The Story Blender

From the Story Vault: Bestselling author Katia Lief shares her thoughts on story craft and idea germination as she discusses her thriller A Map of the Dark, which she wrote under the pen name Karen Ellis. Learn techniques to improve your novel or short story, no matter what stage you’re in.

John Yorke is Managing Director of both Angel Station and John Yorke Story, where he works as a drama producer, consultant, and lecturer on all forms of storytelling. A former MD of Company Pictures where he executive produced Wolf Hall, he’s worked as both Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production. As a commissioning editor slash executive producer, he championed huge Brit...

Irene Hannon is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than sixty contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. She is also a three-time winner of the RITA award—the “Oscar” of romance fiction—from Romance Writers of America and is a member of that organization’s elite Hall of Fame. Her many other awards include National Readers’ Choice, Daphne du Maurier, Retailers’ Choice, Bookseller...

Allie Esiri is a #1 children’s poetry author who has written numerous books, including one that was recommended reading for the U.K.'s National Poetry Day on October 7th, 2021.  Her books have sold over 250,000 copies in hardback and been featured in the top five poetry titles in England every year since 2016. In addition to her writing, she also promotes live poetry performances and has served as...

Jessica Strawser is editor-at-large for Writer’s Digest, where during her decade as editorial director she became known for in-depth interviews with such talents as David Sedaris and Alice Walker. She is the author of the book club favorites Almost Missed You, Not That I Could Tell - a Book of the Month bestseller - Forget You Know Me, and A Million Reasons Why, which was named to Most Anticipated...

Robert Dugoni is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series, which has sold more than 8 million books worldwide. In addition to being a two-time finalist for the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Aw...

John Long is one of the world’s top adventure writers and storytellers as well as a legendary rock climber. He’s written more than a dozen books on climbing and penned numerous stories for magazines and other publications. With more than 3 million books in print, he has a knack for not just spinning a yarn but also moving readers with his poignant and thrilling adventures. His most recent book, Ic...

Kevin Kling is an author and storyteller extraordinaire who is best known for his popular commentaries on National Public Radio’s "All Things Considered" and storytelling stage shows such as "Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log." Kevin has been awarded numerous arts grants and fellowships from The National Endowment for the Arts, The McKnight Foundation, The Minnesota State Arts Boar...

David Corbett worked as a private investigator for fifteen years and played an integral role in a number of high-profile criminal litigations including the Cotton Club Murder Case and the People’s Temple Trial. In the 1990s he pivoted to writing, receiving critical acclaim for both his novels and short stories. In addition to his fiction, he has written two books on the craft of writing - The Art...

Lisa Regan is the USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series as well as several other crime fiction titles. Her books have sold over two million copies. Lisa has a bachelor’s degree in English and a Master of Education, both from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers Association, and...

Tiffany Yates Martin has spent nearly thirty years as an editor in the publishing industry, working with major publishers and New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling and award-winning authors as well as indie and new writers. She is the founder of FoxPrint Editorial and author of the bestseller IntuitiveEditing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising You...

From the Story Vault: Veteran Hollywood executive Steve LaRue has worked at Paramount, NBC/Universal and 20th Century Fox where he championed such series as Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Ally McBeal, and Farscape. He gives invaluable insights on pitches, passion, and how to break into the industry.

Margot Leitman is an award-winning storyteller, best-selling author, speaker, and teacher who has taught and performed all over the world. A leading expert in the growing field of storytelling, she has written two books on the subject and has also written for NBC, DreamWorks TV, the Hallmark Channel, the PixL Network, and a variety of print and online sources. Additionally, she is a five-time winn...

Angela Ruth Strong is a romance writer who gave up writing romance novels after her husband left her. Ten years later, she has returned to the realm of romance and is writing books to inspire readers to find deeper meaning and purpose in their lives. Her novels have been chosen for Top Picks in Romantic Times and have won numerous awards. She started IDAhope Writers to help teach and encourage asp...

Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of over a dozen novels, which have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide. In addition to his work as the humor columnist for Seasons Magazine and a columnist for Slate Magazine, Matthew is a 7-time Moth Grand SLAM Winner and 53-time Moth Story SLAM champion as well as the co-founder and artistic director of Speak Up, a Hartfor...

Kerry Nietz is an award-winning science fiction author who has over a half dozen speculative novels in print as well as a novella, several short stories, and a non-fiction book called FoxTales. Kerry’s novel A Star Curiously Singing won the Readers Favorite Gold Medal Award for Christian Science Fiction and is notable for its dystopian, cyberpunk vibe. It is often mentioned on “Best of” lists. Amo...

Bella Mahaya Carter is a creative writing teacher, empowerment coach, speaker, and the author of an award-winning memoir, Raw: My Journey from Anxiety to Joy as well as a collection of narrative poems. She has worked with hundreds of writers since 2008 and has degrees in literature, film, and spiritual psychology. Her poetry, essays, fiction, and interviews have appeared in Mind, Body, Green; The...

John Galligan is the author of three books in the Heidi Kick mystery series: DEAD MAN DANCING, BAD AXE COUNTY, and the newest installment, BAD MOON RISING, as well as five other novels. In addition to his fiction writing, he has also worked as an award-winning journalist, a feature-film screenwriter, a house painter, an au pair, an ESL teacher, a cab driver, and a freezer boy in a salmon cannery....

Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson are the writing team behind the #1 bestselling Tier One series. Brian is a nuclear engineer who served as an officer on a fast-attack submarine and Jeff is a trauma vascular surgeon who conducted combat operations with an East Coast-based SEAL team. Along with their newest book, SONS OF VALOR, their other novels include the Shepherds series and installments in W.E....

Don Bentley spent a decade as an Army Apache helicopter pilot during which time he was stationed in South Korea, Germany, and Texas. While deployed to Afghanistan as a Troop Commander in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Don was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal with “V” device for valor. Following his time in the military, Don worked as an FBI Special Agent and was a member of...

Lisa Cron is a story coach, speaker, and the author of Wired for Story, Story Genius, and Story or Die. She has previously worked as a literary agent, a television producer, and a story consultant for Warner Brothers and The William Morris Agency, among others, and has served on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts MFA program in visual narrative. Since 2006, she has also taught in the UCLA Ex...

From the Story Vault: McNair Wilson is an actor, author, and former Disney Imagineer who came up with the idea for the Tower of Terror. He has spoken countless times and performed in 33 countries. His insights will inspire you in whatever project you might be working on.

From the Story Vault: Paul Leyden is a multi-talented Australian actor, producer, and screenwriter with dozens of film and television credits. In this episode of The Story Blender, he discusses his twisty indie horror flick Come Back To Me and unpacks his writing process, offering advice for those hoping to break into the film industry.

Liv Constantine is the pen name of sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine. Together, they are the bestselling author of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Last Mrs. Parrish, The Last Time I Saw You, The Wife Stalker, and The Stranger in the Mirror (coming July 2021). Their critically acclaimed books have been praised by USA Today, The Sunday Times, People Magazine, and Good Mornin...

Zena Dell Lowe has worked professionally in the entertainment industry for over 20 years as a writer, producer, director, actress, and story consultant. She has won numerous awards for her work as a writer, and she also has several feature film projects in development through her independent production company, Mission Ranch Films. In addition to her work as a filmmaker, Zena hosts “The Storytelle...