The Story Craft Cafe Podcast

Story Craft Cafe Episode 10 | Cassidy Lucas Talks About How Writing As A Team Opens New Creative Doors

Our guests today in the Story Craft Cafe are Julia Fierro and Caeli Wolfson Widger who write as the duo named Cassidy Lucas. We talk about how their creative process changes when they are writing alone as compared to the magic that happens whey they co-author. 
Cassidy Lucas is the pen name of writing duo Julia Fierro and Caeli Wolfson Widger. Fierro is the author of the novels Cutting Teeth, praised by the New Yorker as a “comically energetic début,” and The Gypsy Moth Summer, called “hugely engaging” by Francine Prose. Widger is the author of the novels Real Happy Family and Mother of Invention, praised by Margaret Atwood as a “pacey thriller,” and was featured on NPR’s Marketplace. Both Fierro and Widger live in Santa Monica with their families. Their second novel, The Last Party, set in Topanga Canyon on the westside of Los Angeles, will be published in April 2022. Santa Monica, their first book together, was published in 2020.
The authors of Santa Monica once again illuminate the dark truths of life in sunny California in THE LAST PARTY, a twisty and atmospheric psychological thriller about a 50th birthday celebration on a remote mountainside in Topanga Canyon, where things go terrifyingly wrong.
For Los Angeleno Dawn Sanders, turning 50 seems like one more disappointment. Her career has stalled, her nineteen-year-old daughter with developmental issues is regressing, and Dawn’s ex-husband Craig, a fertility doctor worshipped by Hollywood’s elite, is forever upending her life. Though she doesn’t feel much like celebrating, she can’t say no when her best friend Mia Markle, a flamboyant and strong-willed actress, insists on planning a “creative” birthday weekend in the wild, wealthy bohemian enclave of Topanga Canyon.
On the weekend of the Summer Solstice, Dawn and her six closest friends gather in the hills above the canyon at “Celestial Ranch,” 18-acres of rugged, wooded mountainside where they’ll spend three glorious days hiking, practicing meditation and reiki, and enjoying lavish catered cuisine. They will also indulge in a little DMT, a short-acting psychedelic drug meant to open their senses and transport them to a higher plain. But as the weekend unfolds, long-buried tensions, unresolved grievances, and old secrets emerge, leaving Dawn desperate for clarity about her life.
Dawn and her friends take the drug late at night on an open hillside beneath the glittering stars. When Dawn returns from her intense and revelatory “trip,” she learns that one of her friends has gone missing. Then another disappears. And soon, Dawn finds herself alone on the dark mountainside, seemingly abandoned by the people who are supposed to love her most.
Or have they somehow been taken from her?
What could Dawn have possibly done to deserve a devastating birthday night like this—and how will she make it to the morning alone?

Story Craft Cafe’ Episode 9 | Sarah Pinborough Talks About Going From Horror To Thrillers And Back Again

We are celebrating the launch of the Story Craft Cafe' all month long with some fantastic guests that have dropped by to share from their expansive knowledge. Today Sarah Pinborough talks about her amazing writing journey, and what she still hopes to accomplish. 
Sarah Pinborough is the number one Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the psychological thriller Behind Her Eyes, and more than twenty other novels and novellas, including The Death House and a young adult thriller, 13 Minutes. She has also written for the BBC. She lives in England. sarahpinborough.com
"If you loved Behind Her Eyes, prepare to be totally and utterly blown away by Insomnia. Sarah Pinborough is a twisted genius." — Lisa Jewell
IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, MADNESS LIES . . .
Emma can’t sleep.
CHECK THE WINDOWS.
It’s been like this since her big 4-0 started getting closer.
LOCK THE DOORS.
Her mother stopped sleeping just before her own fortieth birthday.
She went mad and did the unthinkable because of it.
LOOK IN ON THE CHILDREN.
Is that what’s happening to Emma?
WHY CAN’T SHE SLEEP?
"Insomnia is the twistiest and most gripping thriller since Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, an absolute must-read for suspense fans." — Joe Hill 

