Why Authors Write

Mary J Cronin
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In candid conversations with bestselling authors, Why Authors Write goes behind the covers to get inside creative minds and find out what propels these authors to keep on writing, from inspiration to publication.   Join Mary J. Cronin and co-hosts Kristie Dickinson, Sara Standon, and Becca Cronin as we dive into the personal backstories that make a writer’s work unforgettable. Follow along on the path that authors travel, from that irresistible spark of an idea, through overcoming frustration and sometimes tear-your-hair out writer's block, to finding the confidence and flow to get a book over the finish line.    We dig deep to ask the questions you are curious about: Where do your best plot ideas come from? Is that villain based on a real-life character? How long does it take you to get from the book’s starting line to publication?  And much, much more.   If you want to find out what inspires your favorite authors to keep on writing, subscribe now so you won’t miss out on a single episode. Looking for more details on your favorite authors and interviews?  Visit Mary’s website: 4QCatalyst for Why Authors Write show notes, author clips and quotes, and previews of future episodes.   

  1. 2D AGO

    Jessica Keener on Evening Begins the Day

    Why Authors Write host Mary J. Cronin welcomes Jessica Brilliant Keener to discover why emotional betrayal and broken trust were issues that haunted her while writing Evening Begins the Day. Keener shares how her interest in fractured family relationships, marital infidelity, and the complexity of human motives became the emotional core of this book. Rather than lean on clichés about leaving a relationship or drawing a line, she digs into the complicated reasons people hurt each other deeply, then stay connected for better or worse. A turning point in writing Evening Becomes the Day was Keener’s discovery of the counting of the Omer, a 49‑day spiritual practice from Jewish tradition that she integrated into lives of all her characters in revising the story. She recounts a moving real-life encounter involving her son and a young man named Nate, whose simple act of generosity led her to discover this ritual of reflection and healing. Keener explains how the counting of the Omer became a “lightweight but profound” framework that unites the novel’s characters, from teenagers to deeply wounded adults, without ever becoming heavy-handed or dogmatic Mary invites Jessica to open up about her writing process and the strategies she relies on to complete her novels.  Keener’s discipline includes sitting down to write 500 words, five days a week with no excuses. That routine, however, doesn’t prevent period of self-doubt and agonizing decisions to throw out big sections of her manuscript and start over when early drafts go off track.  She wraps up her reflections on authorship with generous, hard-earned advice for writers at every stage of plot development and publication, including the importance of surrounding yourself with people who truly want your work to thrive. Insights Exploring themes of broken trust and betrayalPower of a religous ritual in a secular settingWrestling with self-doubt and permission to "make a mess" on the pageWriting routine and process Chapters 00:00 Exploring Broken Trust and Betrayal05:28 Writing Routine and Process12:58 Transition to Book Promotion

    21 min

  2. MAY 8

    M.L. Rio's Wild Trip Writing "Hot Wax"

    Would you sell your house and spend 18 months living out of your car to make yout road trip story authentic?  That’s what bestselling author M.L Rio did to write her blistering rock‑and‑roll novel "Hot Wax." In this episode of Why Authors Write, host Mary J. Cronin sits down with Rio to unpack the wild, 10‑year journey that brought Hot Wax to readers everywhere. Beyond this novel’s compelling origin story, Mary and M.L. dig into the stubbornness it takes to keep on writing in the face of rejection, falling in love with the story you are meant to tell, and the techniques that work to get a road trip novel over the finish line. Rio begins with brutal honesty about confronting the unforgiving nature of the publishing industry when first novels don’t achieve sales projections. She sold her debut novel, *If We Were Villains,” in her early 20s with every reason to think her next book would follow quickly.  Then came the shock; almost no one bought this story about a troupe of Shakespearean actors in the UK. After a trickle of dismal sales, her publisher lost interest, and the offers for her next book project evaporated.  Rio looks back and remembers absorbing the idea that her writing career was likely over.  She returned to academia, earning a doctorate in literature and kept on writing in the margins of a life built around scholarship and survival. Then, in a fiction-worthy twist of fate, during the pandemic Rio’s first book became a viral sensation on TikTok, and sales surged. Suddenly, Rio’s debut novel was an international phenomenon and she was back in demand as publishers reached out to ask about her work in progress. Rio insisted her next book had to be Hot Wax: a propulsive, emotionally charged story of a mid‑list band clawing its way across an American landscape of dive bars, bad gigs, and fraught relationships. That’s when she decided to live her fictional band’s story, driving from city to city, visiting second-rate music venues, smoky bars, and greasy spoons. She calls herself a “method writer” meaning that she is someone who needs to get as close as possible to the world she’s building on the page. That risky decision to spend so much time on the road, followed by years of revision, rethinking, and rewriting almost derailed her second book.  After 10 years in the making, publisher interest had turned elsewhere and she faced an agonizing wait for a contract.  Rio’s advice to young writers and aspiring authors of all ages is two-fold: First, “don’t rush into publication.”  Worthwhile writing requires authenticity, conviction, and willingness to keep revising until you get it right.  Great fiction is hard - -and she believes that’s how it should be. Second, as a novelist who has learned plenty about the challenges of getting into print and the need to sell books as well as create them, Rio urges every author to spend time learning how the publishing industry actually works.  Its advice born of early success, flame-out, and a hard-earned comeback.   Insights and HIghlights Debut authors can come back from early rejection to find a loyal audience Writing takes time and should not be rushedBe authentic; write what you believe Understanding the publishing industry is crucial for success and long-term survival as an author Chapters 00:00 The Wild 10 Year Path to Writing and Publishing Hot Wax

