARION LANE AND THE DEADLY ROSE, was published around the world in February, 2022 and was featured in The New York Times Book Review. T.A. now lives between Europe and South Africa, chasing summers and adventures.
MY MAGNOLIA SUMMER is full of humor, fun, romance, and recipes guaranteed to make your mouth water. Most importantly, it’s a story about the bond of family and the strength of women. Everyone knows that when the three generations of South Carolina women join forces—the family pillar Gran, troubled Lily, impulsive Violet, and redoubtable Maggie—anything is possible.
Victoria Benton Frank makes her home just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. A graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute, married to a chef, and mother of two little hurricanes, her book is alive with lived experience and love for the land of her ancestors.
Deepa Varadarajan lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children. She is a legal academic and a graduate of Yale Law School. She grew up in Texas and received her BA from the University of Texas at Austin. Her short fiction has appeared in The Georgia Review and Colorado Review, and her legal scholarship has appeared in The Yale Law Journal and many other publications. Late Bloomers is her first novel.
In our second segment we welcome Christina Dodd
Readers become writers, and Christina Dodd has always been a reader. She reads everything, but because she loves humor, she likes romance best.
A woman wants things like world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants things like a Craftsman router with attachments, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will miraculously make his bald spot disappear. So when Christina’s first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to quit work and write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be?
Ha! It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before her first novel, CANDLE IN THE WINDOW, was published. In the thirty-two years since, her novels have been translated into 25 languages, won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart and RITA Awards and been called the year’s best by Library Journal and Booklist. Christina Dodd herself has been a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle (11/18/05, # 13 Down: Romance Novelist named Christina.) Her mother was thrilled! With more than 15 million of her books in print, Booklist praises her, “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd.”
Stephen Aryan was born in Iran in 1977 and raised in Whitley Bay, on the north east coast of the UK. He has been reading fantasy since a very young age. It started with books by David Eddings, Tolkien, C.S Lewis, Terry Brooks, Ursula le Guin, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and later David Gemmell, who had a huge influence on his work.
After graduating university in 1999 he started working in marketing. Around this time he also started submitting his first fantasy novel to agents.
In 2013, he submitted his latest novel, Battlemage, to Juliet Mushens. It took Stephen a long time and many struggles to get this far. You can read the full story on a two part blog he wrote called How I Found an Agent Part 1, and How I Found an Agent Part 2.
In 2014, Battlemage, was snatched up by Orbit books and subsequently published in 2015. It went on to be published in France, Germany and Russia and was a finalist for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for best debut fantasy novel. Battlemage went on to win the inaugural Hellfest Inferno Award in France after a public vote. The sequels, Bloodmage, and Chaosmage were both published in 2016, completing the Age of Darkness trilogy.
In 2017 he published Mageborn, the first in a new trilogy, the Age of Dread, with Orbit books. This followed on from his first trilogy, with the return of fan-favourite characters and many new faces. The sequels, Magefall and Magebane were published in 2018 and 2019 respectively, wrapping up his second trilogy.
In 2018 he also published Of Gods and Men with Orbit, a digital and audio novella which served as a prequel to Battlemage.
In 2020 Stephen was picked up for a new duology by Angry Robot Books. The story is set in a brand new world. The first novel, The Coward, was published in June 2021 and it received a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly. The sequel, The Warrior, was published in August 2022.
In 2022, Angry Robot signed The Judas Blossom, the first instalment in a Persian inspired fantasy trilogy, from Stephen. The first book will be published on 11th July 2023. The Judas Blossom has been described as an “imaginative and sprawling reimagining of the Mongol Empire’s invasion of Persia” following the lives of four characters at the centre of the war. It is an examination of Persian culture, family and war in a stunning, immersive world.
Stephen lives in the West Midlands with his partner and two cats. When he’s not writing novels or podcasting, he can be found drinking real ale, reading books or watching TV.
Stephen is represented by Juliet Mushens of the Mushens Entertainment agency.
You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
https://twitter.com/SteveAryan
Caroline Kepnes is the New York Times bestselling author of You, Hidden Bodies, Providence and You Love Me. Her work has been translated into a multitude of languages and inspired a television series adaptation of You, currently on Netflix. Kepnes graduated from Brown University and then worked as a pop culture journalist for Entertainment Weekly and a TV writer for 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She grew up in Cape Cod, and now lives in Los Angeles.
https://youtube.com/live/sRyVLrq1iJY
Nisha J. Tuli is a Canadian fantasy romance author, whose books feature kick ass heroines, swoony love interests, and slow burns with plenty of heat. Fans of The Princess Bride and A Court of Thorns and Roses will find themselves at home in her worlds.
She loves to draw upon her Indian heritage to bring her stories to life, weaving together vibrant and compelling characters, settings, and plotlines. Her first novella Wicked is the Reaper became a BookTok hit, which she followed up with two more novels, including her latest, Trial of the Sun Queen, the first in a new series.
Nisha wants to leave her readers breathless and begging for more and enjoys making her characters suffer before giving them a much-deserved happily ever after. When she's not writing or exploring, Nisha can be found enjoying travel, food, and camping with her partner, two kids, and their fluffy Samoyed.
Liv Constantine is the pen name of sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine. Lynne and Valerie are Wall St. Journal and USA Today international bestselling authors with over one million copies sold worldwide. They are Library Reads Hall of Fame authors. Their books have been translated into 28 languages, are available in 33 countries, and are in development for both television and film. Their books have been praised by USA Today, The Sunday Times, People Magazine, and Good Morning America, among many others. Their debut novel, THE LAST MRS. PARRISH, is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection.
Before authoring the Outer Banks Bookshop Mysteries, Alicia Bessette worked as a reporter in her home state of Massachusetts, where her writing won a first-place award from the New England Newspaper & Press Association. A pianist, published poet, and enthusiastic bird-watcher, she now loves living in coastal North Carolina with her husband, novelist Matthew Quick. Learn more at aliciabessette.com.
Christopher Paolini drops by the Story Craft Cafe again to talk about his new releases this year, a sci fi thriller follow up called Fractal Noise, as well as his return this fall to the world of Eragon.
Christopher was homeschooled by his parents. As a child, he often wrote short stories and poems, made frequent trips to the library, and read widely. Some of his favorite books were Bruce Coville’s Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, Frank Herbert’s Dune, and Raymond E. Feist’s Magician (now available in volumes one and two), as well as books by Anne McCaffrey, Jane Yolen, Brian Jacques, E.R. Eddison, David Eddings, and Ursula K. Le Guin.
The idea of Eragon began as the daydreams of a teen. Christopher’s love for the magic of stories led him to craft a novel that he would enjoy reading. The project began as a hobby, a personal challenge; he never intended it to be published. Before he began writing Eragon, he plotted out the entire adventure. He found that doing some of the same things as his characters allowed him to better understand their world, as well as to think of descriptions that otherwise would not have occured to him. To this end he forged his own knives and swords, made chain mail, spun wool, camped in the Beartooth Mountains, made his own bow, built survival shelters, learned to track game, fletched arrows, felled trees, hiked, and camped. In short, the books embody a great deal of his experience of living in Montana.
His work also combined elements gathered from research and from his imagination. He read a huge amount of folklore while growing up, ranging from the Brothers Grimm to Beowulf, Nordic sagas, and the Aeneid, along with contemporary fantasy and science fiction. In addition, he learned about weaponry, food, clothing, and customs from the Middle Ages, which is roughly the era he envisioned Eragon living in. Armed with that information, he daydreamed the scenes with his characters. Then he took pen to paper and tried to recreate those images with words.
Christopher was fifteen when he wrote the first draft of Eragon. He took a second year to revise the book, and then gave it to his parents to read. The family decided to self-publish the book and spent a third year preparing the manuscript for publication: copyediting, proofreading, designing a cover, typesetting the manuscript, and creating marketing materials. During this time Christopher drew the map for Eragon, as well as the dragon eye for the book cover (which now appears inside the Knopf hardcover edition). The manuscript was sent to press and the first books arrived in November 2001. The Paolini family spent the next year promoting the book at libraries, bookstores, and schools in 2002 and early 2003.
In summer 2002, author Carl Hiaasen, whose stepson had read a copy of the self-published book while on vacation in Montana, brought Eragon to the attention of his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf Books For Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. Michelle Frey, executive editor at Knopf, contacted Christopher and his family to ask if they might be interested in having Knopf publish Eragon. The answer was yes, and after another round of editing, Knopf published Eragon in August 2003. The book immediately became a New York Times Best Seller.
https://youtube.com/live/qzyaqkPntK0
In a small-town Montana school at age 12, Brent Weeks met the two great loves of his life. Edgar Allan Poe introduced him to the power of literature to transcend time and death and loneliness. Fate introduced him to The Girl, Kristi Barnes. He began his pursuit of each immediately.
The novel was a failure. The Girl shot him down.
Since then–skipping the boring parts–Brent has written eight best-selling novels with the Night Angel Trilogy and the Lightbringer Series, won several industry awards, and sold a few million books.
Brent and his wife Kristi live in Oregon with their two daughters. (Yeah, he married The Girl.)
You can contact Brent at brent(at)brentweeks(dot)com or fill out the comment form under the contact tab.
He does read all of his emails (the good ones, he’ll read two or three times, the little narcissist), and he does reply… sometimes. (If you have questions other people MAY have asked, maybe even frequently, you can live dangerously and check out the FAQ.)
https://youtube.com/live/z_ICXu4g5Sc
On today's show we have a special treat for you, a double header of interviews with two of the most creative thriller writers in publishing, Don Winslow and Taylor Adams. Be sure to join us at storycraft.cafe to stay informed about all upcoming shows!
You've finished your manuscript and now what? In 2023 writers have more options than ever to get their stories out to the world. Trad pub, indie, hybrid... they're all legitimate ways to publish, and our panel is going to talk about those, and attempt to shed some light on the realities of publishing in 2023.
When editing your book, how do you know when It's "finished"? In the writer's eyes, is a story ever truly finished? How do you lovingly close this project and how do you start thinking about what you'll follow it up with? We'll talk about all of it this week.
DON WINSLOW is the author of twenty-three acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including six New York Times bestsellers (Savages, The Kings of Cool, The Cartel, The Force, The Border and City on Fire). Savages was made into a feature film by three-time Oscar- winning writer-director Oliver Stone and a screenplay by Shane Salerno, Winslow and Stone. Winslow's epic Cartel trilogy has been adapted for TV and will appear as a weekly series on FX in 2023. The Force is soon to be a major motion picture from 20th Century Studios starring Matt Damon with James Mangold directing from a Scott Frank screenplay. Additional Winslow books are currently in development at Netflix, Warner Brothers, Sony and Working Title and he has recently written a series of acclaimed short stories for Audible narrated by four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris.
Read any how-to book on writing and you'll get that author's ideas about what makes the perfect story. Pick up another guide and you might find information that contradicts what the first author told you. Who's right? Aren't the rules of storytelling set in stone? The answer is a firm "sometimes". On this week's episode we're going to talk about the rules of story telling and knowing when and how to break them if necessary.
Amazon All Star Author Tonya Kappes has written more than 175 southern cozy mysteries, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today and Woman's World Book Club pick twice . Best known for stories charged with southern charm, emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband in northern Kentucky. Now that her four boys have flown out of the nest, Tonya writes full-time in her camper!
