No Write Way with V. E. Schwab

Some books are a surprise, even to the people who wrote them. For the final episode of the season, Jenna takes the reins and turns the mic on Cat Clarke and me (V.E. Schwab), the two halves of Evelyn Clarke, to talk about our debut novel and the very unexpected path that led us here. We get into the origin story, how a writer who swore she’d never co-write (it me) and another who had stepped away...

Some books reclaim the stories we thought we already knew. This week, I’m joined by Ayana Gray, author of Beasts of Prey and her latest, I, Medusa , for a conversation that begins with origin stories and winds its way through the very particular internet experiences of a millennial upbringing—back when blogs were everything and a place called Twitter still existed. We talk about learning what was...

Some books remind you that fantasy can be brutal, funny, and painfully human all at once. This week, I’m joined by Joe Abercrombie, author of the First Law series and his latest, The Devils , for a conversation about the strange dance between fantasy and the expectations that come with it. We talk about drifting around the edges of genre labels (including the ever persistent “grimdark”) and what i...

Some books feel like a rom com written in a minor key. This week, I’m talking with Ashley Winstead, author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and her latest, Future Saints . We chat about the idea that first drafts are just secret monsters, something you have to let out just to learn their shape. Ashley tells me about the sticky note she kept on her laptop that read, “no one will ever see this,” a sma...

Some stories are portals. Some storytellers are too.  This week, I’m joined by T. L. Huchu, author of The Edinburgh Nights series, for a conversation that feels a little like falling down a rabbit hole together. T. L. often interviews me when my tours bring me through Edinburgh, so this time we flipped the script, and as always, time behaved strangely around us. We talk about bookstores as cathedr...

Some books tilt the world just slightly off its axis and dare you to find your footing. This week, I’m joined by Mona Awad, author of Bunny and Rouge , whose stories feel at once unsettling and luminous. We talk about the poem she once wrote for a class, one her teacher loved so much it terrified her into dropping the course, and how that early moment shaped her relationship with risk and praise....

Some books arrive as love stories and leave you thinking about much more. This week, I’m joined by Kennedy Ryan, bestselling author of Can’t Get Enough and Before I Let Go, for a conversation that feels less like an interview and more like gabbing with a very wise bestie. We talk about the fragility of success, the realities of moving between traditional and self-publishing (and why she’s done bot...

Some books feel like an escape hatch you didn’t know you needed. For the first episode of Season 4, I sat down with Matt Dinniman, author of the wildly popular Dungeon Crawler Carl series and his latest novel, Operation Bounce House . Matt calls himself a “psycho pantser” (affectionately), and he lives up to the title, walking me through a writing process that’s as wild and inventive as his storie...

Plot twist—I’m the guest this week. And there’s no one I’d rather hand the reins to than my BFF (and producer of this podcast), Jenna. We get into the details of my writing process—from early research to finding the right title—and talk about the kinds of fantasy I’m drawn to, and why. We explore how setting functions as a character in my stories, the balance between realism and the fantastical, a...

This week, we summon Laura Steven, author of The Exact Opposite of Okay and Our Infinite Fates , for a thoughtful and refreshingly frank conversation. She walks us through the slow-burn nature of her creative process, opens up about the very real highs and lows of life in publishing, and reminds us that believing in yourself can be its own kind of survival skill. It’s a deep dive into persistence,...

This week marks a first—we’re summoning two authors at once! The powerhouse writing duo Christina Lauren (yes, they of the swoony romance bestsellers) joins me for a conversation that’s equal parts craft deep dive and master class in creative friendship. We talk about their ever-evolving writing process, the magic of knowing you don’t have to be good at the same things to make something great, and...

SWOON ALERT! This week, we summon Tia Williams, bestselling author of Seven Days in June and A Love Song for Ricki Wilde . We dive into her writing process and why every new book begins in her Notes app (because once that laptop’s open, it’s real ), the tricky art of writing middles (think chicken that looks done until you cut in and find it’s still pink), and how she finished her first novel befo...

