Five Compelling Questions with Shawn

Shawn and Ling Ling chat about musicians turned writers, nameless main characters, Starbucks names, the concept of beauty as self-care, discovering love, and having a very busy creative schedule.

Shawn and Cindy chat about her legal background and how that influences her writing.

Shawn and Kristin chat about her debut novel, her dad and his martial arts skills, beautiful book covers, readers in Bulgaria, Russia and current affairs, and the sweetest answer given to a regular question asked on the show.

Shawn and Jill chat about Italy, Italian families, the power of love, how being an editor helps your own writing, how writing is always fun, even when it's hard, and having a chef pair a menu to your book.

Shawn and Lynn chat about being from Indiana, connections and being connected, the Polio crisis, the hard work of healthcare workers and those who work tirelessly to help save us all, what it was like for women in the past and today, kindness, the black plague, and pandemics.

Shawn and Cheryl chat about her novel that was inspired by a family tragedy, her grandfather's murder, social justice, racial reckoning in our country, George Floyd, writing for all audiences, standalones vs. an established series, editorial notes that make you LOL, seizing opportunities, and how writing what you know is BS.

Shawn and Gabriel chat about writing historical fiction in the iconic town of Boston, being compared to the greats, characters and how to define them, classic noir mysteries, upcoming projects, and Insta-famous writing partner kitty Munchkin.

Shawn and Rachel chat about her debut novel, screenwriting and writing novels, her movie TORN HEARTS, Katy Segal, being salespeople, dealing with the one percent, being drawn to a strong point of view, weird jobs, casting for Naked and Afraid, and loving writing.

Shawn and Greg chat about Greg's Shamus win, and getting to be a judge for the competition afterwards, teachers, plotting and dialogue, Wallander, Nordic crime fiction, keeping a series fresh, and writing characters that everyone loves.

Shawn and Deepti chat about Portugal, what being a human being feels like, working on screenplays, writing trilogies, being less anxious, and loving all of your characters, even the bad ones.