The Premise

Cassandra Neyenesch on Writing, Publishing & A Little Bit Bad

What does it take to write—and finally let go of—a novel that took ten years to complete?

On this episode of The Premise, Jeniffer and Chad Thompson talk with Brooklyn-based writer, activist, and curator Cassandra Neyenesch, author of A Little Bit Bad, a darkly funny novel about desire, marriage, motherhood, obsession, and murder.

Cassandra shares the story behind her debut novel, including why she spent a decade writing and rewriting it, how she learned to start over, and what finally helped her overcome her fear of publishing.

The conversation also explores creative blocks, writing from real life, grief, family, emotional labor, relationships, and the vulnerability of putting your work into the world.

Cassandra discusses how her real-life brother inspired the character Spencer and how writing became a way to process grief and better understand addiction. She also talks about psychedelic therapy, creativity, and the personal breakthroughs that helped her finally finish the book.

For writers and aspiring authors, this episode offers an honest look at the messy, emotional reality behind creating and publishing a novel.

In This Episode

• The ten-year journey behind A Little Bit Bad
• Why Cassandra repeatedly started the novel from scratch
• Learning how to rewrite
• Why she chose San Diego as the setting
• The relationship between Perdita and Nando
• Writing about women, desire, motherhood, and emotional labor
• Turning real-life experiences into fiction
• How Cassandra's brother inspired Spencer
• Writing as a way to process grief
• Creative blocks and the fear of publishing
• Psychedelic therapy and overcoming creative barriers
• The importance of learning to let go of a book
• Cassandra's upcoming contemporary Pride and Prejudice adaptation

Episode Overview

What happens when a successful artist and educator looks at the publishing industry and decides there has to be a better way?

In this episode of The Premise, Jeniffer and Chad Thompson sit down with Nathan Bond, artist, educator, entrepreneur, and founder of Fair Share Publishing, an independent children's book publisher built around a simple idea: creators deserve a fairer share of the value they create.

Nathan shares the story behind Fair Share Publishing, from his 28-year career as a figurative painter and illustrator and his years teaching at Parsons School of Design to witnessing talented children's book illustrators struggle financially despite their success. He explains how those experiences led him to rethink everything from royalty structures and payment schedules to printing, distribution, accessibility, and the relationship between publishers and creators.

The conversation also takes a close look at You Are My Favorite Story, a children's picture book created by Shani King and Jeremi Duru and illustrated by John Jay. Nathan explains how the book came together, why its representation of fatherhood matters, and how thoughtful illustration can add layers of meaning that children discover over repeated readings.

From the economics of publishing to social media, independent bookstores, libraries, and the future of children's books, this episode offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at what it means to build a publishing company around creators rather than simply around the bottom line.

In This Episode

• Why Nathan Bond founded Fair Share Publishing
• The financial challenges facing even successful children's book creators
• Why traditional royalty and payment structures can make it difficult for creators to survive
• Fair Share's 50% net royalty model
• How real-time sales tracking gives creators greater financial transparency
• Why Fair Share initially operated as a direct-to-consumer publisher
• The environmental considerations behind Fair Share's printing and fulfillment model
• The supportive and collaborative culture of independent publishing
• The story behind You Are My Favorite Story
• Why the book focuses on helping fathers and male role models express emotion
• How illustration can communicate layers of meaning beyond the written text
• The importance of subtle visual details in children's books
• How QR codes extend children's books beyond the printed page
• Fair Share's "Listen, Learn and Play" approach
• Making books and educational materials more accessible to children, families, teachers, and libraries
• Why library distribution is so important for independent publishers
• The financial realities of producing high-quality children's picture books
• The role of social media in discovering and connecting with audiences
• How Fair Share supports independent bookstores
• Why community and collaboration matter in independent publishing
• What Fair Share looks for when reviewing authors' manuscripts and illustrators' portfolios
• How the company tries to make the publishing process more accessible to creators without agents

A Different Approach to Royalties

One of the most striking aspects of Fair Share Publishing is its approach to creator compensation.

Nathan describes starting with the question of what would represent the maximum amount a publisher could realistically share with creators. The result was a 50% royalty rate on net revenue, with expenses such as payment processing clearly accounted for before the revenue split.

