The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience Podglomerate

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New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author, Sarah Pearse, spoke to me about Agatha Christie's legacy, how to write plausible police procedurals, and the place that inspired her latest, "The Retreat."
Sarah Pearse is the author of The Sanatorium, a stunning crime fiction debut, instant New York Times and international bestseller, as well as a Reese’s Book Club selection and critical success.
Her second novel, The Retreat, is Book Two in her bestselling Detective Elin Warner series, and another locked-room style thriller People magazine called, "The Shining but with a full house.”
New York Times bestselling author Ashley Audrain said of the book, “Sarah Pearse has expertly crafted another eerie, atmospheric thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder as you read. A wonderfully chilling story of grief, revenge, and family secrets. An absorbing escape!”
Sarah Pearse studied English literature and creative writing at the University of Warwick before completing a postgraduate diploma in broadcast journalism and has worked in marketing and publicity for a variety of household brands.
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In this file Sarah Pearse and I discussed:

The best writing advice she's ever received

How this #writermom wrote a bestseller on maternity leave

Using folklore, famously haunted, and sacred places in your writing

What mind maps and natural descriptions can do for your setting

The best way to conquer your nerves and win the day

Her thoughts on rejection

And a lot more!

Show Notes:
sarahpearse.co.uk
The Retreat: A Novel by Sarah Pearse (Amazon Affiliate)
The Sanatorium: A Novel by Sarah Pearse (Amazon Affiliate)
Sarah Pearse on Facebook
Sarah Pearse on Instagram
Sarah Pearse on Twitter
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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Addendum:
Hey just a quick addendum on this week's redux, I am out of town this week and enjoying the sweatiest summer of all time with my kids, but I wanted to revisit a fantastic episode with now National Book Award Winner, Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction Winner, Pushcart Prize nominee, NAACP Image Award nominee, and Carnegie Medals For Excellence Longlist nominee Jason Mott. Congrats! Enjoy, I’ll catch you next week with some fresh writerly wisdom.
New York Times bestselling author, Jason Mott, took a timeout to talk with me about the high-wire act of building Hell of a Book, talking about race in America, and NOT working with Brad Pitt.
Jason is the author of The Returned, a New York Times bestseller that was turned into a TV series that ran for two seasons.
His fourth novel is titled Hell of a Book, and is described as a "... funny and honest [work of fiction] that goes to the heart of racism, police violence, and the hidden costs exacted upon Black Americans, and America as a whole."
The book has been named to dozens of "Must Read" lists for 2021 including Entertainment Weekly, The NY Post, GMA, USA Today, Fortune's 21 Most Anticipated Books Coming out in the Second Half of 2021 and more. Charles Yu, author of National Book Award winner Interior Chinatown called the book, "Playful, searching, raw and necessary..."
Jason has BFA in fiction and an MFA in Poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His poetry and fiction have appeared in various literary journals.
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In this file Jason Mott and I discussed:

What it's like to write a book in your head for a decade

Why he dared to dream to become a writer

How to build a technically complex novel, draft by draft

His study and love of film noir

And why writers need to be nicer to themselves

Show Notes:

JasonMottAuthor.com


Hell of a Book: A Novel by Jason Mott

Jason Mott Amazon author page

Jason Mott on Facebook

Jason Mott on Twitter

Kelton Reid on Twitter


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#1 New York Times bestselling author, Emily Henry, spoke to me about her past life as a YA mid-lister, the Romance Renaissance, writing your way out of darkness, and her latest "Book Lovers."
Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read, and has sold over a million copies of her novels.
Her latest, Book Lovers, was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, multiple Most Anticipated Read of 2022, and has been described as "... a love story between a by-the-book literary agent and a prickly book editor who fall in love in a small town straight out of a romance movie."
New York Times bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid called it “... a rom-com lover's dream of a book," and Emma Straub wrote, “I would follow Emily Henry anywhere. A small town, a literary enterprise, a bookstore to rescue, and ..." other sexy things.
Emily's books have been featured in Buzzfeed, Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, The Skimm, Shondaland, and more. 
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[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get The Writer Files Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
In this file Emily Henry and I discussed:

What it's like to live in a "lightning strike"

Watching your friends succeed wildly

Making Romance more accessible to the masses 

The secrets behind Hallmark Christmas movies

How to wake, Wordle, and write 2000 words a day

And a lot more!

