Award-winning author and journalist Elizabeth Arnott spoke with us about her early studies of serial killers, a wild journalism career, and her latest period-set crime novel THE SECRET LIVES OF MURDERERS' WIVES.

Elizabeth Arnott has written critically acclaimed historical fiction as Lizzie Pook (her maiden name). As a journalist, she covered everything from true crime to Arctic exploration and appeared in publications such as The Sunday Times, National Geographic, The New York Times Book Review, and The Guardian among others.

She has described her much-anticipated latest historical crime novel as Mad Men with murders, and Lessons in Chemistry with a body count. The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives [available for pre-order and landing March 3, 2026; Berkley Hardcover], is a story that “... centers on three unlikely friends—all former wives of serial killers—and their efforts to solve a string of local killings in 1966 California.”

The book was acquired in a heated seven-way auction and named one of “The Best Books for Book Clubs in 2026” by Glamour, and among “The 10 Most-Anticipated Mystery-Thriller Books of 2026” by Marie Claire.

Parade wrote of the book, “... a story that feels like Bright Young Women collided with Mindhunter …. a propulsive, period-set whodunit perfect for anyone who loves early criminal profiling and Mad Men-era aesthetics with bite.”

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

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In this file Elizabeth Arnott, Milena and I discussed:

Elizabeth’s early obsession with the film Almost Famous

Renting a flat above a brothel in grad school

Her freewheeling freelance days traveling the globe for stories

When her journalism career hit rock bottom

The path to writing about the forgotten victims of violent crimes

How to write a novel in six weeks

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

Elizabeth Arnott on Instagram

The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives By Elizabeth Arnott – March 3, 2026 (Amazon)

Elizabeth Arnott on Twitter

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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In anticipation of the author's return to the pod ...

New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author, Gregg Hurwitz, spoke with me about why all writing is a process of self-discovery, how to humanize a trained assassin, and the latest Orphan X thriller, THE LAST ORPHAN.

Gregg Hurwitz is an award-winning and internationally bestselling author of 23 thrillers including the ORPHAN X series. He has been published in 33 languages, and the Los Angeles Times called him “... a thriller giant." 

He is also a NY Times bestselling comic book writer, having penned stories for AWA (Knighted and the critically acclaimed anthology NewThink), Marvel (Wolverine, Punisher) and DC (Batman, Penguin).

His eighth Orphan X novel is The Last Orphan, the ongoing series featuring The Nowhere Man, “Evan Smoak, a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He’s also a man with a dangerous past.”

#1 NY Times bestselling author Meg Gardiner said of the book, "Just when I thought the Orphan X novels couldn’t get any better, Gregg Hurwitz takes the series to an even higher level. The Last Orphan is pulse-pounding, heart-stopping, and thought-provoking.”

Gregg Hurwitz has written screenplays and TV scripts for many of the major studios and networks, has published poetry, numerous academic articles on Shakespeare, and has taught fiction writing at USC.

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to⁠ ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

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In this file Gregg Hurwitz and I discussed: 

Show Notes:

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#1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz spoke with me about his secret desire to run away with the carnival, struggling as a young writer, finding his voice, the evolution of his process, and his latest novel THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY.

International bestselling author Dean Koontz was a senior in college when he won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition. He has never looked back.

Koontz has written over 120 novels, been published in over 38 countries, and sold an incredible 500 million copies to date.  

His masterful suspense thrillers, which blend science fiction, horror, crime and comedy, have earned him worldwide acclaim–and 14 hardback #1 NYT bestsellers–making him one of only a dozen writers to achieve that milestone (incl. One Door Away From Heaven, From the Corner of His Eye, Midnight, Cold Fire, The Bad Place, Hideaway, Dragon Tears, Intensity, Sole Survivor, The Husband, Odd Hours, Relentless, What the Night Knows, and 77 Shadow Street).

