When a friend suggested I interview romance writer Jasmine Guillory on the show, I was a little skeptical. Romance novels? Eh. Then I binge-listened her book, The Wedding Date, and I was hooked. A lawyer and avid reader, Guillory had trouble finding books about people like her—successful, smart, urban, and black. So she wrote one herself. This is the story of how she taught herself to become a published writer.

When a friend suggested I interview romance writer Jasmine Guillory on the show, I was a little skeptical. Romance novels? Eh. Then I binge-listened her book, The Wedding Date, and I was hooked. A lawyer and avid reader, Guillory had trouble finding books about people like her—successful, smart, urban, and black. So she wrote one herself. This is the story of how she taught herself to become a published writer.

Billy Jensen is the acclaimed true crime investigative journalist, who helped finish Michele McNamara's haunting book, "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," after her death. The haunting story tells the tale of The Golden State Killer, a serial killer who terrorized Californians. Just months after its release, police announced they had a suspect in the case. Jensen talks to me about this extraordinary story, the process of writing the book, and his path to becoming a journalist specializing in unsolved crimes.

Novelist Blanche McCrary Boyd is one of the main reasons I’m a writer today. Her classes at Connecticut College changed the way I viewed journalism and storytelling. Recently, she released her first book in 20 years— "Tomb of the Unknown Racist," part of a trilogy that also includes "The Revolution of Little Girls" and "Terminal Velocity.” In our interview, Boyd weaves together tragic and funny tales from her amazing life with invaluable teaching points. Think of this as your very own Master Class.

Major Matt Cavanaugh is a U.S. Army strategist who's worked everywhere from the Pentagon to Korea, Iraq to the Army Space and Missile Defense Command. He served in Iraq during numerous deployments. His new book, Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict, he explains the strategy and the art of war by way of all the Star Wars films. On the podcast, he talks about his rise from West Point to platoon leader, why he writes, and why Yoda is a pretty terrible leader. He is. Mmmmm.

Relationships and sex have gone through a seismic shift in the past few years, and both women and men are looking for help understanding, navigating, and staying safe in a world where people have sex to get to know each other rather than the other way around. Enter Joanna Coles. She is the chief content officer at Hearst Magazines and the former editor-in-chief of Marie Claire and Cosmo. On the podcast, we talk about her new book, "Love Rules", dating apps, and how to approach dating like dieting.

When Lori Majewski was 16, she camped out in front of hotels just to get autographs from Duran Duran. Now she's on frontman Simon Le Bon's speed dial. As a host on SiriusXm's Volume and First Wave channels and co-author of the book Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Music and Artists That Defined the 1980s, Lori's parlayed her childhood obsession with New Wave music into a successful career. Lori has also held top spots at US Weekly, YM, and Teen People. If you like new wave, you'll love this episo

Joanna Angel is an erotica writer, adult actress, and porntrepeneur. Her new novel, Night Shift, is a choose-your-own adventure-style story based on her own real-life experiences. On the episode, she talks about her first foray into fiction and what it's like to write about sex. She also shares the story of how an Orthodox Jew from a highly-religious family launched a punk rock porn company out of her college dorm room. Warning: This episode is definitely not for kids—and maybe even some adults.

David Hochman's success as a freelance writer, editor, and storyteller is as enviable as it is expansive. He has written about everything from flying around the world in a private jet to potty training his son, visiting the vanishing tribes of Ethiopia's Omo Valley to helicopter parenting his dog, with his byline appearing regularly in The New York Times, Forbes, GQ, and Food and Wine. He's also the founder of Upod (Under Promise Over Deliver), an invaluable online resource for freelancers writers and editors, and Upod Academy, which offers in-person workshops, webinars, retreats, and private coaching sessions. On the podcast, David offers 10 valuable lessons he's learned over his 20-plus year career, sage wisdom that's earned him the nickname "The Freelance Whisperer." 

 

Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James tell the fascinating and tragic story behind The Man from the Train, their true crime thriller that ties together a series of horrific murders that occurred across America from 1898 to 1912. Through extensive research and some good old-fashioned detective work, the father-daughter writing team makes the compelling case that the murders were all the handiwork of one of the most prolific serial killers ever.