Category: The Stories Between Us Podcast

Why would a New York Times best-selling author wait nine years to release his next title? Today we talk about that with Ira Wagler, also discussing the difficulty in writing about the people you love, why he enjoys his day job (which isn’t writing), and why Maile wasn’t invited back to his famous summer barbecues.

You can check out Ira’s new book, Broken Roads, HERE.

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As always, there are a few ways to listen: click the play button in the image above, go to the webpage to hear this and all of our other episodes, or head on over to Apple podcasts or Spotify!

Those in our Patreon community receive bonus material and have the opportunity to join in conversations about writing and creativity. This month’s book is Beate Not the Poore Desk by Walter Wangerin Jr. You can join our Patreon community at the $5 / month level HERE.

Finally, please leave a review wherever you listen! Reviews are so helpful.

Keep writing!

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One of the best ways to support the writers you love is to preorder their books. If you’d like to preorder my next novel, These Nameless Things (releases 6/30), you can find out more by heading HERE.

Bryan Allain joins us today on the podcast and interrogates Maile. What are her hangups with self-publishing? Why does she care so much about what the traditional gatekeepers think? And what is she going to do with these novels she has spent so much time working on?

Bryan Allain left a 15-year career as a Chemical Engineer to pursue his passion of writing, speaking, and helping brands share their message. He’s since helped YouTube stars, platinum selling bands, book publishers, and golf clubs promote the things they are passionate about.

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As always, there are a few ways to listen: click the play button in the image above, go to the webpage to hear this and all of our other episodes, or head on over to Apple podcasts or Spotify!

Those in our Patreon community receive bonus material and have the opportunity to join in conversations about writing and creativity. This month’s book is Beate Not the Poore Desk by Walter Wangerin Jr. You can join our Patreon community at the $5 / month level HERE.

Finally, please leave a review wherever you listen! Reviews are so helpful.

Keep writing!

Shawn talks about his favorite book on writing and how it first came into his possession. Maile talks about, in Anne Lamott’s words, at first believing minor repairs are needed on her novel, looking out the window, and realizing that actually the wrecking ball had arrived.

They both discuss how, at the end of the day, the actual creating is the thing–not the publishing or the reviews or the awards. Not the rejection or the critics or the disappointments. The writing is what we always come back to.

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As always, there are a few ways to listen: click the play button in the image above, go to the webpage to hear this and all of our other episodes, or head on over to Apple podcasts or Spotify!

Those in our Patreon community receive bonus material and have the opportunity to join in conversations about writing and creativity. This month’s book is Beate Not the Poore Desk by Walter Wangerin Jr. You can join our Patreon community at the $5 / month level HERE.

Finally, please leave a review wherever you listen! Reviews are so helpful.

Keep writing!

If you listened to the previous episode, you know that Maile has been struggling with discouragement–this episode, which was actually recorded a few months ago, is the perfect follow up. Mitali Perkins offers the perfect encouragement, the perfect answer to, “Why keep writing?”

Mitali (mitaliperkins.com) has written many books for young readers, including Between Us and Abuela (2020 Charlotte Huck Honor Book), Forward Me Back To You (SLJ and Kirkus Best YA Books of 2019), You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for a National Book Award, six starred reviews), and Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film by Sleeperwave Productions), all of which explore crossing different kinds of borders.

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As always, there are a few ways to listen: click the play button in the image above, go to the webpage to hear this and all of our other episodes, or head on over to Apple podcasts or Spotify!

Those in our Patreon community receive bonus material and have the opportunity to join in conversations about writing and creativity. This month’s book is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. You can join our Patreon community at the $5 / month level HERE.

Finally, please leave a review wherever you listen! Reviews are so helpful.

Keep writing!

“If I’m honest, I feel like…okay, now we’re going to get really deep. Are we ready for this? I feel like the clock is ticking for me.”

Today Maile and Shawn talk about the gut-wrenching part of creativity (rejection), the problem with tying your success to things you have no control over, and what to do when the discouragement seems like too much.

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As always, there are a few ways to listen: click the play button in the image above, go to the webpage to hear this and all of our other episodes, or head on over to Apple podcasts or Spotify!

Those in our Patreon community receive bonus material and have the opportunity to join in conversations about writing and creativity. This month’s book is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. You can join our Patreon community at the $5 / month level HERE.

Finally, please leave a review wherever you listen! Reviews are so helpful.

Keep writing!