The Stories Between Us

Today we have a great conversation with Bryan Allain about the publication of his middle grade book, Lake Mason and the Super Q Trials. He tells about this journey to book two in the series, why he writes, and what happened when a few relatives tried to guess how many copies he sold of book one. We also talk about the loss of his son Parker to accidental overdose and how grief exists alongside creativity. It's a great conversation, I hope you'll listen, but even more than that I hope you'll order a copy of Bryan's book.

Maile and Shawn decide on their three favorite books of 2022. Shawn's favorite is no surprise to those of you who have been listening to the podcast. Maile's favorite has, dare she say, changed her life. Shawn also throws in a few honorable mentions. Plus, a fun announcement!

A list of books mentioned in the episode, in no particular order:

The Witch Elm by Tana French Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr Rembrandt is in the Wind by Russ Ramsey The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman Circe by Madeline Miller Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell This is Happiness by Niall Williams All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer A Kraken for Christmas by J.B. Emerson Lake Mason and the Super Q Trials by Bryan Allain

Today, Martha shares the story of her long and winding journey to publication, releasing her debut novel at the age of 65. There are valuable lessons that come with that kind of perseverance. What if we as writers can begin to see rejection as ordinary, as simply part of the process? What if our goal, instead of getting published, was to get 100 rejections every year? Would that increase our capacity to live through this writing life? Finally, Martha offers a writing practice that has served her well through the years.

Martha is the author of the new novel, The Three Muses.

Hannah Anderson came to writing through desperation. Her husband Nathan grew up in a home full of creative people and loved to draw. Today we're talking about how they collaborate (while raising children together), engage in the practice of waiting, and their new Advent book, Heaven and Nature Sing. Nathan doubles down on his commitment to live Christmas trees, and we share memories about the days when our families would rent VCRs to watch movies. We really enjoyed our conversation with them.

We couldn't wait to talk with Sean Dietrich about his new book, You Are My Sunshine, but let's be honest, what we really couldn't wait for was having his wife Jamie on the podcast. She claims she's never been on a podcast with Sean before, so I guess that makes us ground-breaking? Move over Diane Sawyer--The Stories Between Us is where you can find the never-before-heard debut interview with Jamie Dietrich. And she spills all the goods on Sean, including the fact that he never knows the terms of his writing contracts (only she does) and her tactics to get him writing again if he's falling behind.

Let's talk about place and belonging! Essayist and children's author Patrice Gopo joins us today to explore what it might look like to use our imagination when considering other people's stories. What if we made room for the unexpected? How are we connected to the places where we started?

Patrice Gopo is an award-winning essayist and the author of books for adults and children. Her essay collection, All the Colors We Will See, was Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Her debut picture book, All the Places We Call Home, was inspired by one of the essays in her collection. As the child of Jamaican immigrants who was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Patrice often writes about racial identity formation, immigration experiences, and the beauty of living a multifaceted life.

You can find out more about Patrice and her books HERE.

Leslie Bustard is a poet, a publisher, and a gatherer of creative people. Ned Bustard is an artist, a writer, and a publisher. Of course, they are both much more than that, but today we take some time to dig into beautiful and difficult topics with them: the releasing of new books, how art is completed, and the role cancer has played in their creative lives.

Head here to find out more about their books as well as their upcoming conference, Ordinary Saints (where we'll be doing a live recording of our podcast!).

Today we have a special announcement to make: our online writers' community, also called The Stories Between Us, is now open to any writer who would like to join. And it's free. But registration will only be open for two weeks, so check it out.

You can find out more about the community HERE.

We also talk about being voluntarily brainwashed, what Maile's been reading, and a podcast that Shawn's enjoying.

At 16 years old, he had a weekly comic in the Lancaster paper. At 19, he had finished writing his first middle grade novel. Now, numerous books and years later, Adam Perry is trying something new: he's written a horror book for kids (or historical supernatural--you be the judge). Adam has a lot of fun and practical things to share about his creative journey.

And you can still pick up his latest book, Ghosts Come Rising, in time for Halloween!

Today the wonderful Sarah Westfall joins us to talk about community--is digital community real? Is it good? Is there anything we can do to bring it to a more complete place?

She also talks about her long and winding (and ongoing) publishing journey and how a devastating loss opened her eyes to her own need for community.

Check out more of Sarah's writing at Human Together.