Charlie and Maggie Stiefvater (The Listeners) discuss the lesser-known history of the US hosting Axis diplomats in luxury hotels, the arrangements made to swap diplomats one for one, including disability and mental illness in such a story, Maggie's main character's dachshunds and their relationship to the man they never let pet them, the era-aligned game that Maggie created, and much more.
General references:
Shiver (film adaptation)
Charlie's conversation with Elaine Chiew is episode 111
Amelie
Big Fish
Books mentioned by name or extensively:
Maggie Stiefvater: Shiver
Maggie Stiefvater: The Scorpio Races
Maggie Stiefvater: The Raven Cycle
Maggie Stiefvater: The Listeners
Release details: recorded 1st May 2025; published 8th September 2025
Where to find Maggie online: Website || Instagram || Facebook || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
00:01:41 How the book started
00:08:01 The history and hotels in terms of Maggie's interest. Lots of info here!
00:13:08 How Maggie created the characters; whether there's been a change in her process of 'thieving'
00:16:30 Creating June and her role as 'Hoss'
00:20:51 June and Tucker together and in the context of the sweetwater
00:25:43 Are the sweetwater or Avalon hotel characters?
00:28:57 The letters Maggie bookends the story with, and then we move on to Pennybacker and the dachshunds and Edgar
00:38:12 411
00:41:18 Disability and labels in the book, including Sandy and Maggie's decisions in regards to his story thread
00:50:04 Edgar beyond the pages
00:51:55 The arrangements during WW2 where diplomats were exchanged between the powers
00:57:49 What did Pennybacker have to say about the Swiss that he said he'd tell June?
00:59:11 The game of Winnet!
01:03:46 Present news about the Shiver film adaptation
01:04:39 Brief info on what Maggie's next adult novel
Photo credit: Stephen Voss
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