Charlie talks with horror novelist Grady Hendrix about his new novel How to Sell a Haunted House. They discuss the history and development of the horror genre, family dynamics, the use of humor, structuring a novel, pacing, and why dolls and puppets are just so darn creepy.
Charlie returns from summer vacation to talk with bestselling author Jamie Ford about his new novel The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, a sweeping story about the things we inherit from our ancestors. They talk about mixing historical fiction and speculative fiction, the Chinese experience in America, cliffhangers, what America means, and much more.
Charlie talks with Pulitzer Prize winer Geraldine Brooks about her new novel horse and its inspiration, a nineteenth century American racehorse. They discuss structuring a novel across multiple time frames. capturing the voice of a past era, race in America, the history of horse racing, and much more,
Charlie talks with Elle about her Finlay Donovan books. They talk plotting, murder, body disposal, character building, the genesis of Finlay, motherhood, divorce, Writers' Police Academy, and mixing humor and crime in books about a single mom recruited to be a contract killer.
Charlie talks with Lauren McBrayer about her new novel Like a House on Fire in which protagonist Merit must understand her feelings towards her boss Jane. They discuss the search for identity, female friendship, religion, sensory detail and much more about this wonderful novels that explores relationships from parenthood to professional.
Charlie talks with Kyle Lukoff about his new middle grade novel Different Kinds of Fruit. They talk about writing LGBTQ characters, getting into the emotional headspace of sixth graders, layering secondary and tertiary characters, structure, family dynamics, and much more.
Charlie talks with Annie Hartnett about her new novel Unlikely Animals. They discuss depicting small towns, using magical realism, narrative voice and point of view, and the background of this fascinating novel—a 26,000 acre private wildlife preserve called Corbin Park. And of course, they discuss animals!
Charlie talks with Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle about his new book of short stories Life Without Children. They talk about Irish storytelling, Dublin, the pandemic, the craft of short story writing, the difference between incident and story, and much more.
Charlie talks to best-selling author Ruta Sepetys about her new crossover novel I Must Betray You, set in Romania just before the fall of communism. They discuss Eastern European history, what it was like to live in communist Romania, how Ruta researched such a repressive regime, how authoritarianism robs children of their childhood, and more.
Charlie talks with bestselling author Josie Silver about her new novel One Night on the Island—the talk about romance tropes and subverting them, setting a narrative in a remote location, researching during COVID, building strong secondary characters, and more.
Charlie talks to historical novelist Fiona Davis about her novel The Magnolia Palace, set largely at the Frick Museum in New York City in 1919 and 1966. They discuss (among other things) New York, researching historical details, the place of the model in society, and the amazing true story of Audrey Munson, the artists' model who served as the basis for one of the heroines in Fiona's novel.
Charlie starts off the new year talking with historical novelist Kerri Maher about her new novel The Paris Bookseller, a fascinating and moving account of Sylvia Beach and her famous store Shakespeare and Company. They discuss Beach's publication of Ulysses by James Joyce, the place of expatriates like Ernest Hemingway in 1920s Paris, the role of bookstores in society and much more.
Charlie talks to debut novelist Elizabeth Weiss about her novel Sisters Sweet which follows the lives of twin sisters as they navigate the world of vaudeville in the 1920s and 1930s. They discuss theatre history, writing about twins, changing technology, religion, family and more.
Charlie chats with Sophie Cousens, author of the romantic comedy Just Haven't Met You Yet, about living on the island of Jersey in the English Channel, the connection between place and story, the meaning of objects in our lives, the preservation of stories, humor in the inner lives of characters, positivity in the face of difficulties, and more.
Charlie talks with screenwriter and novelist Rex Pickett about his new novel The Archivist. They discuss the place of an archivist in the life of a writer, southern California, the thorny issues of archival ethics, adapting novels for the screen and screenplays into novels, the support networks writers depend on, writing strong women characters, and more.
Charlie talks with British novelist Sophie Kinsella about her new book The Party Crasher. They discuss family dynamics, writing humor, confining the action to a single place and time, the character arc of a house, how to humanize even unlikeable characters, the advantages of a first person narrative, and much more.
