The Story Craft Cafe Podcast

Christopher Moore is an American writer of comic fantasy.  An only child, Moore learned to amuse himself with his imagination. He loved reading and his father brought him plenty of books from the library every week. He started writing around the age of twelve and realized that this was his talent by the time he was 16, and he began to consider making it his career. Moore's novels typically involve conflicted everyman characters struggling through supernatural or extraordinary circumstances. With the possible exceptions of Fool, The Serpent of Venice, Sacré Bleu, and Shakespeare for Squirrels: A Novel, all his books take place in the same universe and some characters recur from novel to novel. According to his interview in the June 2007 issue of Writer's Digest, the film rights to Moore's first novel, Practical Demonkeeping (1992), were purchased by Disney even before the book had a publisher. In answer to repeated questions from fans over the years, Moore stated that all of his books have been optioned or sold for films, but that as yet "none of them are in any danger of being made into a movie." Moore has named Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, John Steinbeck, Tom Robbins, Richard Brautigan, Robert Bloch, Richard Matheson, Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury, H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe and Ian Fleming as key influences on his writing. Moore lives in San Francisco, after a few years on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

Camille Pagán is the Amazon Charts, Washington Post, and #1 Kindle bestselling author of "witty and delightful" novels (Library Journal) about life's what-ifs. Her books have been translated into twenty languages, and her second novel, Life and Other Near-Death Experiences, has been optioned for film by Jessica Chastain's Freckle Films. A journalist and former magazine editor, her work has appeared in Fast Company, Forbes, The New York Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Parade, Real Simple, Time, and many others. Visit her at www.camillepagan.com.  

Internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed writer, Dervla McTiernan is the author of The Ruin, The Scholar and The Good Turn. The Ruin was published in 2018 and is the first in the detective Cormac Reilly series. The Ruin was a top ten bestseller and an Amazon Best Book of July 2018. Dervla was a New Blood Panellist at Harrogate Festival. The Scholar was published in 2019 and was a top five bestseller. The Good Turn will be published in 2020. The Ruin has been optioned for TV by Hopscotch Features. Shortlisted:Barry AwardsKate O’Brien AwardAustralian Book Industry AwardsIrish Book AwardsWestern Australian Premier Book Awards Dervla spent twelve years working as a lawyer. Following the global financial crisis, she moved from Ireland to Australia and turned her hand to writing. Dervla is a member of the Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers Association, and lives in Perth, Australia, with her husband and two children.

Today’s author interview guest is Sara Paretsky, author of Overboard: A Novel (V.I. Warshawski Novels Book 22). Legendary detective V.I. Warshawski uncovers a nefarious conspiracy preying on Chicago’s weak and vulnerable, in this thrilling novel from New York Times bestseller Sara Paretsky. On her way home from an all-night surveillance job, V.I. Warshawski is led by her […]