Story Craft Cafe Episode 8 with James Rollins

James Rollins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers. His writing has been translated into more than forty languages and has sold more than 20 million books. The New York Times says, “Rollins is what you might wind up with if you tossed Michael Crichton and Dan Brown into a particle accelerator together.” NPR calls his work, “Adventurous and enormously engrossing.” Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets matched with stunning suspense. As a veterinarian, he had a practice in Sacramento for over a decade and still volunteers at local shelters. Nowadays, Rollins shares his home up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with his two golden retrievers, Echo and Duncan. He also enjoys scuba diving, spelunking, kayaking, and hiking. Of course, he loves to travel and experience new places around the world, which often inspire his next globe-trotting adventure.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins, the latest riveting, deeply imaginative thriller in the Sigma Force series, told with his trademark blend of cutting-edge science, historical mystery, and pulse-pounding action.
It begins in Africa . . .
A United Nations relief team in a small village in the Congo makes an alarming discovery. An unknown force is leveling the evolutionary playing field. Men, women, and children have been reduced to a dull, catatonic state. The environment surrounding them—plants and animals—has grown more cunning and predatory, evolving at an exponential pace. The insidious phenomenon is spreading from a cursed site in the jungle — known to locals as the Kingdom of Bones —and sweeping across Africa, threatening the rest of the world.
What has made the biosphere run amok? Is it a natural event? Or more terrifyingly, did someone engineer it?
Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force are prepared for the extraordinary and have kept the world safe, vigilance for which they have paid a tragic personal price. Yet, even these brilliant and seasoned scientific warriors do not understand what is behind this frightening development—or know how to stop it. As they race to find answers, the members of Sigma quickly realize they have become the prey.
To head off global catastrophe, Sigma Force must risk their lives to uncover the shattering secret at the heart of the African continent—a truth that will illuminate who we are as a species and where we may be headed . . . sooner than we know.
Mother Nature—red in tooth and claw—is turning against humankind, propelling the entire world into the Kingdom of Bones.

Story Craft Cafe Episode 7 With Taylor Brown

TAYLOR BROWN grew up on the Georgia coast.  His work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The Rumpus, Garden & Gun, Chautauqua, The North Carolina Literary Review, and many others. He is the recipient of a Montana Prize in Fiction, a three-time finalist for the Southern Book Prize, and was named the 2021 Georgia Author of the Year. He’s also been a finalist for the Press 53 Open Awards, Machigonne Fiction Contest, Wabash Prize in Fiction, Rick DeMarinis Short Story Contest, Dahany Fiction Prize, and Doris Betts Fiction Prize.  He is the author of a short story collection, In the Season of Blood and Gold (Press 53, 2014), as well as five novels:  Fallen Land (St. Martin’s Press, 2016), The River of Kings (St. Martin’s Press, 2017), Gods of Howl Mountain (St. Martin’s Press, 2018), Pride of Eden (St. Martin’s Press, 2020), and Wingwalkers (St. Martin’s Press, 2022).  Taylor, an Eagle Scout, graduated from the University of Georgia in 2005.  He’s settled in Savannah, Georgia, after long stints in Buenos Aires, San Francisco, and the mountains and coasts of North Carolina.  He is the editor-in-chief of BikeBound.com, and he likes old motorcycles, thunderstorms, and dogs with beards.
A former WWI ace pilot and his wingwalker wife barnstorm across Depression-era America, performing acts of aerial daring.“They were over Georgia somewhere, another nameless hamlet whose dusty streets lay flocked and trembling with the pink handbills they’d rained from the sky that morning, the ones that announced the coming of DELLA THE DARING DEVILETTE, who would DEFY THE HEAVENS, shining like a DAYTIME STAR, a WING-WALKING WONDER borne upon the wings of CAPTAIN ZENO MARIGOLD, a DOUBLE ACE of the GREAT WAR, who had ELEVEN AERIAL VICTORIES over the TRENCHES OF FRANCE.”Wingwalkers is one-part epic adventure, one-part love story, and, as is the signature for critically-acclaimed author Taylor Brown, one large part American history. The novel braids the adventures of Della and Zeno Marigold, a vagabond couple that funds their journey to the west coast in the middle of the Great Depression by performing death-defying aerial stunts from town to town, together with the life of the author (and thwarted fighter pilot) William Faulkner, whom the couple ultimately inspires during a dramatic air show—with unexpected consequences for all.Brown has taken a tantalizing tidbit from Faulkner’s real life—an evening's chance encounter with two daredevils in New Orleans—and set it aloft in this fabulous novel. With scintillating prose and an action-packed plot, he has captured the true essence of a bygone era and shed a new light on the heart and motivations of one of America's greatest authors.

