Through novels and short stories, we discuss exploring a character and their voice, fearlessly embracing big themes and complexity, and he talks about the process of having one of his works adapted into a movie.

Chapters:

1. 00:00 - Introduction
2. 00:13 - Understanding Story Voice
3. 07:17 - Character Development in Billy Lynn
4. 24:33 - Exploring Power Dynamics in Literature
5. 30:21 - Complex Interplay of Power in Haiti
6. 41:34 - Reflections on Beautiful Country Burn Again

Ben's Information:

Ben Fountain’s work has received the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, the Barnes & Noble Discover Award for Fiction, the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize, the PEN-Cerulli Award for Excellence in Sports Writing, and a Whiting Writers Award, and has been a finalist for the National Book Award and runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Most recently, he has been awarded the Joyce Carol Oates Prize and the Thomas Wolfe Prize, and, along with French author Marc Levy, L’Hermione Award given by the French American School of New York. Fountain lives in North Carolina.

benfountain.com

Ben's Books:

1. Rasputin Swims the Potomacoraudiobook
2. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walkoraudiobook
3. Brief Encounters with Che Guevaraoraudiobook
4. Devil Makes Threeoraudiobook
5. Beautiful Country Burn Againoraudiobook

Ben's headshot photo credit: Laura Overman

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The stories we cherished in our childhood seem to have a magical spark to them. How can we capture that spark in our writing today? And do you really need to write differently for kids than adults? Spoiler alert: it’s all about being true to oneself and letting the characters speak their truth, no matter how complex or dark the themes may get!

Chapters:

1. 00:00 - Introduction
2. 09:05 - Writing for Younger Readers or Older
3. 23:18 - Exploring Themes with Story
4. 29:11 - Letting Characters Develop
5. 45:10 - Candle Island
6. 48:18 - Supporting Young Readers

Lauren's Information:

Lauren Wolk is best known for her novels, including the New York Times bestselling novel Wolf Hollow, which won a 2017 Newbery Honor, the 2016 New England Book Award, a 2017 Jane Addams Honor, the 2018 Massachusetts Book Award, and other honors.

Wolk's latest novel, Candle Island, published in 2025, was a finalist for the New England Book Award.

Collectively, her books have won over 50 state book awards. Lauren is also the Massachusetts Reading Association’s 2024 Children’s Literature Award winner and the author of two new picture books, currently in production.

She is also as a visual artist represented by the Larkin Gallery (Provincetown and Harwich Port, Massachusetts), an award-winning poet, and a filmmaker.

laurenwolk.com

Lauren's Books:

1. Beyond the Bright Sea or audiobook
2. Wolf Hollow or audiobook
3. My Own Lightning or audiobook
4. Echo Mountain or audiobook
5. Candle Island or audiobook

Links:

islandreadersandwriters.org

Lauren's headshot photo credit: Robert Nash

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Chapters:

• 00:00 Intro
• 02:19 The Parasol Protectorate
• 13:28 The Archaeologist Role of the Author
• 22:58 Alien and Normal in Science Fiction
• 35:11 The Heroine's Journey
• 45:09 The Hero's Journey vs. The Heroine's Journey
• 56:41 Genre and Audience Alignment
• 01:01:54 Finding Your Role as an Author

Gail's Information:

Gail Carriger writes books that are hugs, mostly comedies of manners mixed with steampunk, urban fantasy, and sci-fi (plus cozy queer joy as G. L. Carriger). These include the Parasol Protectorate, Custard Protocol, Tinkered Stars, and San Andreas Shifter series for adults, and the Finishing School and Tinkered Starsong series for young adults. Also nonfiction: The Heroine’s Journey. She is published in many languages, has over two million books in print, over a dozen New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, and starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus, and Romantic Times.

Her first book, Soulless, made Audible’s Best list, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book, an IndieBound Notable, and a Locus Recommended Read. She has received the American Library Association’s Alex Award, the Prix Julia Verlanger, the Elbakin Award, the Steampunk Chronicle‘s Reader’s Choice Award, and a Starburner Award. She was once an archaeologist and is fond of shoes, cephalopods, and tea. Get early access, specials, and exclusives via her website gailcarriger.com.

Gail's Books Mentioned:

The Heroine's Journey - or audiobook version

Soulless (Parasol Protectorate Book 1) or audiobook version

Prudence (Custard Protocol Book 1) or audiobook

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School Book 1) or audiobook

Crudrat (Tinkered Stars Book 1) or audiobook

Divinity 36 (Tinkered Starsong Book 1)

The Sumage Solution (San Andreas Shifters Book 1) [High Heat]

Gail Carriger photo credit: Vanessa Applegate.

