The Stories Between Us

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights but you can make the entire trip that way." E.L. Doctorow

We think living is a lot like that, too, especial…

Today we talk with one of my favorite people: author, podcaster, and pastor Steve Wiens. He shares with us about collective grief, we talk about the toughest revisions we've ever been asked to make o…

Yangsze Choo is the author of two amazing novels: The Night Tiger (a Reese Witherspoon book club pick) and The Ghost Bride (a new Netflix series), and this week she joins us to chat about procrastina…

Today we talk with Devi Laskar, the award-winning author of the fabulous book, The Atlas of Reds and Blues. We discuss the importance of teachers in forming our literary interest, and Devi shares her…

Shawn has a confession to make. Maile talks through her latest bout with depression and reflects on how writing gave her a place to go. They both talk about the need for creative types to shift from …

Today we talk with Will and Anne Bogel. Anne is the founder and creator of Modern Mrs. Darcy and the podcast, What Should I Read Next? She's also the author of numerous books including her latest, Do…

We talk a bit about our trip to Kentucky to hang out with other writers, and then Maile makes a surprising admission about Elizabeth Gilbert and her wonderful book on writing and creativity, Big Magi…

We talk with Andi Cumbo-Floyd about why (and why not) to pursue an MFA, how she found a path she loves in the independent publishing world, and the key to making money as a writer. Well, not really T…

Today Maile and I tell the story of why we stopped homeschooling. Except it's not really about homeschooling. I mean, it kind of is, but mostly it's a story about making hard decisions in an attempt …

Shawn and Maile chat with author Christie Purifoy about why she got her PhD and then left teaching, what it's like for writing to keep surprising you, and how to balance (or not) the writing life wit…

Shawn and Maile share the story of how they met, and how during that time they read Annie Dillard's The Writing Life. They discuss the importance of being willing to edit out even the parts of our wr…

Chad Gibbs started off a successful writing career with two traditionally published nonfiction books, but when he switched over to fiction, no publishers came calling. How did he turn a season of dis…

Shawn and Maile reflect on the darkness of this particular Advent season and the death of Shawn's grandmother. They wonder if the way she lived her life might serve as a model for living a good creat…

Maile and Shawn talk about the previous episode, where they got their kids' opinions on having writers for parents.

They also realize that their current strategy to get Maile writing isn't working an…

Shawn and Maile invite their two oldest children onto the podcast to discuss everything creative: What's it like being creative kids in a large family? How did they feel when they realized both of th…

Maile and Shawn begin by talking about royalty statements and how sometimes they can be a twice-annual reminder of a book you wrote that didn't quite meet your hopes or expectations. Shawn vents abou…