Here we are now at 28 episodes and also the end of season 1! Holy amazeballs, Captain Kirk. It's been a wild ride. There were triumphs. There were tragedies. There were glorious moments of hilarious absurdity. Yes, that's my bag. In today's episode, I do a quick recap of season 1 and give a glimpse of the new direction that we'll be moving in for season 2. Don't worry. Going in a new direction doesn't mean we won't be doing our utmost to be both entertaining, informative and awkwardly silly all at the same time. That's how I roll. Thank you so much for joining me for season 1. I'll see you in season 2!

We chat with Nicholas Sansbury Smith, the grandfather of the post-apocalyptic genre! (I call him that, at least.) We discuss his experiences as a hybrid author and how that works with his numerous and successful series. He talks about how hard it can be to end a series. With so many series in his catalog, he should know! He also talks about his collaboration with Tony Melchiorri for the Orbs 4 book and his ideas for futures collaborations. And the Rorschach Round goes straight soothsayer as he predicts both how the world will end and what will happen when we have first contact with aliens. Yeah, we figure it all out, basically. All that and more!

We chat with Wayne Stinnett, bestselling author of the Jesse McDermitt series. Wayne tells us how driving trucks led to writing books and how that led to a life he’s always dreamed of. We hear why Fallen Pride was the hardest book he’s ever written. We also reveal why Wayne and I have to be on a Homeland Security watch list. He talks about his journey as an indie publisher and what’s next in the progression. We also hear what Pyrate Radio is and how it works. And if you’ve seen a picture of Wayne, you know he’s got quite a beard. But how does his wife feel about it? You’ll find out! All that and more!

We chat with rock star of indie publishing, Craig Martelle, bestselling author of the Terry Henry Walton Chronicles. He swears he hasn’t demolished a hotel room… yet! Craig tells us about what his sister did to the very first book ever wrote. Bring your tissues! He also talks about his collaboration with Michael Anderle and what they have going on with the 20Books conventions. We also discuss some of the creative innovations brought about by the changes in the publishing space. We also hear about some of the unique aspects of his hometown, Fairbanks, Alaska. My daughters and I also have a Bam What!? contest because why not!? Make sure to leave your vote for the winner in the comments section on this episode. All that and much more!

We chat with J Thorn and Zach Bohannon, bestselling authors of the Barren series. In the interview, we discuss how their co-writing process works and how it got started. We also discuss collaboration in general and guidelines that will improve the odds of one working out. They tell us about their growing business, Molten Universe Medium, and where they want to take it in the future. We also hear about the very cool Authors on a Train experience and how it initially came about. And for the first time ever, we have a Word of the Day challenge! Was it an epic success or bust? You decide. And you will also experience the most immersive episode intro ever created! It’s like being there yourself. I guarantee it!* All that and more!

We chat with Mark Sullivan, bestselling author of Beneath a Scarlet Sky. He’s also written numerous other novels including a series co-written with James Patterson. Mark shares with us the incredible manner in which the story of Pino Lella came into his life. We hear how his time spent with Pino had an immediate impact on his life. We also discuss how in many ways Pino Lella was a real life Forrest Gump in that he was at or near many of the major events in the closing years of World War II in Italy. And for the first time ever on the show, I answer the Rorschach Round questions for the author. In this show more than most, we go into the book and all the events surrounding it. So spoiler alert! And like usual, there’s all that and more!

We chat with million plus copy bestseller Adam Croft, author of megahits like Her Last Tomorrow. Adam tells us how he got into the writing career and how one of his previous jobs made him a customer service hate magnet. He escaped! He also goes over his latest approaches and how he managed to knock JK Rowling down to #2 on the charts. He shares with us what happened the time he went to prison and we commiserate on the trials and tribulations of parenting. (Not related to prison!) We even find out his choice for the least worst horrible way to die. Yes, the discussion ranges far and wide. You’ll learn. You’ll laugh. You hopefully won’t cry. All that and more!

We chat with New York Times Bestselling author Jason Fry about his newly released novelization of the movie, The Last Jedi. Prepare for a nerdgasm! You see, I love Star Wars and you’ll find out Jason loves it even more. From his one kid wikipedia journal covering the original comic books to writing Luke’s final scene, he’s been deep into it from the beginning. We discuss how he translated the book from the movie and director Rian Johnson’s direction for “lift, not drag”. You’ll hear about some of the scenes that he got to create from scratch and how he handled emotional scenes with Carrie Fisher’s character Princess Leia. Plus, my daughter Soji plays the Star Wars theme on her cello while Jason reads the first line of his novel. The force is with them. All that and more!

We chat with live wire author Logan Keys about her new bestselling series, The Long Fall, which she cowrites with Mike Kraus. She tells us about what she’s learned cowriting with him. She also tells us about her unique youth in a household of Hollywood shakers. We discuss what she calls Open Mic Night and how important it is for creative types. She also gives us the scoop on her catchphrase “My words are my riot.” We also drop our two cents on the recent Terry Goodkind kerfluffle. And last but not least, we discuss her mesmerizing Facebook feed. Seriously, go check it out. All that and more!

We chat with Ryan Schow, a new voice in the PA genre who is absolutely crushing it with his new series, The Last War. We find out how Elon Musk inspired the idea behind the series and how parenting as a theme is explored in a post-apocalyptic context. (And I thought parenting in everyday life was hard enough!) He talks about how marketing played into the creation of the series and his assessment of the result of that approach. He also reveals to us the four things he loves most in life! We go into the reality of failure and how it relates to living the best life possible. We also touch on what a strange experience high school is and how it relates to later life. All that and a fifty-five gallon drum’s worth more!