The Epilogue...

Michael Stubblefield
  • 5.0 (3)
  • BOOKS

Join us each episode for an exploration of story with a different author, as we go deep into the writing craft. The Epilogue...is an interview show that focuses on the art of writing with your favorite writers and storytellers. Writing is art. Writing is science.

Episodes

  1. Lauren Wolk: Write Your Own Lightning

    11/25/2025

    Lauren Wolk: Write Your Own Lightning

    Today we get to share a conversation with the delightful Lauren Wolk, Newbery Honor and Caldecott winning author who crafts stories for middle-grade readers. We discuss her story development process, finding connection to place, her lyrical use of language. The stories we cherished in our childhood seem to have a magical spark to them. How can we capture that spark in our writing today? And do you really need to write differently for kids than adults? Spoiler alert: it’s all about being true to oneself and letting the characters speak their truth, no matter how complex or dark the themes may get! Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction09:05 - Writing for Younger Readers or Older23:18 - Exploring Themes with Story29:11 - Letting Characters Develop45:10 - Candle Island48:18 - Supporting Young Readers Lauren's Information: Lauren Wolk is best known for her novels, including the New York Times bestselling novel Wolf Hollow, which won a 2017 Newbery Honor, the 2016 New England Book Award, a 2017 Jane Addams Honor, the 2018 Massachusetts Book Award, and other honors. Wolk's latest novel, Candle Island, published in 2025, was a finalist for the New England Book Award.  Collectively, her books have won over 50 state book awards. Lauren is also the Massachusetts Reading Association’s 2024 Children’s Literature Award winner and the author of two new picture books, currently in production. She is also as a visual artist  represented by the Larkin Gallery (Provincetown and Harwich Port, Massachusetts), an award-winning poet, and a filmmaker.  laurenwolk.com Lauren's Books: Beyond the Bright Sea or audiobookWolf Hollow or audiobookMy Own Lightning or audiobookEcho Mountain or audiobookCandle Island or audiobook Links: islandreadersandwriters.org Lauren's headshot photo credit: Robert Nash Visit a...

    54 min
  2. Gail Carriger: The Heroine’s Journey

    09/15/2025

    Gail Carriger: The Heroine’s Journey

    Welcome to the Epilogue...this time I'm talking to award-winning and best selling author Gail Carriger! We discuss her Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School series, the archaeology of writing, writing connected series, and most especially, the Heroine's Journey--what it is, the structure, and viewing as an alternative to the Hero's Journey. Chapters: 00:00 Intro02:19 The Parasol Protectorate13:28 The Archaeologist Role of the Author22:58 Alien and Normal in Science Fiction35:11 The Heroine's Journey45:09 The Hero's Journey vs. The Heroine's Journey56:41 Genre and Audience Alignment01:01:54 Finding Your Role as an Author Gail's Information: Gail Carriger writes books that are hugs, mostly comedies of manners mixed with steampunk, urban fantasy, and sci-fi (plus cozy queer joy as G. L. Carriger). These include the Parasol Protectorate, Custard Protocol, Tinkered Stars, and San Andreas Shifter series for adults, and the Finishing School and Tinkered Starsong series for young adults. Also nonfiction: The Heroine’s Journey. She is published in many languages, has over two million books in print, over a dozen New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, and starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus, and Romantic Times. Her first book, Soulless, made Audible’s Best list, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book, an IndieBound Notable, and a Locus Recommended Read. She has received the American Library Association’s Alex Award, the Prix Julia Verlanger, the Elbakin Award, the Steampunk Chronicle‘s Reader’s Choice Award, and a Starburner Award. She was once an archaeologist and is fond of shoes, cephalopods, and tea. Get early access, specials, and exclusives via her website gailcarriger.com. Gail's Books Mentioned: The Heroine's Journey - or audiobook version Soulless (Parasol Protectorate Book 1) or audiobook version Prudence (Custard Protocol Book 1) or audiobook Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School Book 1) or audiobook Crudrat (Tinkered Stars Book 1) or audiobook Divinity 36 (Tinkered Starsong Book 1) a href="https://bookshop.org/a/113897/9781944751098"...

