Writers Drinking Coffee

Dr. Marsha Gordon wrote a biography of Ursula Parrot, the best-selling female author of the 1920-1930s. Her book, "Ex-Wife", sold more than Faulkner and Fitzgerald put together when it came out. She wrote screenplays for Hollywood that catapulted women into stardom. But no one has heard of her. Come with us as Marsha delves into the world of being a professional woman of the age, of working in a m...

In this episode, Dr. Alan Wu reads to us a story about a real-live toxicology case study. It's fascinating to delve into the world of doping and toxicology reports - and for all your writers out there, understanding HOW doping and discovery works can make the difference between a really good story and something that makes doctors, nurses, or scientists roll their eyes. From doping to posthumous bl...

Dr. Alan Wu is a professor of lab medicine at UCSF and the Lab Director at San Francisco General Hospital. He’s written over 500 peer-reviewed papers in scientific and medical journals - and now is taking that factual background experience and creating forensic procedural fiction with an emphasis on scientific accuracy. With an eye toward the world learning more about proper lab work and methodolo...

We caught up with Kate Elliott again now that her second book in The Sun Chronicles is out: Furious Heaven. Your hosts are LOVING this gender-swapped Alexander the Great in space, and Kate talks in depth about her world building around how multiple countries find their way to the stars in the far future, and what kinds of societies they set up, and then how they all come into conflict. We discuss...

Dr. Evelyn Alsultany teaches in the department of American Studies and Ethnicity at USC L.A., and chats about her latest book Broken, covering topics of Islamophobia and Muslim representation, inclusion, and stereotyping. It’s a fascinating reference book from an incredibly articulate educator, and Evelyn also consults with Hollywood studios as a sensitive reader and expert for writers and filmmak...

Martin wrote The Logos Prophecy, a delightful world-trotting thriller wherein a conspiracy theorist and a science guy have to figure out how to save the world. We talk about satire in fiction, metaphysics, quantum mechanics, conspiracy theorists and psychology, laws, symbols, and more! … Continue... Episode 174 – Interview with Martin Treanor

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are the authors of 25 Liaden Universe novels as of this coming July, and many short stories. These two prolific writers met in college and took classes together - and they just celebrated their 100th collaboration together, and talk about how they work together with different specialties in the creative process. If you love Space Opera, the Liaden Universe and its timel...

In which we discuss how to write – and run – good role-playing games with Norman Lutes (He/him). GMing and game writing have a lot in common with good story writing. For example: Reading is to writing as playing is to GMing. And: "What do you start with? A story? A setting?" ...smacks of Plotting vs Pantsing or Game-mastering is a combination of critical path project management and storytelling in...

Tami is an enby/aro/ace author of queer fiction, and we all admire their stunning productivity during the pandemic! Tami also writes as S.T. Lynn, London Kemaker, and Anna Morgan - and offers clarity for new writers on how to establish a brand with a particular name to make it easy for readers to find more of what they love. Their storylines feature queer characters, found families, and the happil...

In which some of the members of the Flying Kerrs writing group read aloud a Christmas Ghost story written by Denise Tanaka. Sit back and enjoy - Don't Go Upstairs. … Continue... Episode 170 – A Christmas Ghost story written by Denise Tanaka

Welcome to one of the queens of science fiction, Nancy Kress, as we talk about her newest book "Observer" — written in partnership with Robert Lanza, MD. Observer is a brilliant story that combines tasty science with real human problems. The science mingles theories of consciousness and the nature of reality with quantum universal cosmology and brain neural pathway mapping. From how to write a nov...

Mark Shaiken rides again! We talk again with the author of the 3J legal procedural novels about his most recent release Unfair Discrimination, writing a lot during lockdown, and changes in procedure. The book and discussion are wide ranging and of interest to readers and authors alike. … Continue... Episode 168 – Interview with Mark Shaiken

Colm O’Shea is a Clinical Associate Professor with the Expository Writing Program at NYU. Today he joins us to talk about his first science fiction book, Claiming De Wayke. It’s a marvelous dystopian novel set in the near future in a post-plague apocalyptic Ireland. Colm weighs many interesting topics in his book: What is the nature of consciousness? What does it mean to be human, and where does d...