You can find her all over social media and at Tonyakappes.com.
When reading back over that first draft what happens when you encounter that dreaded plot hole. Pin sized plot holes are one thing, and hopefully easily resolved, but what happens when you could fly a 747 through the center of your plot?
Grant Faulkner is the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the co-founder of 100 Word Story. He has published two books on writing, Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo, and Brave the Page, a teen writing guide. He’s also published All the Comfort Sin Can Provide, a collection of short stories, Fissures, a collection of 100-word stories, and Nothing Short of 100: Selected Tales from 100 Word Story. His stories have appeared in dozens of literary magazines, including Tin House, The Southwest Review, and The Gettysburg Review, and he has been anthologized in collections such as Norton’s New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction and Best Small Fictions. His essays on creativity have been published in The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Lit Hub, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer. He serves on the National Writing Project’s Writer’s Council, Lit Camp’s Advisory Council, and Aspen Words’ Creative Council. He’s also the co-host of the podcast Write-minded.
We've talked about characters, and we've plumbed the depths of plot, but what if the story you're telling is actually one piece of a bigger puzzle, a series? How does editing in light of a series differ from sanding off the rough edges of a standalone story? When is it appropriate to start building a series bible? How do you keep characters consistent, yet growing from one part of the series to the next? We'll debate the finer points this week with special guest Richard Fox.
Mark Greaney has a degree in international relations and political science. In his research for the Gray Man novels, including Sierra Six, Relentless, One Minute Out, Mission Critical, Agent in Place, Gunmetal Gray, Back Blast, Dead Eye, Ballistic, On Target, and The Gray Man, he traveled to more than thirty-five countries and trained alongside military and law enforcement in the use of firearms, battlefield medicine, and close-range combative tactics. With Marine LtCol Rip Rawlings, he wrote the New York Times bestseller, Red Metal. He is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tom Clancy Support and Defend, Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect, Tom Clancy Commander in Chief, and Tom Clancy True Faith and Allegiance. With Tom Clancy, he coauthored Locked On, Threat Vector, and Command Authority.
In our second week of exploring plot, we look at how to ensure that the action rises and falls in a way that will keep your readers on the edge of their seats. Does your plot serve the story in a meaningful way? Let's talk about it.
We've talked characters for the last couple of weeks, but do you characters actually do anything? Plot is where we tell the story of what happened, and what that happening does to our characters. This week we talk about determining if your characters' journey is a good one.
The Levee
Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at freelance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He’s been married for nearly fifty years to a marvelous woman who is a retired attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves.
Krueger writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. His work has received a number of awards, including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, the Dilys Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. His last nine novels were all New York Times bestsellers.
Ordinary Grace, his stand-alone novel published in 2013, received the Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition for the best novel published in that year. The companion novel, This Tender Land, was published in September 2019 and spent nearly six months on the New York Times bestseller list.
So your protagonist has you feeling good, and you feel like their journey is solid, but what about the rest of the cast? No journey is a solitary one, and your protagonist is no different. How can he or she reach their potential without the help (or antics) of the folks around them? Join us this week as we look at the characters we choose to surround our protagonist with.
In our second week of rewriting we are going to take a hard look at the characters that we've invited into our stories. Are these characters all we had hoped they could be? Do they move the plot forward and add emotional depth to our tale? Are we as writers giving our characters the best shot at success that we can? We're going to dig into it this week as we stand back and take an objective look at the characters we have created.
It's time to take that novel that you've first-drafted and whip it into shape! Our panel of writers will work through the process–along with you, the audience–and hear from special guests along the way.
Rhett is a USA Today bestselling and Nebula-nominated hybrid author who has been writing Sci-Fi & Fantasy since before he can remember. On the editing side, he has collected works for numerous anthologies through Sci-Fi & Fantasy Bridge, and served as the lead editor of the bestselling Bridge Across the Stars Anthology. He also served for a period as a consulting editor for ASIM magazine and as a 34freelance editor on Upwork, and has earned a Certificate in Screenwriting / Storytelling from the New School in NYC.
Rhett is passionate about science fiction and its role in our fast-moving society. He wants stories that focus on characters but also present the kind of concepts that keep readers up at night, dreaming of potential futures.
Deborah Crombie was born in Dallas and grew up in Richardson, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas, the second child of Charlie and Mary Darden. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Dozier, a retired teacher, taught her to read at the tender age of four. After a rather checkered educational career, which included dropping out of high school at sixteen, she graduated from Austin College in Sherman, Texas, with a degree in biology.
She then worked in advertising and newspapers and attended the Rice University Publishing Program. A post-university trip to England, however, cemented a life-long passion for Britain, and she later immigrated to the UK with her first husband, Peter Crombie, a Scot, living first in Edinburgh, Scotland, and then in Chester, England.
After returning to live in Dallas, a trip to Yorkshire inspired her first Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid/Sergeant Gemma James novel. A Share in Death [Scribner, 1993], was subsequently given Agatha and Macavity nominations for Best First Novel of 1993. The fifth novel, Dreaming of the Bones (Scribner 1997), a New York Times Notable Book for 1997, was short-listed by Mystery Writers of America for the 1997 Edgar Award for Best Novel, won the Macavity Award for Best Novel, and was voted by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association as one of the hundred best mysteries of the century. Her subsequent novels have been received with critical acclaim and are widely read internationally, particularly in Germany.
In 2009, Where Memories Lie won the Macavity Award for Best Novel. In 2010, Necessary as Blood received a Macavity nomination for Best Novel.
Crombie's novels are published in North America, Japan, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Spain, Romania, Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and numerous other countries. The latest novel in the series, A Killing of Innocents, is available in February 2023 from William Morrow.
Although she travels to England several times a year, Crombie lives in McKinney, Texas, a historic town north of Dallas, sharing a circa 1905 Texas Craftsman bungalow with her husband, Rick Wilson, two German shepherds (Dax and Jasmine), and two cats. She is an aficionado of tea and cocktails, enjoys cooking and admiring her garden, reading, birdwatching, and playing with her dogs.
She is currently working on her twentieth Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James novel.
Audrey Burges writes novels, humor, short fiction, and essays in Richmond, Virginia. Her presence is tolerated by her two rambunctious children and very patient husband, all of whom have become practiced at making supportive faces when she shouts, “listen to this sentence!” She is a frequent contributor to numerous humor outlets, including McSweeney’s, and her stories and essays have appeared in Pithead Chapel, Cease, Cows, and lengthy diatribes in the Notes app on her phone. Audrey was born and raised in Arizona by her linguist parents, which is a lot like being raised by wolves, but with better grammar. She moved to Virginia as an adult but still carries mountains and canyons in her heart, and sometimes, when she closes her eyes, she can still smell ponderosa pines in the sun.
Brad Taylor was born on Okinawa, Japan, but grew up on 40-acres in rural Texas. Graduating from the University of Texas, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry. Brad served for more than 21 years, retiring as a Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel. During that time he held numerous Infantry and Special Forces positions, including eight years in 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta where he commanded multiple troops and a squadron. He has conducted operations in support of US national interests in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other classified locations.
His final assignment was as the Assistant Professor of Military Science at The Citadel in Charleston, SC. He holds a Master’s of Science in Defense Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School, with a concentration in Irregular Warfare. In 2011, Brad published his debut novel, One Rough Man, which was an immediate success and launched the Pike Logan series. Now with more than 15 installments and more than 3 million copies sold, the series has consistently hit the New York Times bestseller list. When not writing, he serves as a security consultant on asymmetric threats for various agencies. He lives in Charleston, SC with his wife and two daughters.
AI is certainly one of the buzziest topics as we start off 2023, and lots of writers are exploring what these tools might be able to offer to their personal creative process. Today we hear from a writer and publisher about his thoughts on where we stand with this emerging technology.
There's a lot of talk in the writing community about AI and the tools that AI are now affording writers. Today we hear from an author who is using this new technology to further her craft and career.
Leanne Leeds is a humorously acerbic, good-natured, contemporary paranormal/fantasy cozy mystery author who writes fun, lighthearted, and optimistic adventures where characters and events intersect in magically unexpected ways. With a cast of quirky characters inhabiting her fictional world, Leanne provides a unique blend of comedy, clues, and twisty action—all with a touch of magic that keeps readers turning pages.
Leanne is a proud member of Novelists, Inc., The Alliance of Independent Authors, The Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.
For information on Leanne Leeds visit: https://leanneleeds.com
Wow, what a year! In this calendar year not only did we kick off the number one site for writers The Story Craft Cafe, but we also started this podcast as an offshoot of that very special place. We had some fantastic guests that stopped by to share their stories and to drop some hard earned wisdom on us as well. In this episode we look back at a few of those highlights as we get ready to spend some special moments with family and friends and reflect on all of the good that 2022 brought us. We hope you take this time to rest and recharge your creative batteries and come back ready to tackle your stories with renewed hope and vigor. From all of us at Dabble and the Story Craft Cafe, Happy Holidays!
In this episode we hear from:
Sally Britton
Richard Fox
Christopher Paolini
Liv Constantine
James Rollins
Sarah Pinborough
Beverly Jenkins
J. T. Ellison
Brian McClellan
Jenna Moreci
R. A. Salvatore
Jasinda and Jack Wilder
It's been a wild and memorable 60 days, and we have learned a lot about the art and science of writing, and a lot about ourselves. How did we do? Did we hit our wordcount target? Did we form new habits? Most importantly, do we feel like we are better writers now than when we started? We'll recap the challenge and look forward to the future.
Welcome to the Story Craft Café Podcast. If you're just joining us for the first time, we kicked off a challenge last month to Write A Novel With Dabble In 60 Days. This challenge encompasses the yearly NaNoWriMo Challenge, while also adding a planning month to the mix. Five writers are going through the process of developing an idea, making a fully formed plot and plan, then executing the writing of a first draft in 60 days.
The middle of the writing is where the rubber meets the road. The planning is all done, the excitement of getting all those ideas out on the screen has now faded into hard work. What do you do when things are not working the way you had hoped, or maybe you've lost your momentum and just need to get back on track. Join us today as we talk through the muddy middle of the writing challenge.
Be sure to join us at storycraft.cafe to join in the writer community that is flourishing there and find your tribe that will help you stay motivated during this event and beyond.
Welcome to the Story Craft Café Podcast. If you're just joining us for the first time, we kicked off a challenge last month to Write A Novel With Dabble In 60 Days. This challenge encompasses the yearly NaNoWriMo Challenge, while also adding a planning month to the mix. Five writers are going through the process of developing an idea, making a fully formed plot and plan, then executing the writing of a first draft in 60 days.
As we kick off the second part of the challenge where we take all of the planning that we did last month, and charge toward our goal of 50,000 words written in the month of November, we talk about how the first couple of days have gone. Big plans are made, and with the benefit of a planning month, we see bright things ahead.
Be sure to join us at storycraft.cafe to join in the writer community that is flourishing there and find your tribe that will help you stay motivated during this event and beyond.
Welcome to the Story Craft Café Podcast. If you're just joining us for the first time, we kicked off a challenge a couple of weeks ago to Write A Novel With Dabble In 60 Days. This challenge encompasses the yearly NaNoWriMo Challenge, while also adding a planning month to the mix. Five writers are going through the process of developing an idea, making a fully formed plot and plan, then executing the writing of a first draft in 60 days.
