The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

How #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Laurell K. Hamilton Writes: Part One


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The #1 New York Times bestselling author of paranormal fiction, Laurell K. Hamilton, took a break to talk with me about why her first fantasy novel nearly tanked her career, some of the systems that go into her world-building, and why writers need to stay off the internet and protect their writing time.

"I am very much a believer that if my characters have a better idea then that's magic. They've become alive enough to argue with me, to have an opinion. And I don't squash my own magic." — Laurell K. Hamilton

The trailblazing, genre-bending author of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, and the Merry Gentry series, is considered an influential pioneer to the urban-fantasy genre. Laurell has sold more than 20 million books worldwide.

The 27th novel in her wildly popular Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series is Sucker Punch, a mash-up of her signature blend of mystery, magic, horror, and romance.

Fellow #1 New York Times bestselling author, Charlaine Harris, said of the author, "Hamilton remains one of the most inventive and exciting writers in the paranormal field."

Stay tuned for a clip from the Sucker Punch audiobook at the break, “... excerpted courtesy [of] Penguin Random House Audio ... read by Kimberly Alexis.”

In this file Laurell K. Hamilton and I discussed:

  • How she found her trailblazing, genre-busting style
  • Why you have to be passionate to sustain a series
  • How her characters take over the plot if they have better ideas
  • On what unsettles her and how it "goes into the soup"
  • And how to make more pages!
  • Show Notes:

    • How #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Laurell K. Hamilton Writes: Part Two
    • LaurellKHamilton.com
    • Sucker Punch (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) by Laurell K. Hamilton [Amazon]
    • Laurell K. Hamilton Amazon author page
    • Laurell K. Hamilton on FaceBook
    • Laurell K. Hamilton on Instagram
    • Laurell K. Hamilton on Twitter
    • Kelton Reid on Twitter

    • #PodcastersForJustice

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      The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and NeuroscienceBy Kelton Reid

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