    1h 8m
  3. Charlie Jane Anders: Believing in Your Characters

    08/29/2025

    Charlie Jane Anders: Believing in Your Characters

    This episode I talk to Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Charlie Jane Anders! In this chat, we discuss her work, including how she gets inside her characters' heads, challenging the traditional ideas of protagonist and antagonist, and writing your way through personal challenges. We discuss examples from her work including All the Birds in the Sky, City in the Middle of the Night, as well as her latest book, Lessons in Magic and Disaster. Chapters: 00:00 - Intro04:30 - Leading the Reader into the Darkness10:52 - Character Perspectives 14:40 - Protagonists and Antagonists and Neither16:49 - Points of View and Structure26:11 - Young Adult Perspectives32:52 - Defamiliarization in Science Fiction41:11 - Finding the Perspective46:04 - Writing Through Personal Challenge51:53 - Outro Charlie Jane's Information: Charlie Jane Anders is the author of Lessons in Magic and Disaster, coming August 2025 from Tor Books. Her other novels include All the Birds in the Sky, The City in the Middle of the Night and the young-adult Unstoppable trilogy. She's also the author of the short story collection Even Greater Mistakes, and Never Say You Can't Survive, a book about how to use creative writing to get through hard times. She's won the Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, Lambda Literary, Crawford and Locus Awards. She co-created Escapade, a transgender superhero, for Marvel Comics and wrote her into the long-running New Mutants comic. And she's currently the science fiction and fantasy book reviewer for the Washington Post. With Annalee Newitz, she co-hosts the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct. charliejaneanders.com buttondown.email/charliejane Charlie Jane's Books Mentioned: All the Birds in the SkyCity in the Middle of the NightVictories Greater than Death (first in the Unstoppable Trilogy)Never Say You Can't SurviveEven Greater MistakesLessons in Magic and Disaster Charlie Jane Anders Photo credit: Sarah Deragon/Portraits to the People Visit theepilogue.net to view our interviews, sign up for our newsletter, and watch for upcoming member bonuses such as extended interviews and full video.

    56 min
  4. Elisabeth Sharp McKetta: Myth and Memoir

    06/12/2025

    Elisabeth Sharp McKetta: Myth and Memoir

    Elisabeth Sharp McKetta joins me today for an episode all about how the mythology we inherit from our cultures and families, can be combined with the personal, to enhance our stories. She discusses the similarities of crafting poetry and prose, and how she weaves the magic of myth into her works, making them resonate with readers while keeping things fresh and exciting. Chapters: 00:15 - Embracing Mythology in Writing08:25 - Exploring the Intersection of Fairy Tales and Memoir21:52 - The Mythology of Water: Crafting a Narrative31:59 - Archetype Phases46:33 - Choosing the Child's Perspective Elisabeth's Information: Elisabeth Sharp McKetta is an award-winning writer and writing teacher and a mother of two. With a PhD on the intersections between fairy tales and autobiography, as well as a seven-year streak of writing weekly poems for strangers, she teaches writing for Oxford Department for Continuing Education and for Harvard Extension School, where she won their highest teaching award. She has authored thirteen books across genres, most recently the novels She Never Told Me about the Ocean and Ark, the essay collection Awake with Asashoryu, and the personal growth guide Edit Your Life, based on her experience living three years in a 275-square foot backyard guest house with her family of four (five, if you count the Labrador). She co-edited the anthology What Doesn’t Kill Her: Women’s Stories of Resilience, which Gloria Steinem described as stories that “will help each of us to trust and tell our own.” Elisabeth’s work with myth and memoir, which she began studying at Harvard College and now teaches, has been spotlighted in Harvard Magazine. (elisabethsharpmcketta.com) Elisabeth's Books: She Never Told Me about the Ocean Ark Edit Your Life Elisabeth's Ted Talk: Edit Your Life Like a Poem: TedXBoise Also Mentioned: The Virgin's Promise by Kim Hudson The Heroine with 1001 Faces by Maria Tatar Visit theepilogue.net to view our interviews, sign up for our newsletter, and watch for upcoming member bonuses such as extended interviews and full video.

    58 min
  5. David Slayton: Writing Your Own Story

    06/02/2025

    David Slayton: Writing Your Own Story

    Write the story that only you can! For our very first episode, I am joined by David Slayton, award-winning fantasy author, to explore the connection between his life experiences and his literary work. He reflects on the struggles of growing up in an environment that marked him as different, which informs the diverse characters he crafts in his novels, including his urban fantasy, starting with *White Trash Warlock*, and his subsequent high fantasy, *Dark Moon, Shallow Sea*. We also delve into the significance of representation and the necessity of authentic voices in literature. Chapters: 00:15 - Exploring the Boundaries of Imagination in Writing04:48 - The Heroine's Journey: A New Perspective on Storytelling10:09 - Exploring Urban Fantasy Tropes19:41 - Exploring Character Depth: Bobby's Journey28:04 - Writing Diverse Characters: Understanding Identity and Empathy30:55 - Exploring Rogue Community College: A New Fantasy Adventure40:10 - The Ghost Mist and the Dying World47:53 - Personal Traumas and Character Development52:44 - The Journey of the Author David's information: David R. Slayton (He/Him) grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding ones with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he lives in Denver with his partner Brian and writes the books he always wanted to read. His debut, White Trash Warlock, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. In 2015, David founded Trick or Read, an initiative to give out books along with candy to children on Halloween as well as uplift lesser-known authors or those from marginalized backgrounds. His epic fantasy, Dark Moon, Shallow Sea, won the 2024 Colorado Book Award. Find him online at www.DavidRSlayton.com. David's books: White Trash Warlock (First in the Adam Binder Series) Rogue Community CollegeDark Moon Shallow Sea Also mentioned: Check out Gail Carriger's The Heroine's Journey Visit theepilogue.net to view our interviews, sign up for our newsletter, and watch for upcoming member bonuses such as extended interviews and full video.

    54 min
  • 5 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Join us each episode for an exploration of story with a different author, as we go deep into the writing craft. The Epilogue...is an interview show that focuses on the art of writing with your favorite writers and storytellers. Writing is art. Writing is science.

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Stubblefield
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Michael Stubblefield
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