    30 min

  3. MAY 1

    Chrisopher Mirabile on The Washashore and Its Hero

    What convinces a lifelong entrepreneur and venture investor to pivot from business success to become a full time mystery writer? In this episode of Why Authors Write, Christopher Mirabile tells Mary J. Cronin what inspired him to create Silas Lopez as a quirky and deeply decent outsider detective hero in “The Washashore.”  Mirabile opens up about applying his entrepreneur’s mindset to a career pivot into full-time fiction writing, his decision to launch a new mystery series set in Provincetown and Cape Cod, and how falling in love with his book’s main characters is an unexpected bonus. Takeaways Career Pivot: Christopher transitioned from a successful career as an investor to a full-time author, driven by a desire to write fiction and explore new creative endeavors.Writing Process: Christopher's writing process involves meticulous editing, dialogue-driven storytelling, and the development of characters and plot arcs over multiple books. Chapters 00:00 Writing Process and Character Development13:32 Lessons Learned and Future Plans19:40 Book Promotion and Writing Business

    28 min

  4. APR 24

    Chloe Howarth on Heap Earth Upon It

    Chloe Michelle Howarth, author of 'Heap Earth Upon It,' discusses drawing her inspiration from the Irish countryside, the process of researching historical settings, crafting multiple character perspectives, and exploring the theme of obsession in her latest book. The conversation delves into the creative process, sibling dynamics, and upcoming projects, offering insights into the author's writing journey. In this episode of Why Authors Write host Sara Stanton explores how bestselling novelist Chloe Michelle Howarth deals with the theme of obsession in “Heap Earth Upon It.”  Set in a fictional rural Irish town in 1965, the novel follows the O’Leary siblings—Tom, Anna, Jack, and Peggy—as they arrive in Ballycray seeking a new beginning, only to find that old secrets and dangerous fixations don’t stay buried for long. Drawing from her upbringing in West Cork, Chloe anchors her characters in the drizzly winters, eerie quiet, and isolated landscapes of rural Ireland to create the perfect backdrop for a gothic tale steeped in sapphic obsession, family tension, and identity. She and Sara dig into the craft of telling a story about obsession from multiple points of view, with each character completely convinced that their version of events is the core truth.  Chloe and Sara explore why 1960s Ireland—especially rural Ireland—was the right era for this novel. Far from the image of the swinging ’60s, Chloe points out that Irish social change and counterculture arrived much later. She wanted to place a queer protagonist in a time and place with no language, references, or community for her queerness, forcing that self‑discovery to happen in a near vacuum. To pull this off, Chloe relied heavily on the RTÉ archives, immersing herself in contemporary radio and television to capture what people were hearing, gossiping about, and angered by in that exact moment. Craft-wise, the novel is told through four distinct points of view—Tom, Anna, Jack, and Betty—and Chloe was determined that each voice feel truly separate. She even wrote each character in a different color ink to remind herself “drop into” their perspective, ensuring they didn’t all sound like variations of her own voice. The complexity of aligning their timelines, secrets, and emotional arcs was, she admits, a major editorial challenge—but also one of the most satisfying parts of making the book. Chloe owns up to enjoying centering her book on obsession and delving into the dysfunctional sibling relationships that sharpen into crisis in the course of her book.  “These characters are obsessive people, and they’re like that from the start… the brothers get away with it because their obsessions are more socially acceptable, even when their behavior is just as extreme.” Takeaways Setting as InspirationResearching Historical SettingsGothic storytellingSibling dynamics and perspectives on obsession Chapters 00:00 Exploring the Theme of Obsession