As we prepare for NaNoWriMo, and the month where we finish planning our books and get to the drafting, we talked about the final piece of our planning character motivation. You can have a great setting, develop characters that are unique, but what drives them to do what they do? What do your characters really want in life, and how do you as the writer make their journey more difficult? Listen in today as we discuss this.
Be sure to join us at storycraft.cafe to join in the writer community that is flourishing there and find your tribe that will help you stay motivated during this event and beyond.
Welcome to the Story Craft Café Podcast. If you're just joining us for the first time, we kicked off a challenge a couple of weeks ago to Write A Novel With Dabble In 60 Days. This challenge encompasses the yearly NaNoWriMo Challenge, while also adding a planning month to the mix. Five writers are going through the process of developing an idea, making a fully formed plot and plan, then executing the writing of a first draft in 60 days.
Last week we talked about characters. We know that characters drive your story through their own accomplishments and the way they do, or do not, handle plot devices you throw their way, but what about /where/ your story is set? Have you ever heard the term "place as character"? Well, in today's show we talk about it.
Join us as we look at what makes a great setting and how you can use that setting to set your story apart from the rest.
Go to storycraft.cafe to join in the challenge. We'd love to have you!
Welcome to the Story Craft Café Podcast. If you're just joining us for the first time, we kicked off a challenge a couple of weeks ago to Write A Novel With Dabble In 60 Days. This challenge encompasses the yearly NaNoWriMo Challenge, while also adding a planning month to the mix. Five writers are going through the process of developing an idea, making a fully formed plot and plan, then executing the writing of a first draft in 60 days. Last week we talked about characters.
Today we have a special episode of the podcast for you with one of the most prolific authors that I've had the pleasure of befriending over the years. Rick Partlow has written and published dozens and dozens of science fiction novels. In the midst of our write a novel in 60 days challenge, hearing from a writer that is putting in the work everyday is greatly motivating, and I hope that you, like me, get excited by hearing Rick's story. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to the Story Craft Café Podcast. If you're just joining us for the first time, we kicked off a challenge a couple of weeks ago to Write A Novel With Dabble In 60 Days. This challenge encompasses the yearly NaNoWriMo Challenge, while also adding a planning month to the mix. Five writers are going through the process of developing an idea, making a fully formed plot and plan, then executing the writing of a first draft in 60 days. Last week we talked about characters. You can have a brilliant plot idea, a stellar setting, and amazingly grand ideas, but without characters that readers can relate to and ultimately root for, you don't have much that will keep readers engaged. Join us as we look at what makes characters who they are, and what character traits can add to your story.
Welcome to the Story Craft Café Podcast. If you're just joining us for the first time, we kicked off a challenge last week to Write A Novel With Dabble In 60 Days. This challenge encompasses the yearly NaNoWriMo Challenge, while also adding a planning month to the mix. Five writers are going through the process of developing an idea, making a fully formed plot and plan, then executing the writing of a first draft in 60 days. Last week Dabble CEO Jacob Wright joined our live weekly check-in to talk all about the plotting features in Dabble and to offer ideas to our group of intrepid writers. Listen in as we talk about the importance of a plan, and how you can use the power of Dabble to better plan out your project. Go to storycraft.cafe to signup for the challenge and join in the fun.
It's October, and that means it's time to start working on that novel that you've been thinking about. Our friends at NaNoWriMo have famously dubbed November as National Novel Writing Month, and we look forward to that time each year. Dabble has some amazing built in features to help you prepare for writing that novel. So we decided to form a group of writers who could prepare together, and then write their novels together as a way to inspire and help each other through the process. Last Thursday we had our first meeting of the Dabblers and talked about what we planned to do and how we wanted to make it happen. Listen in and join us and the writing challenge. There's still time. Tuesday night we'll have another hang out, this time with Jacob Wright, Dabble CEO, and we'll talk all about how Dabble's tools can help you succeed at your own writing challenge. Thanks for listening.
Adam Hamdy is a bestselling British author and screenwriter who works with studios and production companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Together with David Headley, Adam founded Capital Crime, one of the UK’s largest literary festivals. He teaches creative writing in the UK and US and is on the board of the International Thriller Writers Organization. “I couldn’t stop thinking about the story’s incredible twist…like no crime novel I’ve ever read.” —James Patterson
For fans of Matt Haig and Anthony Horowitz, an “intriguing and thought-provoking” (Liv Constantine, author of The Last Mrs. Parrish) novel in which the lives of a disgraced police officer, a prolific author, and an upstanding citizen are inextricably bound together by a series of mysterious deaths.
The Other Side of Night begins with a man named David Asha writing about his biggest regret: his sudden separation from his son, Elliot. In his grief, David tells a story.
Next, we step into the life of Harriet Kealty, a police officer trying to clear her name after a lapse of judgment. She discovers a curious inscription in a secondhand book—a plea: Help me, he’s trying to kill me. Who wrote this note? Who is “he”?
This note leads Harri to David Asha, who was last seen stepping off a cliff. Police suspect he couldn’t cope after his wife’s sudden death. Still, why would this man jump and leave behind his young son? Quickly, Harri’s attention zeroes in on a person she knows all too well.
Ben Elmys: once the love of her life. A surrogate father to Elliot Asha and trusted friend to the Ashas.
Ben may also be a murderer.
The Other Side of Night is a thought-provoking, moving “head-spinner of a novel” (John Connolly) with intriguing narratives and plot swerves that will leave you reeling. By the end, you’ll be shaken as each piece slots satisfyingly into place.
Welcome to the Story Craft Café podcast. Today we get to spend some time with Jean Kwok, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Searching For Sylvie Lee. Jean has a short story in the brand new collection of stories called Marple: Twelve New Miss Marple Mysteries, celebrating the life and work of Agatha Christy. In this episode we talk all about Jean's creative process, why planning and outlining are so important to her work, writing mysteries, channeling the voice of Agatha Christy and Miss Marple, and getting to contribute to a collection such as this. This show is chock full of advice from a writer that is in the thick of it right now, and at the top of her game.
We talked with Jean about the upcoming Write A Novel In 60 Days With Dabble challenge, and Jean offered some sage advice for writers that are trying this daring challenge. If you would like to join in the challenge and write your dream with a community of like minded writers at your side, go over to storycraft.cafe and sign up. Thanks for listening.
https://www.jeankwok.com/
Welcome to the story craft cafe podcast. We're continuing our monthlong celebration of romance that we're calling #KissTember. Today we have husband and wife duo Jasinda and Jack Wilder and we talk about the ups and downs of the writing life, understanding your audience and delivering what that audience has come to love from your writing, the changing market and how publishing has changed over the last decade and so much more.
Later this month we are kicking off something that I know you are going to love. We call it the writer a novel in 60 days with Dabble Challenge. A group of writers from all across the genre spectrum will join together to each write a novel in 60 days. It's going to be challenging, but it's going to be epic. We will have weekly check-ins where we report about our progress and share our frustrations and successes. We hope you'll join with us. We'll share more about this as we get closer. Now onto our interview with the Wilders. Thanks for listening.
JasindaWilder.com
We're kicking off a month that we're calling #KissTember. Since we are roughly six months away from Valentine's Day, if you are a romance author, or just thinking about dipping your toe in the romance waters, now is a great time to start focusing on that February release. To kick off this special month we have a conversation with Romance superstar Sierra Simone. From finding her voice to staking out her own corner of this wildly popular genre, Sierra has something for all us writers to add to our writer's toolkits.
Sierra is a voracious reader of all things including the smuttiest smut, young adult, piles of non-fiction for research, and everything Bill Bryson (especially on audio).
She loves writing the dirtiest things that she can think of, King Arthur, sparkling water, Tarot, coffee, leggings, and learning new words daily.
Her previous jobs have included firing ceramics, teaching living history lessons in one-room school house in full, 1904-approved school marm attire, and working as a librarian for several years—not in that order
She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, two children, and two giant dogs. (And two cats, but they're so naughty we don't talk about them.)
Her novels have been published in Czech, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, and Romanian. She's been featured in Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire, and Library Journal with a starred review.
Sierra is an internet introvert, but you can follow her on Spotify and Instagram, and chat with other readers in her Facebook group!
You can also reach her at thesierrasimone@gmail.com. (Please note that due to a high volume of emails, responses may be significantly delayed.)
Karen M. McManus is a #1 New York Times and international bestselling author of young adult thrillers. Her books include the One of Us Is Lying series, which has been turned into a television show on Peacock, as well as the standalone novels Two Can Keep a Secret, The Cousins, You’ll Be the Death of Me, and Nothing More to Tell. Karen's critically acclaimed, award-winning work has been translated into more than 40 languages. To learn more about Karen and her books, visit karenmcmanus.com, or follow @writerkmc on Twitter and Instagram. From #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying comes a new page-turning mystery. Be sure to keep your friends close . . . and your secrets closer.
Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favorite teacher—a story that made headlines after the teacher’s body was found by three Saint Ambrose students in the woods behind their school. The case was never solved. Now that Brynn is moving home and starting her dream internship at a true-crime show, she’s determined to find out what really happened.
The kids who found Mr. Larkin are her way in, and her ex–best friend, Tripp Talbot, was one of them. Without his account of events, the other two kids might have gone down for Mr. Larkin’s murder—but instead, thanks to Tripp, they're now at the top of the Saint Ambrose social pyramid. Tripp’s friends have never forgotten what Tripp did for them that day, and neither has he. Just like he hasn’t forgotten that everything he told the police was a lie.
Digging into the past is bound to shake up the present, and when Brynn begins to investigate what happened in the woods that day, she uncovers secrets that might change everything—about Saint Ambrose, about Mr. Larkin, and about her ex-best friend, Tripp Talbot.
Four years ago someone got away with murder. More terrifying is that they might be closer than anyone thinks.
Welcome to the story craft cafe podcast. Today we have a special show for you. We have been collecting conversations with authors all across the genre space, as well as authors that are traditionally published, as well as superstars in the indie publishing space. We don't always get the opportunity to record a full hour-long interview with everyone, even if we really enjoy the types of shows where we get to really dig into an author's journey as well as dig deeply into a certain aspect of craft. That's where this show comes in. Over the last couple of months I have had the opportunity to chat with some fantastic authors and today I am bringing you selected clips from each of them. If this is the Story Craft Cafe, then think of this as a sampler platter. Today we'll hear from Meg Gardiner, David Pepper, Faye Kellerman, William Kent Krueger, John Galligan, and the always entertaining Karin Slaughter. Be sure to join us next week as we resume our normal format. As always, thanks for listening.
As we continue our #indiesummmer coverage, we shift gears a little bit to talk to Alex Newton from K-lytics. While writing is most definitely an art, publishing is a business. Did you know that there are ways for you to find out exactly who your competition is, and how saturated a particular genre or sub genre is? Alex Newton has done just that and today he shares some of his wisdom with us. Whether you are an indie author, or have your sights set on a traditional publishing career, Alex has information that can help us all.
K-lytics
Welcome to the Story Craft Cafe podcast. As we continue our #indiesummmer coverage, we talk with an author today that has seen indie publishing go through ups and downs, from the wild wild west to a mature industry with opportunities and challenges for anyone wanting to get their stories out to the masses. Kevin Tumlinson writes science fiction as well as his current passion of Archaeological thrillers, (think Indiana Jones meets Dan Brown) and in this episode we talk about his thoughts abut what it takes to write in a particular genre and gather an audience, why he pivoted in his chosen genre, what he thinks is the number one thing authors can do to take their publishing to the next level, his work with indie publishing platform Draft2Digital, and so much more.