Sharpen your pencils (and maybe your swords) —this week, we summon Brandon Sanderson, bestselling author of Mistborn , The Stormlight Archive , and the expansive Cosmere universe. He shares how he kept writing draft after draft (maybe even a dozen or more) before selling his first novel, the secret stash of stories he hid behind a painting as a kid, and why staying sharp in revision is one of the...

Ever wonder what taxidermy, a giant metal chicken, and a collection of haunted dolls have in common? This week, we summon Jenny Lawson—aka The Bloggess, bestselling author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened and Furiously Happy —to talk about her one-of-a-kind creative journey. We dive into the cozy chaos of her writing process (including a surprisingly mathematical notecard system), the diff...

What comes after the end of the world? This week, I sit down with Veronica Roth, the bestselling author of Divergent and Poster Girl , for a conversation full of laughter, layered craft talk, and a few surprises. We dig into her love of outlining (yes, multiple outlines!), how she lets story lead the way—without starting from plot or character—and why she believes bold choices make for better writ...

Stop scrolling for a sec because this week we summon Lauren Roberts, the bestselling author of Powerless . We talk about her journey from writing childhood stories—starting with an owl wielding a baseball bat—to becoming a bestselling author, do a deep dive into how she crafts characters that shape the worlds around them, and explore how both terrifying and beautiful it is to grow as a writer whil...

Get ready for a plot twist—this week, we summon Jesse Q. Sutanto! The bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties and Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers shares how she traded marathon writing sessions for focused 15-minute sprints—and still gets just as much done. She unveils the surprisingly luxurious way she tackles the dreaded saggy middle of a book (hint: it involves a special WhatsApp...

Ever wondered what it takes to wrangle a team of spy cats? This week, we summon John Scalzi, the bestselling author of Starter Villain and Old Man’s War . We chat about chipping away at the boundaries of what’s possible in the genre, how his brain holds so much information that he doesn’t even need to outline, and how he decided which genre to write in by flipping a freakin’ coin.

DFTBA, buttercups, because this week, we summon John Green! The beloved author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down joins me to talk about the writing process—starting with the shocking amount of words in his first drafts that never see the light of day. We also dive into how storytelling helps him search for “good news,” why dread might just be another form of wonder, and his be...

Buckle your seatbelts, buckaroos! This week, we summon Chuck Tingle, the delightful author behind Bury Your Gays and Camp Damascus . We chat about the differences between crafting his signature short-form erotica and tackling full-length novels, his love of message-driven storytelling, and how wearing a pink sack on his head has given him both creative freedom and personal comfort—all while stayin...

Welcome to Season 3! Ever wonder what you’d use to summon Olivie Blake? This week, I chat with the bestselling author of The Atlas Six and Alone With You in the Ether . We commiserate over the maddening reality that writing somehow feels impossible every single time we start a new book, no matter how many we've written. She pulls back the curtain on how her stories take shape, and we dive into the...

It’s the end of Season 2, so here is a bonus episode! This week, I chat with Alex Edelman, the comedian and writer behind the Tony and Emmy-winning show Just for Us . Alex gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how he crafts long-form shows, shares the tricky balance of blending humor with grief, and talks about the challenges and joys of being the subject of his own work.

This week, I chat with the legendary R.L. Stine, the mastermind behind over 300 books, including the iconic Goosebumps series. Known for his spine-tingling plot twists, R.L. shares a surprising twist of his own—none of what’s happened in his extraordinary career was ever really his idea. From spooky tales to unexpected turns in his journey, we explore the quirky moments that shaped the author who...

This week, I chat with Cassandra Clare, author of  the beloved Shadowhunter Chronicles series and Sword Catcher . Cassandra dives into the intricate world-building that defines her fantasy novels, shares her thoughts on crafting compelling character relationships, and talks about the surprising places she finds seeds of inspiration. 

This week, I chat with the bestselling Sabaa Tahir, author of All My Rage and her latest, Heir . Sabaa discusses the big, thought-provoking questions she explores through her stories, weaving powerful themes of identity and connection. She also shares how she discovers the best version of a story and delights us with a peek at her unexpected talent of mimicking animal sounds.