    24 min

  5. APR 17

    Lori Gold on Crafting Kiss, Marry, Kill

    Kristie Dickinson welcomes bestselling novelist and book coach Lori Gold to Why Authors Write to unpack the making of her twisty new novel, “Kiss, Marry, Kill.”  Lori shares her struggle to wrangle three POVs, multiple timelines, and parallel realities into a complex but readable story, and why she had to revise the plot again and again.  The episode also dives into the realities of a working writer’s life: why most authors need multiple income streams, the truth about advances, and Lori’s best advice on query letters, comps, and building a sustainable literary career.  For aspiring writers and readers who are curious about how bestselling authors navigate everything from revisions to negotiations with publishers, this episode has the answers.    The novel follows three lifelong friends who co‑found a wellness app company and, after playing a game of Kiss, Marry, Kill at a company retreat, wake up in an alternate universe where their game choices may have come true; or maybe not quite true. Lori talks about the spark of inspiration for the book’s central story that came from a short‑lived TV show, and her determination to push the idea into a more high-concept book based on her love of Sliding Doors, Palm Springs, and grounded speculative fiction. She talks candidly about the need for heavy revision, walking away from early, over‑complicated drafts, and why she believes that even if experience and writing practice doesn’t make perfect, it gives writers confidence to make radical changes on the way to a final draft.   This episode is a deep, generous conversation about craft, career, and the very real challenges of writing speculative fiction. Listeners get an inside look at how an initially over‑complicated plot was pared down so the emotional core—and the twists—could really land. Character building is where Lori feels most at home, and she breaks down how each of the three friends emerged as a different facet of choice in Kiss, Marry, Kill: - one who charges ahead and chooses selfishly, - one who sees the world in rigid right vs. wrong, - and one paralyzed by indecision and fear of choosing Lori offers us a rich blend of craft wisdom, publishing industry realityies, and creative encouragement—especially for writers wrestling with big concepts, bigger doubts, and the question of how to build a career in writing. Chapters 00:00 The Origin of Kiss Marry Kill05:59 Wrangling Multiple POV and Timelines12:02 The Art of Query Letters23:04 Making a Living as a Full Time Writer

    24 min

  6. APR 10

    Ben Shattuck on The History of Sound

    How does it feel when the story you wrote a decade ago anchors your award-winning book and becomes an acclaimed feature film? In this episode of Why Authors Write, host Mary Cronin talks with author and now screenwriter Ben Shattuck about living that dream with The History of Sound. Ben reveals how the carefully paired stories in The History of Sound speak to each other across centuries, linked by themes, houses, landscapes, and artifacts. From Edwin Chase of Nantucket and Silver Clip to the chilling duo August in the Forest and The Journal of Thomas Thurber, he explains how each story pair offers an ending—or a deeper meaning—to the other. Moving from authoring stories to screenwriting as “architectural plans for a hallucination,” Ben talks about the humbling, exhilarating experience of walking onto the movie set of The History of Sound and hearing actors Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor speak lines that once lived only in his imagination. Reflecting on his early work, Ben offers surprising and reassuring advice.  He urges younger writers not to rush to publish, noting how life experience is an essential compost that enriches fiction. He also emphasizes the essential discipline of simply showing up to write every day, and why, paradoxically, “letting time pass is the greatest shortcut.” Whether you’re a reader, a writer, or simply curious about how stories move from idea to page to screen, this episode offers an intimate, generous look at how one author thinks about time, structure, and the evolving pleasures of a deeply creative life. Chapters 00:00 The History of Sound: Structure and Inspiration13:30 Screenwriting As Blueprints for a Film27:08 Don't Rush to Publish: Experience as Creative Compost

