Acclaimed debut novelist Emily Everett spoke to me about finding a writing community, impostor syndrome, setting aside self-doubt, and her literary debut, ALL THAT LIFE CAN AFFORD.

Emily Everett is a writer and the managing editor of The Common, a literary magazine based at Amherst College.

Her debut novel All That Life Can Afford, is the Reese’s Book Club pick for April 2025 (out now from Putnam Books), was named a most anticipated book of 2025 by Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, and E! News, as well as an Apple Books Audiobook Staff Pick.

Described as “A taut and lyrical coming-of-age debut about a young American woman navigating class, lies, and love amid London’s jet-set elite.” New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy said of the book, “Emily Everett’s All That Life Can Afford is a wildly entertaining fish-out-of-water story meets Cinderella fairy tale.”

Emily Everett has an MA in literature from Queen Mary University of London, where she lived and worked from 2009 to 2013. Her short fiction appears in Electric Literature, Tin House, and Mississippi Review, among others.

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In this file Emily Everett and I discussed:

Teaching SAT classes for wealthy families abroad

Why you don’t have to wait to get started on your book

Her thirst to prove herself with the first novel

Time-blocking vs writing in the margins with a full-time job

On crappy first drafts

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

emily-everett.com

The Common literary magazine

All That Life Can Afford: Reese's Book Club by Emily Everett (Amazon)

Emily Everett on Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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Award-winning writer and producer Arvind Ethan David spoke to me about making sh*t up for a living, late bloomers, and adapting RAYMOND CHANDLER’S TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS into a graphic novel.

Arvind Ethan David is the Stoker Award-nominated graphic novelist who has also written chart-topping Audiodramas (The Crimes of Dorian Gray, Earworms), television (Anansi Boys) and plays (The Boy with Wings). Arvind is also a producer of film and theater, including the Emmy & Grammy award-winning musical Jagged Little Pill with Diablo Cody.

His latest adaptation TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS is a graphic novel adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novella featuring one of the most well-known characters in hard-boiled fiction, detective Phillip Marlowe.

Library Journal called it “A gripping adaptation of a classic short story [...] A compelling exploration of greed and justice in shadowy 1940s Los Angeles.”

Arvind is a principal of Prodigal, the entertainment company where he has produced eight feature films including the Asian Academy Award-winning "The Garden of Evening Mists" and theatrical shows including the Tony- and Grammy-winning Alanis Morissette musical "Jagged Little Pill."

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In this file Arvind Ethan David and I discussed:

Why he was told to be more like Chekhov or Grisham

His past lives as a lawyer and venture capitalist

Working with some of the greatest writers in the world

How storytelling is genetic

Adapting one of the great prose stylists for a graphic novel

The most interesting dinner in literary history

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

Raymond Chandler's Trouble Is My Business – May 20, 2025 – by Raymond Chandler and Arvind Ethan David; illustrated by Ilias Kyriazis (Amazon)

Arvind Ethan David on IMDb

Arvind Ethan David on Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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Award-winning author, founder, and editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books, Tom Lutz, took a timeout to talk with me about his early years as a literary ne'er-do-well, what it's like to hang out with your heroes, and why you can assume every writer is faking it just a little bit.

"Writing has never felt like a chore to me. It always feels like the space of freedom, and that I'm stealing the time from my job to do something I love." – Tom Lutz

In addition to editing the Los Angeles Review of Books, "... a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and disseminating ... engaging writing on every aspect of literature, culture, and the arts," Tom also founded The LARB Radio Hour, The LARB Quarterly Journal, The LARB/USC Publishing Workshop, and LARB Books.

He's a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at UC Riverside, and the author of multiple bestselling and award-winning nonfiction titles – translated into dozens of languages – including Doing Nothing (American Book Award winner), Crying, and American Nervousness, 1903 (both New York Times Notables).

His fiction debut is, “A literary thriller that wanders the globe,” novel Born Slippy is described as part "... literary thriller, noir and political satire ... a darkly comic and honest meditation on modern life under global capitalism.”

Bestselling novelist James Ellroy said of the book, "Lutz has the seven deadly sins nailed and rethought for our 2020 world. You’ve got to dig this book!"

Tom's writing has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New Republic, Chicago Tribune, ZYZZYVA, and many other newspapers and literary venues, as well as in dozens of books and academic journals.

He previously taught at Stanford University, University of Iowa, CalArts, and the University of Copenhagen.

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In this file Tom Lutz and I discussed:

His early years as a juvenile delinquent and the teacher that duped him into becoming a writer

Why "... if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it."

