I had never thought about how dialogue was like jazz until I spoke with Wesley Brown. Wesley Brown knows dialogue and he knows jazz. His latest collection of stories, Dance of the Infidels, brings the two together and I learned so much from talking about music and writing with him. In addition, Wesley is Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University and teaches literature and creative writing at Bard College. He is the author of plays, fiction, and nonfiction so there is something here for every genr...
Jun 29, 2017•46 min
Doree Shafrir knows Startup culture. This is immediately obvious when reading her first novel, Startup, out now and gracing more and more must-read lists every week. It's laugh out loud funny as well as a well-observed critique of the tech culture we follow as closely as celebrity news these days. Doree and I spoke about Startup on the show, as well as her experience in the tech world, her surprise at realizing she wanted to write a novel instead of a non-fiction book and much more. She's a smar...
Jun 22, 2017•40 min
Once you sell a book, you're going to have to sign a book contract. Thanks to Autumn coming on the show, this doesn't have to be a terrifying process. Every writer who has come on the show has emphasized book contracts as something you need to understand before you sign. I don't know about you, but despite the fact that the majority of my friends are lawyers, I wouldn't feel comfortable reading and signing a contract without some help. Autumn speaks in simple language in this episode and clarifi...
Jun 15, 2017•45 min
Manjula Martin is fearless. She gets to the heart of the matter: why don't writers get paid like other professions? Why does everyone expect to read content for free or very little money these days? Why don't we value writing the same way we value other work? And why is making a decent living considered "selling out" in some arenas. Manjula has been exploring the topic of money and writing in numerous forums, from her blog "Who Pays Writers?" a collection of rates that writers can submit anonymo...
Jun 08, 2017•51 min
Jade Chang looked at the economic crash of 2008 and saw a novel. This is just one of the many miraculous things about her. While the rest of us were running around like maniacs and freaking out, Jade started to see an idea come into form. What if a family lost everything in that crash? What would that look like? What if this character she had in her head was a self-made man who was crushed under the weight of what happened at that time? The answers to these and many other questions became The Wa...
Jun 01, 2017•48 min
Bari Tessler is all about shining the light on money, and books are no exception. But first, a moment to celebrate! As we reach episode 52, we come back to the very first guest who ever came on the show, Bari Tessler. One year ago, I launched the Secret Library Podcast as Bari was preparing for the publication of her book, The Art of Money. Now, a year later, we've come back around and are talking to Bari again. This time, we talk about what it takes financially to publish a book. Most would-be ...
May 25, 2017•57 min
Ruby Warrington is the force behind the Numinous. I adored Ruby Warrington even before we spoke. I knew we would be kindred spirits because she admitted in her book that her power lipstick was MAC Lady Danger. So, of course I had to put my own Lady Danger on for our Skype call to record the session. And thus, magic ensued. I love Ruby because she comes from a journalist background, yet is pulled to topics that traditional journalism generally avoids, like astrology, spiritual topics, and Burning...
May 18, 2017•46 min
Natalie Obando knows how to get your book in front of the right people. PR is one of those topics that seems to scare writers to death. It feels like the most extroverted part of writing, and the one that is the furthest away from writing your book. I was thrilled to have Natalie Obando on the show because she specializes not only in PR, but PR for books specifically. Her company, Do Good PR, promotes books with a message. I had Natalie on for another reason: she doesn't think every author needs...
May 11, 2017•45 min
Rob Cohen and Christine Roth didn't plan to start Rothco Press. But watching the explosion of content that eBooks and self-publishing has created, the couple realized that good books weren't getting the attention they deserved. With so much content to wade through looking for what you want, many books just drown. With their experience producing film and television, Rob and Christine bring a unique approach to publishing- dedication to the story itself and a desire to see that story reach the wor...
May 04, 2017•47 min
Madelyn Kent has found a surprising way into creativity. For many of us who write, we spend a lot of time up in our heads. We might even pend most of our time in our heads. Since writers are making up worlds, it does make sense that our daydreams would come from our minds and that, as artists who create with words, thinking would be our happy place. But when we get stuck, staying in the mind can be a trap. I was delighted to have a different sort of conversation this week with Madelyn, who has t...