Kevin Tumlinson is the Novelist—an award-winning and bestselling author of hundreds of books crafted to thrill and inspire. He also serves as the Director of Marketing and PR for Draft2Digital, the leading distributor of books by independent authors and publishers, worldwide. Kevin is known as the Voice of Indie Publishing for his work in podcasts, conferences, public speaking, and consulting for authors. Every day he helps and encourages hundreds of thousands of will-be and established authors around the globe.
In Part 2 of this conversation with master of Epic Fantasy R. A. Salvatore we dig deep into his favorite topic, world building. From the terrain to the politics and religion of a place to how characters evolve based on their environment and how they have been nurtured, you don't want to miss this episode!
As one of the fantasy genre's most successful authors, R.A. Salvatore enjoys an ever-expanding and tremendously loyal following.
His books regularly appear on The New York Times best-seller lists and have sold more than 30,000,000 copies. Salvatore’s most recent original hardcover, The Two Swords, Book III of The Hunter’s Blade Trilogy (October 2004) debuted at # 1 on The Wall Street Journal best-seller list and at # 4 on The New York Times best-seller list. His books have been translated into numerous foreign languages including German, Italian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Yiddish, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Czech, and French.
Salvatore's first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.
His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computer science to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.
The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer's letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.
Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including "Adventure fantasy" and "Why young adults read fantasy." Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.
When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.
In the first of this 2 part episode we talk with Master of Fantasy Fiction R. A. Salvatore. From the creation of his iconic character Drizzt Do'Urden, taking readers on a journey of character development, what it means to work in an existing shared fantasy universe, and so much more. Join us tomorrow as we do a deep dive on world building.
As one of the fantasy genre's most successful authors, R.A. Salvatore enjoys an ever-expanding and tremendously loyal following.
His books regularly appear on The New York Times best-seller lists and have sold more than 30,000,000 copies. Salvatore’s most recent original hardcover, The Two Swords, Book III of The Hunter’s Blade Trilogy (October 2004) debuted at # 1 on The Wall Street Journal best-seller list and at # 4 on The New York Times best-seller list. His books have been translated into numerous foreign languages including German, Italian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Yiddish, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Czech, and French.
Salvatore's first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.
His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computer science to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.
The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer's letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.
Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including "Adventure fantasy" and "Why young adults read fantasy." Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.
When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.
Nothing can be more daunting than taking the manuscript that you've worked on and poured your heart and soul into and handing that to someone to mark up all the errors. It can be reminiscent of 11th grade English. Or is it? Join me today as I welcome Lauren Moore to talk about how you can take your manuscript as far as possible and how to form a relationship with an editor that will make your manuscript the best it can be.
Lauren Moore is a freelance editor and has helped make hundreds of books the best they could be. Join us as we talk about self editing and how to get the best out of your experience with an editor.
Link mentioned in this episode: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QVTxWWYMaxPrTIZslm1QygkOsU_WzFA-Pgf2QF56Odo/edit?fbclid=IwAR01T0OVwIMFtl7loeFCnz7xYZP1OK8b7Uo8uK6E7taEur85X8z_3cWGpwQ#gid=1937885360
Welcome to the Story Craft Café Podcast. If you joined us yesterday then you know that we're talking with Michael La Ronn, author of more than 80 books. Today we go deep on character development. Michael talks about his focus on sci fi and fantasy, and his new focus on urban fantasy specifically. We talk about starting with characters and tropes that readers are familiar with, then adding a twist that will make people continue thinking about your book long after they close the back cover. What is the central conflict in all of Michael's stories? Find out in today's episode!
Episode 36 With Michael La Ronn Part One
https://www.michaellaronn.com/
https://authorlevelup.com/
Michael's YouTube Channel
Michael La Ronn is one of the most prolific authors I know. He is also one of the most giving authors I know. He not only works a full time job, enjoys family life with his wife and daughter, maintains a popular YouTube Channel, he also has written and published over 80 books of fiction and non-fiction alike.
In this first of two episodes with Michael, we talk about how a near death experience acted as a catalyst for him to pursue his dream of writing. We talked about the differences in the publishing landscape over the last decade and how he now views the idea of indie publishing as an empowering force for authors.
Join us tomorrow as we do a deep dive with Michael into character development, especially for sci fi and fantasy.
https://www.michaellaronn.com/
https://authorlevelup.com/
On today's episode of the Story Craft Café, we talk with Josh Hayes about how he found his niche where he could be successful in publishing.
A retired police officer, Josh Hayes is the author of the upcoming Weaponized series, the Valor Trilogy, Stryker's War (Galaxy's Edge), the Terra Nova Chronicles w/ Richard Fox, the Tranquility series, and numerous short stories.
His debut solo novel, Edge of Valor, was a finalist for the 2020 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel.
He grew up a military brat, affording him the opportunity to meet several different types of people, in multiple states and foreign countries. After graduating high school, he joined the United States Air Force and served for six years, before leaving military life to work in law enforcement. During his time with the Wichita Police Department, Josh served as a patrol officer, bicycle officer, community policing officer, and was an assistant bomb technician on the Bomb Squad.
His experiences in both his military life and police life have given him unique glimpses into the lives of people around him and it shows through in the characters he creates.
Josh is also the creator and president of Keystroke Medium, a popular YouTube show and podcast focused on the craft of writing.
Website: www.keystrokemedium.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/keystrokemedium
Josh is a co-host of the Baen Free Radio Podcast, the official podcast of Baen Books.
Website: https://www.baen.com/
Novels:
Weaponized (Aethon Books)
- Weaponized Fury, coming 2022
- Weaponized Rage, coming 2022
- Weaponized Wrath, coming 2022
Tranquility (Aethon Books)
- Blood and Steel, 2021
- Battle Lines, 2021
- War Fighter, coming 2022
The Valor Trilogy (Aethon Books)
- Edge of Valor, 2019 – 2020 Dragon Award Finalist – Best Military Science Fiction Novel
- Echoes of Valor, 2020
- Edge of Valor, 2020
Order of the Centurion, Galaxy’s Edge w/ Jason Anspach and Nick Cole (Galaxy’s Edge Press)
- Stryker’s War, 2019
The Terra Nova Chronicles w/ Richard Fox (Triplane Press)
- Terra Nova, 2017
- Blood Lines, 2018
- Wings of Redemption, 2019
- Hale’s War, 2019
Published Short Stories:
Blooded – A Grimm's War Story, 2022 – One Decisive Victory (Aethon Books)
Open Ended Contract, 2022 – We Dare 4: Wanted, Dead or Alive (Theogeny Books)
A Song of Mercy, 2022 – Talons and Talimans (New Mythology Press)
Lunar Fury, 2020 – Battle Luna Anthology (Baen Books)
Now You Don’t, 2019 – We Dare Anthology (Theogeny Books)
The Wagner Method, 2019 — Hope is Not a Strategy Anthology (Seventh Seal Press)
A Prelude to Valor, 2018 — Backblast Area Clear Anthology (JR Handley)
Leverage, 2017 — For a Few Credits More Anthology (Seventh Seal Press)
Salvation, 2017 — Question of the Day Anthology (Clayborn Press)
Harbinger, 2017 — Explorations: First Contact (Woodbridge Press)
The Path to War, 2017 — Explorations: War (Woodbridge Press)
Hero Worship, 2017 — It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! Anthology (Steve Beaulieu)
The Long Haul, 2016 — Mostly Murder: Till Death Anthology (Elemental Press)
The Lost Colony, 2016 — Explorations: Through the Wormhole Anthology (Woodbridge Press)
John Searles is the best-selling author of the novels Her Last Affair, Help for the Haunted, Strange but True and Boy Still Missing.
Hailed as “riveting” by The New York Times and “hypnotic” by Entertainment Weekly, Boy Still Missing inspired Time magazine to name him a “Person to Watch,” and the New York Daily News to name him a “New Yorker to Watch.” His second novel, Strange but True was praised as “sinister and complex” by Janet Maslin of The New York Times, “extraordinary” by Publishers Weekly, and was named best novel of the year by Salon. Help for the Haunted was named a Boston Globe Best Crime Novel of the Year, an Entertainment Weekly Top 10 Must List, and won the American Library Association’s Alex Award. John's most recent novel, Her Last Affair, was named a Best New Book by People magazine and praised as "a tense, intricately woven tale of heartbreak, retribution and redemption" by Publishers Weekly and "a twisted thriller that explores despair and loneliness with cinematic flair" by Kirkus Reviews.
In 2019, Strange But True was adapted for film by the producers of La La Land and released in theaters nationwide by Lionsgate. Now streaming on HBOMax and Amazon Prime, the film stars the award-winning ensemble cast of Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Brian Cox, Blythe Danner, Nick Robinson and Margaret Qualley. The movie was praised as “suspenseful and haunting” by The Hollywood Reporter and “a twisty tale of tragic secrets” by the Los Angeles Times.
John has appeared regularly on morning programs like NBC’s Today Show, CBS This Morning, Live! With Regis & Kelly, NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross and CNN to discuss his books.
For 23 years, John was the books editor of Cosmopolitan, also serving as the magazine’s brand director, executive editor, and editor-at-large. His personal and travel essays, book and restaurant reviews have been published in the New York Times, Washington Post and numerous other magazines, newspapers and websites. He has a master's degree in creative writing from New York University and lives in New York.
Dan Kenney is one of the most prolific authors I know. He publishes middle grade books under the name Daniel Kenney, and he also writes cozy mysteries for adults under the name Daniel Carson.
Daniel lives in Nebraska with his wife and their perfect adoring children who have never ever misbehaved. Not once. His days are a mixture of . . . teaching, cooking, driving, more cooking, lots more driving, cleaning and more driving. So much driving. When the children finally go to bed, Daniel writes stories.
Five Star Praise For The Hope Walker Mysteries " -"I really think this series and each book has the perfect mix of humor, mystery, real life, and suspense." -"I love this series. Carson has me guessing the whole time!" -"This book is every bit as good as the first! I can't get enough of Hope and the rest of the gang. An engaging plot, and laugh out loud humor make it difficult to put this book down." -"I absolutely enjoyed reading this cozy mystery. It had everything I look forward to in a mystery and once started I couldn't put it down."
The Hope Walker Mysteries SEASON ONE - Book One: A Hopeless Murder - Book Two: A Hopeless Heist - Book Three: A Hopeless Discovery - Book Four: A Hopeless Game - Book Five: A Hopeless Christmas SEASON TWO - Book Six: A Hopeless Journey - Book Seven: A Hopeless Valentine - Book Eight: A Hopeless Queen - Book Nine: A Hopeless Sheriff - Book Ten: A Hopeless Storm SEASON THREE - Book Eleven: A Hopeless Spring
Joe Stillman co-wrote Shrek for Dreamworks which earned him an Academy Award® nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Annie and BAFTA Awards. Other produced features are Beavis & Butthead Do America, Shrek 2, Gulliver’s Travels, Planet 51 and Joseph King Of Dreams.