Fresh on the heels of Lauren's appearance at the Bookmarks Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, Charlie and Lauren discuss her new novel Matrix about the poet Marie de France. They discuss religion, economics, feminism, queer history, poetry, royalty, mysticism, and how all those elements combine to create an unforgettable novel.
Charlie talks with fellow North Carolina novelist about his new novel When Ghosts Come Home. The talk about issues of race and class, how to use backstory to create pacing, how tragedy magnifies the details of life, creating believable minor characters, emotion in writing, making a setting resonate with readers, and much more. Wylie and Charlie will also share the stage at the Bookmarks Festival on September 25.
Charlie talks with Marie and Victoria about their historical novel The Personal Librarian, the story of a trailblazing black woman who passed for white while building one of the most significant book collections in the world—now the Morgan Library and Museum. They discuss race in historical fiction, creating characters out of real people, the antiquarian book world, how two authors worked together to create one book, and much more about this fascinating historical novel.
Charlie chats with Canadian mystery writer Shari Lapena about her new novel Not a Nice Family. They discuss managing information in a mystery, family dynamics, the art of crafting chapter endings, and much more about the murder, dysfunction, and suspicion within the family at the center of this page-turner.
Charlie talks with Matt Haig all the way from England about his bestselling novel The Midnight Library and his more recent non-fiction The Comfort Book. They discuss connections between the two books, the importance of hope, the ways in which depression and mental illness bubble up in Matt's work, the general fabulousness of libraries, and much more.
Charlie talks with journalist, essayist, and columnist Steven Petrow about his book Stupid Things I Won't Do When I Get Old and about what it means to be a Civilist and a Perennial. They discuss humor, aging, voice in personal essays, structure, a writer's relationship with readers, and the stuff they both plan on not doping as they get older (which is happening fast!).
Charlie talks with Paul Rudnick, screenwriter for Sister Act and In and Out, about his new novel Playing the Palace, a gay romance with a happy ending. They discuss the progress made on queer issues since In and Out, the cult of celebrity, writing humor, and the sheer fun of writing some of the scenes in this delightful novel.
Charlie talks with bestselling novelist Christine Mangan about her new novel Palace of the Drowned. They discuss setting a novel in Venice, using detail to create character and setting, the author/editor relationship, what authors think of reviews and much more.
Shelley and Charlie discuss her debut novel The Vines, much of which is set on North Brother Island—a spot that also features in Charlie's Escaping Dreamland. They explore the overlaps between their respective novels; discuss themes of ethics, isolation, and identity; explore the history of North Brother and the appeal of island literature; and generally have a good time comparing novels.
Charlie talks with best-selling mystery writer Elizabeth George about her book on writing, Mastering the Process. They discuss their mutual affection for writing books set in Britain and take a close look at the development of setting and character in writing a novel.
Charlie talks with former National Geographic investigative reporter Bryan Christy about his debut novel, the international thriller In the Company of Killers. They discuss Bryan's long journey to novel writing, how investigative journalism can make a difference in the world, the criminal underworld, the classic image of American toxic masculinity, and more.
Charlie and Lisa discuss her historical novel Eternal, set in Rome during the rise and fall of Italian fascism. Lisa shares background about the history of the Italian Holocaust and talks about story telling, setting, historical research, family dynamics, and the torn loyalties that can be brought about in an authoritarian state. We basically have a lot of fun talking about this terrific novel.
Charlie and Jill discuss here new novel Everything After touching on a wide range of topics from marriage to intimacy, pregnancy and miscarriage to the decisions we have made in our past and how we see those choices when we look back on them. Jill's thoughtful exploration of love, music, and the paths of our lives leads to a great conversation.
Charlie talks with NYT bestselling author Carol Edgarian about her latest novel, Vera, set before, during, and after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake—an event that also shows up in Charlie's novel Escaping Dreamland. They discuss not just earthquakes but racism, powerful women, the way disasters shape us and challenge us, how we learn from our characters, Enrico Caruso, and what Carol calls "the wrong rightness of characters."