Apr 27, 2017•49 min
Cory Doctorow not only writes about the future, he's also advocating for a better one in reality. As I get more familiar with the world of Science Fiction, it strikes me that most writers in this area are also secretly activists of some form or another. Cory Doctorow, author of numerous books, including the forthcoming Walkaway , is also the co-editor of BoingBoing and a technology activist. He is a special consultant to the Electronic Frontier Foundation ( eff.org ), a non-profit civil libertie...
Apr 20, 2017•47 min
Guinevere de la Mare is a renaissance woman, with books. I met Guinevere because I stumbled upon a meeting of the Silent Book Club at the XO conference last September in Portland. I was delighted to see a whole group of people quietly reading together, out in public. Finally, the perfect social outing for introverts! Upon connecting with Guinevere to learn more about this reading haven, I was fascinated to hear about her career at Chronicle Books prior to creating the SBC. Even better- she has a...
Apr 13, 2017•50 min
After winning a contract with the publisher of her dreams, Katie Dalebout sat down to write her first book. She submitted the proposal in the 11th hour before the deadline and won, an amazing story that makes up the introduction of her book, Let it Out: A Journey Into Journaling. Instead of re-telling that story, we discussed the nitty gritty details of sitting down and writing and editing the book after she had gotten the proposal approved and received her book advance. Listen up to learn how K...
Apr 06, 2017•50 min
I knew I loved Susan Orlean the moment she mentioned the Vikings. Ok, I loved her writing already. Of course. And not many people get to say they've been played by Meryl Streep. But when I saw her speak on a panel and she said something to the effect of "Everything I needed to know about writing I learned from the Vikings," she had my complete attention. In the ways that no one expects the Spanish Inquisition, no one expects the Vikings. I got her to tell this story on the episode and did a lot ...
Mar 30, 2017•50 min
The day after the election, Ben Winters decided it was time to get writing. As we move ahead in unprecedented times here in the US, I knew I wanted to talk to Ben Winters. Not only did he launch an anthology project in the wake of the election in collaboration with numerous authors and Slate, he's also the author of Underground Airlines, an alternative history novel that explores what might have happened if Lincoln was assassinated before he took office. As Ben says in the episode, "Writing is a...
Mar 23, 2017•44 min
I really just love me some Ezzie Spencer. Dr. Ezzie Spencer didn't begin writing and teaching about the impact the Moon can have on our lives. Quite the opposite- she began in a law career which travelled through social justice work and academia before she began teaching about how tracking our lives through the phases of the moon can be life altering. This episode gets a little meta: not only has Ezzie written about a process that she has taught for years, the process itself was incorporated int...
Mar 16, 2017•45 min
Elizabeth Hess was an art critic before she began writing about animals. I love speaking with writers whose careers have evolved as they have written; Elizabeth is a beautiful example. Beginning by writing as an art critic, she found her way to writing about animals and the cultures that surround them. She's won awards for her coverage of the municipal animal control program in NYC, and is the author of Lost and Found and Nim Chimpsky, which became the documentary Project Nim. We talk about the ...
Mar 09, 2017•47 min
First-Time Novelist Paul Scheuring was already a professional screenwriter when he started his book. Not only was he a professional screenwriter, he had big successes under his belt, like being the creator of the TV show, Prison Break. It shocks me that I live in Los Angeles and have reached episode 40 without having a single screenwriter on the show (although sticklers will note that V.E. Schwab has done a bit of screenwriting). Paul was the perfect person to talk to about writing for televisio...
Mar 02, 2017•46 min
Tasha Harrison knows how to make a sex scene, well – sexy. Up to this point in the show we have stayed in the "safe for work" territory. But if you're writing for adults, eventually you're going to want to dive into adult topics. Like sex scenes. If you've been intimidated by writing sex scenes in your books but feel like you've got some chemistry that warrants one, let Tasha walk you through the process without having to commit the cardinal sin of closing the door on your reader. This episode i...
Feb 23, 2017•48 min
Victoria Schwab is a professional novelist. What I mean by this is, Victoria Schwab has had exactly one career: novelist. New York Times-bestselling novelist at that. She is that special thing we all dream of: a writing unicorn, if you will. But don't let this fact think that her story is one you won't relate to. Does she write full time? Yes. Was it easy to get to that place? Hell, no. She's spoken quite openly about how demoralizing the myth of the overnight success is. She is one of the most ...
