The Stories Between Us

Today with talk with the absolutely delightful Claire Swinarski, author of What Happens Next and The Kate In Between. We discuss writing as a stay-at-home mom (Netflix might help), ignoring the negat…

When Maile and I spoke with Kiki, we expected to learn a lot about her journey into self-publishing. What we didn't expect was to come away from the conversation feeling so encouraged, so empowered t…

We discuss the upcoming move and the anxiety or uncertainty it has created in us, then bring it back around to writing and creativity, exploring what it looks like to approach change with hope. To tr…

Karen Stiller, author of The Minister's Wife, talks about the challenges involved in writing about personal topics, why she pursued her MFA, and how being a mother, instead of taking from her writing…

Thanks to all of our listeners, we're celebrating our 100th episode today! Bryan Allain, our friend and fellow author, joins us to talk writing journeys, exactly how we go about critiquing a spouse's…

Today we speak with author and speaker Kathy Khang about launching grown children from the nest during a pandemic, why we should keep writing even when our platforms are not massive, and the role tha…

Shawn and Maile talk revisions, perfection, and when to take a manuscript to the next stage. They also share the back stories of the authors they're currently reading, one on the young side, the othe…

What should every writer have? Apparently, a dog. We discuss Cameron Shenassa's wonderfully funny and insightful article and talk about famous authors and their pets (including Steinbeck's dog Toby…

Maile and Shawn talk about the fine line between hope and discouragement, whether or not it's possible to choose genuine hope, and when giving up is the right thing to do. Also, Maile's crush on Dani…

Maile and Shawn start by clearing something up from the previous episode that might have led listeners to believer their marriage was heading for disaster. They also discuss the various things that h…

Today we have our youngest female guest so far, author Weez Phillips. She discusses her first novel, The Lightest, Heaviest Things, what it's like writing with ADHD, and what keeps so many teenagers …

Winn Collier talks with us about what it was like to write the biography of Eugene Peterson, how he got the gig in the first place, and what it's like, trying to capture the essence of a complex pers…

Maile and Shawn go deep into the idea of having fun and the difference between creating art and selling art. And if we are going to tie the things we really want to our everyday behavior...do we real…

Brigid Kemmerer's story is one of the most encouraging we've heard yet, so if you're a writer or artist or someone who just needs a little encouragement, go no further. A librarian recently asked Bri…

Maile shares a story of trying to get some revisions finished on her novel when the kids remind her she had promised them a walk to the dog park. Which raises the question...is my art a support syste…