The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, And Neuroscience

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning short story writer and debut novelist, Sanjena Sathian, talked to me about the true cost of the American dream, magical realism, and working with Mindy Kaling on the adaptation of Gold Diggers. Sanjena is an Iowa Writers' Workshop grad who started her career as a journalist and reporter in Mumbai and San Francisco. She has had nonfiction bylines in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Food & Wine, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, and more. Her debut novel is Gold Diggers, and is described as, "A magical realist coming-of-age story ... about Indian American identity, community ... and the underside of ambition." Already a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, and a Vox Bookclub Pick, #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng, said of the book, “Dizzyingly original, fiercely funny, deeply wise.” Stay calm and write on ... Discover The Writer Files Extra You can now have The Writer Files podcast drop

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning children's book author and diversity publishing pro, Crystal Swain-Bates, spoke with me about what inspired her to launch her own publishing company and the challenges authors of color face. “When I recognized how underrepresented black characters were in children's books, I made it my life's purpose to fill the diversity gap...” – Crystal Swain-Bates Crystal is a celebrated illustrated kids' book author, entrepreneur, and indie publisher "... on a mission to positively reshape the way children of color all over the world see themselves." She has written and published 12 children's books, been featured by Forbes, Entrepreneur, Essence Magazine, CNN, and HuffPost, and her books have been used as props for hit television shows on BET. Her lauded and bestselling book Big Hair, Don't Care is one of Amazon's most highly reviewed black children's books. Crystal founded Goldest Karat Publishing to address the lack of diversity in children's literature and aims to help "...

#PodcastersForJustice President and Founder of Manhattan-based agency Lucinda Literary, Lucinda Halpern, gave me an insider’s take on why literary agents can't just be deal-makers anymore. Lucinda Halpern is a literary, lecture, and PR agent with over 15 years of experience on both the corporate and agency sides of publishing. Specializing in "books that change the way people work, behave, and live," she represents authors writing in the categories of business, health, lifestyle, popular science, narrative nonfiction, memoir, and upmarket fiction. Her agency, Lucinda Literary, boasts a roster of authors including New York Times bestselling authors Susan Peirce Thompson (Bright Line Eating), Chris Bailey (The Productivity Project; Hyperfocus), Cait Flanders (The Year of Less), Paul Jarvis (Company of One), the new work of Nicola Kraus (The Nanny Diaries) and Jake Wood (Once a Warrior). She also shares publishing insights and motivation for writers and hosts both live and online programs for aspiring authors.

#PodcastersForJustice New York Times bestselling author and Edgar award-winner, Lisa Scottoline, spoke with me about what she learned from literary lion Philip Roth, impostor syndrome, and her latest book, Eternal. “I think all writing is writing, and all writing is good. And whether it gets published or not, it all ... makes you better.” – Lisa Scottoline Lisa is a #1 bestselling author of 33 novels. She's gone from law school standout to writing chart-topping legal thrillers over the course of her prolific career, has sold over 30 million copies of her books in the US, and been published in 35 countries. Her latest is Eternal and her first historical novel, a departure that she calls the culmination of her life's work. It's described as "... a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events." “[Her] expansive WWII-era historical novel follows three childhood best friends as love, loyalty and sacrifice mix and their beloved Rome falls to the Nazis.” – GMA Lisa also w

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning documentarian, Mimi deGruy, joined me and author Adam Skolnick for a deep dive into the genesis of her documentary exploring the legacy and environmental activism of her late husband, trailblazing ocean filmmaker Mike deGruy. “When Mike died, I felt like he left in mid-conversation, and I knew that he had so much more to say,” – Mimi deGruy Mike deGruy was a lauded filmmaker, biologist, and activist, who pushed the boundaries of cinematography and diving technology to explore never-before-seen ocean life and share it with the world. "In 2012, deGruy died tragically at age 60 in a helicopter crash in Australia while filming for [Academy Award® winning] director James Cameron." – KCRW The documentary, “Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy” was crowd-funded, directed, produced, and written by Mimi, Mike’s widow and filmmaking partner. "Told through the eyes of his wife ... the film celebrates [Mike’s] life, career, and what he passionately believed: we are de

#PodcastersForJustice Celebrated author, Walter Mosley, took a timeout to chat with me about how he didn't write a sentence he liked until age 35, the sprawling muse of Los Angeles, and his conflicted feelings after winning a big National Book Award. “Write your truth, and believe in it. And if your mother doesn’t like it ... too bad.” – Walter Mosley Walter is the first Black man to receive the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters for lifetime achievement in writing. The critically acclaimed author, playwright, screenwriter, and producer has written over 60 books including fiction (literary, mystery, and science fiction), writing guides, memoir, a YA novel, has won dozens of prestigious awards (including an Emmy), and been translated into 25 languages. His bestselling historical mysteries feature infamous, hard-boiled detective "Easy" Rawlins, a black PI living in the Watts neighborhood of LA. Blood Grove (Easy Rawlins Book 15) is the latest in that seri

#PodcastersForJustice Critically acclaimed novelist, short story writer, and educator, Erik Raschke, stopped by this week to talk about coming-of-age in Denver, Colorado, how The Beat Generation influenced his writing, and how your children consume you. Erik Raschke is a native to Denver, Colorado – and admittedly, one of my oldest friends. He became a dual Dutch and American citizen in 2013, teaches writing at the University of Amsterdam and is a certified New York public school teacher. Erik's first novel, The Book of Samuel, was translated into Italian and nominated for the prestigious Printz award. His short story, Winch (Portland Review), was nominated for the 2018 Best American Short Stories. His latest is To the Mountain, a novel described as "... an absorbing tale of sacrifice, hope, and the bond between father and son." NY Times bestselling author Margaret Coel called the book, “A deeply affecting tale of a father’s love for his autistic son ... Raschke’s lyrical prose evokes both the awesome wi

#PodcastersForJustice The #1 New York Times bestselling author, Mark Greaney, dropped by to chat about hanging out with Tom Clancy at The Pentagon, the elements of a great spy novel, and the latest in The Gray Man series. "Even if you finish a whole book and it doesn't get published, I promise you you're a much better author at the end of that process than you were at the beginning..." – Mark Greaney Mark's debut international thriller, The Gray Man, was published in 2009 and became a national bestseller and highly sought-after Hollywood property. He's released ten in that series to date including the #1 New York Times bestseller One Minute Out. The Gray Man series has drawn comparisons to giants of the field including Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, and – of course – Tom Clancy. Mark is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author or co-author of seven Tom Clancy novels – he co-wrote Clancy’s final three Jack Ryan thrillers prior to his passing. Mark's latest outing with The Gray Man is Relentless, a book bestsel

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning author, poet, and Emmy-nominee, Patrick Hicks, joined me this week to talk about his unique research process, how stories choose their authors, and how to talk about The Holocaust. "Whatever scares you to write... that's what you should be writing." – Patrick Hicks Patrick is the award-winning author of over ten books, including The Collector of Names, Adoptable, This London, and the critically acclaimed novel, The Commandant of Lubizec. He is the Writer-in-Residence at Augustana University as well as a faculty member at the MFA program at Sierra Nevada University. He has been published widely in literary journals including Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, Guernica, The Utne Reader, and many others. His poetry has appeared on NPR, The PBS NewsHour, and American Life in Poetry. The Emmy-nominated writer also hosts a weekly radio broadcast Poetry from Studio 47 that airs on NPR affiliates. Note: I’m cooking up some extras for fans of the show in the coming weeks you w

#BoulderStrong Brooklyn-based designer, artist, and creative director, Jason Naylor, rapped with me about his mission to inspire hope, how to write bite-sized wisdom for an attention-starved world, and why "love is the answer to everything." “Be yourself, be brave, be proud of who you are, be kind, be loving, be happy, and be colorful.” – Jason Naylor As a designer, Jason has won two CLIO bronze medals and a Golden Novum Design Award. But it's his "live life colorfully" credo and independent artwork that have found him fame. Jason's popularity has grown during the pandemic through his inspiring and intensely colorful murals. Jason has worked around the world to brighten communities through his public art installations. His first book is Live Life Colorfully: 99 Ideas to Add Joy, Positivity, and Creativity to Your Life, a "...quirky, illustrated mix of inspiring words, tips and tricks, and challenges from [the] award-winning artist." You may recognize his distinctive style from his collaborations with

#PodcastersForJustice Internationally bestselling author, Matt Haig, spoke with me about how the novelist became an accidental "mental health expert," why writers need resilience, and the process behind The Midnight Library. "The only reader you're ever going to truly know ... is yourself." – Matt Haig Matt's the author of 20 books including the #1 bestselling memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, five novels – including How to Stop Time – and several award-winning children’s books. His work has been translated into over 40 languages. His latest novel is The Midnight Library, a runaway, #1 bestseller and reader favorite of 2020. It was a Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction Book of 2020, a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Amazon, the New York Public Library, among many others. The New York Times said of the book, "An absorbing ... vision of limitless possibility, of new roads taken, of new lives lived, of a whole different world available to us somehow, somewhere, [perhaps] exactly what’s wanted

#PodcastersForJustice Bestselling novelist, Nick Petrie, spoke with me about keeping your sanity as a writer, the importance of boredom for creativity, and how to write a thriller series. Nick's the award-winning author of the critically acclaimed Peter Ash series. His debut novel, The Drifter, won the ITW Thriller and Barry Awards, and was nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Hammett Awards. He won a 2016 Literary Award from the Wisconsin Library Association and was named one of Apple’s 10 Writers to Read in 2017. Light It Up was named the Best Thriller of 2018 by Apple Books and has been nominated for a Barry Award. His latest is The Breaker, the sixth in his award-winning series featuring Peter Ash, the war veteran struggling with PTSD who travels the US, "... stumbling into mysteries that only a man with his unique skill set can solve." #1 New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box said of the book, "Nonstop action at a machine-gun pace. If you aren't reading Nick Petrie, now is the time to start."

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning novelist and creative writing professor, Kali White VanBaale, chatted with me about the transition from literary fiction to true crime, her work with the PEN America Prison & Justice Writing program, and taking chances. Kali is an award-winning, Iowa-based author of novels, short stories, and essays. Her novel The Space Between (penned as Kali VanBaale), won an American Book Award, an Independent Publisher’s silver medal for fiction, and was winner of the Fred Bonnie First Novel Award. Her latest is The Monsters We Make (as Kali White), a mystery loosely based on the real-life unsolved "Des Moines paperboy abductions" of the early ‘80s. Pulitzer Prize finalist Lee Martin, author of The Bright Forever, said, “[The Monsters We Make] ... kept me on the edge of my seat. I truly did read this remarkable new novel in one sitting.” Kali is a regular contributor to the A&E Network Real Crime blog series, and her short stories and essays have appeared in The Coachella Review, Th

#PodcastersForJustice Writer-director duo and activists, Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz (AKA Bush+Renz), took a timeout to chat with me about storytelling to amplify social justice, hanging out with Jay-Z, their debut feature film "Antebellum," and why you need stamina to make it. “When we conceived A​ntebellum​, we did not – could not – envision the way that systemic racism would break through to force the meaningful conversation we desperately need. But it has.” – Gerard Bush The duo have been together for 12 years and got their start in advertising in Miami. After losing the taste for producing champagne commercials they pivoted to their "... passion for telling powerful stories of the disenfranchised, marginalized, and underrepresented." After their police brutality PSA "Against the Wall," starring Michael B. Jordan, went viral, their paths shifted toward Hollywood. Their chart-topping, timely, debut feature film is "Antebellum" starring Janelle Monae, a "... psychological thriller showcasing the

#PodcastersForJustice A unique double-wide lit mag themed episode that includes interviews with two pioneering souls. My first guest is Erik Harper Klass, a writer and the founder of the full-service short story submissions service Submitit. And my second guest is Jenna Faccenda, Founder of Eclipse Lit, a nonprofit literary magazine. Erik Harper Klass is the founder of a unique business, the world's first full-service submissions company for short story writers – submititnow.com. He is also a critically acclaimed writer whose work has appeared in a variety of journals and been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes. Erik and I talked about: The sniper vs blunderbuss approach to publishing "Zen and the Art of Rejection" How his unique submission algorithm was designed Why glossy lit mag queries might be a waste of time And how to stagger your submissions In the second segment of the show, I chatted with inspiring Philadelphia native and writer, Jenna Faccenda, Founder of Eclipse Lit. Eclipse Lit

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning writer, commentator, and Professor of Media Studies at Georgetown University, Christopher Chambers, chatted with me about why there's never been a better time to break through as a writer of color, unreliable narrators and the 2nd person POV, and writing for Marvel's Black Panther franchise. Christopher Chambers is a professor of media studies and novelist whose books include A Prayer for Deliverance and Sympathy for the Devil, the graphic anthology (with Gary Phillips) The Darker Mask, and PEN/Malamud-nominated story, "Leviathan." His writing was included in the anthology The Obama Inheritance: 15 Stores of Conspiracy Noir, which won numerous awards including the Anthony Award. His latest novel is Scavenger: A Mystery, set in Washington D.C.'s underbelly where "... a Black homeless man must quickly learn the ropes of being a detective after [being framed] for a brutal crime he didn’t commit." Publishers Weekly called the book, a “... no-holds-barred crime novel . . . a

#PodcastersForJustice The international bestselling thriller writer of the Dexter series, Jeff Lindsay, chatted with me about his previous life in the dramatic arts, marrying into literary royalty, and what it's like to hang out with actor Andy Garcia. "I thought I was creating a bad guy. And I was trying to make him just interesting and likeable enough to keep people reading .... I was glad it took off like it did, but it was always a shock to me that people actually liked Dexter." — Jeff Lindsay Jeff is the New York Times bestselling author of the Dexter novels – which debuted in 2004 with Darkly Dreaming Dexter – adapted by Showtime into the popular TV series that ran for eight seasons. His latest novel is Fool Me Twice, second in the Riley Wolfe series, about "... a master thief that targets the wealthiest 0.1 percent." Publishers Weekly said of the series in a starred review, “Fans of the Ocean’s Eleven film franchise will be eager for more.” Jeff has also spent time as an actor, comedian, and pl

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Dani Shapiro, chatted with me about the Groundhog's Day effect of the pandemic, the transition from fiction to memoir, and the hidden power of Family Secrets. "There's no check the boxes kind of 'career development,' or anything like that, that exists in the creative life. People think that there is, and that they're not doing it right. And there's no right." — Dani Shapiro Dani is the author of 10 books including the instant New York Times bestselling memoir, Inheritance, which was published in 2019. Her other books include the memoirs Hourglass, Still Writing, Devotion, and Slow Motion, and five novels including Black & White and Family History. Inheritance won the 2019 National Jewish Book Award, was named one of Wired’s top Science books of 2019 and a best book of 2019 by Vanity Fair. It was also a book club pick for Now Read This, the PBS NewsHour’s book club with The New York Times. “A meditation on what it means to live in a

#PodcastersForJustice The award-winning mystery writer and popular crime novelist, Craig Johnson, spoke with me about his long-running Longmire series, shotgun self-realization, and how to write good books. "How am I ever gonna get seen? Write good books." — Craig Johnson Craig is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the bedrock of the hit Netflix series of the same name. His latest novel is the 16th Sheriff Walt Longmire murder mystery, Next to Last Stand, a story that centers around Custer’s Last Fight, one of the most viewed paintings in American history. "Custer's Last Fight was copied and distributed by Anheuser-Busch at a rate of over two million copies a year and destroyed in a fire at the 7th Cavalry Headquarters in Fort Bliss, Texas, in 1946 . . . Or was it?" In a starred review, Library Journal said of the book, "... Johnson lightens the atmosphere in this complex, thought-provoking mystery that highlights art and Western history, emphasizing the contrast between

#PodcastersForJustice The internationally bestselling thriller writer, Emily Schultz, spoke with me about recollections of coming of age as a Gen-Xer, her creative process in multiple mediums, and how to funnel emotion onto the page. "You have to be able to take your own emotions and experiences and translate them into a fictional story. If you can pull on the truths that you know, you can bring them to the reader." — Emily Schultz Emily is the co-founder of the literary magazine Joyland and is the author of The Blondes, an international bestseller named a Best Book of 2015 by NPR, BookPage, and Kirkus Reviews. Her latest novel is Little Threats, described as a "...taut whodunit and a haunting snapshot of the effects of a violent crime [that] tells the story of a woman who served 15 years in prison for murder ... and now it's time to find out if she's guilty." The book was named an Apple Books Best of November 2020 pick. Booklist said of the book, "Fans of Tana French, Kimberly Belle, and Orange is the