In television, he was co-producer and writer on King of the Hill, for which he received two Emmy Award® nominations. He was a writer and story editor for Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete and Pete and a writer on MTV’s Beavis and Butthead. More recently he worked on Nickelodeon’s Sanjay and Craig and Kirby Buckets for Disney. Other TV credits include Albert for Nickelodeon, The War Next Door for the USA Network, Clueless, Doug and Danger and Eggs for Amazon.
He’s currently working on a Curious George feature for streaming on Peacock.
The Man Who Came and Went, a novel of the new west, is a magically realistic story for the modern era that will tease your understanding and beliefs, and draw you into the mysteries of the universe, from the brilliant mind of Joe Stillman, acclaimed Academy Award nominated co-writer of “Shrek.”
Fifteen-year-old Belutha Mariah, our storyteller, is the oldest of three kids from three different fathers. Her life’s goal is to keep her dysfunctional mom, Maybell, from procreating yet again and then to leave the coffin-sized town of Hadley, Arizona the second she graduates high school.
Along comes the new grill cook at Maybell’s Diner, Bill Bill, a mysterious drifter with the ability to mind-read orders. As word spreads in Hadley and beyond, the curious and desperate pour into this small desert town to eat at Maybell's.
Some believe Bill knows the secrets of the universe.
Belutha figures he’s probably nuts. But his cooking starts to transform the lives of locals and visitors, and Belutha finds her angry heart opening, as Bill begins to show her the porous boundary between this life and what comes after.
In a normal American town, something new and strange, and yet achingly familiar, begins to unfold.
Lucy Score is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and #1 Amazon bestselling author. Small town contemporary rom-coms are her lady jam and she enjoys delivering the feels with a huge side of happily ever after.
Her books have been translated into several languages, making readers around the world snort laugh, swoon, and sob. Lucy lives in Pennsylvania with the devastatingly handsome Mr. Lucy and their horrible cat.
In her spare time she enjoys sleeping, eating, and reading romance novels other people wrote.
Lucy Score grew up in rural Pennsylvania with a lot of time on her hands and a big imagination. She was the oldest of three in a literary household. Dinners were often spent in silence while family members had their noses buried in books. A passion for writing took hold at five when she taught her brother to write his name on the bathroom door.
She started writing (on paper) in the second grade, first about pilgrims on the Mayflower and over the years graduated to essays, articles, blogs, and finally books.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Lucy pretended to be a normal adult by holding down jobs that included event planner, bartender, newspaper lackey, and yoga instructor.
Lucy and Mr. Lucy, enjoy spending time with their ten nieces and nephews and are determined to learn to sail so they can live on a sailboat in the Caribbean someday.
Audiobooks are the fastest growth market in publishing. If you are not taking advantage of this market, you could be leaving readers unreached, and who wants that? Join me today as I welcome authors Jaime Castle and Rhett Bruno, as well as voice actor extraordinaire Roger Clark as they talk about the process of taking a story from the page to your earbuds.
In the West, there are worse things to fear than bandits and outlaws.
Demons. Monsters. Witches. James Crowley’s sacred duty as a Black Badge is to hunt them down and send them packing, banish them from the mortal realm for good.
He didn’t choose this life. No. He didn’t choose life at all.
Shot dead in a gunfight many years ago, now he’s stuck in purgatory, serving the whims of the White Throne to avoid falling to Hell. Not quite undead, though not alive either, the best he can hope for is to work off his penance and fade away.
This time, the White Throne has sent him to investigate a strange bank robbery in Lonely Hill. An outlaw with the ability to conjure ice has frozen and shattered open the bank vault and is now on a spree, robbing the region for all it’s worth.
In his quest to track down the ice-wielder and suss out which demon is behind granting a mortal such power, Crowley finds himself face-to-face with hellish beasts, shapeshifters, and, worse…temptation. But the truth behind the attacks is worse than he ever imagined.…
The Witcher meets The Dresden Files in this weird Western series by the Audible number one bestselling duo behind Dead Acre.
BRAD THOR is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two thrillers, including RISING TIGER, BLACK ICE (ThrillerFix Best Thriller of the Year), NEAR DARK (one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of the Year), BACKLASH (nominated for the Barry Award for Best Thriller of the Year), SPYMASTER (“One of the all-time best thriller novels” —The Washington Times), THE LAST PATRIOT (nominated Best Thriller of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association), and BLOWBACK (one of the “Top 100 Killer Thrillers of All Time” —NPR).
Brad has appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, FOX News Channel, FOX Business Channel, CNN, CNN Headline News, The Blaze, and MSNBC (among others) to discuss terrorism, as well as how closely his novels of international intrigue parallel the real threats facing the world today.
Brad has served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Analytic Red Cell Unit. He has also lectured to law enforcement organizations on over-the-horizon/future threats, and has been a keynote speaker for the National Tactical Officers Association annual conference.
In 2008, Brad shadowed a Black Ops team in Afghanistan to research his thriller, The Apostle.
Brad graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California where he studied creative writing, film, and television production. Prior to becoming a novelist, Brad was the award-winning creator, producer, writer and host of the critically acclaimed national public television series, Traveling Lite.
Deadly operative Scot Harvath faces down the country’s most powerful enemy in #1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor’s new white-knuckle thriller.
An unprecedented, potentially nation-ending threat has materialized on the world stage. Fearful of the global consequences of engaging this enemy, administration after administration has passed the buck. The clock, however, has run out and doing nothing is no longer an option. It is time to unleash Scot Harvath.
As America’s top spy, Harvath has the unparalleled skills and experience necessary to handle any situation, but this assignment feels different.
Thrust into a completely unfamiliar culture, with few he can trust, the danger begins mounting the moment he arrives. Amidst multiple competing forces and a host of deadly agendas, it becomes nearly impossible to tell predator from prey.
With democracy itself hanging in the balance, Harvath will risk everything to untangle the explosive plot and bring every bad actor to justice.
Jenna Moreci is a International #1 Amazon Bestseller and wildly popular YouTuber who joins us today to talk all about writing fantasy characters and how she manages a successful indie author career.
Jenna Moreci is a #1 bestselling author of dark fantasy, as well as a YouTube sensation with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. The Savior’s Champion, her first novel in The Savior’s Series, was voted one of the Best Books of All Time by Book Depository.
Born and raised in Silicon Valley, Jenna spends her free time laughing until her face hurts with her goofball fiancé and snuggling with her tiny dog.
Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands of the United Kingdom and lived in nine villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the London School of Economics and working in London, he settled in rural Sweden where he built a wooden house in a boggy clearing at the center of a vast elk forest, and it’s from this base that he compulsively reads and writes. His debut novel, Dark Pines, was selected for Zoe Ball’s book club on ITV, shortlisted for the National Book Awards (UK), The Guardian’s Not the Booker prize, and was named a Telegraph book of the year.
From the acclaimed author of The Last Thing to Burn, a psychological thriller about the dark secrets that emerge when a woman’s twin sister is murdered, with his signature “intense, gripping, taut, terrifying, moving, and brilliant” (Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author) prose.
Sisters. Soulmates. Strangers.
Molly Raven lives a quiet, structured life in London, finding comfort in security and routine. Her identical twin Katie, living in New York, is the exact opposite: outgoing, spontaneous, and adventurous.
But when Molly hears that Katie has died, possibly murdered, she is thrown into unfamiliar territory. As terrifying as it is, she knows she must travel across the ocean and find out what happened. But as she tracks her twin’s final movements, cracks begin to emerge, and she slowly realizes her sister was not who she thought she was and there’s a dangerous web of deceit surrounding the two of them.
Self editing is an important step in the editing and publishing process. Editor Elzevera Albada Jelgersma joins us to take you through the steps you need to be aware of before finishing your final draft. Find out more about Elzevera's coaching business at https://www.willowediting.com/self-editing-academy
She has also kindly sent the links for her free self-editing checklist and her self-editing blog
Sunday Times bestseller, Lucy Clarke, is the author of seven psychological thrillers - THE SEA SISTERS, A SINGLE BREATH, THE BLUE/NO ESCAPE, LAST SEEN, YOU LET ME IN, THE CASTAWAYS, and ONE OF THE GIRLS. Her debut novel was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, and her books have been sold in over 20 territories. THE BLUE is currently being filmed for a seven-part television series for ParmountPlus, due for release in 2023.
Lucy is a passionate traveller, beach hut dweller, and fresh air enthusiast. She's married to a professional windsurfer and, together with their two children, they spend their winters travelling and their summers at home on the south coast of England. Lucy writes from a beach hut, using the inspiration from the wild south coast to craft her stories.
Jeff Wheeler took an early retirement from his career at Intel in 2014 to write full-time. He is a husband, father of five, and a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeff lives in the Rocky Mountains. His books have been on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list 6 times (for The Thief’s Daughter, The King’s Traitor, The Hollow Crown, The Silent Shield, Prism Cloud, and Knight’s Ransom) and have sold more than 5 million copies. His novels have also been published or will be published in many languages: Italian, Chinese, Hungarian, Turkish, Polish, Spanish, Russian, and German.
He was the founder of Deep Magic: the E-zine of Clean Fantasy and Science Fiction (www.deepmagic.co), a publication that ran from 2002-2006 and 2016-2021. He’s also a founding author at BingeBooks.
You can usually find Jeff at Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con or at writers conferences like Storymakers and Teen Author Boot Camp.
He welcomes hearing from readers: jeff /at/ jeff-wheeler dot com
If you are interested in purchasing signed copies of his books for friends, family, or your own collection, please e-mail: WOJWbooks /at/ gmail dot com
Brian McClellan is an American epic fantasy author from Cleveland, Ohio. He is known for his acclaimed Powder Mage Universe and essays on the life and business of being a writer.
Brian now lives on the side of a mountain in Utah with his wife, Michele, where he writes books and nurses a crippling video game addiction.
Brian's novels include the Powder Mage Trilogy (Promise of Blood, The Crimson Campaign, and The Autumn Republic), Gods of Blood and Powder (Sins of Empire, Wrath of Empire, and Blood of Empire), and the Valkyrie Collections (Uncanny Collateral and Blood Tally).
From Brian McClellan, author of The Powder Mage trilogy, comes the first novel in the Glass Immortals series, In the Shadow of Lightning, an epic fantasy where magic is a finite resource—and it’s running out.
"Excellent worldbuilding and a truly epic narrative combine into Brian's finest work to date. Heartily recommended to anyone who wants a new favorite fantasy series to read."—Brandon Sanderson
Demir Grappo is an outcast—he fled a life of wealth and power, abandoning his responsibilities as a general, a governor, and a son. Now he will live out his days as a grifter, rootless, and alone. But when his mother is brutally murdered, Demir must return from exile to claim his seat at the head of the family and uncover the truth that got her killed: the very power that keeps civilization turning, godglass, is running out.
Now, Demir must find allies, old friends and rivals alike, confront the powerful guild-families who are only interested in making the most of the scraps left at the table and uncover the invisible hand that threatens the Empire. A war is coming, a war unlike any other. And Demir and his ragtag group of outcasts are the only thing that stands in the way of the end of life as the world knows it.