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Chapters:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 04:30 - Leading the Reader into the Darkness
• 10:52 - Character Perspectives
• 14:40 - Protagonists and Antagonists and Neither
• 16:49 - Points of View and Structure
• 26:11 - Young Adult Perspectives
• 32:52 - Defamiliarization in Science Fiction
• 41:11 - Finding the Perspective
• 46:04 - Writing Through Personal Challenge
• 51:53 - Outro

Charlie Jane's Information:

Charlie Jane Anders is the author of Lessons in Magic and Disaster, coming August 2025 from Tor Books. Her other novels include All the Birds in the Sky, The City in the Middle of the Night and the young-adult Unstoppable trilogy. She's also the author of the short story collection Even Greater Mistakes, and Never Say You Can't Survive, a book about how to use creative writing to get through hard times.

She's won the Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, Lambda Literary, Crawford and Locus Awards. She co-created Escapade, a transgender superhero, for Marvel Comics and wrote her into the long-running New Mutants comic. And she's currently the science fiction and fantasy book reviewer for the Washington Post. With Annalee Newitz, she co-hosts the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct.

charliejaneanders.com

buttondown.email/charliejane

Charlie Jane's Books Mentioned:

• All the Birds in the Sky
• City in the Middle of the Night
• Victories Greater than Death (first in the Unstoppable Trilogy)
• Never Say You Can't Survive
• Even Greater Mistakes
• Lessons in Magic and Disaster

Charlie Jane Anders Photo credit: Sarah Deragon/Portraits to the People

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Chapters:

• 00:15 - Embracing Mythology in Writing
• 08:25 - Exploring the Intersection of Fairy Tales and Memoir
• 21:52 - The Mythology of Water: Crafting a Narrative
• 31:59 - Archetype Phases
• 46:33 - Choosing the Child's Perspective

Elisabeth's Information:

Elisabeth Sharp McKetta is an award-winning writer and writing teacher and a mother of two. With a PhD on the intersections between fairy tales and autobiography, as well as a seven-year streak of writing weekly poems for strangers, she teaches writing for Oxford Department for Continuing Education and for Harvard Extension School, where she won their highest teaching award. She has authored thirteen books across genres, most recently the novels She Never Told Me about the Ocean and Ark, the essay collection Awake with Asashoryu, and the personal growth guide Edit Your Life, based on her experience living three years in a 275-square foot backyard guest house with her family of four (five, if you count the Labrador). She co-edited the anthology What Doesn’t Kill Her: Women’s Stories of Resilience, which Gloria Steinem described as stories that “will help each of us to trust and tell our own.” Elisabeth’s work with myth and memoir, which she began studying at Harvard College and now teaches, has been spotlighted in Harvard Magazine. (elisabethsharpmcketta.com)

Elisabeth's Books:

She Never Told Me about the Ocean

Ark

Edit Your Life

Elisabeth's Ted Talk: Edit Your Life Like a Poem: TedXBoise

Also Mentioned:

The Virgin's Promise by Kim Hudson

The Heroine with 1001 Faces by Maria Tatar

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upcoming member bonuses such as extended interviews and full video.

For our very first episode, I am joined by David Slayton, award-winning fantasy author, to explore the connection between his life experiences and his literary work. He reflects on the struggles of growing up in an environment that marked him as different, which informs the diverse characters he crafts in his novels, including his urban fantasy, starting with *White Trash Warlock*, and his subsequent high fantasy, *Dark Moon, Shallow Sea*. We also delve into the significance of representation and the necessity of authentic voices in literature.

Chapters:

• 00:15 - Exploring the Boundaries of Imagination in Writing
• 04:48 - The Heroine's Journey: A New Perspective on Storytelling
• 10:09 - Exploring Urban Fantasy Tropes
• 19:41 - Exploring Character Depth: Bobby's Journey
• 28:04 - Writing Diverse Characters: Understanding Identity and Empathy
• 30:55 - Exploring Rogue Community College: A New Fantasy Adventure
• 40:10 - The Ghost Mist and the Dying World
• 47:53 - Personal Traumas and Character Development
• 52:44 - The Journey of the Author

David's information:

David R. Slayton (He/Him) grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding ones with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he lives in Denver with his partner Brian and writes the books he always wanted to read. His debut, White Trash Warlock, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. In 2015, David founded Trick or Read, an initiative to give out books along with candy to children on Halloween as well as uplift lesser-known authors or those from marginalized backgrounds. His epic fantasy, Dark Moon, Shallow Sea, won the 2024 Colorado Book Award. Find him online at www.DavidRSlayton.com.

David's books:

White Trash Warlock (First in the Adam Binder Series)

Rogue Community CollegeDark Moon Shallow Sea

Also mentioned:

Check out Gail Carriger's The Heroine's Journey

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