His latest novel, The Friend of the Family, is described as the story of “A girl liberated from a carnival sideshow [who] discovers her mysterious purpose in a moving novel about family, sacrifice, and transcendent love…”

Dean Koontz has been hailed by Rolling Stone as “America’s most popular suspense novelist,” and The New York Times has called his writing “psychologically complex, masterly and satisfying.” Many of his books have been made into films.

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

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In this file Dean Koontz and I discussed:

What to do when you’re down and out

When he realized he wasn’t a true sci-fi writer

The author’s low threshold for boredom and genre-defying work

Why he stays away from in-person events 

Writing The Friend of the Family and the inspiration behind it

Why writers need to find humor in their mistakes

Having a nice red wine with Charles Dickens

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

deankoontz.com

The Friend of the Family by Dean Koontz – January 20, 2026 (Amazon)

Dean Koontz Amazon Author Page

Dean Koontz on Facebook

Dean Koontz on Instagram

Dean Koontz on Twitter

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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Listen to a replay of 2025's other 3rd most popular episode (it was a statistical tie)!

Bestselling author and literary agent Betsy Lerner spoke with me about being a “late bloomer,” what 35 years in publishing has taught her, and portraying mental illness in her debut novel SHRED SISTERS.

Betsy Lerner is the author of the popular advice book to writers, The Forest for the Trees, and the memoirs Food and Loathing and The Bridge Ladies. With Temple Grandin, she is the also co-author of the New York Times bestseller Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns and Abstractions.

Her debut novel, Shred Sisters, is described as “... an intimate and bittersweet story exploring the fierce complexities of sisterhood, mental health, loss and love.” The book was longlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, a New York Times Notable Book of 2024, and a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and Best Book of the Year So Far, among many other accolades.

Betsy received an MFA from Columbia University in Poetry and was selected as one of PEN’s Emerging Writers. She also received the Tony Godwin Publishing Prize for Editors. After working as an editor for 15 years, she became an agent and is currently a partner with Dunow, Carlson and Lerner Literary Agency.

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to⁠⁠ ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠⁠⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover⁠ The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at⁠ writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please⁠ click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Betsy Lerner and I discussed:

Getting kicked out of film school

How "No Bad Dogs" inspired her to write The Forest for the Trees about writer personalities

Working with punk rock icon Patti Smith

The secrets behind her writing process

Why she wants to have dinner with filmmaker Greta Gerwig

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

⁠betsylerner.com⁠

⁠Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency⁠

⁠Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner⁠ (Amazon)

⁠The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers by Betsy Lerner⁠ (Amazon)

⁠Betsy Lerner Amazon Author Page⁠

⁠Kelton Reid on Twitter

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Listen to a replay of 2025's 3rd most popular episode!

#1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer spoke with me about cutting her teeth on fanfiction, working briefly in publishing, and THE HAPPY WRITER, a guide to writing with less stress and more JOY.

Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles, Heartless, The Renegades Trilogy, and Instant Karma, as well as the graphic novel duology Wires and Nerve.

Marissa also created and hosted a popular podcast, The Happy Writer, that inspired her debut writing guide, The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond.

Described as, “Applicable to writers in all genres and disciplines—from screenwriters to novelists, journalists to picture book authors, aspiring to many-times published—The Happy Writer is a heartfelt and optimistic guide that will show you the way to a happier writing journey.”

Marissa holds a BA in Creative Writing from Pacific Lutheran University and a MA in Publishing from Pace University.

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to⁠ ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover⁠ The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at⁠ writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please⁠ click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Marissa Meyer and I discussed:

How an overactive imagination led to a lifetime of storytelling

What she learned about the author/editor relationship early on 

Why optimism has always been a part of her brand

How to bring more joy to your writing “process”

Embracing lifelong creativity

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

⁠marissameyer.com⁠

⁠The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond⁠ By Marissa Meyer

⁠Marissa Meyer Amazon Author Page⁠

⁠Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book On Novel Writing You'll Ever Need⁠ by Jessica Brody (Amazon)

⁠Marissa Meyer on Facebook⁠

⁠Marissa Meyer on Instagram⁠

⁠Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to a replay of 2025's 2nd most popular episode! Thank you for your ears and we look forward to a raucous writerly 2026 ...

