The Story Blender

Award-winning author Tim Shoemaker is a master of writing exciting whodunits and mysteries for young adults. In addition to writing eleven books, Tim also speaks at schools, churches, and writing conferences. He has been a full time speaker and writer since 2004, lives in the greater Chicago area, and has been happily married to Cheryl, the love of his life, for more than 30 years. Actively involved with the leadership at his local church, Tim also writes books focused on sharing Biblical teachings with the next generation.

Kendall Haven is the only West Point graduate to ever become a professional storyteller. The author of two internationally-celebrated books on the science of story structure, Haven holds a graduate degree in Oceanography from Oregon State University and spent eight years as a Senior Research Scientist for the Department of Energy. He regularly serves as a consultant to government agencies such as the Navy, the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, NOAA, and the National Park Service, as well as to organizations and corporations such as The World Bank and Boeing. He was selected as the only storyteller to participate in the 2012-2014 Department of Defense (DARPA) Narrative Networks Research Program. Haven’s award-winning published works include five audio tapes, thirty-five books, two scripts, and a radio drama miniseries.

Kevin Cordi was the first full-time high school storytelling teacher in the country and is committed to engendering a love of storytelling in the next generation. He is considered one of the nation’s “primary advocates for youth storytelling” and has also taught storytelling at both the university and secondary level.  Over the last 25 years, he has told stories in over forty states as well as England, Scotland, Singapore, Canada, Japan and in Qatar. Kevin’s award-winning story work has been commissioned by The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, American Library Association, National Storytelling Network, Newsweek, and the Qatar Foundation International. He holds a doctorate from Ohio State University in Education, Storytelling, and Story Making and lives in Lancaster, Ohio.

Join us for an engrossing conversation with spy thriller author Adam Brookes. After reporting for the BBC in over 30 countries, Adam turned his attention to writing spy novels. Listen to him share the encounter in China that motivated him to write his espionage series. You’ll also hear some of his recommendations for other stellar spy novels.

Joel Burcat is a practicing environmental lawyer and author who writes legal and speculative thrillers, as well as imaginative stories about everything from beer to murder. His realistic environmental legal thrillers explore many facets of life, although he has a true fascination with unexpected twists. His characters’ reasons for doing things are as important as their actions. Joel has completed five novels, the latest of which, AMID RAGE, came out in February of 2021. He grew up in Philadelphia and still lives in Pennsylvania, which provides the setting for many of his stories.

From the Story Vault: Travel writer turned novelist Nicolás Obregón read hundreds of crime novels to research the genre before penning his stunning debut novel BLUE LIGHT YOKOHAMA. His insights are invaluable for storytellers of all types, and especially for anyone thinking of writing a novel.

According to Forbes, Rowan Gibson is “one of the most recognized thought leaders in business” and is “the maestro of business innovation.” He is the internationally bestselling author of three books that have been published in 25 languages, a top keynote speaker in 64 countries, and a trusted strategic adviser to both the private and public sector worldwide. In 2015, Rowan received the prestigious “Global Leader of Innovation” award for his significant contribution to the field of innovation strategy. Rowan is one of the world’s most in-demand public speakers.

From the Story Vault: Peter James is an international bestselling author and one of the world’s premiere crime writers. Listen in as we talk psychopaths, both fictional and real, what makes for a great crime story, and the three aspects of emotionally engaging fiction: character, research and plot. Also learn about Peter’s writing process and get inside info about upcoming releases.

Lisa Wingate is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over thirty novels, including the instant NYT bestsellers The Book of Lost Friends and Before We Were Yours, which remained on the NYT list for over two years and has sold over 2.5 million copies. She is a Goodreads Choice award winner for historical fiction, A Christy Award winner, and a Southern Book Prize winner. She lives with her husband in Texas.

Erik Bork is an author and screenwriter who has won two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for his work as a writer-producer on the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and From the Earth to the Moon, working with executive producer Tom Hanks (and Steven Spielberg, on Band of Brothers). Erik has sold original series pitches to broadcast networks, worked on the writing staff of primetime drama series, and written feature screenplays for Universal, HBO, TNT, and Playtone. In addition to teaching for UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program and National University’s MFA Program in Professional Screenwriting, he has also been called one of the “Top Ten Most Influential Screenwriting Bloggers” and his 2018 book THE IDEA has become a multi-category Amazon best-seller.