The Open Mic: Writers in Their Own Words

If you follow this show at all you know I am a big fan of the short story, and particularly the crime fiction and noir genres. Stacy Woodson's work has appeared in numerous high quality short story magazines, including Black Cat Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen, Mystery Weekly and many others. She has also had her work in a lot of other great single anthologies with awesome titles like the Tattered Blue Line, Jukes and Tonks and...

My guest today has one of the most varied resumes of anyone I have ever had on this show. He is: an Author / Filmmaker / Actor / Composer / Educator / Public Speaker / Consultant / Reviewer / Writer-in-Residence /CEO/ and a columnist with Writer’s Digest. And, most important for our purposes today, Clay Stafford is the founder of the Killer Nashville International Writers Conference, which this year will be held August 22-25th, in ...

My guest today is the award-winning author of a dozen books, including three different multi-book series and two standalones. She is also a veteran journalist who has reported from more than a dozen countries over her long career, and is now she’s back in the newsroom serving as an interim editor at the Seattle Times. And somehow between books and the news, she finds time to produce a Substack newsletter – I am now tired even sayin...

I met my guest today a while back at the Left Coast Crime conference in Bellingham, Washington. She has been a magazine writer, a writing tutor and an editor during her career, but only began writing fiction about 10 years ago. In that time she has published several short stories and, in 2023, her debut novel I KNOW WHAT YOU DID, which deals with this fascinating premise: What if a bestselling novel fictionalizes the death of your ...

My guests today are a husband and wife team of Anthony Leigh Adams and Christina Adams that collectively write under the nom de plume of A.C. Adams. They are longtime veterans of Hollywood with a ridiculously long list of credits for many major studios, including ABC, CBS and Disney. They are have worked on scores of projects with Oprah Winfrey, produced documentaries for PBS, musicals for the stage and, well, you get it – they are...

 My guest today is a very talented writer, particularly in one of the forms I enjoy the most – the short story. His stories have appeared in numerous publications, and he has been a finalist for the Derringer, Anthony and Macavity Awards, which for the uninitiated are kind of like the Oscars, Golden Globes and maybe the Grammies for us writer types. And on top it all, he’s one of the industry’s good guys. So please welcome Curtis I...

My guest today is a very multifaceted author, editor and journalist whose work includes short stories, two nonfiction books, editing the Columbus Noir anthology, and the Andy Hayes Private Eye series, featuring a former Browns quarterback turned private eye. He is here today to talk about The Mailman, his brand new thriller starring Mercury Carter, a former postal inspection agent who must track down a violent crew across the Midwe...

My guest today has long been a world traveler who has had more adventures than anyone I know. He is joining me today from his home in France, a country I very much look forward to returning to someday. He has been a guest before, all the way back when this was still just a blog and before the YouTube and podcast shows. His work has won numerous awards and accolades, including the Paris Prize for Fiction in 2013 for his novel, a Vis...

My guest today, Jason Powell, is one of the up and coming authors out there in the mystery genre. His debut novel No Man’s Ghost introduces us to Charles Davids, a probationary NYC firefighter whose first week on the job coincides with that of a mentally disturbed man going through a divorce who moves from calling in fake fires to acting on the real thing. It is a gripping and fast moving story that not only is a crime tale, but gi...

My guest today came to me via a recommendation from another writer and friend of the show, A.J. Devlin. We were talking at Left Coast Crime in March and he said he had a friend with a new book coming out that I really should know about. He even had a signed copy for me! I know A.J. is a great writer, so I of course said I would check it out. I am so glad I did. That book, CALL OF THE VOID by J.T. Siemens is one of the best crime fi...

My guest today, Mary Keliioka, has authored two notable mystery series: the PI Kelly Pruett mysteries, which features the title protagonist, and the Misty Pines series, featuring Sheriff Jax Turner. She also has a brand new book out, her first domestic thriller, DON’T ASK, DON’T FOLLOW, featuring a new lead character, paralegal Beth Ralston. The book has been called “a pulse-pounding read about truth, justice and the unexpected sec...

Sagit Schwartz’s debut novel SINCE SHE’S BEEN GONE is a dual-timeline thriller that has been called a nuanced roller-coaster ride, gripping, pulse-pounding, emotional and a non-stop ride of twists and turns. Sagit is a licensed psychotherapist, so perhaps it’s not surprising that her character is also a mental health professional and that the story deals with several mental health themes to add to the suspense of the story. She’s h...

My guest today has had an illustrious career writing so many things, from screenplays and game designs to novels and poetry. She has authored numerous novels and short stories and won multiple Bram Stoker awards, which for the uninitiated are the major award for those writing in the horror genre. You might ask why I, a crime fiction devotee, has a horror author on my show. Well, the answer is we recently met at Left Coast Crime – s...

I was going to introduce my guest today as a debut author, but that’s not quite true. She has in fact ghost- or co-written fourteen books, including five NYT bestsellers. She is the author of the father-daughter memoir GOOD GIRL and a longstanding music journalist and critic whose work has appeared in major publications all over the country. I had the pleasure of making her acquaintance at Left Coast Crime this year and I’m really ...

My guest today, Dale Phillips, has a very eclectic creative resume that includes novels, short stories, plays, poetry, craft books and even acting. Away from the keyboard he has supported his writing habit as a technical writer and his food and shelter habit as a farm laborer, bartender and holiday Santa among many, many other things. As you might imagine from that history, he has learned a thing or two about marketing himself and ...

My guest today can legitimately be called one of the true legends of the Los Angeles writing scene. Gary Phillips has written almost 20 crime fiction novels, a baker’s dozen of graphic novels, numerous short stories and edited or co-edited scores of other anthologies. His latest novel, ASH DARK AS NIGHT, came out in April, the second in the Harry Ingram series. I’m reading it right now and it is of course fantastic. He’s here with ...

Killer Nashville has become one of the go-to writers conferences for crime fiction and thriller authors, a place where writers at every level can find camaraderie and insight to help them boost their careers. I recently sat down with Killer Nashville founder Clay Stafford to learn what inspired him to start the conference and what he has learned over his long and eclectic career that has helped make it such a resounding success. I ...