Inside the Writer's Studio

Charlie chats with Australian best selling novelist Kate Forsyth about her latest historical novel, The Crimson Thread, set on Crete during the Nazi occupation. They discuss writing historical novels, ancient mythology, finding hidden WW II stories, and mush more.

Charlie talks with 73-time NYT bestseller Sandra Brown about her latest novel, Overkill. They discuss structuring thrillers, pacing, writing villains, the terrible trouble, the North Carolina Mountains, and much more.

Author of middle grade books Frank Morelli takes over the microphone to interview Charlie about his new middle grade novel The Book of the Seven Spells, a fast-paced adventure about four children who discover a magical library.

Ahead of their appearance at the Bookmarks Festival in Winston-Salem, Charlie and Scott discuss Scott's new novel Suspect, touching on everything from what makes a thriller to rapid character development, creating villains, the American legal system, and more.

Anne Bogel (aka Modern Mrs. Darcy) interviews Charlie about his new novel The Enigma Affair. Anne (host of the What Should I Read Next podcast) asks Charlie about surprises, research, writing thrillers, and of course she puts him on the hot seat with the ten questions.

Charlie talks with horror novelist Grady Hendrix about his new novel How to Sell a Haunted House. They discuss the history and development of the horror genre, family dynamics, the use of humor, structuring a novel, pacing, and why dolls and puppets are just so darn creepy.

Charlie returns from summer vacation to talk with bestselling author Jamie Ford about his new novel The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, a sweeping story about the things we inherit from our ancestors. They talk about mixing historical fiction and speculative fiction, the Chinese experience in America, cliffhangers, what America means, and much more.

Charlie talks with Pulitzer Prize winer Geraldine Brooks about her new novel horse and its inspiration, a nineteenth century American racehorse. They discuss structuring a novel across multiple time frames. capturing the voice of a past era, race in America, the history of horse racing, and much more,

Charlie talks with Elle about her Finlay Donovan books. They talk plotting, murder, body disposal, character building, the genesis of Finlay, motherhood, divorce, Writers' Police Academy, and mixing humor and crime in books about a single mom recruited to be a contract killer.

Charlie talks with Lauren McBrayer about her new novel Like a House on Fire in which protagonist Merit must understand her feelings towards her boss Jane. They discuss the search for identity, female friendship, religion, sensory detail and much more about this wonderful novels that explores relationships from parenthood to professional.

Charlie talks with Kyle Lukoff about his new middle grade novel Different Kinds of Fruit. They talk about writing LGBTQ characters, getting into the emotional headspace of sixth graders, layering secondary and tertiary characters, structure, family dynamics, and much more.

Charlie talks with Annie Hartnett about her new novel Unlikely Animals. They discuss depicting small towns, using magical realism, narrative voice and point of view, and the background of this fascinating novel—a 26,000 acre private wildlife preserve called Corbin Park. And of course, they discuss animals!

Charlie talks with Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle about his new book of short stories Life Without Children. They talk about Irish storytelling, Dublin, the pandemic, the craft of short story writing, the difference between incident and story, and much more.

Charlie talks to best-selling author Ruta Sepetys about her new crossover novel I Must Betray You, set in Romania just before the fall of communism. They discuss Eastern European history, what it was like to live in communist Romania, how Ruta researched such a repressive regime, how authoritarianism robs children of their childhood, and more.

Charlie talks with bestselling author Josie Silver about her new novel One Night on the Island—the talk about romance tropes and subverting them, setting a narrative in a remote location, researching during COVID, building strong secondary characters, and more.

Charlie talks to historical novelist Fiona Davis about her novel The Magnolia Palace, set largely at the Frick Museum in New York City in 1919 and 1966. They discuss (among other things) New York, researching historical details, the place of the model in society, and the amazing true story of Audrey Munson, the artists' model who served as the basis for one of the heroines in Fiona's novel.

Charlie starts off the new year talking with historical novelist Kerri Maher about her new novel The Paris Bookseller, a fascinating and moving account of Sylvia Beach and her famous store Shakespeare and Company. They discuss Beach's publication of Ulysses by James Joyce, the place of expatriates like Ernest Hemingway in 1920s Paris, the role of bookstores in society and much more.

Charlie talks to debut novelist Elizabeth Weiss about her novel Sisters Sweet which follows the lives of twin sisters as they navigate the world of vaudeville in the 1920s and 1930s. They discuss theatre history, writing about twins, changing technology, religion, family and more.

Charlie chats with Sophie Cousens, author of the romantic comedy Just Haven't Met You Yet, about living on the island of Jersey in the English Channel, the connection between place and story, the meaning of objects in our lives, the preservation of stories, humor in the inner lives of characters, positivity in the face of difficulties, and more.

Charlie talks with screenwriter and novelist Rex Pickett about his new novel The Archivist. They discuss the place of an archivist in the life of a writer, southern California, the thorny issues of archival ethics, adapting novels for the screen and screenplays into novels, the support networks writers depend on, writing strong women characters, and more.

Charlie talks with British novelist Sophie Kinsella about her new book The Party Crasher. They discuss family dynamics, writing humor, confining the action to a single place and time, the character arc of a house, how to humanize even unlikeable characters, the advantages of a first person narrative, and much more.

Fresh on the heels of Lauren's appearance at the Bookmarks Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, Charlie and Lauren discuss her new novel Matrix about the poet Marie de France. They discuss religion, economics, feminism, queer history, poetry, royalty, mysticism, and how all those elements combine to create an unforgettable novel.

Charlie talks with fellow North Carolina novelist about his new novel When Ghosts Come Home. The talk about issues of race and class, how to use backstory to create pacing, how tragedy magnifies the details of life, creating believable minor characters, emotion in writing, making a setting resonate with readers, and much more. Wylie and Charlie will also share the stage at the Bookmarks Festival o...

Charlie talks with Marie and Victoria about their historical novel The Personal Librarian, the story of a trailblazing black woman who passed for white while building one of the most significant book collections in the world—now the Morgan Library and Museum. They discuss race in historical fiction, creating characters out of real people, the antiquarian book world, how two authors worked together...

Charlie chats with Canadian mystery writer Shari Lapena about her new novel Not a Nice Family. They discuss managing information in a mystery, family dynamics, the art of crafting chapter endings, and much more about the murder, dysfunction, and suspicion within the family at the center of this page-turner.