Story Craft Cafe Episode 6 with Liv Constantine

Thanks for joining us once again in the Story Craft Cafe! We continue our launch month events with a conversation with Lynne and Valerie Constantine who write jointly as Liv Constantine. 
Join us at storycraft.cafe to find your writing community.
Liv Constantine is the pen name of sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine. Lynne and Valerie are national and international bestselling authors with over one million copies sold worldwide. Their books have been translated into 28 languages, are available in 33 countries, and are in development for both television and film.  Their books have been praised by USA Today, The Sunday Times, People Magazine, and Good Morning America, among many others. Their debut novel, THE LAST MRS. PARRISH, is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection.
Lynne
Lynne is a former marketing executive with a Master’s degree in Business from Johns Hopkins University. She has explored coral reefs all over the world, sunken wrecks in the South Pacific, and fallen in love with angelfish in the Caribbean. When Lynne’s not writing, you can find her curled up with her Labrador and Golden Retrievers reading a good book or walking the beach thinking up devious plans for her characters.
Lynne also writes The Jack Logan series under the pen name L.C. Shaw. To learn more about her other books, visit lcshawauthor.com or connect with her on Instagram or Twitter @LCShawAuthor.
Lynne is a board member of International Thriller Writers.
Valerie
Valerie has always loved books and spent many nights reading by the light of her bedside lamp until 3 a.m. She lives with her husband and their brilliant Cavalier King Charles babies, Zorba and DaVinci.
Early in her career she served as a White House Assistant in the President’s Scheduling and Advance Office planning presidential trips and travel and has visited over forty foreign countries. She has a degree in English Literature. When she’s not writing, you won’t find her, as she and her husband will be traveling to some faraway destination.
 
https://livconstantine.com/

Story Craft Cafe Episode 5 with Christopher Paolini

Today we celebrate the launch of The Story Craft Cafe'. Christopher Paolini drops by to help us celebrate the launch and to talk about the importance of community and to talk about his meteoric rise in the Fantasy and Science Fiction world. 
Now a New York Times and USA Today bestseller!Winner of Best Science Fiction in the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards!To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a brand new epic novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eragon, Christopher Paolini.Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds.Now she's awakened a nightmare.During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human.While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope . . .
Christopher Paolini is the author of the international bestsellers Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance, as well as The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm. His debut science fiction novel, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, will be available on September 15, 2020. He resides in Paradise Valley, Montana, USA.

Story Craft Cafe Episode 4 with Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

Today I welcome co-authors Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson to the Story Craft Cafe to talk about their new book The Agathas, and what it was like to co-author a new book in a brand new genre for each of them. 
Who killed Brooke Donovan? It’s the biggest mystery of the summer, and everyone in Castle Cove thinks it’s the wrong guy. Fans of One of Us Is Lying and Riverdale can’t miss this page-turning who-done-it that’s sure to be the next must read Young Adult thriller!Last summer, Alice Ogilvie’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. She's not talking, so where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve’s girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex–best friend. And it doesn’t look like Brooke will be coming back. . . Enter Iris Adams, Alice’s tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn’t have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke’s grandmother is offering to anyone who can share information about her granddaughter’s whereabouts. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn’t so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory. In order to get the reward and prove Steve’s innocence, they need to figure out who killed Brooke Donovan. And luckily Alice has exactly what they need—the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there’s anyone that can teach the girls how to solve a mystery it’s the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they're about to walk into. 
Kathleen Glasgow is the New York Times bestselling author of GIRL IN PIECES and HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE DARK. Visit her at www.kathleenglasgowbooks.com, follow her on Twitter @kathglasgow or check out her adventures on Instagram: misskathleenglasgow.
Liz Lawson has been writing for most of her life in one way or another. She has her Masters in Communications with a Concentration in Rhetoric from Villanova University, and has written for a variety of publications including PASTE MAGAZINE. When she's not writing, she works as a music supervisor for film & television. Liz resides in Los Angeles, CA, where she lives with an adorable toddler, a fantastic husband, and two VERY bratty cats. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter at @lzlwsn.