Today's guest in the Story Craft Cafe is New York Times bestselling author with twenty novels to his credit, Linwood Barclay. Linwood joins us today to share his story and to talk about writing spooky fiction. Linwood Barclay, a New York Times bestselling author with twenty novels to his credit, spent three decades in newspapers before turning full time to writing thrillers. His books have been translated into more than two dozen languages, sold millions of copies, and he counts Stephen King among his fans. Many of his books have been optioned for film and TV, a series has been made in France, and he wrote the screenplay for the film based on his novel Never Saw it Coming. Born in the US, his parents moved to Canada just as he was turning four, and he’s lived there ever since. He lives near Toronto with his wife, Neetha. They have two grown children. MORE ABOUT LINWOOD Linwood Barclay is the #1 internationally bestselling author of twenty novels for adults, including No Time for Goodbye, Trust Your Eyes and, most recently, A Noise Downstairs. He has also written two novels for children and screenplays. Three of those twenty novels comprise the epic Promise Falls trilogy: Broken Promise, Far From True, and The Twenty-Three. His two novels for children – Chase and Escape – star a computer-enhanced dog named Chipper who’s on the run from the evil organization that turned him into a super-pup. Barclay’s 2011 thriller, The Accident, has been turned into the six-part television series L’Accident in France, and he adapted his novel Never Saw It Coming for the movie, directed by Gail Harvey and starring Eric Roberts and Emily Hampshire. Several of his other books either have been, or still are, in development for TV and film, including the Promise Falls trilogy. After spending his formative years helping run a cottage resort and trailer park after his father died when he was 16, Barclay got his first newspaper job at the Peterborough Examiner, a small Ontario daily. In 1981, he joined the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper. He held such positions as assistant city editor, chief copy editor, news editor, and Life section editor, before becoming the paper’s humour columnist in 1993. He was one of the paper’s most popular columnists before retiring from the position in 2006 to work exclusively on books. In 2004, he launched his mystery series about an anxiety-ridden, know-it-all, pain-in-the-butt father by the name of Zack Walker. Bad Move, the first book, was followed by three more Zack Walker thrillers: Bad Guys, Lone Wolf, and Stone Rain. (The last two were published in the UK under the titles Bad Luck and Bad News.) His first standalone thriller, No Time for Goodbye, was published in 2007 to critical acclaim and great international success. The following year, it was a Richard and Judy Summer Read selection in the UK, and did seven straight weeks at #1 on the UK bestseller list, and finished 2008 as the top selling novel of the year there. The book has since been sold around the world and been translated into nearly thirty languages. Barclay was born in the United States but moved to Canada just before turning four years old when his father, a commercial artist whose illustrations of cars appeared in Life, Look and Saturday Evening Post (before photography took over), accepted a position with an advertising agency north of the border. Barclay, who graduated with an English literature degree from Trent University, in Peterborough, Ontario, was fortunate to have some very fine mentors; in particular, the celebrated Canadian author Margaret Laurence, whom Linwood first met when she served as writer-in-residence at Trent, and Kenneth Millar, who, under the name Ross Macdonald, wrote the acclaimed series of mystery novels featuring detective Lew Archer. It was at Trent that he met Neetha, the woman who would become his wife. They have two grown children, Spencer and Paige.

Romance Author Legend Beverly Jenkins joins us in the Story Craft Cafe today to talk about why anyone interested in telling stories NEEDS to read romance. In this episode we talk about Beverly's journey from her lifelong dream of working in a library to becoming someone that creates the stories that fill those shelves. This is a "must listen" for anyone interested in forging your own path in writing and publishing. 

Today’s author interview guest is Camille Pagán, author of Everything Must Go. A warm, wry novel about secrets, second chances, and the unbreakable bonds between mothers, daughters, and sisters by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of Life and Other Near-Death Experiences. Laine Francis believes there’s a place for everything—and New York, where her family lives, […]

Today’s author interview guest is Stefanie London, author of The Dachshund Wears Prada: Paws in the City, Book 1. “London’s characters leap off the page… It’s a delightful start to a series that promises to be good fun.”—Publishers Weekly “This is the romcom Carrie Bradshaw would have written if she were a dog person, and […]

To help close out our final Friday of launch month, the Dabblers congregated in the Story Craft Cafe to talk about what motivates them as story tellers, how Dabble has helped them embrace their creativity, and the conversation inevitably turns to the topic of pantsing vs plotting and why one way is way better than the other. Or is it? 

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?

Today’s author interview guest is the writing duo of Julia Fierro and Caeli Wolfson Widger who write collectively as Cassidy Lucas to talk about their new book The Last Party. Some guests were not invited…..  The authors of Santa Monica once again illuminate the dark truths of life in sunny California in this twisty and atmospheric psychological […]

Today’s author interview guest is Don Winslow, author of City On Fire. From the #1 internationally bestselling author of the Cartel Trilogy (The Power of the Dog, The Cartel, and The Border), The Force, and Broken comes the first novel in an epic new trilogy. “Superb. City on Fire is exhilarating.” – Stephen King “Epic, ambitious, majestic, City on Fire is The Godfather for our generation.” […]

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 

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.

Friend of the show James Rollins returns today to talk about his brand new book Kingdom of Bones, On sale TODAY! 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 […]