Dr. Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr. has written a book on the fascinating topic of jazz, and the perspective of musicologists as their approach to studying black music history has changed through the years. His new book Who Hears Here? is a collection of essays that celebrates the history of jazz and performers through the ages, using the thoughtful lens of modern perspective on race, sexism, regionalism, a...

Delilah is the dark fairy godmother of hilarious and occasionally grisly fiction. From collaboration with Kevin Hearne to writing in the Star Wars canon universe, Delilah moves through genres and pseudonyms with grace and ease. Her newest book is something different - The Violence is a story exploring the dark sides of abuse in families and societies, while posing the "What if?" question of the re...

Jo Fletcher built a publishing house, and has recently returned to her love of finding really good authors and making them better with freelance editing. Jo talks about how to find your repetitions, your bad habits, and talks about some of her observations in trends and genres - what goes around comes around again. A good read is a good read! Jo gives new writers plenty to think about. … Con...

Laura Anne Gilman is a delightfully prolific author with a bent for the detective story, the noir in any setting from fantasy, sci fi, historic fiction - you name it. Urban supernatural sleuths chase elusive (and sometimes equally supernatural) victims and perps alike through history and fantasy, and Laura Anne’s world building immerses the reader deep within her vision. Her latest book, Uncanny T...

Jonathan R. Rose describes himself as “painfully cynical”, and takes you on a journey to What If, from dark urban fantasy to just a little dystopian future sci fi that explores how humans relate to one another. His characters strive to discover who they are and what they value by looking outward at the world around them, and discover their truth by how they relate to the people in their spheres. F...

1950 – 2022 Annie O’Neill Stein was a retired actress turned journalist turned novelist (who also made a living doing costumes for commercials and photoshoots for a while, then did Continue... Episode 161 – Eulogy and a First Novel with Annie O’Neill Stein

They say everyone living in California has written a screenplay. Now, that's technically an utter lie, but the truth is many screenplays get written and sit in the back of people's computers or desks because no one knows how to pitch them. What you need to do to find someone who wants to invest in your script and turn it into a movie. It's not easy - but Nate McCoy and Lynn Harrod from Only Human...

Lynn Harrod is an award-winning screenwriter, author, and all-around raconteur. Come listen to him chat about how to move a story between four mediums: short screenplay, short story, feature screenplay, and novel — as he did for his novel The Queen's Angel. … Continue... Episode 159 – Interview with Lynn Harrod

Come with us to hear the beginnings of a media empire. Keegan Patterson discusses turning his experience of dating a prisoner into a blog, a podcast, and a series of novels. If you want to know about prison relationships, he has a lot to tell you. If you want ideas about how to write, he has a lot of good notes about how to tell it in multiple formats. Have a listen, it's not illegal to talk! &#82...

Dr. Natalia Molina joins us to talk about her latest book, A Place at the Narayit, a non-fiction historical account about her grandmother’s restaurant opened in Los Angeles in the 1960s. It’s a fascinating history of the region, both from the perspective of laws and statues designed to limit where immigrants could live, and a celebration of life and diversity that grew and flowered into a cultural...

Stina is a Crawford & Astounding Award finalist, a fierce feminist, and a fantasy and science fiction author. From gender altered reinterpretation of the Seven Samurai tropes to some of the most entertaining short stories, she talks about the importance of representation, snappy dialogue, and a bit of humor to move the plot along. … Continue... Episode 156 – Interview with Stina Leicht

You've heard of people diving into all kinds of projects during Covid. Meet Don Fike, who actually wrote a novel over the last two years. We ask Don how he did it. Also, the most brilliant book club in North San Diego County, if not the world. … Continue... Episode 155 – Interview with Don Fike