How he's happiest (and most creative) when playing hooky

On impostor syndrome and sneaking in the back door of an exclusive club of writers

What it's like to hang out with Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood

And why you may not be the type of writer you think you are

Show Notes:

TomLutzWriter.com

All things LARB

Born Slippy by Tom Lutz [Amazon]

Tom Lutz's Amazon Author Page

Tom Lutz on Facebook

Tom Lutz on Instagram

Tom Lutz on Twitter

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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#1 New York Times bestselling author, Susannah Cahalan, spoke to me about her writing process, witch candles, and stepping into the shoes of psychedelic pioneer Rosemary Woodruff Leary in her new biography THE ACID QUEEN.

Susannah Cahalan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and public speaker. Her first book, Brain on Fire, has sold over a million copies and has been translated into more than twenty languages. Her second book, The Great Pretender, was shortlisted for the Royal Society’s 2020 Science Book Prize.

Her latest biography The Acid Queen: The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, “...chronicles the life of Rosemary Woodruff Leary (1935–2002), a prominent figure in the 1960s psychedelic movement and Timothy Leary’s wife from 1967 through 1976.” 

Kirkus gave THE ACID QUEEN a glowing review, calling it a “well-wrought narrative that brings deserved attention to a lost figure in the counterculture,” and Publishers Weekly called it a “... stranger than fiction story [that offers] a vivid portrait of how flower power cracked up in the ’70s.”

Susannah Cahalan has been profiled in the New York Times, featured as an answer on Jeopardy!: delivered a TEDx Talk, and appeared as a guest on The Today Show, PBS, BBC’s Inside Science, and Fresh Air, among many others.

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In this file Susannah Cahalan and I discussed:

The throughline that connects all of her books

Synchronicities that led her to the life story of a psychedelic icon

How she used the research process to fully immerse herself in Rosemary’s persona

What she’s learned over the course of her writing career

Why you need to find time for “deep work” to get the pages

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

susannahcahalan.com

The Acid Queen: The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary By Susannah Cahalan (Amazon)

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport (Amazon)

The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction by Stephen Koch

Susannah Cahalan on Facebook

Susannah Cahalan on Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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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.

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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 on Twitter

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#1 New York Times bestselling author, Carley Fortune, spoke to me about her storied career as a journalist, writing a breakout hit in just four months, and her latest novel, MEET ME AT THE LAKE.

Carley Fortune is an award-winning Canadian journalist and the #1 New York Times and #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author of Meet Me at the Lake and Every Summer After. 

Her latest, Meet Me at the Lake, is described as a “...love story about two strangers who come together when they need each other most. Once, in their early twenties, and again a decade later.”

GMA said of the book, "Fortune explores the aftermath of losing a beloved parent and reclaiming a relationship in this unputdownable, witty, soulful and stirring novel." And New York Times bestselling author Jill Santopolo called Meet Me at The Lake “... a beautiful, heart-tugging, love story about secrets, lies, missed connections and second chances.”

Carley has worked as an editor at some of Canada’s top publications, including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Toronto Life, and a now-defunct weekly paper, The Grid. She was most recently the Executive Editor of Refinery29 Canada.

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In this file, Carley Fortune and I discussed: 

What prompted her to reclaim her creative energy

How to write 80 thousand words in just four months

Why writers need to keep their expectations realistic and protect their mental health

How she starts planning her novels 

Why extroverted writers need to get into real clothes and out of the house

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

carleyfortune.com

Meet Me at the Lake By Carley Fortune (Amazon) 

Carley Fortune Amazon Author Page

Carley Fortune on Instagram

Carley Fortune on Twitter

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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Acclaimed debut novelist and award-winning poet Jeanette Horn spoke to me about writing experimental poetry, getting a fateful call from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and the magical realism in her debut novel PLAY, WITH KNIVES.

Jeanette Horn is an Iowa Writers' Workshop MFA program graduate and was a Maytag Fellow.

Her debut novel, Play, With Knives, is described as the story of “A struggling theater troupe [that] tours the Midwest by surreal train—where aspects of their plays come to life and wreak havoc—in this inventive literary novel.”

Elizabeth Gilbert, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love, said of the book, "Play, With Knives is a work of wondrous imagination—a dream from which I did not want to awaken." 

Jeanette also earned a BA in English from the University of Texas, where she won several Adele Steiner Burleson Awards for poetry and essay writing. Her work has appeared in MARGIE, Poetry International, Stand, Washington Square, and other journals.