    35 min

  7. APR 3

    Julie Dobrow on Love and Loss After Wounded Knee

    Why did Julie Dobrow spend decades researching the tragic  love story at the center of her dual biography, Love and Loss After Wounded Knee?  In this episode of Why Authors Write, Julie reveals her obsession with the forgotten life of New England writer Elaine Goodale, who turned her back on fame as a teen poet, moved west, and married Lakota-born Charles Eastman right after the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre.  Dobrow acknowledges the challenge of understanding the dynamics of a failed interracial  marriage that endured relentless public scrutiny, and what it cost Elaine to pour her talent into her husband’s literary legacy instead of her own.  Julie begins by taking us back to her own origin story as a biographer. As a 21‑year‑old college student working a summer job at Smith College she helped to process the Goodale–Eastman–Dayton family papers. Among the crumbling letters, curling photographs, and yellowed clippings, one narrative “leapt off the pages and grabbed” her: the improbable, cross‑cultural love story of Goodale and Eastman. Throughout, Julie reflects honestly on the difficulty writing about such complex and controversial characters: falling in and out of love with one’s subjects, and grappling with archival gaps—including the fact that Elaine deliberately destroyed most of the documentation of her marriage.   Julie also shares how her long journey to get inside the motivations and marriage of Elaine and Charles transformed her own understanding of the limits of historical research in bringing a gripping story of love, loss, and bitter disillusionment to life on the page. Don't miss this episode if you have ever wondered what motivates biographers to devote years to researching their subjects, and what it takes to do justice to complicated, imperfect love stories in the full context of American history. Chapters 00:00 The Power of Love in History 07:34 Elaine Goodale: A Trailblazer's Journey 13:18 Love and Loss: The Impact of Wounded Knee 19:41 The Struggles of a Writer and Mother 24:58 Reflections on Legacy and Identity

    31 min

  8. MAR 27

    Marriage and Monuments: Writing About Lives in Chaos

    In this episode of Why Authors Write, Mary Cronin talks with historical novelist Virginia Pye about why she likes to write about private lives and intimate relationships pressured by public upheaval and change.  Virginia shares her secrets for completing complex storylines, and talks about how she transformed decades of publisher rejection into a series of bestselling books. The conversation moves from the appeal of historical settings and portraying memorable characters surviving in times of crisis  to heartfelt, real-life advice about organizing complex storylines, wrestling with rejection, and wondering how to transform an unpublished manuscript into your first blockbuster book. Here’s what we cover: The real-life events in Richmond, Virginia, in the summer of 2020—protests after the murder of George Floyd and the removal of Confederate monuments—that inspired  her latest novel, Marriage and Other Monuments.Virginia's advice that novelists should research by curiosity, not perfectionism, and avoid getting lost in historical “rabbit holes.”The long road from “aspiring writer” to multi-book author: five unpublished novels completed before her debut best seller finally arrivingHow she “fillets” her unpublished novels—reusing characters, relationships, and scenes from earlier manuscripts to create stronger new books.Why she now feels she can relax into her identity as an author, write and revise with joy, and meet readers and fellow writers without feeling she has something to prove.Encouraging, candid advice for writers with “books in the drawer” aboutassuming you have more than one book in you,maintaining self-respect in a tough marketplace,embracing small presses and literary communities, andstaying connected to the joy of the work itself. Two Big Insights Historical settings provide a rich backdrop for exploring societal change and its impact on relationships.Persistence and evolution are key aspects of a writer's journey, leading to growth and success. Chapters 00:00 Exploring Historical Settings06:17 The Writing Process and Inspiration15:34 Character-Driven Plot Development22:04 Completion and Publication of a Book

    30 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

In candid conversations with bestselling authors, Why Authors Write goes behind the covers to get inside creative minds and find out what propels these authors to keep on writing, from inspiration to publication.   Join Mary J. Cronin and co-hosts Kristie Dickinson, Sara Standon, and Becca Cronin as we dive into the personal backstories that make a writer’s work unforgettable. Follow along on the path that authors travel, from that irresistible spark of an idea, through overcoming frustration and sometimes tear-your-hair out writer's block, to finding the confidence and flow to get a book over the finish line.    We dig deep to ask the questions you are curious about: Where do your best plot ideas come from? Is that villain based on a real-life character? How long does it take you to get from the book’s starting line to publication?  And much, much more.   If you want to find out what inspires your favorite authors to keep on writing, subscribe now so you won’t miss out on a single episode. Looking for more details on your favorite authors and interviews?  Visit Mary’s website: 4QCatalyst for Why Authors Write show notes, author clips and quotes, and previews of future episodes.   

Information

  • Creator
    Mary J Cronin
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Mary J Cronin
  • Show Website
    Why Authors Write