Fair Share also designed a system in which creators can see their sales in real time and better anticipate their monthly payments. For Nathan, this transparency addresses a fundamental problem in the traditional publishing system: creators can struggle to budget when royalty payments arrive only every six months, nine months, or even longer.

Supporting Libraries & Independent Bookstores

Nathan explains why distribution has become increasingly important to Fair Share's mission. Libraries and schools can face significant restrictions on where they can purchase books, making it difficult for small publishers to reach these audiences without an established distributor.

Fair Share has also taken an unusual approach to audiobook access for libraries. When a library purchases a physical book, it receives ongoing downloadable audiobook rights, reducing additional costs and administrative burdens for libraries.

The company also actively supports independent bookstores. Nathan describes creating geographically targeted social-media advertising for bookstores that purchase Fair Share titles, using the publisher's marketing resources to help drive attention toward those local businesses.

Advice for Authors & Illustrators

Nathan also pulls back the curtain on Fair Share's submission process.

Fair Share continually accepts illustrator portfolios, allowing the company to build a database of artists for future projects. Manuscript submissions are generally opened once a year because of the time required to evaluate them.

The company has also used open calls to discover illustrators without requiring them to have an agent. Nathan describes this as part of Fair Share's effort to open doors for artists who might otherwise have difficulty entering the publishing industry.

Perhaps most notably, Fair Share takes time to walk authors and illustrators through their contracts. Nathan personally meets with creators over Zoom to explain the terminology and answer questions—particularly important for creators who don't have agents representing them.

The Art of Writing Crash Into Me

In this episode, we sit down with the author of Crash Into Me for an intimate conversation about writing, beauty, identity, aging, relationships, and the creative life.

Crash Into Me follows Cecilia Chen, a Jamaican Chinese photographer who has spent 20 years living in Paris before moving with her French filmmaker husband and their children to Los Angeles. Her new life is upended when a car accident brings her face-to-face with a woman from her past—and forces old memories and unresolved feelings back into the present.

The conversation begins with a reading from the novel and then explores the inspiration behind the story, including the author's own experience in a frightening car accident that ultimately became the foundation for the book's opening.

In This Episode

The real-life accident that inspired the novel
The author explains how a 2016 car accident became the seed for Crash Into Me. She was struck by another driver, her car collided with another vehicle, and three strangers ended up comforting one another after the accident. She later realized the incident was an ideal metaphor for the unexpected intersections between people's lives.

Beauty as a commodity
At the center of Cecilia's artistic work is an installation exploring women's ideas about beauty, aging, and the ways society consumes and evaluates women's bodies. The conversation examines what happens when someone who has been valued for her beauty begins to experience the world responding to her differently.

Aging in the public eye
The discussion takes a particularly personal turn as the author talks about aging as an actor and the strange experience of having strangers feel entitled to comment on a public figure's appearance. The conversation considers the difference between simply growing older and growing older while being watched.

Representation matters
Cecilia's Jamaican Chinese identity was an intentional choice. The author talks about growing up without seeing characters who reflected that specific cultural background in the books she read and wanting to create that representation for other readers.

Paris vs. Los Angeles
The novel's reverse culture shock reflects the author's own experiences moving between cultures. The conversation explores Paris, Los Angeles, diversity, public transportation, isolation, aesthetics, and the different ways cultures approach beauty and presentation.

Creating Anouk
The author discusses Anouk, the mysterious and self-possessed woman at the center of Cecilia's past. Her character was influenced in part by the author's experiences with the modeling world and an early-1990s video of Kate Moss that captured a particular combination of confidence, sensuality, youth, and unpredictability.

Writing across two timelines
The novel moves between 1996 and 2015–2017. The author explains why the present-day narrative is written in first person while the historical sections use third person, creating both separation for the reader and a distinction between Cecilia's potentially unreliable memories and what actually happened.

The writing process
Writing Crash Into Me took approximately five years, followed by about a year and a half of editing. The author describes working in Microsoft Word, writing in cafés, setting deadlines, and deliberately creating an environment where she can focus without the distractions of social media.