"Powerful rival families, murderous conspiracies, epic battles, larger-than-life characters, and magic."—Fonda Lee, author of The Green Bone Saga
"Engaging, fast-paced and epic."—James Islington, author of In The Shadow of What Was Lost
"Clever, fun, and by turns beautifully bloody, In the Shadow of Lightning hits like a bolt through a stained glass window."—Megan E. O'Keefe, author of Chaos Vector
Helene Wecker’s first novel, The Golem and the Jinni, was awarded the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature, the VCU Cabell Award for First Novel, and the Harold U. Ribalow Prize, and was nominated for a Nebula Award and a World Fantasy Award. A Midwest native, she holds a B.A. in English from Carleton College and an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing from Columbia University. Her work has appeared in literary journals such as Joyland and Catamaran, as well as the fantasy anthology The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and children.
The Hidden Palace: A Novel of the Golem and the Jinni
"Richly nuanced and beautiful. . . . An immersive and magical tale of loneliness, love, and finding hope.” (Buzzfeed)
“A layered novel of many complex characters…To keep their worlds safe, Chava and Ahmad must access both their greatest supernatural powers and their deepest human impulses.” (Historical Novels Review)
In this enthralling historical epic, set in New York City and the Middle East in the years leading to World War I— the long-awaited follow-up to the acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Golem and the Jinni—Helene Wecker revisits her beloved characters Chava and Ahmad as they confront unexpected new challenges in a rapidly changing human world.
Chava is a golem, a woman made of clay, who can hear the thoughts and longings of those around her and feels compelled by her nature to help them. Ahmad is a jinni, a restless creature of fire, once free to roam the desert but now imprisoned in the shape of a man. Fearing they’ll be exposed as monsters, these magical beings hide their true selves and try to pass as human—just two more immigrants in the bustling world of 1900s Manhattan. Brought together under calamitous circumstances, their lives are now entwined—but they’re not yet certain of what they mean to each other.
Both Chava and Ahmad have changed the lives of the people around them. Park Avenue heiress Sophia Winston, whose brief encounter with Ahmad left her with a strange illness that makes her shiver with cold, travels to the Middle East to seek a cure. There she meets Dima, a tempestuous female jinni who’s been banished from her tribe. Back in New York, in a tenement on the Lower East Side, a little girl named Kreindel helps her rabbi father build a golem they name Yossele—not knowing that she’s about to be sent to an orphanage uptown, where the hulking Yossele will become her only friend and protector.
Spanning the tumultuous years from the turn of the twentieth century to the beginning of World War I, The Hidden Palace follows these lives and others as they collide and interleave. Can Chava and Ahmad find their places in the human world while remaining true to each other? Or will their opposing natures and desires eventually tear them apart—especially once they encounter, thrillingly, other beings like themselves?
J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 critically acclaimed novels, including her standalone thrillers HER DARK LIES, GOOD GIRLS LIE, TEAR ME APART, LIE TO ME, and NO ONE KNOWS; the Lt. Taylor Jackson series, beginning with ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS; the Dr. Samantha Owens series, starting with A DEEPER DARKNESS; and coauthored the "A Brit in the FBI" series with #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter. J.T. is also the EMMY® Award-winning co-host of the television series A Word on Words, and co-writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.
With millions of books in print, J.T.’s work has been published in 28 countries and 16 languages. Her novel THE COLD ROOM won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original. Her novels FIELD OF GRAVES and WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE were each a RITA® nominee for Best Romantic Suspense. She is also the author of multiple short stories, and the co-author of the urban fantasy series Jayne Thorne, CIA Librarian, with R.L. Perez.
J.T. grew up in the foothills of Colorado, and moved to McLean, Virginia during high school. After graduating from Randolph-Macon Woman's College and receiving her master's degree from The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management, she was a presidential appointee and worked in The White House and the Department of Commerce before moving into the private sector to work as a financial analyst and marketing director for several defense and aerospace contractors.
After moving to Nashville, J.T. began to research her hidden passions, forensics and crime, and was compelled to begin writing down her stories. Over the course of her career, she has worked with the Metro Nashville Police Department and the FBI, as well as performing autopsies and studying survivalists.
In 2012, J.T. teamed up with #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter to co-write a new FBI series. The first book, THE FINAL CUT, released in September of 2013 and hit every major bestseller list. The series continued with THE LOST KEY, THE END GAME, THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE, and THE SIXTH DAY. The final installment, THE LAST SECOND, was published in March 2019.
J.T.’s first standalone novel, NO ONE KNOWS, a Nashville-based domestic thriller, was published in 2016 by Gallery Books. It was followed by the critically acclaimed LIE TO ME, published in 2017 by MIRA Books. TEAR ME APART released August 28, 2018. GOOD GIRLS LIE, released December 30, 2019. Her newest standalone, HER DARK LIES released March 9, 2021.
She also has co-written with Erica Spindler and Alex Kava on two anthology collaborations: SLICES OF NIGHT and STORM SEASON.
J.T.'s interests go beyond writing books—she publishes them, too. In 2015, she founded her own independent publishing house, Two Tales Press, which features short stories and novellas, including KILLER YEAR and DEAD ENDS. Her multi-author anthology A THOUSAND DOORS: An Anthology of Many Lives released to critical acclaim in November 2018. Most recently, she released TOMB OF THE QUEEN, the first Jayne Thorne, CIA Librarian fantasy thriller, under the pen name Joss Walker.
An avid oenophile, J.T. launched The Wine Vixen, a wine review website focusing on all varietals and price ranges. Though the website is on hiatus, it is still full of great wine tips.
In 2015, J.T. became the co-host of the Nashville literary television series A Word on Words. The series was hosted by respected journalist John Seigenthaler for more than 40 years and remains a favorite among viewers. The rebooted show builds on Mr. Seigenthaler’s distinguished legacy with an exciting new version of the literary series. The show won its first EMMY® in 2017. Follow #keepreading for more updates on the show’s guests and lively literary discussions.
J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she enjoys fine wine, good notebooks, and quiet moments on the golf course.
If you missed our live event this past Friday in the Story Craft Cafe, don't worry, we've got you covered! Join us as we recap this exciting Character Workshop with story coach Destiny Salter! This workshop specifically focused on how to push your characters to evolve. This is an episode you will want to listen to again and again. Enjoy!
Destiny is the writing mastermind behind The Book Clinic and has been helping authors improve their novels for years. You can also check out this Character Creation Workshop she hosted for Dabble in December!
About Destiny:
I have had the rare experience of being on both sides of the publishing industry—I’ve worked under the top agents in New York City and I myself am a writer with extensive knowledge of my craft.
I'm a graduate of Princeton University, where I studied English and Creative Writing. At university, I studied under best-selling authors and award-winning creative writers. Leaders in their genres, they taught me the ins and outs of story structure and the craft of great fiction writing.
I have experience in the publishing industry, having worked for literary agencies such as Sterling Lord Literistic, and keep my finger on the pulse of the current publishing market. Having apprenticed under some of the top literary agents in NYC, I know not only what makes a good, compelling story, but exactly what literary agents and publishing houses are looking for from submissions.
The knowledge I've gleaned and the secrets I've learned go far beyond what you can simply find on the internet and are helpful both for those seeking traditional publishing or self-publishing.
I’ve edited in fiction writing of all genres, including children's books, though I specialize in fantasy, romance, YA, and thriller/suspense. I also have experience with non-fiction, particularly autobiographies, memoirs, and self-help. I’m a member of several professional editor organizations including ACES: The Society for Editing, Editorial Freelancers Association, Professional Editors Network and Editors of Color.
I have three years of experience as a professional editor and proofreader, and in that time, I’ve edited scores of manuscripts, from children’s picture books to large-scale epic fantasy novels. Whether you're trying to identify your target demographic or are struggling to develop a good character motivation, I'm here to guide you on your journey to publishing. I strive to be detailed, concise, honest, and intuitive, highlighting your story's strengths and shoring up its weaknesses. My goal is to preserve your voice as the author while also bringing out the best in your work. I value consistent and speedy communication with my clients to ensure I'm meeting their needs and that they can be exceptionally proud of the final product.
If you're looking for an editing and storytelling expert who brings both value and experience to the table, I'm the one you're looking for.
Fiona Barton's debut, The Widow, was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been published in 36 countries and optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, was a Sunday Times bestseller. Born in Cambridge, Fiona currently lives in Sussex and south-west France.
Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards.
While working as a journalist, Fiona reported on many high-profile criminal cases and she developed a fascination with watching those involved, their body language and verbal tics. Fiona interviewed people at the heart of these crimes, from the guilty to their families, as well as those on the periphery, and found it was those just outside the spotlight who interested her most.
Local Gone Missing
Detective Elise King investigates a man’s disappearance in a seaside town where the locals and weekenders are at odds in this rich and captivating new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow.
Elise King is a successful and ambitious detective—or she was before a medical leave left her unsure if she'd ever return to work. She now spends most days watching the growing tensions in her small seaside town of Ebbing—the weekenders renovating old bungalows into luxury homes, and the locals resentful of the changes. Elise can only guess what really happens behind closed doors. But Dee Eastwood, her house cleaner, often knows. She’s an invisible presence in many of the houses in town, but she sees and hears everything. The conflicts boil over when a newcomer wants to put the town on the map with a weekend music festival, and two teenagers overdose on drugs. When a man disappears the first night of the festival, Elise starts digging for answers. Ebbing is a small town, but it's full of secrets and hidden connections that run deeper and darker than Elise could have ever imagined. "Barton presents such an embarrassment of riches. . . .Layers and layers of unlovely revelations about people who seemed perfectly nice." --Kirkus Reviews "A captivating read. A first-grade suspense novel and highly recommended." --MysteryTribune
David Koepp has written or co-written the screenplays for more than thirty films, including APARTMENT ZERO (1989), BAD INFLUENCE (1990), DEATH BECOMES HER (1992), CARLITO’S WAY (1993), JURASSIC PARK (1993), THE PAPER (1994), MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (1996), THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK (1997), SNAKE EYES (1998), PANIC ROOM (2002), SPIDER-MAN (2002), WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005), INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008), ANGELS & DEMONS (2009), INFERNO (2016), and KIMI (2022).
As a director, his work includes the films THE TRIGGER EFFECT (1996), STIR OF ECHOES (1999), SECRET WINDOW (2004), GHOST TOWN (2007), PREMIUM RUSH (2012), and YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT (2020). GHOST TOWN and PREMIUM RUSH were co-written with the enigmatic John Kamps.
Koepp’s forthcoming novel, AURORA, will be published by HarperCollins on June 7th, 2022. His first novel, COLD STORAGE, was published in 2019. His story YARD WORK, narrated by Kevin Bacon, was released by Audible Originals in July 2020.
He was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from UCLA’s film school in 1986. He lives in New York City with his wife and children.
"[A] highly entertaining, bone-chilling must read.”—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest
"A diabolical tour de force."—P.J. Vernon, author of Bath Haus
“Don’t miss this propulsive, hypnotic thrill ride.”—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Last Girl Ghosted
First comes love. Then comes murder.
Lucas Forester didn’t hate his wife. Michelle was brilliant, sophisticated and beautiful. Sure, she had extravagant spending habits, that petty attitude, a total disregard for anyone below her status. But she also had a lot to offer. Most notably: wealth that only the one percent could comprehend.
For years, Lucas has been honing a flawless plan to inherit Michelle’s fortune. Unfortunately, it involves taking a hit out on her.
Every track is covered, no trace left behind, and now Lucas plays the grieving husband so well he deserves an award. But when a shocking photo and cryptic note show up on his doorstep, Lucas goes from hunter to prey.
