The Stories Between Us

Christiana Peterson, author of Awakened By Death, shares some stories with us today about what it was like to grow up with a fascination with death, nearly falling into a grave when she was a child, …

Shawn speaks with poet Antoinette Brim-Bell about trying new things (she's a professor but also taking a playwriting class), why she's waited to write about race (until now), and the difference betwe…

Jen Fulwiler is a renaissance woman: she has six children, she's an author, she once had her own radio show, she runs one of the most popular podcasts on the Internet, and she has even recently creat…

Shawn and Maile talk about the Great January experiment--what it was, how their kids reacted to the idea, and the results they saw. They also revisit the idea of setting expectations, goals, and drea…

“At the beginning of the year I felt like everyone else was moving somewhere, and I was stuck.” Beth Stedman joins us today to talk about rejection, choosing to write no matter the results, escapist …

Maile and I talk about what we're currently writing and then get rather excited as we describe this new journey we're inviting you to join us on. 

Music by Lucy Leigh.

Last fall, our good friend and fellow creative Janelle Stoltzfus discovered that she had breast cancer. Weeks later, soon after her lumpectomy, she received the news that her mother had a brain tumor…

Jamie Harrison joins us today to talk about all kinds of interesting things, like how reliable she thinks her childhood memories are, what her process is in writing mystery novels, and what it was li…

Memoirist Cassandra Lane joins us today to talk about her growing up years and how the knowledge that her great-grandfather was lynched led to the writing of her first book, We Are Bridges...a book s…

It might only be a few weeks into 2021...but we're both feeling a little stuck. So today we talk about various ways to get unstuck, whether it be writing or business or driving a 40-foot bus into a d…

Laura Tremaine joins us today to talk about her transition from mommy-blogger to podcaster to author. She also opens up about a dark stage in her life and what brought her through. Finally, Shawn and…

Today Maile and Shawn talk about the various ways creative people can and should be engaging with culture during these difficult days. We try to do it without hypocrisy, but you can judge for yoursel…

We have a wonderful time speaking with Sean Dietrich (Sean of the South) about his childhood, the differences between the North and the South, and what it's like to write about his childhood, which i…

Welcome to Season Four! It's going to be a good one. Today we talk about Maile's obsession with Netflix's fake fireplace (Birchwood edition), the books we're reading, and what we're going to do to be…

What creative mindsets are you taking with you into the New Year? Are they ways of thinking about creativity that serve you well or do they keep you mired in negative self-talk? Today, Shawn and Mail…

Melanie Dale talks about writing horror, parenting books, becoming a zombie on The Walking Dead, and her journey into special needs parenting. We reflect on the first time we met (in a careening mini…

Maile and Shawn talk about their own self-limiting beliefs and how those things have kept them from trying and creating new things. Do you have beliefs about yourself that are limiting? Are you measu…