Advice for writers
For aspiring writers, the advice is straightforward: keep writing, write about what you love, and don't try to create and judge your work at the same time. Draft first; edit later. She also emphasizes the importance of taking the blank page seriously and raising the stakes of a story so that readers will remember it long after they finish.

Key Takeaways

• Great stories can emerge from unexpected moments in real life.
• Beauty can be both a source of power and a form of social currency.
• Aging becomes particularly complicated when your appearance is part of your public identity.
• Representation can begin with simply creating the character you wish you had seen growing up.
• A change in setting can fundamentally change how a character understands herself.
• Multiple timelines can reveal different versions of the truth.
• Writers need space to create before they begin judging what they've created.
• The first book an author publishes is rarely the first book they've written.
• Passion for a subject can make the long process of writing and rewriting sustainable.
• A memorable novel should give readers reasons to return to it and discover something new.

For Writers

One of the most useful lessons from the conversation is the reminder that you cannot create and judge in the same moment. The author describes how writer's block became worse when she began criticizing every sentence as she wrote it. Her solution was to get the material onto the page first and save the judgment for the editing process.

The larger message is simple: keep writing, write what you care about, and give yourself permission to create before you start editing.

Topics Covered

Crash Into Me · The Idea of You · Fiction writing · Writing process · Writer's block · Character development · Beauty and aging · Representation · Race and identity · Photography · Modeling · Paris · Los Angeles · Culture shock · Writing across timelines · Book adaptations · Writing advice · Creative careers

Episode Summary

In this thought-provoking episode of The Premise, Jeniffer and Chad Thompson welcome award-winning author, educator, and cultural critic Susan Osborn to discuss her groundbreaking book, She's Such a Liar: Incest, Knowledge and Power—A Manifesto. Drawing on decades of research, Osborn explores how language, institutions, and cultural narratives have historically silenced survivors of incest while protecting systems of power.

The conversation examines the importance of naming difficult realities, the role of history in shaping public understanding, and why language itself can determine what society chooses to acknowledge—or ignore. Susan also shares surprising historical research, personal experiences from academia, and her hopes for creating meaningful cultural change through education and dialogue.

In This Episode

• Why Susan Osborn intentionally uses the word "incest" instead of euphemisms.
• The origins of the book title She's Such a Liar and how credibility is often weaponized against women.
• The relationship between patriarchy, knowledge, and institutional power.
• Historical examples of how medical, legal, and cultural institutions dismissed reports of incest.
• The story of Sigmund Freud's reversal of his early research on childhood sexual abuse.
• Why language shapes public awareness—and what happens when there are no words to describe a perpetrator.
• Humor as a tool for discussing difficult subjects.
• Susan's experiences being discouraged from researching incest during graduate school.
• Women's rights, historical progress, and recurring cultural backlash.
• How naming social problems is often the first step toward addressing them.
• The historical medical response to childhood gonorrhea epidemics and what it revealed about institutional denial.
• Susan's next research project on the historical construction of female shame.

What if working harder isn't the answer?

Award-winning science writer Elizabeth Svoboda joins The Premise to discuss her new book, The Art of Pacing: A Guide to Balancing Short-Term Demands with Long-Term Thriving. Together, Jeniffer and Chad Thompson explore America's hustle culture, why traditional time management often fails, and how learning to manage your energy—not just your schedule—can help you avoid burnout and build a more sustainable, fulfilling life.

Drawing from science, elite athletics, psychology, and personal experience, Elizabeth shares practical strategies for recognizing burnout, aligning your work with your natural energy rhythms, and giving yourself permission to rest without guilt.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, creative, healthcare worker, executive, or simply feeling overwhelmed, this conversation offers actionable insights to help you thrive for the long haul.

