The Story Craft Cafe Podcast

Finding Your Niche In Publishing with Josh Hayes | Story Craft Café Episode 35

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)
 
 
 
 
 

Finding Your Storytelling Passion With John Searles | Story Craft Café Episode 34

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.

The Power Of Your Back List With Dan Kenney | Story Craft Cafe Episode 33

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 MysteriesSEASON 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 ChristmasSEASON 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 StormSEASON THREE- Book Eleven: A Hopeless Spring

From Screen To Page With Joe Stillman | Story Craft Café Episode 32

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 Goes From Indie Author To Publishing Maven | Story Craft Cafe Episode 31

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.

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