Someone is on to him. And they’re closing in.
Told with dark wit and a sharply feminist sensibility, Never Coming Home is a terrifying tale of duplicity that will have you side-eyeing your spouse as you dash to the breathtaking end.
Hannah Mary McKinnon was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland and moved to Canada in 2010. After a successful career in recruitment, she quit the corporate world in favour of writing. While her debut, TIME AFTER TIME, was a rom com, she transitioned to the dark side thereafter. Her suspense novels include THE NEIGHBORS, and bestsellers HER SECRET SON, SISTER DEAR, YOU WILL REMEMBER ME. Her sixth book is scheduled for spring 2022.
Hannah Mary lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband and three sons
Connect on Facebook and Instagram @hannahmarymckinnon, and on Twitter @HannahMMcKinnon. For more, visit www.hannahmarymckinnon.com
Christopher Moore is an American writer of comic fantasy.
An only child, Moore learned to amuse himself with his imagination. He loved reading and his father brought him plenty of books from the library every week. He started writing around the age of twelve and realized that this was his talent by the time he was 16, and he began to consider making it his career.
Moore's novels typically involve conflicted everyman characters struggling through supernatural or extraordinary circumstances. With the possible exceptions of Fool, The Serpent of Venice, Sacré Bleu, and Shakespeare for Squirrels: A Novel, all his books take place in the same universe and some characters recur from novel to novel.
According to his interview in the June 2007 issue of Writer's Digest, the film rights to Moore's first novel, Practical Demonkeeping (1992), were purchased by Disney even before the book had a publisher. In answer to repeated questions from fans over the years, Moore stated that all of his books have been optioned or sold for films, but that as yet "none of them are in any danger of being made into a movie."
Moore has named Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, John Steinbeck, Tom Robbins, Richard Brautigan, Robert Bloch, Richard Matheson, Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury, H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe and Ian Fleming as key influences on his writing.
Moore lives in San Francisco, after a few years on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.
Camille Pagán is the Amazon Charts, Washington Post, and #1 Kindle bestselling author of "witty and delightful" novels (Library Journal) about life's what-ifs. Her books have been translated into twenty languages, and her second novel, Life and Other Near-Death Experiences, has been optioned for film by Jessica Chastain's Freckle Films. A journalist and former magazine editor, her work has appeared in Fast Company, Forbes, The New York Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Parade, Real Simple, Time, and many others. Visit her at www.camillepagan.com.
Internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed writer, Dervla McTiernan is the author of The Ruin, The Scholar and The Good Turn. The Ruin was published in 2018 and is the first in the detective Cormac Reilly series. The Ruin was a top ten bestseller and an Amazon Best Book of July 2018. Dervla was a New Blood Panellist at Harrogate Festival. The Scholar was published in 2019 and was a top five bestseller. The Good Turn will be published in 2020. The Ruin has been optioned for TV by Hopscotch Features.
Shortlisted: Barry Awards Kate O’Brien Award Australian Book Industry Awards Irish Book Awards Western Australian Premier Book Awards
Dervla spent twelve years working as a lawyer. Following the global financial crisis, she moved from Ireland to Australia and turned her hand to writing. Dervla is a member of the Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers Association, and lives in Perth, Australia, with her husband and two children.
Today's guest in the Story Craft Cafe is New York Times bestselling author with twenty novels to his credit, Linwood Barclay. Linwood joins us today to share his story and to talk about writing spooky fiction.
Linwood Barclay, a New York Times bestselling author with twenty novels to his credit, spent three decades in newspapers before turning full time to writing thrillers. His books have been translated into more than two dozen languages, sold millions of copies, and he counts Stephen King among his fans. Many of his books have been optioned for film and TV, a series has been made in France, and he wrote the screenplay for the film based on his novel Never Saw it Coming. Born in the US, his parents moved to Canada just as he was turning four, and he’s lived there ever since. He lives near Toronto with his wife, Neetha. They have two grown children.
MORE ABOUT LINWOOD Linwood Barclay is the #1 internationally bestselling author of twenty novels for adults, including No Time for Goodbye, Trust Your Eyes and, most recently, A Noise Downstairs. He has also written two novels for children and screenplays.
Three of those twenty novels comprise the epic Promise Falls trilogy: Broken Promise, Far From True, and The Twenty-Three. His two novels for children – Chase and Escape – star a computer-enhanced dog named Chipper who’s on the run from the evil organization that turned him into a super-pup.
Barclay’s 2011 thriller, The Accident, has been turned into the six-part television series L’Accident in France, and he adapted his novel Never Saw It Coming for the movie, directed by Gail Harvey and starring Eric Roberts and Emily Hampshire. Several of his other books either have been, or still are, in development for TV and film, including the Promise Falls trilogy.
After spending his formative years helping run a cottage resort and trailer park after his father died when he was 16, Barclay got his first newspaper job at the Peterborough Examiner, a small Ontario daily. In 1981, he joined the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper.
He held such positions as assistant city editor, chief copy editor, news editor, and Life section editor, before becoming the paper’s humour columnist in 1993. He was one of the paper’s most popular columnists before retiring from the position in 2006 to work exclusively on books.
In 2004, he launched his mystery series about an anxiety-ridden, know-it-all, pain-in-the-butt father by the name of Zack Walker. Bad Move, the first book, was followed by three more Zack Walker thrillers: Bad Guys, Lone Wolf, and Stone Rain. (The last two were published in the UK under the titles Bad Luck and Bad News.)
His first standalone thriller, No Time for Goodbye, was published in 2007 to critical acclaim and great international success. The following year, it was a Richard and Judy Summer Read selection in the UK, and did seven straight weeks at #1 on the UK bestseller list, and finished 2008 as the top selling novel of the year there. The book has since been sold around the world and been translated into nearly thirty languages.
Barclay was born in the United States but moved to Canada just before turning four years old when his father, a commercial artist whose illustrations of cars appeared in Life, Look and Saturday Evening Post (before photography took over), accepted a position with an advertising agency north of the border. Barclay, who graduated with an English literature degree from Trent University, in Peterborough, Ontario, was fortunate to have some very fine mentors; in particular, the celebrated Canadian author Margaret Laurence, whom Linwood first met when she served as writer-in-residence at Trent, and Kenneth Millar, who, under the name Ross Macdonald, wrote the acclaimed series of mystery novels featuring detective Lew Archer. It was at Trent that he met Neetha, the woman who would become his wife. They have two grown children, Spencer and Paige.
Romance Author Legend Beverly Jenkins joins us in the Story Craft Cafe today to talk about why anyone interested in telling stories NEEDS to read romance. In this episode we talk about Beverly's journey from her lifelong dream of working in a library to becoming someone that creates the stories that fill those shelves. This is a "must listen" for anyone interested in forging your own path in writing and publishing.
To help close out our final Friday of launch month, the Dabblers congregated in the Story Craft Cafe to talk about what motivates them as story tellers, how Dabble has helped them embrace their creativity, and the conversation inevitably turns to the topic of pantsing vs plotting and why one way is way better than the other.
Or is it?
Our guests today in the Story Craft Cafe are Julia Fierro and Caeli Wolfson Widger who write as the duo named Cassidy Lucas. We talk about how their creative process changes when they are writing alone as compared to the magic that happens whey they co-author.
Cassidy Lucas is the pen name of writing duo Julia Fierro and Caeli Wolfson Widger. Fierro is the author of the novels Cutting Teeth, praised by the New Yorker as a “comically energetic début,” and The Gypsy Moth Summer, called “hugely engaging” by Francine Prose. Widger is the author of the novels Real Happy Family and Mother of Invention, praised by Margaret Atwood as a “pacey thriller,” and was featured on NPR’s Marketplace. Both Fierro and Widger live in Santa Monica with their families. Their second novel, The Last Party, set in Topanga Canyon on the westside of Los Angeles, will be published in April 2022. Santa Monica, their first book together, was published in 2020.
The authors of Santa Monica once again illuminate the dark truths of life in sunny California in THE LAST PARTY, a twisty and atmospheric psychological thriller about a 50th birthday celebration on a remote mountainside in Topanga Canyon, where things go terrifyingly wrong.
For Los Angeleno Dawn Sanders, turning 50 seems like one more disappointment. Her career has stalled, her nineteen-year-old daughter with developmental issues is regressing, and Dawn’s ex-husband Craig, a fertility doctor worshipped by Hollywood’s elite, is forever upending her life. Though she doesn’t feel much like celebrating, she can’t say no when her best friend Mia Markle, a flamboyant and strong-willed actress, insists on planning a “creative” birthday weekend in the wild, wealthy bohemian enclave of Topanga Canyon.
On the weekend of the Summer Solstice, Dawn and her six closest friends gather in the hills above the canyon at “Celestial Ranch,” 18-acres of rugged, wooded mountainside where they’ll spend three glorious days hiking, practicing meditation and reiki, and enjoying lavish catered cuisine. They will also indulge in a little DMT, a short-acting psychedelic drug meant to open their senses and transport them to a higher plain. But as the weekend unfolds, long-buried tensions, unresolved grievances, and old secrets emerge, leaving Dawn desperate for clarity about her life.
Dawn and her friends take the drug late at night on an open hillside beneath the glittering stars. When Dawn returns from her intense and revelatory “trip,” she learns that one of her friends has gone missing. Then another disappears. And soon, Dawn finds herself alone on the dark mountainside, seemingly abandoned by the people who are supposed to love her most.
Or have they somehow been taken from her?
What could Dawn have possibly done to deserve a devastating birthday night like this—and how will she make it to the morning alone?
We are celebrating the launch of the Story Craft Cafe' all month long with some fantastic guests that have dropped by to share from their expansive knowledge. Today Sarah Pinborough talks about her amazing writing journey, and what she still hopes to accomplish.
Sarah Pinborough is the number one Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the psychological thriller Behind Her Eyes, and more than twenty other novels and novellas, including The Death House and a young adult thriller, 13 Minutes. She has also written for the BBC. She lives in England. sarahpinborough.com
"If you loved Behind Her Eyes, prepare to be totally and utterly blown away by Insomnia. Sarah Pinborough is a twisted genius." — Lisa Jewell
IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, MADNESS LIES . . .
Emma can’t sleep.
CHECK THE WINDOWS.
It’s been like this since her big 4-0 started getting closer.
LOCK THE DOORS.
Her mother stopped sleeping just before her own fortieth birthday.
She went mad and did the unthinkable because of it.
LOOK IN ON THE CHILDREN.
Is that what’s happening to Emma?
WHY CAN’T SHE SLEEP?
"Insomnia is the twistiest and most gripping thriller since Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, an absolute must-read for suspense fans." — Joe Hill
James Rollins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers. His writing has been translated into more than forty languages and has sold more than 20 million books. The New York Times says, “Rollins is what you might wind up with if you tossed Michael Crichton and Dan Brown into a particle accelerator together.” NPR calls his work, “Adventurous and enormously engrossing.” Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets matched with stunning suspense. As a veterinarian, he had a practice in Sacramento for over a decade and still volunteers at local shelters. Nowadays, Rollins shares his home up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with his two golden retrievers, Echo and Duncan. He also enjoys scuba diving, spelunking, kayaking, and hiking. Of course, he loves to travel and experience new places around the world, which often inspire his next globe-trotting adventure.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins, the latest riveting, deeply imaginative thriller in the Sigma Force series, told with his trademark blend of cutting-edge science, historical mystery, and pulse-pounding action.
