Episode 212 of Making It Up is out and features Wendy Walker, the bestselling author of psychological thrillers including Don’t Look for Me, The Night Before, and All Is Not Forgotten, as well as multiple Audible Originals. Her latest book, Blade, draws from her past as a competitive figure skater and marks a personal and creative turning point in her career. Before writing full-time, Wendy practiced law and raised her three sons.

Among other things, Wendy and I discuss what it means to finally write the story that’s been living inside you for years, how immersive storytelling is changing the audiobook landscape, and why hiring help as an author isn’t a luxury—it’s a strategy. We also talk about vulnerability in creative marketing, the balance of truth and fiction, and how her latest work came together in a blur of sound design, stress, and storytelling. At the end of our conversation, we create a story about furries using a sentence from a Karin Slaughter novel.