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Show Notes:
emilyhenrybooks.com
Book Lovers by Emily Henry (Amazon Affiliate) 
Emily Henry Amazon Author Page (Amazon Affiliate)
Emily Henry on Instagram
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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New York Times bestselling author, Ashley Poston, spoke to me about her pivot away from YA, the importance of fan fiction, and her paranormal romance debut "The Dead Romantics."
Ashley Poston’s bestselling YA novels have been featured by Teen Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, Buzzfeed, and more.
Her highly-anticipated pivot to romance is The Dead Romantics, a story about a millennial ghostwriter who believes romance is dead, a humorous and heartfelt novel with a fresh, slightly supernatural hook.  
The New York Times Bestseller and Good Morning America Book Club Pick has been called "‘While You Were Sleeping’ meets ‘Six Feet Under,'" by the NY Times, and bestselling author Emma Straub called it, "Smart, quick, and absolutely bubbling over with love for the genre of romance itself. Delicious.”
Ashley Poston has spent the last decade in the publishing industry as a social media coordinator, a marketing designer, and finally an author.
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[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get The Writer Files Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
In this file Ashley Poston and I discussed:

Her work behind the curtain in publishing

What it's like to be a GMA Book Club Pick 

How to stay in love with writing

Why graveyards have curfews

The power of deadlines

And a lot more!


[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:
ashposton.com
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston (Amazon Affiliate)
Ashley Poston Amazon Author Page (Amazon Affiliate)
How New York Times Bestselling Author & Mortician Caitlin Doughty Writes
Ashley Poston on Twitter
Ashley Poston on Instagram
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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New York Times bestselling author, Eleanor Brown, spoke to me about the difference between writers and authors, why adoptive families are just like any other family, and her latest novel "Any Other Family."
Eleanor Brown's critically acclaimed debut novel, The Weird Sisters, was a New York Times and #1 international bestseller with over half a million copies sold. The novel earned excellent reviews from The New York Times, NPR, Entertainment Weekly, People, USA Today, and more.
Her latest is Any Other Family, a novel "...about four children, three adoptive mothers, and one complicated, unforgettable family." Kirkus Reviews described it as, "A prismatic story of family, adoption, and how the people we choose to keep close shape who we are.”
Eleanor is also an anthologist, editor, teacher, speaker, and adoptive mother herself. She teaches writing workshops and conferences nationwide, including for The Writers' Table and Lighthouse Writers workshops in Colorado.
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In this file Eleanor Brown and I discussed:

Her 15-year overnight success

Why she doesn't read her reviews

On becoming an adoptive mother and open adoption

Why novelists have to outline at some point

How to start with a destination in mind

And why you need to start calling yourself a "writer"

And a lot more!

Show Notes:
eleanor-brown.com
Any Other Family by Eleanor Brown (Amazon Affiliate)
Eleanor Brown Amazon Author Page (Amazon Affiliate)
The Book Project - LighthouseWriters.org
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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New York Times bestselling author, and screenwriter-producer, Dennis Lehane, spoke to me about what he learned from Clint Eastwood, working on "Mr. Mercedes" with David E. Kelley, and his new Apple TV+ show "Black Bird."
Dennis Lehane is the bestselling author of 13 novels including four adapted into films of the same name: 2003's Academy Award-winning film Mystic River, directed by Clint Eastwood; 2007's Gone Baby Gone; 2010's Shutter Island directed by Martin Scorsese, and 2016’s Live by Night directed by Ben Affleck.
His latest is the limited Apple TV+ series, Black Bird, described as a "...fascinating, ripped-from-the headlines story [and] true-crime drama..." based on the 2010 memoir by James Keene and Hillel Levin, In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption.
"Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton), cuts a deal with the FBI to enter maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend a suspected serial killer, Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser)."
Black Bird premieres globally with the first two episodes on Friday, July 8, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.
Lehane was a staff writer on the acclaimed HBO series "The Wire," worked as a writer-producer on HBO’s "Boardwalk Empire," the Netflix series, "Bloodline," and was a writer and producer on the television adaptation of Stephen King’s "Mr. Mercedes."
Stay calm and write on ...
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get The Writer Files Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
In this file Dennis Lehane and I discussed:

Why he sucked at everything except writing and playing pool

How he landed a literary agent while parking cars

Dealing with impostor syndrome early on

How he prefers screenwriting to novel writing today

Why narcissists have no place on a TV set

And a lot more!

[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:
Black Bird | Apple TV+
Dennis Lehane on IMDb
Dennis Lehane Amazon Author Page (Amazon Affiliate)
In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene and Hillel Levin (Amazon Affiliate)
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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