It begins in Africa . . .
A United Nations relief team in a small village in the Congo makes an alarming discovery. An unknown force is leveling the evolutionary playing field. Men, women, and children have been reduced to a dull, catatonic state. The environment surrounding them—plants and animals—has grown more cunning and predatory, evolving at an exponential pace. The insidious phenomenon is spreading from a cursed site in the jungle — known to locals as the Kingdom of Bones —and sweeping across Africa, threatening the rest of the world.
What has made the biosphere run amok? Is it a natural event? Or more terrifyingly, did someone engineer it?
Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force are prepared for the extraordinary and have kept the world safe, vigilance for which they have paid a tragic personal price. Yet, even these brilliant and seasoned scientific warriors do not understand what is behind this frightening development—or know how to stop it. As they race to find answers, the members of Sigma quickly realize they have become the prey.
To head off global catastrophe, Sigma Force must risk their lives to uncover the shattering secret at the heart of the African continent—a truth that will illuminate who we are as a species and where we may be headed . . . sooner than we know.
Mother Nature—red in tooth and claw—is turning against humankind, propelling the entire world into the Kingdom of Bones.
TAYLOR BROWN grew up on the Georgia coast. His work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The Rumpus, Garden & Gun, Chautauqua, The North Carolina Literary Review, and many others. He is the recipient of a Montana Prize in Fiction, a three-time finalist for the Southern Book Prize, and was named the 2021 Georgia Author of the Year. He’s also been a finalist for the Press 53 Open Awards, Machigonne Fiction Contest, Wabash Prize in Fiction, Rick DeMarinis Short Story Contest, Dahany Fiction Prize, and Doris Betts Fiction Prize. He is the author of a short story collection, In the Season of Blood and Gold (Press 53, 2014), as well as five novels: Fallen Land (St. Martin’s Press, 2016), The River of Kings (St. Martin’s Press, 2017), Gods of Howl Mountain (St. Martin’s Press, 2018), Pride of Eden (St. Martin’s Press, 2020), and Wingwalkers (St. Martin’s Press, 2022). Taylor, an Eagle Scout, graduated from the University of Georgia in 2005. He’s settled in Savannah, Georgia, after long stints in Buenos Aires, San Francisco, and the mountains and coasts of North Carolina. He is the editor-in-chief of BikeBound.com, and he likes old motorcycles, thunderstorms, and dogs with beards.
A former WWI ace pilot and his wingwalker wife barnstorm across Depression-era America, performing acts of aerial daring.
“They were over Georgia somewhere, another nameless hamlet whose dusty streets lay flocked and trembling with the pink handbills they’d rained from the sky that morning, the ones that announced the coming of DELLA THE DARING DEVILETTE, who would DEFY THE HEAVENS, shining like a DAYTIME STAR, a WING-WALKING WONDER borne upon the wings of CAPTAIN ZENO MARIGOLD, a DOUBLE ACE of the GREAT WAR, who had ELEVEN AERIAL VICTORIES over the TRENCHES OF FRANCE.”
Wingwalkers is one-part epic adventure, one-part love story, and, as is the signature for critically-acclaimed author Taylor Brown, one large part American history. The novel braids the adventures of Della and Zeno Marigold, a vagabond couple that funds their journey to the west coast in the middle of the Great Depression by performing death-defying aerial stunts from town to town, together with the life of the author (and thwarted fighter pilot) William Faulkner, whom the couple ultimately inspires during a dramatic air show—with unexpected consequences for all.
Brown has taken a tantalizing tidbit from Faulkner’s real life—an evening's chance encounter with two daredevils in New Orleans—and set it aloft in this fabulous novel. With scintillating prose and an action-packed plot, he has captured the true essence of a bygone era and shed a new light on the heart and motivations of one of America's greatest authors.
Thanks for joining us once again in the Story Craft Cafe! We continue our launch month events with a conversation with Lynne and Valerie Constantine who write jointly as Liv Constantine.
Join us at storycraft.cafe to find your writing community.
Liv Constantine is the pen name of sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine. Lynne and Valerie are national and international bestselling authors with over one million copies sold worldwide. Their books have been translated into 28 languages, are available in 33 countries, and are in development for both television and film. Their books have been praised by USA Today, The Sunday Times, People Magazine, and Good Morning America, among many others. Their debut novel, THE LAST MRS. PARRISH, is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection.
Lynne
Lynne is a former marketing executive with a Master’s degree in Business from Johns Hopkins University. She has explored coral reefs all over the world, sunken wrecks in the South Pacific, and fallen in love with angelfish in the Caribbean. When Lynne’s not writing, you can find her curled up with her Labrador and Golden Retrievers reading a good book or walking the beach thinking up devious plans for her characters.
Lynne also writes The Jack Logan series under the pen name L.C. Shaw. To learn more about her other books, visit lcshawauthor.com or connect with her on Instagram or Twitter @LCShawAuthor.
Lynne is a board member of International Thriller Writers.
Valerie
Valerie has always loved books and spent many nights reading by the light of her bedside lamp until 3 a.m. She lives with her husband and their brilliant Cavalier King Charles babies, Zorba and DaVinci.
Early in her career she served as a White House Assistant in the President’s Scheduling and Advance Office planning presidential trips and travel and has visited over forty foreign countries. She has a degree in English Literature. When she’s not writing, you won’t find her, as she and her husband will be traveling to some faraway destination.
https://livconstantine.com/
Today we celebrate the launch of The Story Craft Cafe'. Christopher Paolini drops by to help us celebrate the launch and to talk about the importance of community and to talk about his meteoric rise in the Fantasy and Science Fiction world.
Now a New York Times and USA Today bestseller!
Winner of Best Science Fiction in the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards!
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a brand new epic novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eragon, Christopher Paolini.
Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds.
Now she's awakened a nightmare.
During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.
As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human.
While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope . . .
Christopher Paolini is the author of the international bestsellers Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance, as well as The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm. His debut science fiction novel, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, will be available on September 15, 2020. He resides in Paradise Valley, Montana, USA.
Today I welcome co-authors Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson to the Story Craft Cafe to talk about their new book The Agathas, and what it was like to co-author a new book in a brand new genre for each of them.
Who killed Brooke Donovan? It’s the biggest mystery of the summer, and everyone in Castle Cove thinks it’s the wrong guy. Fans of One of Us Is Lying and Riverdale can’t miss this page-turning who-done-it that’s sure to be the next must read Young Adult thriller!
Last summer, Alice Ogilvie’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. She's not talking, so where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve’s girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex–best friend. And it doesn’t look like Brooke will be coming back. . . Enter Iris Adams, Alice’s tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn’t have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke’s grandmother is offering to anyone who can share information about her granddaughter’s whereabouts. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn’t so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory. In order to get the reward and prove Steve’s innocence, they need to figure out who killed Brooke Donovan. And luckily Alice has exactly what they need—the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there’s anyone that can teach the girls how to solve a mystery it’s the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they're about to walk into.
Kathleen Glasgow is the New York Times bestselling author of GIRL IN PIECES and HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE DARK. Visit her at www.kathleenglasgowbooks.com, follow her on Twitter @kathglasgow or check out her adventures on Instagram: misskathleenglasgow.
Liz Lawson has been writing for most of her life in one way or another. She has her Masters in Communications with a Concentration in Rhetoric from Villanova University, and has written for a variety of publications including PASTE MAGAZINE. When she's not writing, she works as a music supervisor for film & television. Liz resides in Los Angeles, CA, where she lives with an adorable toddler, a fantastic husband, and two VERY bratty cats. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter at @lzlwsn.
On Episode 3 of the Story Craft Cafe we welcome Richard Fox to talk about writing space opera, military science fiction, and finding your passion as a story teller.
Richard Fox is the winner of the 2017 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy novel. He's best known for The Ember War Saga, a military science fiction and space opera series.
His writing draws extensively from his experiences in the United States Army, where he served two combat tours in Iraq and was awarded the Bronze Star, Combat Action Badge and Presidential Unit Citation.
He lives in fabulous Las Vegas with his incredible wife and three boys, amazing children bent on anarchy.
Subscribe to Richard's spam free email list and get free short stories set during the Ember War Saga (and more as they become available) at: http://eepurl.com/bLj1gf
Like him on Facebook (best place to reach him): https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Fox-Author-1377447982503883/
Website: www.richardfoxauthor.com
Welcome to the second episode of the Story Crafters' Cafe! Today our very special guest is Sally Britton, beloved author of sweet romance stories. In today's episode we talk about her path to publishing, what her creative process is like, how Dabble has helped her throughout her writing and publishing career, what it was like to go from hobbyist to full-time author, and much more.
Sally Britton lives in Oklahoma, but loves to go off exploring with her husband and four children. She started writing her first story on her mother’s electric typewriter, when she was fourteen years old. She knew romance was the way for her to go fairly early on. Reading her way through Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, and Lucy Maud Montgomery, Sally also determined she wanted to write about the elegant, complex world of centuries past.
Sally graduated from Brigham Young University in 2007 with a bachelor’s in English, her emphasis on British literature. She met and married her husband not long after and they’ve been building their happily ever after since that day.
Vincent Van Gogh is attributed with the quote, “What is done in love is done well.” Sally has taken that as her motto, for herself and her characters, writing stories where love is a choice each person must make, and then go forward with hope to obtain a life of happiness and joy. All of Sally’s published works are available on Amazon.com. If you want to receive weekly emails from Sally about her books, great deals on amazing novels, and other fun reading related things, subscribe to her newsletter below!
Visit Sally's website at https://www.authorsallybritton.com/
Welcome to the Story Crafters' Cafe, brought to you by Dabblewriter.com.
In our first episode Hank welcomes Steve Beaulieu, fantasy and science fiction author and co-owner of Aethon Books to talk all about the writing life, and the state of publishing in 2022. Steve writes and publishes under the pen name Jaime Castle and is the #1 bestselling author of The Buried Goddess Saga (Aethon Books, Audible Studios, co-written by Rhett C. Bruno), and The Luna Missile Crisis, amongst other works.
About Steve in his own words: "I’ve been writing as long as I can remember—no, seriously. I can remember typing up my first short story at the tender age of eight on my grandfather's Tandy 1000. That was an age-old beast with blue and yellow graphics that I thought were top-of-the-line. Maybe they were.
"I also created the accompanying book cover with the graphics program built onboard. Since then, I like to think I’ve blossomed into a decent writer, graphic artist, and book cover designer.
"I’m also a musician and singer. I’ve played guitar since I was 11—for those wondering, it’s just shy of three decades.
"As far as reading? I’m a science fiction and fantasy junkie, and I love listening to books. I listen to about 150 a year, with my all-time favorites being the Dresden Files, narrated by James Marsters.
"I’m also a comic book enthusiast. Not only do I love reading, but many of my first storytelling experiences were in comics. For a few years I dabbled as a comic book colorist.
"I’m married (sorry folks) and father to two, a boy and a girl.
"I currently reside in the great nation of Texas, where the west began."
Aethon Books
Aethon Books submission per Steve, put Story Crafters' Cafe in the subject line and Aethon will move your submission to the head of the line.