In This Episode

•  Why America's "always-on" work culture is pushing so many people toward burnout 
•  The difference between time management and energy management
•  What elite athletes can teach us about sustainable performance 
•  Why rigid productivity systems often backfire 
•  Recognizing the warning signs of burnout before it's too late 
•  How heart rate variability (HRV) can help you monitor stress and recovery 
•  The science behind resonant breathing and calming your nervous system 
•  Why taking longer breaks actually improves productivity 
•  Breaking the cycle of deadline-driven work and chronic procrastination 
•  The importance of building rest into your life—not earning it 
•  Lessons the U.S. can learn from France's approach to work-life balance 
•  How pacing creates more creativity, resilience, and long-term success 

Key Takeaways

•  Productivity isn't about doing more—it's about managing your energy wisely. 
•  Burnout doesn't happen overnight, and recovery often takes longer than we realize. 
•  Your most important work should happen when your energy is naturally highest. 
•  Rest is not laziness—it's an essential part of high performance. 
•  Sustainable success comes from pacing yourself, not constantly pushing harder.

Episode Summary

This week, Jeniffer and Chad Thompson welcome bestselling author, editor, and publishing veteran Christine Pride to discuss her solo debut novel, All the Men I've Loved Again. Christine shares the real-life inspiration behind the story, her journey from editor to author, the power of lifelong friendships, and what it means to trust yourself—in love, writing, and life.

The conversation explores second-chance romance, coming-of-age experiences that continue well into adulthood, the realities of publishing, and why writers need both resilience and community. Christine also offers valuable advice for aspiring authors and shares insights into her collaborative work with co-author Jo Piazza.

Whether you're a reader, writer, or hopeless romantic, this episode is packed with wisdom, humor, and heart.

In This Episode:

• The inspiration behind All the Men I've Loved Again
• Why Christine was compelled to turn a personal experience into fiction
• Creating Cora: writing a character searching for love, identity, and belonging
• The importance of friendship as a central love story
• How childhood experiences shape self-confidence and relationships
• Writing authentic coming-of-age stories across multiple decades
• The nostalgia of the 1990s and pre-social media relationships
• Co-writing bestselling novels with Jo Piazza
• The differences between collaborative writing and solo authorship
• What editors really want from aspiring writers
• The value of trusted readers, critique partners, and developmental feedback
• Why writers must learn to trust their instincts
• Publishing myths, realities, and industry misconceptions
• Christine's coaching, retreats, and resources for writers

Today on The Premise, Jeniffer and Chad Thompson welcome bestselling author Caitlin Rother back to the podcast to celebrate the release of Staged, the highly anticipated second installment in her Katrina and Goode thriller series.

Picking up immediately after the events of Hooked, Staged dives deeper into corruption, suspicious deaths, investigative journalism, and the growing tension between reporter Katrina Sullivan and detective Ken Goode.

Caitlin discusses her transition from award-winning investigative reporter to thriller writer, how real-life corruption cases inspire her fiction, the importance of journalistic ethics, and what readers can expect from future books in the series.

In This Episode

• Why Staged can be enjoyed as a standalone novel despite being Book 2
• The challenge of balancing action and backstory in thriller writing
• How modern publishing relies heavily on reader reviews, sales, and data
• Caitlin's experience writing Books 3 and 4 before publication decisions are finalized
• The fascinating true story behind her bestselling memoir My Life Deleted
• Why even accomplished authors continue learning through workshops, webinars, and beta readers
• How experts—including prosecutors, detectives, and therapists—help ensure realism in her novels
• The real-world science behind genetic genealogy and DNA databases
• The influence of the Golden State Killer Investigation on the series
• San Diego legends, including the famous "Munchkin Houses" of La Jolla
• The ethical dilemma at the heart of Katrina and Goode's relationship
• Journalism ethics: why reporters don't date sources or assist investigations
• Lessons from Caitlin's years covering government, crime, and corruption
• The real San Diego political scandal known as "Strippergate" and how it inspired elements of the series
• Why corruption is often harder to write than readers might expect
• Hints about the escalating stakes in Books 3 and 4

Episode Summary

Bestselling author Lisa See joins Jeniffer and Chad Thompson to discuss her powerful new novel, Daughters of the Sun and Moon. Inspired by real women who lived in Los Angeles during the 1870s, the novel explores friendship, resilience, identity, racism, and survival against the backdrop of the largely forgotten Chinese Massacre of 1871.

