The Stories Between Us

Today with talk with the absolutely delightful Claire Swinarski, author of What Happens Next and The Kate In Between. We discuss writing as a stay-at-home mom (Netflix might help), ignoring the negative voices (crying to mom might help), and staying focused on the task at hand. Claire's love for writing and storytelling really shine through.

Maile is about to re-enter the agent submission fray with her latest novel, so we take some time to talk about self-confidence. How can we tell when our own work is any good? What steps can we take to regain self-confidence we may have lost after previous rejections?

Shawn also talks about his upcoming book release party, where he will be joined by Sean Dietrich (also known as Sean of the South)! To preorder the book and receive your invitation to the event, head HERE.

When Maile and I spoke with Kiki, we expected to learn a lot about her journey into self-publishing. What we didn't expect was to come away from the conversation feeling so encouraged, so empowered to keep writing, and more motivated than ever to explore all of the publishing options out there.

We discuss the upcoming move and the anxiety or uncertainty it has created in us, then bring it back around to writing and creativity, exploring what it looks like to approach change with hope. To try different things without being "realistic" all the time (what that means). Maile shares a favorite Harrison Ford movie scene. Can we create with more hope?

Karen Stiller, author of The Minister's Wife, talks about the challenges involved in writing about personal topics, why she pursued her MFA, and how being a mother, instead of taking from her writing time, actually made her a better writer. Karen has a fresh perspective on writing and life, and Maile and I thoroughly enjoyed our time with her.

Thanks to all of our listeners, we're celebrating our 100th episode today! Bryan Allain, our friend and fellow author, joins us to talk writing journeys, exactly how we go about critiquing a spouse's manuscript, and what we're hoping for in the next 100 episodes. It's a fun conversation.

Today we speak with author and speaker Kathy Khang about launching grown children from the nest during a pandemic, why we should keep writing even when our platforms are not massive, and the role that creativity plays in bringing about justice and healing in our world. Also: midlife, discount shopping, and The Electric Company.

Shawn and Maile talk revisions, perfection, and when to take a manuscript to the next stage. They also share the back stories of the authors they're currently reading, one on the young side, the other on the older side, and remind each other that there's no perfect age when it comes to releasing books. Except now. Now might be the perfect age.

Today, we talk with Dr. Karen Swallow Prior about creating intentionally. She has some encouragement for young (all) writers. And, the answer everyone wants to know: Why is she on Twitter?

Dr. Prior is the author of the book, On Reading Well, and has also written updated reading guides for classics like Frankenstein and Jane Eyre.

What should every writer have? Apparently, a dog. We discuss Cameron Shenassa's wonderfully funny and insightful article and talk about famous authors and their pets (including Steinbeck's dog Toby and his critical review/devouring of Of Mice and Men). But, most importantly, we discuss the one thing all creatives can learn from dogs: let yourself be distracted.