Award-winning TV writer/producer turned novelist Georgia Jeffries spoke with me about why Cagney and Lacey was her film school, teaching screenwriting at USC, and the ghosts, grief, and grievance in her debut novel THE YOUNGER GIRL.

Georgia Jeffries is the Emmy-nominated TV writer/producer who became the first individual female screenwriter to earn a Writers Guild Award for Episodic Drama for her work on the ground-breaking series Cagney & Lacey.

Her debut is The Younger Girl: A Dark Labyrinth of Family Betrayal, based on a true crime. It was described by bestselling author Rachel Howzell Hall as “...historical fiction at its best. … [and] an eye-opening, immersive story about a family, then and now, nearly stripped bare from greed and the steadfast refusal to acknowledge a painful past.”

Jeffries has written docudramas and series pilots for CBS, ABC, NBC, HBO, and Showtime and is a professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts where she created the first undergraduate screenwriting thesis program at an American university.

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to⁠ ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover ⁠The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at ⁠writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please ⁠click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Georgia Jeffries and I discussed:

Her early years as a journalist

How she received rave rejections on her first attempt at a novel

Why she based her debut on true events from her family’s past

The throughline of her quest for justice and love of noir fiction

Writing genre-bending historical suspense

And a lot more!

Show Notes: 

⁠georgiajeffries.com⁠

⁠The Younger Girl: A Dark Labyrinth of Family Betrayal⁠ by Georgia Jeffries (Amazon)

⁠Georgia Jeffries on IMDb⁠

⁠Georgia Jeffries on Instagram⁠

⁠Kelton Reid Instagram

⁠Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cheers! Welcome to our year-end Holiday Party for 2025.

How Long Did Famous Novels Take to Write (infographic)?

Kafka’s diaries are heartening

Why We Should Keep Notebooks (According to Joan Didion)

Milena on being more intentional as a reader/writer

The last chapter of Stephen Pressfield’s The War of Art and his blurb of Adam’s American Tiger

Who couldn’t use 3 years uninterrupted in a cabin in the woods to finish your novel lol

Revisiting “Beginner’s Mindset” and the concept of the Duning-Kruger Effect: The “Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with low ability in a specific area overestimate their competence, while experts often underestimate theirs, stemming from a lack of self-awareness about their own deficiencies or the complexity of the topic. Essentially, you need some knowledge to realize how much you don't know; the unskilled lack this meta-cognitive ability, leading to inflated confidence, while the skilled recognize the vastness of what's unknown, sometimes leading to underconfidence.”

Milena's Two Favorite Books of 2025! Milena read (or listened to) 64 books this year, and her faves all come down to language

Joining up with yours truly and our favorite TWF interviews in 2025: Albom, Zang, Lockhart, Skolnick, and Jeneva (freakin) Rose lol, and a shoutout to the most popular episode of the year with Emma Knight

We were named one of the “12 Best Writing Podcasts” by LARB, and won a Spotify “2025 Most Shared Show” Award

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

Show Notes:

How Long Did Famous Novels Take to Write? (infographic)

Ever wondered how long it takes to write a classic? via @agelessliterature

Why We Should Keep Notebooks (According to Joan Didion) via @literahua

Milena’s Two Favorite Books of 2025

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to a replay of 2025's most popular episode!

New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and entrepreneur Emma Knight spoke to me about finding the courage to write fiction, the Loch Ness Monster of motherhood, and her breakout debut novel The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus.

Emma Knight is an author, journalist, Co-Founder and Head of Brand at Greenhouse, an award-winning organic beverage company, and co-author of The Greenhouse Cookbook (2017), a national bestseller.

Her debut novel and instant New York Times bestseller, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, is described as a “coming-of-age story, part family drama, and part campus novel.”