Story Craft Cafe Episode 3 with Richard Fox

On Episode 3 of the Story Craft Cafe we welcome Richard Fox to talk about writing space opera, military science fiction, and finding your passion as a story teller. 
Richard Fox is the winner of the 2017 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy novel. He's best known for The Ember War Saga, a military science fiction and space opera series.
His writing draws extensively from his experiences in the United States Army, where he served two combat tours in Iraq and was awarded the Bronze Star, Combat Action Badge and Presidential Unit Citation.
He lives in fabulous Las Vegas with his incredible wife and three boys, amazing children bent on anarchy.
Subscribe to Richard's spam free email list and get free short stories set during the Ember War Saga (and more as they become available) at: http://eepurl.com/bLj1gf
Like him on Facebook (best place to reach him): https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Fox-Author-1377447982503883/
Website: www.richardfoxauthor.com

Story Crafters’ Cafe Episode 2 With Sally Britton

Welcome to the second episode of the Story Crafters' Cafe!  Today our very special guest is Sally Britton, beloved author of sweet romance stories. In today's episode we talk about her path to publishing, what her creative process is like, how Dabble has helped her throughout her writing and publishing career, what it was like to go from hobbyist to full-time author, and much more.
Sally Britton lives in Oklahoma, but loves to go off exploring with her husband and four children. She started writing her first story on her mother’s electric typewriter, when she was fourteen years old. She knew romance was the way for her to go fairly early on. Reading her way through Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, and Lucy Maud Montgomery, Sally also determined she wanted to write about the elegant, complex world of centuries past.
Sally graduated from Brigham Young University in 2007 with a bachelor’s in English, her emphasis on British literature. She met and married her husband not long after and they’ve been building their happily ever after since that day.
Vincent Van Gogh is attributed with the quote, “What is done in love is done well.” Sally has taken that as her motto, for herself and her characters, writing stories where love is a choice each person must make, and then go forward with hope to obtain a life of happiness and joy.​All of Sally’s published works are available on Amazon.com. If you want to receive weekly emails from Sally about her books, great deals on amazing novels, and other fun reading related things, subscribe to her newsletter below!
Visit Sally's website at https://www.authorsallybritton.com/
 

Story Crafters’ Cafe Episode 1 with Steve Beaulieu

Welcome to the Story Crafters' Cafe, brought to you by Dabblewriter.com. 
In our first episode Hank welcomes Steve Beaulieu, fantasy and science fiction author and co-owner of Aethon Books to talk all about the writing life, and the state of publishing in 2022. Steve writes and publishes under the pen name Jaime Castle and is the #1 bestselling author of  The Buried Goddess Saga (Aethon Books, Audible Studios, co-written by Rhett C. Bruno), and The Luna Missile Crisis, amongst other works.
About Steve in his own words:"I’ve been writing as long as I can remember—no, seriously. I can remember typing up my first short story at the tender age of eight on my grandfather's Tandy 1000. That was an age-old beast with blue and yellow graphics that I thought were top-of-the-line. Maybe they were.
"I also created the accompanying book cover with the graphics program built onboard. Since then, I like to think I’ve blossomed into a decent writer, graphic artist, and book cover designer.
"I’m also a musician and singer. I’ve played guitar since I was 11—for those wondering, it’s just shy of three decades.
"As far as reading? I’m a science fiction and fantasy junkie, and I love listening to books. I listen to about 150 a year, with my all-time favorites being the Dresden Files, narrated by James Marsters.
"I’m also a comic book enthusiast. Not only do I love reading, but many of my first storytelling experiences were in comics. For a few years I dabbled as a comic book colorist.
"I’m married (sorry folks) and father to two, a boy and a girl.
"I currently reside in the great nation of Texas, where the west began."
Aethon Books
Aethon Books submission per Steve, put Story Crafters' Cafe in the subject line and Aethon will move your submission to the head of the line.