The Writing Table with Kris Clink

Shirley Russak Wachtel is the author of the short story collection Three For A Dollar, the book of poetry, In The Mellow Light, and several books for children. Her short stories and poems have appeared in various literary journals. A daughter of Holocaust survivors, Wachtel was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a doctor of letters degree from Drew University and Professor Emerita of...

What does it take to become a successful multi-genre author? J.T. Ellison reveals how she's navigated the changing publishing market while maintaining an authentic writing voice and promotional image.  JT is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 35+ novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of the literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy und...

Amran Gowani is a former Wall Street analyst, a prolific content creator and over the last four years he's written and produced 200 humorous personal essays and satirical short-form pieces. When Amran’s not hanging out with imaginary people in imaginary places, he enjoys biking around the great city of Chicago, bouldering with his extraordinary wife Felicia, and reading comic books with his t...

Ally Carter's novels are infused with excitement and Mr. and Mrs. Smith level romantic intrigue. Crafting them is not as easy as some might assume. Ally peels back the curtain and shares unvarnished accountings of the heartache that comes with creating electric jaunts for her characters.  Ally is the bestselling author of novels that have epitomized action-adventure YA romance for more than a...

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN is USA Today bestselling author of 16 psychological thrillers, winning the most prestigious awards in the genre: five Agathas, five Anthonys, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. She is also on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, with 37 EMMYs and dozens more journalism honors for her groundbreaking journalism and true crime stories. National book critics call...

Joelle Babula writes about things your mother warned you not to talk about at the dinner table, like infidelity, emotional chaos and cheese-induced bliss. A former award-winning journalist and columnist turned nurse practitioner, Joelle now lives on Baltimore’s inner harbor with her adoring husband and two absurd cats. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, she spends her days c...

David Wroblewski is the author, most recently, of the novel Familiaris, his follow up to the internationally bestselling The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle, an Oprah Book Club pick, Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, winner of the Colorado Book Award, Indie Choice Best Author Discovery award, and Midwest Bookseller Association's Choice award, in addition to being selected as one...

Juliette Fay returns to the Writing Table; this time to discuss writing historical fiction and the work she's done to create The Harvey Girls.  Fay is the bestselling author of eight novels. THE TUMBLING TURNER SISTERS was a USA Today bestseller and Costco Pennie’s Book Club Pick. THE SHORTEST WAY HOME was chosen as one of Library Journal’s Top 5 Best Books of 2012: Women’s Fiction; DEEP DOWN...

Bestselling author Karin Slaughter shares how she got her start, explores her writing process, and gives listeners a look at what's coming next.  Karin Slaughter is the author of more than twenty instant New York Times bestselling novels, including the Edgar–nominated Cop Town and standalone novels Pretty Girls , The Good Daughter , and Pieces of Her . She is published in 120 countries with m...

Laura Wood peels back the emotions behind her writing and provides a preview of her novel, Let's Make A Scene.  Wood is a bestselling and acclaimed author of children’s and young adult novels. She is also the author of the adult novels Under Your Spell and Let’s Make a Scene . With a PhD in 19th-century literature, Laura lives in Warwickshire, England, with her husband, and their dog, Bea.  V...

Anna Barrington has worked in galleries, museums, and auction houses in the art world for seven years. She received an MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and a BA from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Originally from Atlanta, she grew up on Cape Cod and currently lives in the UK. THE SPECTACLE is her first novel.  Learn more at annabarrington.com Special thanks to NetGalley...

Simon Tolkien is the grandson of JRR Tolkien and a director of the Tolkien Estate. He is also series consultant for the Amazon series, The Rings of Power . He studied Modern History at Trinity College, Oxford and went on to become a London barrister specializing in criminal defense. He left the law to become a writer in 2001 and has published five novels which mine the history of the first half of...

What inspires an established writer to change genres? In this episode, Laura Resau discusses what it took to create her adult debut, The Alchemy of Flowers.  Laura Resau is the author of eleven acclaimed books for young people. Her books have won five Colorado Book Awards and spots on “best-of” booklists from Oprah, the American Library Association, and more. Trilingual, she’s lived in Provence an...