Feb 16, 2017•50 min
Alexandra Franzen's daily mantra is "Today isn't over yet." I wanted to talk to Alexandra because I was so impressed when, a couple of months ago, she celebrated her birthday by giving her latest novel to her mailing list for free. It was so refreshing. It's such a great book and she had just given it away. Seriously baller. Today on the show we talk about how she wrote that book, what made her want to put it out in the world as a gift, and what she's cooking up for creative people now. It's suc...
Feb 09, 2017•50 min
Kim Cooper knows L.A. history like it's an old friend. I've been an Angeleno for over ten years, but Kim Cooper is a big part of why I fell in love with the place. Together with her husband, Richard Schave, Kim runs Esotouric, the best thing ever to happen to Los Angeles history. From crime sprees to mobsters to cults, these two know all the deep dark secrets about L.A.'s past. If you come visit us, one of their tours is a must. I caught up with Kim on the show about the process of writing her n...
Feb 02, 2017•45 min
Amy Kuretsky is over the suffering artist: She's ushering in the healthy creative instead. Amy Kuretsky is a health coach for creatives and an acupuncturist + herbalist specializing in the emotional and digestive wellness. She coaches creative entrepreneurs to be their healthiest selves without sacrificing their businesses in the process. Her support is for clients who are seeking to make a deeper change in their well being – as a whole being. She's best known for helping creatives find their ow...
Jan 26, 2017•50 min
Scott Carney knows how to write a pitch. Not only do his articles get published, he's now on his third book. Scott has an impressive resume: he's given a Tedx talk, was a contributing editor at Wired, and has also written articles published in Mother Jones, Playboy, Men's Journal, Foreign Policy, Discover, Outside and Fast Company. He has a degree in Anthropology and loves digging deep into a subject. But even more than that, he fell in love with debunking things. His first two books were expose...
Jan 19, 2017•48 min
Kate Newburg has you covered. Pun intended. Kate Newburg makes me laugh. She's got a wicked sense of humor (not in the Boston sense - she's from Atlanta) and knows the ins and outs of the deeper reaches of Amazon eBooks. She uses this power for good as a cover designer primarily for romance novels, and she knows how to make a reader feel seduced. We talk about matching your cover design with your reader's expectations and how that impacts your reviews. Learn the principles of what should stay in...
Jan 12, 2017•50 min
J.H. Moncrieff is writing the next Gone Girl. When Harlequin put out a request for writing submissions to create the next Gone Girl, J.H. Moncrieff won. She's one of two authors who were selected to write the parallel plots of this new thriller, coming out in 2017. Beyond this project, she's the author of The Bear Who Wouldn't leave, a seriously spooky novella. In this episode, we chat about the misconceptions around the horror genre and why books like Gone Girl definitely qualify to be members ...
Jan 05, 2017•52 min
Kim Krans comes from the Wild Unknown. This is how she introduced herself when I met her a couple of months ago. She was touring for the Wild Unknown tarot, the title that just minted her a New York Times Bestselling-author. (yes!) I wasn't sure what I thought I would learn in the yoga studio where the workshop was happening that Friday night, I just knew I wanted to hear what the creator of that incredible deck had to say. What followed was a conversation about where the creative impulse comes ...
Dec 29, 2016•43 min
Sarah Selecky is back! It's time to get into revision... I must admit, I was a little nervous to have this conversation with Sarah Selecky. As a NaNoWriMo winner five times over who then went on to leave each of those novels untouched in drawers and on hard drives, I am not a great champion of revision as an easy process. Sarah is back, having finished her own first novel draft and into the revision process herself. It was a total joy to discuss how she approaches revision. It felt so much light...
Dec 22, 2016•52 min
Susannah Conway knows how books get made. Having authored two and co-authored a third, Susannah has seen the process through, from proposal to publication, three times. She shares about the creation of proposals, how the book evolves from idea to finished manuscript, and how different it is working on a written book versus one that is primarily about the images. I left this conversation so inspired, particularly having learned how much leeway there is to let the idea evolve once you get a book d...
Dec 15, 2016•51 min
Gary Wilson has been writing fiction for decades. He was the first person I thought of speaking to when people started asking me to talk about structure on the show. He's the author of two novels and has also taught fiction at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University. Gary is one of my favorite people and I was thrilled to have the excuse to chat books and writing with him. We go through how it is to structure a book, letting the idea inform how you write it, what it's like to have...
Dec 08, 2016•49 min
