STORYBEAST

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Nisha J. Tuli. Nisha J Tuli is a New York Times, USA Today, Sunday Times, Indie Next, and Spiegel bestselling author. Her book, Trial of the Sun Queen, became a Book...

Welcome to another episode of Storybeast where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about: Brief writing updates A chat about Build Your Author Empire coming Summer 2026 And tons of trash talking for the snackdown (ever want to eat a slowburn romantasy with sides of wound tending and training sequences with tension in an acad...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Zeyneb Holdridge. Born in Vancouver, B.C., Zeyneb Holdridge was raised to embrace her Turkish Iraqi heritage, which has informed her passion for infusing her lifelon...

Welcome to another episode of Storybeast where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about: the brain hack guide Ghabiba and Courtney are putting together for you naming your resistance challenging your resistance! personalizing and framing your hack approaches our favourite hacks from the guide being in conversation with your...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Pascale Lacelle. Pascale Lacelle is the New York Times bestselling author of CURIOUS TIDES and STRANGER SKIES. A longtime devourer of books, she started writing her...

Welcome to another episode of Storybeast where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about: the balance of ambition and mom guilt phases and emulation teaching you your boundaries how your creativity changes through different phases celebrating and mourning at the same time writing in the cracks of life feedback on our writer...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Ruth McKell. Ruth McKell writes haunting and hopeful tales she hopes will make your heart ache, just a little bit. Her debut, HONEY IN HER VEINS, has been described...

Welcome to another episode of Storybeast where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about: coming back to your story truth sitting with your imposter syndrome when critical feedback has its value (and when it doesn't) the devil you know setting up your emotional environment unlocking your process by shifting mediums, and...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Premee Mohamed. Premee Mohamed is a Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus, Ignyte, and Aurora award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in E...

Welcome to another episode of Storybeast where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear: Courtney's process of following Chelsea Abdullah's reverse outline considerations on how to frame a revision approach to suit your needs building your path to guide your next steps (esp. when life challenges your usual writing routine...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Vajra Chandrasekera. Vajra Chandrasekera is from Colombo, Sri Lanka. His novels THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS and RAKESFALL have between them won the Le Guin, Nebula, Ig...

Welcome to another episode of Storybeast where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about: making sparkly lists query word economy mirroring truths from query to novel and back tension, stakes, and enticing character traits tapping into and reflecting your own joy For more storytelling content to your inbox,⁠⁠⁠ subscribe to o...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary A.D. Sui. A.D. Sui is a Ukrainian-born, internationally raised speculative writer. They are a Nebula winner, and an Aurora, and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award fina...

Welcome to another episode of Storybeast where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode: Courtney shares her cool new name. the beasts discuss adapting writing realities to life changes. you'll hear about the values, lessons and real talk behind not writing the story of your heart. Courtney shares her tip for revisions progress (be ready for...

Welcome to the final installment of our spoiler filled breakdown of Arcane Season 2! In this episode, Ghabiba and McKell discuss that "WHAT JUST HAPPENED??" ending. In this episode, you'll hear about: McKell's aquamarine tea the conflict of happy endings for conflicting characters the two elements Ghabiba thinks make for a satisfying ending the role of fairness and the shaping of...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Carla Hoch. CARLA HOCH is the author of the Writer’s Digest book Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes as well as Fight Write, Round Two: Crafting Chaos,...

Welcome to the second installment of our SPOILER FILLED breakdown of Arcane Season 2! In this episode, Ghabiba and McKell discuss what makes us who we are through the lens of analyzing Arcane's characters. You'll hear about: the alternate reality what-if episode that made our hearts ache the tool of using a character who reflects our feelings the types of grief that shape us where we situa...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Kalla Harris. A full-time daydreamer, KALLA HARRIS has wanted to be an author since she was eight years old--although she's now traded her composition notebooks...

Welcome to the first in a three-part series where Ghabiba Weston and Ruth McKell take a deep dive into the fantastic storytelling of ARCANE, Season 2. In this episode, you'll hear about: home made "something" berry jam emotional salience when consuming story redemption arc essential ingredients intention vs. consequence the gift of empathy: redemption through perspective For more sto...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Dr. Grace Nosek. Dr. Grace Nosek is a long-time community organizer, storyteller, and sociolegal scholar focusing on environmental justice and democracy. She centers...

Welcome to another episode of Storybeast where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear: the highlights for Crafting Horror some spooky book recommendations a translation tangent a long chat about tea and coffee For more storytelling content to your inbox,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠subscribe to our newsletter⁠ . Feel free to reach out if you want to t...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Sheila Masterson. Sheila Masterson is the author of six books, including the gothic fairytale romance SONG OF THE DARK WOOD, the emotional epic romantasy, THE LOST G...

Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Heather Herrman. Heather Herrman is the author of the adult horror novel, Consumption , and the Junior Library Guild selected Young Adult Novel, The Corpse Queen . T...

Welcome to another episode of Storybeast where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear: updates on writing, Storybeast, and what's to come a nod to Leigh Bardugo's TedTalk Courtney sharing about the muck and sparkle of revision life about the introspective writing journey no one wants to talk about about communes, capita...

Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode of Season 4 Part 2: Courtney and Ghabiba reflect on the past season The duo discusses the concept of "dreaming big" and how to do it when you feel like you can't The banter is as high as the heat as Ghabiba explains the concept of the snackd...