Daniel Kalla is an Emergency Room Physician and the bestselling author of fifteen novels, translated into eleven languages. His Shanghai Trilogy has been optioned for film, and his works explore themes ranging from superbugs and pandemics to psychedelics and DNA evidence. In addition to psychological thrillers and medical suspense, Daniel has written three historical novels about the 20,000 German...

Lori Roy is the author of six novels of suspense. Lori's debut, BENT ROAD, was awarded the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American Author. She went on to receive the 2016 Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Novel, making Lori the first woman to receive an Edgar Award for both Best First Novel and Best Novel, and she is the third person to have done so.  Lori's critically acc...

Alden Jones explores tips for writing memoirs and discusses her work in fiction.  She is the author of The Wanting Was a Wilderness, Unaccompanied Minors, and The Blind Masseuse. Her books have won awards including the New American Fiction Prize and the Lascaux Book Prize and been finalists for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction,...

Bestselling author Susan Wiggs discusses her writing practices and shares the backstory surrounding her passion project, Wayward Girls.  Susan Wiggs’s life is all about family, friends…and fiction. She lives at the water’s edge on an island in Puget Sound, and in good weather, she commutes to her writers’ group in a 21-foot motorboat. She’s been featured in the national media, including NPR, PRI,...

Following over two hundred interviews, journalist Megan Greenwell's book, Bad Company, shines light onto the lives of those living and working downstream from private equity decision makers.  Megan Greenwell is a journalist with extensive experience in all areas of print and digital media. She volunteers as the deputy director of the Princeton Summer Journalism Program, a workshop and college...

Jaclyn Goldish peels back the curtain on her process and lessons learned as she's published four novels.  Jaclyn is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and NYU School of Law. She practiced estate planning law at a large Chicago firm for seven years before leaving her job to travel the world and write novels. After culling her possessions into only what would fit in a backpack...

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis writes contemporary romance and romantic comedies filled with madcap adventures and shenanigans and sexy times. (just don’t tell her mom). She’s sold 20 million plus copies worldwide to date and lives with her family in a small mountain town near Lake Tahoe full of quirky characters (Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books...

How does a Pulitzer Prize winning author find inspiration? Sue Halpern shares tips and discusses writing both nonfiction and fiction.  Sue is the author of seven previous books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently the novel Summer Hours at the Robbers Library. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker , the New York Times Magazine, the New York Review of Books, Rolling Stone, and Condé Nast T...

Jackie Lau decided she wanted to be a writer when she was in grade two, sometime between penning “The Heart That Got Lost” and “The Land of Shapes.” She later studied engineering and worked as a geophysicist before turning to writing romance novels. She is now the author of over twenty books. Jackie lives in Toronto with her husband, and despite living in Canada her whole life, she hates winter. W...

Jillian Forsberg is a business owner and historical fiction author. She writes about animals from the past in her two books, The Rhino Keeper and forthcoming The Porcelain Menagerie. She lives and works in Wichita, Kansas.  Special thanks to Net Galley for an advance copy.  Learn more at jillianforsberg.com.  Intro reel, Writing Table Podcast 2024 Outro Recording Follow the Writing Table: @writing...

As Amy Poeppel publishes her fifth novel, she reflects on lessons learned and discusses the challenges she faced while writing a novel simultaneously set in Berlin and Dallas.  Amy Poeppel grew up in Dallas, Texas. She graduated from Wellesley College and worked as an actress in the Boston area, appearing in a corporate industrial for Polaroid, a commercial for Brooks Pharmacy, and a truly terribl...

Laura Lippman discusses how poetry feeds her spirit and looks back on her longstanding run with indelible character, Tess Monaghan, who has appeared in a dozen novels. While sharing her writing experiences, she invites listeners to take a seat on her (theoretical) analyst's couch to uncover snags interfering with meaningful storytelling.  Laura was a reporter for twenty years, including 12 ye...