The Story Blender

In this episode of The Story Blender , host Steven James sits down with thriller heavyweights Ryan Steck and Simon Gervais to talk about their new collaborative novel, The Second Son . The trio digs into what it takes to write as a duo, how high-concept thriller ideas are built and refined, and why today’s authors must think beyond the page and treat writing as a business. It’s a wide-ranging conv...

This week, acclaimed storyteller Tony Marr returns to talk about techniques to tell personal stories. We discuss the three key questions to ask yourself about any personal story you wish to share, how to end your stories, how to be vulnerable without oversharing, and how to retain the trust of your listeners as you tell your stories. If you have a personal story to share, this is the episode for y...

As we kick off the 2026 year, I sit down with my good friend and our first guest, Carter Wilson. His work has received starred reviews from every major trade publication, has won multiple awards, and has been optioned for television and film. His 2025 release, Tell Me What You Did , was selected by Barnes & Noble as a national monthly pick. We talk suspense, making good on plot promises, how e...

Science fiction author John R. Carlos joins me to talk about world building and how emergent trends in technology might affect our lives in the future. We touch on context and trajectory—both in culture and in storytelling—and how stories can equip us with the courage to face oppression in whatever form it might come. We also talk about his debut novel Cryonic Dreams: Awakening . Check it out!

This week, bestselling author Mia Sheridan joins me to talk about how monsters can be made, whether it’s important to include the background on a villain in your story, how much believability stories need, longing for justice to occur in the stories that we read, and what’s more important—a story’s beginning or the ending? We also chat about her latest romantic thriller, The Fix.  ,working through...

Melinda Leigh, the bestselling author of 40 novels, talks about how her background in the martial arts informs how she writes fight scenes (and why you need vaguely specific details to make them believable). We also talk plot twists, why it’s so much fun to write villains, working through revisions, voice, and honest writing. Check it out!

This week on The Story Blender I talk with legendary action thriller writer David Morrell. As the author of First Blood, he is known as the father of the modern action thriller. In this wide-ranging conversation, he shares his inspiration, words of advice for aspiring authors, and hard-won insights into the writing process that you just won’t want to miss. Check it out.

Join me as I chat with acclaimed comedian John Branyan. We talk about secrets to comedy, how to gain confidence, how to tap into the truths of life and your own experiences to find humorous stories to tell. He also explains the history behind his famous Shakespearean “Three Little Pigs” rendition and shares who he thinks are the three comedians you definitely need to check out today. Give it a lis...

This week I sit down with former CIA officer, Traci Hunter Abramson to talk about writing political and spy thrillers. We cover what spies are (and what they are not), what to include in your novels and what to leave out, advice she would give to aspiring authors, and the story behind her latest novel, VICTIM #8. Check it out!

My guest this week is an author, editor, and publishing professional who has written more than 50 books and coached hundreds of authors on how to put together book proposals. Terry Whalin and I talk about the importance of details, gripping openings, showing instead of telling, looking at the bigger picture, giving readers a reason to flip the page, and The 11th Myth. Check it out!

This week, Chris Riley, the author of the classic screenwriting book The Hollywood Standard, joins me on The Story Blender. In a wide-ranging conversation, we discuss how to keep viewers and readers from leaving the dream, when to focus on our shared humanity in the stories we tell, why stories are a gift that we give to our audiences, what a story actually is, and what is more important, story or...

Don’t miss this week’s conversation with novelist Yannick Murphy. We examine whether or not there is such a thing as talent, how a story is like a mirror, and how to write in a way that makes the reader feel like you are their best friend. Learn to observe what has gone unnoticed, bring a sense of presence to the page, and invite in the turbulence. Give it a listen!

This week on The Story Blender, I chat with horror writer, Daniel Church. We talk about folk horror, the importance of atmosphere in scary stories, what frightened him as a child (you might be surprised when you hear what it was!). You'll also catch some of his recommendations for movies and other authors who write stories that will bring a chill to your bones. He has a new book out just in time f...

This week, Jennifer Fawcett joins me to talk about how playwriting and novel writing intersect and inform each other.  We explore what a scene is and why scenes in plays are longer than they often are in novels. We also talk about the importance of surprise, the difference between motivation and intention and her latest thriller Keep This For Me. Give it a listen!

This week I talk with acclaimed author Jerome Charyn, who has been a professional writer for 70 years. We explore the music of sentences, the lyrical landscape of New York City, looking for magic in the stories we write and tell, the importance of the first and last sentence, and how every sentence in Hamlet destroys you. Check it out!

This week, crime writer Victoria Dowd joins me to discuss the art of the red herring, how to plant clues in plain sight in a way that no one will notice, locked room mysteries, and coming up with (almost!) impossible crimes. We also discuss her latest historical mystery, Death in the Aviary . Check it out!

This week on The Story Blender I talk with award-winning author Carol VanDenHende about the power of letter writing to the people who’ve impacted you in your life. We dive into how stories can bridge differences, the freedom that comes from accepting that you are enough, what 5-year-olds can teach us about narrative theory, and using stories as a force for good. Give it a listen, and check out her...

This week on The Story Blender podcast I had the pleasure of sitting down with Brent Weeks—New York Times bestselling author of The Night Angel Trilogy and The Lightbringer Series . We talked about building complex worlds that feel alive, the discipline it takes to write sweeping multi-book sagas, and how he balances the demands of storytelling with the surprises his characters throw at him along...

This week on The Story Blender, I caught up with bestselling authors Kathleen Antrim & D.P. Lyle at Killer Nashville, one of the country’s premier crime-writing conferences. We chat about crime writing, mysteries, thrillers, and twists. Both of them have taught writing seminars throughout the country and founded Outliers University, an online school for anyone serious about improving their wri...

Join me this week to listen to an interview I did a few years ago with legendary thriller author, Dean Koontz. With hundreds of millions of books in print and a loyal following around the world, Dean is one of the most influential authors of our generation. Enjoy!

Author, and storyteller who also serves as the Executive Director of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. John Bucher is a master at exploring the profound connections between myth, culture, and personal identity.  He’s been featured on platforms such as the BBC, the History Channel, the LA Times, and The Hollywood Reporter, among many others and has collaborated with everyone from Academy Award nomine...

This week on The Story Blender , I spoke with award-winning, bestselling author Joe Hart about what drives a story forward—especially if it taps into mystery or suspense. What are the dynamics that shape those two things? How are they related to each other? We explored the dark corners of psychological suspense and how to craft twists that truly land as we chatted about his latest novel, I BECOME...

This week I had the chance to chat with author Kerry Nietz—yes, the mind behind  the novel Amish Vampires in Space . We talked about where the idea came from, what it means to write organically, and why the slow-and-steady approach can be just as powerful as writing in bursts of inspiration. We also explored a few creatures we wish were real, and the joy of discovering a story as it unfolds. Kerry...

This week on  The Story Blender , I’m joined by literary agent and bestselling author Donald Maass, recorded live at the Advanced Fiction Intensive in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Donald co-hosted the event with me, and we captured a special Q&A with questions from the writers in attendance. We talked about how to build powerful stories without getting in your own way, how to write with authority,...

This week I was thrilled to welcome Katia Lief—acclaimed author and fiction instructor at The New School in Manhattan—onto The Story Blender. We discuss the strengths of the upcoming generation of storytellers (it might surprise you), the power of imagination, telling (and writing) authentic stories, writing activities that will help you improve your writing today, and her latest book WOMEN LIKE U...