Lisa discusses how her deeply researched historical fiction emerged from personal questions and themes she was grappling with in her own life. She explores why Los Angeles' violent early history has largely disappeared from public memory and how court records, photographs, and other historical documents helped shape the novel. Throughout the conversation, Lisa reflects on the importance of confronting difficult histories and what can be lost when we choose to forget them.

In This Episode:

Lisa See's Literary Brand

•  How friendship, family, and women's relationships became recurring themes across Lisa's novels 
•  Why authentic storytelling creates a lasting author brand 
•  The importance of writing from personal curiosity rather than market trends 

The Inspiration Behind Daughters of the Sun and Moon

•  The true stories that inspired the novel's three main characters: 
  •  Dove, a young bride brought to Los Angeles in an arranged marriage 
  •  Moon, wife of a prominent Chinese physician 
  •  Petal, inspired by women sold into prostitution who fought relentlessly for freedom 
•  Why Lisa wanted to tell this story through the eyes of women 

The Chinese Massacre of 1871

•  The little-known tragedy that serves as the novel's historical centerpiece 
•  How 10% of Los Angeles' Chinese population was murdered during one night of violence 
•  Why historians consider it one of the largest mass lynchings in American history 

A Different Los Angeles

•  Why 1870s Los Angeles was considered one of the most violent towns in the American West 
•  How the city's leaders later worked to erase this history 
•  Lisa's theory about why Hollywood's rise contributed to the public forgetting Los Angeles' violent past 

Researching the Novel

•  Examining original court documents at the Huntington Library 
•  Discovering handwritten maps, trial transcripts, and historical records 
•  Testing whether Chinese medicinal herbs could actually be grown on a windowsill, just as they are in the novel 

Chinese Medicine and Cultural Traditions

•  The role of traditional Chinese medicine in the story 
•  Lisa's personal connection to Chinese medicine and acupuncture 
•  The symbolic importance of immigrants carrying soil from their homeland 

Lisa See's Writing Process

•  Why she writes the final line of every novel before beginning chapter one 
•  How the ending rarely changes, even when the journey does 
•  Her unusual reading habit: reading the first chapter and the last chapter before continuing a book 

Themes of Memory and History

•  The importance of remembering difficult chapters of history 
•  Connections between historical anti-Chinese violence and modern anti-Asian hate 
•  Why societies continue to repeat patterns when history is forgotten 

Aphorisms, Wisdom, and Structure

•  How a poem by Lao Tzu shaped the structure of the novel 
•  Lisa's lifelong fascination with aphorisms 
•  The timeless wisdom that transcends culture and generations 

In this episode of The Premise, Jeniffer and Chad Thompson sit down with bestselling author Stephen P. Kiernan to discuss his forthcoming novel, Pollock’s Last Lover—a layered story about art, deception, power, and the women surrounding legendary painter Jackson Pollock.

Stephen shares the surprising inspiration behind the novel, why he abandoned an early draft after 180 pages, and how the story ultimately became less about Pollock himself and more about the women navigating power, ambition, sexuality, and survival across two different eras.

The conversation explores:

•  The real-life inspiration behind Ruth Kligman 
•  Writing complex female characters as a male author 
•  The emotional intensity of Pollock’s art and legacy 
•  Researching the New York art world and auction houses 
•  How symbolism (including watch advertisements set to 10:10) found its way into the novel 
•  Stephen’s writing process, revision philosophy, and life as a former journalist turned novelist 

This episode is a deep dive into creativity, historical fiction, gender dynamics, and the mysteries of artistic genius.

The Premise Podcast — Episode Show Notes

Guest: Sasha Abramsky
Hosts: Jeniffer Thompson & Chad Thompson
Topic: Power, propaganda, and the human cost of political systems

Episode Overview

In this powerful and wide-ranging conversation, Jeniffer and Chad sit down with journalist and author Sasha Abramsky to unpack the political, emotional, and human realities shaping America today.

The discussion centers on Abramsky’s latest book, American Carnage, which explores how systemic government disruption impacts real lives—and what it reveals about power, democracy, and accountability.

From the illusion of normalcy in everyday life to the dismantling of institutions behind the scenes, this episode connects the big-picture political landscape with deeply personal stories.

Featured Book
American Carnage: How Trump, Musk, and Doge Butchered the U.S. Government