#1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune called the book “A spellbinding debut about friendship, motherhood, first love, and the choices that bind us . . . I couldn’t put it down.”

Emma Knight also has an MA in Journalism, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Walrus, The Globe and Mail, Literary Hub, and more.

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to⁠ ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover⁠ ⁠⁠The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at⁠ ⁠⁠writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please⁠ ⁠⁠click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Emma Knight and I discussed:

The contrast of her whirlwind world tour after five years of writing

Why you can only write one sentence at a time

The process of removing your ego from the work

Taking the same advice she shared with her daughters

Why it's so much better to make things up for a living

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

⁠The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus⁠ by Emma Knight (Amazon)

⁠Emma Knight talks how debut novel is a metaphor for motherhood⁠ - Today

⁠Emma Knight on Instagram⁠

Kelton Reid Instagram⁠

⁠Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part 1 of 2 Throwback to a Pre-Pandemic podcast! Pete has some big news on the radar …

The New York Times bestselling novelist, award-winning adventure writer, and journalist, Peter Heller, spoke with me about his early life as a starving poet, breaking into journalism, how he makes things up for a living, and what it's like to be compared to your heroes.

Peter is a longtime contributor to NPR, and a former contributing editor at Outside Magazine, Men’s Journal, and National Geographic Adventure. He received an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in fiction and poetry, is the author of four nonfiction books, and winner of the National Outdoor Book Award for Literature.

Heller is also a notable bestselling author of a half-dozen novels including The Dog Stars – a lauded breakout bestseller, now published in 22 languages – The Painter, and Celine (a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize that won the prestigious Reading the West Book Award, shared in the past by Western writer Cormac McCarthy).

His latest novel, and Edgar Award Nominee, The River, has been called a "... heart-pounding survival story of .... two college students on a wilderness canoe trip – [and] a gripping tale of a friendship tested by fire, white water, and violence."

The New York Times called The River, “[A] modern-day survival tale .... [with] the urgency of a thriller.”

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to⁠ ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover⁠ The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at⁠ writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please⁠ click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Peter and I discussed:

How the author channels his fictional characters

The only way to start a novel

Why once you start "making it up" you can never go back

Productivity hacks for writing 1000 words a day, rain or shine

The importance of connecting with your  #writingcommunity

And fantastic advice from other award-winning authors to help you relax and let it rip   

Show Notes:

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Part 2 of 2

Bestselling author and award-winning journalist Adam Skolnick returns to chat with us about the mystery of the creative process, why timing is everything in crafting a story, and his much-anticipated debut novel, AMERICAN TIGER.

I am joined by my co-host Milena Gonzalez.

Adam Skolnick is an author and award-winning journalist who covers travel, adventure and endurance sports, and the environment. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Wired, Lonely Planet, and Men's Health.

He's the author of One Breath: Freediving, Death and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits, and the ghostwriter and audiobook narrator of the bestselling David Goggins memoirs, Can't Hurt Me and Never Finished. A frequent contributor on The Rich Roll Podcast, he lives in Southern California where he was born and raised.

His debut novel, American Tiger (available for preorder now, out  December 2, 2025), “Based on true events, rooted in the stunning Southern California landscape, and populated with vivid characters, [the book] is more than a frantic tiger hunt. It's about a child's quest for self-discovery, her stoic father's struggle to come to terms with their past, and the innate wildness of every living thing.”

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert said of the author, "Adam Skolnick is a tireless investigator of the human experience, writes like a dream, and American Tiger is a gorgeous, subtly subversive yarn ringing with truth."

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In Part Two of this file Adam Skolnick, Milena Gonzalez and I discussed:

Why the journey of becoming a dad changed the scope and tenor of his novel

The only way to write something great

Telling his moving story from a unique point of view

 The many paths to publication

Receiving signs from the universe

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

americantigerbook.com

American Tiger by Adam Skolnick (Amazon)

adamskolnick.substack.com

Adam Skolnick on Instagram

AdamSkolnick.com

Adam Skolnick on Twitter

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices