The Story Blender

Irene Hannon is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than sixty contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. She is also a three-time winner of the RITA award—the “Oscar” of romance fiction—from Romance Writers of America and is a member of that organization’s elite Hall of Fame. Her many other awards include National Readers’ Choice, Daphne du Maurier, Retailers’ Choice, Booksellers’ Best, Carol, and Reviewers’ Choice from RT Book Reviews magazine, which also honored her with a Career Achievement award for her entire body of work. In addition, she is a two ­time Christy award finalist. Millions of her books have been sold worldwide, and her novels have been translated into multiple languages. Irene, who holds a BA in psychology and an MA in journalism, juggled two careers for many years until she gave up her executive corporate communications position with a Fortune 500 company to write full-time. She and her husband make their home in Missouri.

Allie Esiri is a #1 children’s poetry author who has written numerous books, including one that was recommended reading for the U.K.'s National Poetry Day on October 7th, 2021.  Her books have sold over 250,000 copies in hardback and been featured in the top five poetry titles in England every year since 2016. In addition to her writing, she also promotes live poetry performances and has served as a judge for numerous poetry competitions. She is an accomplished curator and host of live poetry events that have featured some of England’s best-known actors - from Helena Bonham Carter to Dominic West - at the National Theatre, the Bridge Theatre, and a number of major literary festivals. Allie lives in London with her husband and three children.

Jessica Strawser is editor-at-large for Writer’s Digest, where during her decade as editorial director she became known for in-depth interviews with such talents as David Sedaris and Alice Walker. She is the author of the book club favorites Almost Missed You, Not That I Could Tell - a Book of the Month bestseller - Forget You Know Me, and A Million Reasons Why, which was named to Most Anticipated lists from Goodreads, SheReads, Frolic,  and E! News ahead of its March 2021 release. In addition to her novels, she has written for The New York Times, Modern Love, and Publishers Weekly, and is a popular speaker at writing conferences nationwide. Her fifth novel, The Next Thing You Know, is coming March 2022. She lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati.

Robert Dugoni is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series, which has sold more than 8 million books worldwide. In addition to being a two-time finalist for the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award, Robert is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for Best Novel Set in the Pacific Northwest. His narration of his novel The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell won an AudioFile Earphones Award, and several of his novels have also been optioned for movies and television series. Robert's latest book, The World Played Chess, released on September 14, 2021.

John Long is one of the world’s top adventure writers and storytellers as well as a legendary rock climber. He’s written more than a dozen books on climbing and penned numerous stories for magazines and other publications. With more than 3 million books in print, he has a knack for not just spinning a yarn but also moving readers with his poignant and thrilling adventures. His most recent book, Icarus Syndrome, is a collection of autobiographical short stories and released in the first half of 2021.

Kevin Kling is an author and storyteller extraordinaire who is best known for his popular commentaries on National Public Radio’s "All Things Considered" and storytelling stage shows such as "Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log." Kevin has been awarded numerous arts grants and fellowships from The National Endowment for the Arts, The McKnight Foundation, The Minnesota State Arts Board, and many more. In addition to traveling around the globe telling stories and teaching residencies, he has released a number of compact disc collections of his stories and published five books, including On Stage with Kevin Kling.

David Corbett worked as a private investigator for fifteen years and played an integral role in a number of high-profile criminal litigations including the Cotton Club Murder Case and the People’s Temple Trial. In the 1990s he pivoted to writing, receiving critical acclaim for both his novels and short stories. In addition to his fiction, he has written two books on the craft of writing - The Art of Character and The Compass of Character - both of which are widely used by authors and screenwriters in shaping powerful stories and creating memorable and iconic characters. David also teaches at events nationwide, coaching authors on the subtleties of writing.

Lisa Regan is the USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series as well as several other crime fiction titles. Her books have sold over two million copies. Lisa has a bachelor’s degree in English and a Master of Education, both from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers Association, and Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, daughter, and a Boston Terrier named Mr. Phillip.

Tiffany Yates Martin has spent nearly thirty years as an editor in the publishing industry, working with major publishers and New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling and award-winning authors as well as indie and new writers. She is the founder of FoxPrint Editorial and author of the bestseller IntuitiveEditing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing. Under the pen name Phoebe Fox, she's also the author of six novels including the upcoming The Way We Weren't (Berkley).

From the Story Vault: Veteran Hollywood executive Steve LaRue has worked at Paramount, NBC/Universal and 20th Century Fox where he championed such series as Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Ally McBeal, and Farscape. He gives invaluable insights on pitches, passion, and how to break into the industry.