The Stories Between Us
Two writers, Shawn Smucker and Maile Silva, married to each other, explore the highs and lows of creativity, publishing, and the writing life.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 29 minutes
- Episodes
- 185
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2023
145 Let Yourself Be Eccentric
This week after seeing how a plant-loving friend tried to play down her love for her little green buddies, Maile and I are exploring why we as creative people often try to diminish the creative work …
144 Russ Ramsey and Rembrandt is in the Wind
Russ Ramsey, author of the new book Rembrandt is in the Wind, has had an influence on Shawn's life in two very concrete ways, so it's an honor to have him on the podcast today, where he talks about h…
143 Leslie Bustard: Wild Things and Castles in the Sky
Two years living with Stage 4 melanoma. Organizing a conference based around CS Lewis and the Inklings. Now, writing a new book. Today we're talking with Leslie Bustard about the invigorating beauty …
142 Tough Parenting Weekends and Good Book Endings
Well, that was a weekend. Today we're talking about family life, navigating tough conversations with our kids, and...good book endings. Maile just finished reading a great book, so we talk about what…
141 Elrena Evans and a Special Grace
Today we have the great pleasure of talking Elrena Evans, author, dancer, and creative person extraordinaire. We talk about the road to her most recent book, A Special Grace: Prayers and Reflections …
140 Playing the Fool
In perhaps our most vulnerable episode ever, we're talking about taking chances, living life in unpredictable (and sometimes inexplicable) ways, and, in the words of Ethan Hawke, "playing the fool." …
139 Nothing is Wasted
Today we start off by talking about a book Maile recommended to Shawn, a book he finally started reading this week and is loving. We also talk about how, for the writer, nothing is wasted--no sadness…
138 The Good Things Right in Front of Us
Today we're reflecting on spring, new beginnings, and why it's important to appreciate where we are, today, without looking too far ahead. Also, this present age's gluttonous obsession with approval.…
137 Rachel Vaughn Rediscovers Her Writing Joy
Today we talk with talented writer and Nine Month Novel graduate Rachel Vaughn about writing and why she's taken a break from pursuing traditional publication. We also ask why, after already writing …
136 Is There Value in Our Secret Work?
We also talk about some new things we're up to, namely Maile's blog and…
135 Andi Cumbo-Floyd is Killing It
Today we talk with cozy mystery author Andi Cumbo-Floyd about the major twists and turns her writing life has taken in the last few years, the difference between cozy mysteries and regular old myster…
134 Christie Purifoy Makes an Impossible Decision
133 Tsh Oxenreider is Trying Her Hand at Something New
If you wanted to catch our first chat with Tsh from nearly two years a…
132 Whose Mirror Are You Looking In?
Today we talk Madeleine L'Engle, Anthony Doerr, and George Saunders. Madeleine says we should take care, not to be living the life we "ought" to live, but to live our own lives, looking in our own mi…
131 Beka McDowell Finds Her Writing Motivation
Today we're talking with author Beka McDowell about how working with children who have been sexually abused contributes to her writing life, where she finds the energy to write after long, difficult …
130 What Changed Ben Emerson's Writing Life
Today we're talking with Ben Emerson, author of A Kraken for Christmas and a participant in our Nine Month Novel class. He shares the thing that changed his writing life forever, for good--this has b…
129 Finding Hope in the Writing Life
It's been a hard couple of years here on the planet, but we still believe that writing and creating beautiful things is one of the best ways to rediscover hope for ourselves and spread hope to those …
128 What Our 7-year-old Son Leo Did, and How it Encouraged Us
We found Leo working on something in his room recently, and it inspired us creatively. How can we bring the joy back into the process of writing or painting or doing whatever creative activity we lov…
127 When to Work Hard...and When to Give Yourself a Break
Shawn's exhausted, so he and Maile talk about how to know when to give yourself a break...and when to push through the malaise. How do you decide if you need to be harder on yourself and get the work…
126 What If You Wrote Simply for the Fun of It?
We reminisce about our ongoing love affair for all things Over the Rhine and remember the time we listened to their song "Born" to get Maile through labor (which almost happened at a stop light).
We…