The Story Blender

Jaime Jo Wright is the author of eight novels, including Christy Award and Daphne Du Maurier award winner The House on Foster Hill and Carol Award winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She’s also the Publishers Weekly and ECPA bestselling author of two novellas. Jaime lives in Wisconsin with her cat, her husband, and their two children.

Edward Zuckerman began his career as a journalist, writing about zombies, killer bees, talking apes and other subjects for Rolling Stone, Spy, the New Yorker, Harper’s, Esquire, and many other magazines. He wrote two well-reviewed nonfiction books, The Day After World War III and Small Fortunes, and then moved into writing for television dramas, including “Law & Order” (50+ episodes), “Blue Bloods,” and “Law & Order: SVU.” He has won two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America and an Emmy for his work on “Law & Order.” He lives in Manhattan and Manhattan Beach, California. Wealth Management is his first novel.

Jamie Mason was born in Oklahoma City and grew up all over the Washington, DC area. She’s most often reading and writing, but in the life left over, she enjoys films, Formula 1 racing, football, traveling, and, conversely, staying at home. Jamie lives with her husband and two daughters in the mountains of western North Carolina. She writes more whydunnits than whodunnits because the why in stories is her favorite part, and she is the author of Three Graves Full, Monday’s Lie, and The Hidden Things.

Cindy Callaghan is an award-winning middle-grade writer best known for Just Add Magic, which was developed into an Emmy-nominated Amazon original series now distributed world-wide via Nickelodeon.  Her book Saltwater Secrets, which is pitched as “Big Little Lies for tweens,” has been acquired by a major studio. In addition to those, she has five well-loved “Lost in…” books, Sydney Mackenzie Knocks ‘Em Dead, The Girl Who Ruined Christmas, and My Big Heart-Shaped Fail. Her niche, if you haven’t guessed, is middle-grade. Cindy is unique in that she straddles the book and screen worlds. In addition to her published novels, she has a broad portfolio of screen projects ranging from 6-11 animation through YA.

Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of twenty novels, including SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX, LAST GIRL GHOSTED, and CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45—now in development at Netflix, starring Jessica Alba. With books published in thirty-two languages and millions of copies sold worldwide, she is regarded as a master of suspense. Her critically acclaimed novels have been featured on “Best Book” lists from the Today Show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, People, and many more. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few authors, including Agatha Christie. Lisa is the current co-president of the International Thriller Writers organization. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.

James Patterson is the world’s best-selling author. He has written some of the most popular series of the past two decades - Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club, Detective Michael Bennett and Private novels – and many other #1 bestsellers, including romance novels and standalone thrillers. James is passionate about encouraging children to read. Inspired by his own son who was a reluctant reader, he also writes a range of books for young readers. He is also a strong advocate of booksellers and has donated millions in grants to independent bookshops.  For his championship of literacy in America, James was awarded the 2019 National Humanities Medal. Among his many other honors, he is the recipient of an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and nine Emmy Awards. He lives in Florida with his family.

Yasmin Angoe is the Anthony-nominated and first generation Ghanaian American author of the critically acclaimed Her Name Is Knight and the second of the series, They Come At Knight. She is the recipient of the 2020 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award from Sisters in Crime. Reviews of her work can be found in the New York Times, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly, to name a few, and was listed as Amazon’s “Best Book of the Month” and “Editor’s Pick.” They have also appeared in outlets such as Oprah Daily, PopSugar, Women’s World, and The Guardian.

Join me for an engaging discussion with award-winning novelist Carol Van Den Hende as we discuss her latest book, Orchid Blooming, and explore the dynamics of a well-told story, humility, humanity, and why you should be the tiger.

Returning guest Adam Hamdy is a Sunday Times, Kindle, and international bestselling author and screenwriter.Adam writes the Scott Pearce series of contemporary espionage thrillers and has written two books with James Patterson, Private Moscow and Private Rogue. He is also the author of the Pendulum trilogy, a trilogy of conspiracy thriller novels. Patterson described Pendulum as "one of the best thrillers of the year," and the novel was a finalist for the Glass Bell Award for contemporary fiction. Pendulum was chosen as book of the month by Goldsboro Books and was selected for BBC Radio 2 Book Club.Prior to embarking on his writing career, Adam was a strategy consultant and advised global businesses in the medical systems, robotics, technology, and financial services sectors.

Dive into the world of science-based thrillers with international bestselling author Mark Alpert. As a former editor at Scientific American, Mark weaves together the curiosity of a scientist with the wordsmithing of a poet. Get a glimpse of his process as he asks “what if” and watches the stories unfold.