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In this file Jeanette Horn and I discussed:

What it was like at Iowa's famed Writer's Workshop

Why her debut novel was a labor of love (10 years in the making)

The successful query letter that led to publishing the book

Her true feelings about the cover art

Why it’s ok to write in the margins

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

www.jeanettehorn.com

Play, With Knives by Jeanette Horn (Amazon)

Successful Queries: Jaynie Royal and “Play, With Knives,” by Jeanette Horn

By Any Other Name Paperback by Jodi Picoult (Amazon)

The Stab - jeanettehorn.substack.com

Jeanette Horn on Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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Award-winning journalist and The Atlantic staff writer Olga Khazan spoke to me about the worst way to launch a book, writing long-form watchdog journalism, and her latest ME, BUT BETTER, The Science and Promise of Personality Change.

Olga Khazan is a staff writer for The Atlantic – covering science, health, and psychology for more than a decade – and the author, previously, of Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World. She was also The Atlantic’s Global editor, and ​​former host of The Atlantic’s podcast How To Start Over.

In her forthcoming book Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change (S&S/Simon Element), she reveals the science behind lasting personality change, and explains how anyone, at any age, can seize the reigns of their destiny.

New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Rubin called the book, “Hilarious, honest, and packed with cutting-edge research…”, and #1 New York Times bestselling author Adam Grant wrote, “This book shatters the myth that personality is set in stone. Drawing on state-of-the-art evidence and rich personal experience, Olga Khazan artfully reveals what our traits really are—and how we can adapt them to achieve our goals.”

Olga Khazan has also written for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Vox, and other publications. She is a two-time recipient of the International Reporting Project’s Journalism Fellowship and winner of the 2017 National Headliner Award for Magazine Online Writing.

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In this file Olga Khazan and I discussed:

How she got her start at The Atlantic

Why she never got to see her first book in a bookstore

Turning a piece of long-form journalism into a book pitch

Why reducing your neuroticism by even a small amount can improve your life

On crappy first drafts 

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

olgakhazan.com

Olga Khazan - The Atlantic

Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change by Olga Khazan (Amazon)

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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Matt Haig reads an excerpt from The Midnight Library, backed by an original Storybound remix with Robert Wynia, and sound design and arrangement by Jude Brewer.

Robert Wynia is a founding member of the Portland band Floater. Known for their progressive concept albums, Floater is famous for incorporating stylized storytelling. Wynia also releases music under his own name and released his book Night Walks with its own accompanying soundtrack in 2020.

Storybound comes to you from The Podglomerate and Lit Hub Radio. Season 4 is some of their most inspired work yet, so be sure to subscribe today on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune in.

Matt Haig is the author of 20 books including the #1 bestselling memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, five novels – including How to Stop Time – and several award-winning children’s books. His work has been translated into over 40 languages.

His latest novel is The Midnight Library, a runaway, #1 bestseller and reader favorite of 2020. It was a Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction Book of 2020, a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Amazon, the New York Public Library, among many others.

The New York Times said of the book, "An absorbing ... vision of limitless possibility, of new roads taken, of new lives lived, of a whole different world available to us somehow, somewhere, [perhaps] exactly what’s wanted in these troubled and troubling times.”

Stay calm and write on …

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Show Notes:

How NY Times Bestselling Author Matt Haig Writes

MattHaig.com

The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig (Amazon)

Matt Haig Amazon author page

Matt Haig on Instagram

Matt Haig on Facebook

Matt Haig on Twitter

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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Internationally bestselling author, Matt Haig, spoke with me about how the novelist became an accidental "mental health expert," why writers need resilience, and the process behind The Midnight Library.

"The only reader you're ever going to truly know ... is yourself." – Matt Haig

Matt is the author of 20 books, including the #1 bestselling memoir Reasons to Stay Alive, five novels, including How to Stop Time, and several award-winning children’s books. His work has been translated into over 40 languages.

His latest novel is The Midnight Library, a runaway, #1 bestseller and reader favorite of 2020. It was a Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction Book of 2020, a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Amazon, the New York Public Library, among many others.

The New York Times said of the book, "An absorbing ... vision of limitless possibility, of new roads taken, of new lives lived, of a whole different world available to us somehow, somewhere, [perhaps] exactly what’s wanted in these troubled and troubling times.”

Stay calm and write on …

**Audio excerpted courtesy Penguin Random House Audio from The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, read by Carey Mulligan.

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In this file Matt Haig and I discussed:

His superhero origins and the blog post that became a book

How to write "like no one's watching"

Inconsistent routines and the power of deadlines

Why writers need to surprise themselves

How he got Carey Mulligan to record his audiobook

And more!

Show Notes:

MattHaig.com

The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig (Amazon)

Matt Haig Amazon author page

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Matt Haig on Instagram

Matt Haig on Facebook

Matt Haig on Twitter

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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