The Story Craft Cafe Podcast

Taking Advantage Of The Largest Growth Market In Publishing | Story Craft Café Episode 30

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.

Writing Timely Thrillers That Defy Aging With Brad Thor | Story Craft Cafe Episode 29

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.

Developing Fantasy Characters With Jenna Moreci | Story Craft Café Episode 28

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.

Developing Thriller Characters With Will Dean | Story Craft Cafe Episode 27

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 Workshop with Elzevera Albada Jelgersma | Story Craft Cafe Episode 26

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-academyShe has also kindly sent the links for her free self-editing checklist and her self-editing blog 

Why We Love Mysteries With Lucy Clarke | Story Craft Cafe Episode 25

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.

Writing Fantasy and Building A Reader Base With Jeff Wheeler | Story Craft Cafe Episode 24

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

Creating Fantastical Characters and Worlds With Brian McClellan | Story Craft Cafe Episode 23

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 SandersonDemir 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

Bringing Ancient Myths Into Modern Fantasy With Helene Wecker | Story Craft Cafe Episode 22

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?

Crafting The Perfect Characters With J. T. Ellison | Story Craft Cafe Episode 21

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.