The Thoughtful Bro Mark Cecil

Pumping Literary Fire straight in ya veins on my latest with Mateo Askaripour, discussing his new one, This Great Hemisphere.
 Topics: (1) taking big risks after a bestseller (2) shaking up the publishing industry, and (3) helping people feel seen.
Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry.
All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

With National Book Award winner M.T. Anderson, on his debut novel for adults, Nicked.
We discussed: (1) the blurry boundary between YA/adult fiction, (2) the identity of his true intended audience, and (3) how great titles begin to tell the tale before you turn the first page. He also reads aloud the opening paragraph of the story, one of the finest in recent memory.
Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry.
All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

With debut novelist Sara Shukla, on her satirical, absurdist and emotionally satisfying beach reach, Pink Whales.
We discussed (1) making sure you have a solid story beneath the humor; (2) figuring out the formula of comedy through trial and error, and (3) how she finally gave up on writing that Big Important Literary Novel, and started just having fun.
Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry.
All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

With Derek Black, on their new memoir The Klansman’s Son.
We discussed Derek’s journey from being the child of the head of the KKK, to their renunciation of their white supremacist beliefs and becoming an anti-racist. In an America where the GOP presidential nominee is openly adopting planks of the white nationalist platform, Derek is sounding the alarm.
Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry.
All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

With Garth Risk Hallberg discussing his second novel, and first in nine years, The Second Coming.
Topics included: (1) the unique benefits of writing *very* long books; (2) Tom Wolfe & the sprawling, all-inclusive NYC novel; and (3) how/how not to deal with sudden, massive literary fame.
Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry.
All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

With bestselling author and A Mighty Blaze co-founder Caroline Leavitt. We discussed her 13th novel, Days of Wonder, then went deep on a subject we’re both obsessed with: story structure.
We covered (1) the importance of presenting your book's main question in the first chapter, (2) the pros of workshopping your synopsis before writing, and (3) how Caroline says learning to structure "saved my life."
Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry.
All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.