PODCAST

The Story Blender

WHERE GREAT STORYTELLERS SHARE THE SECRETS TO GREAT STORYTELLING. Hosted by Steven James.

arts books

All Episodes

00:47:28

Season 10 - Episode 6: Robin Cook

The Story Blender ·

2026/02/05

Legendary medical thriller author Robin Cook joins me this week. Author of more than forty books, he shares his origin story of how he wrote his first book while he was underwater for 75 days on a submarine, and once interviewed a Russian scientist who defected and whose team had hoarded enough anthrax to kill everyone on the planet. In addition, Robin shares his advice on writing and the inside scoop on his latest novel, SPASM. Check it out!

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00:34:10

Season 10 - Episode 5: Karen Morgan

The Story Blender ·

2026/01/29

This week I caught up with comedian Karen Morgan to talk about humor, comedy, and how to be funny. Listen in for tips and advice on why you should never try to be funny and why only you can do comedy like you can do. Give it a listen and don’t forget to check out her latest special on Dry Bar Comedy!

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00:46:07

Season 10 - Episode 4: Matthew Quirk

The Story Blender ·

2026/01/22

Matthew Quirk—New York Times bestselling author of The Night Agent, Hour of the Assassin, and Inside Threat—joins the show. The Night Agent hit #1 in 77 countries and returns to Netflix for Season 3 in February.We talk his latest novel The Method, writing believable thrillers, avoiding over-plotting, and how characters grow from page to screen. A must-listen for fans of spy fiction and intrigue.

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00:53:27

Season 10 - Episode 3: Ryan Steck & Simon Gervais

The Story Blender ·

2026/01/15

In this episode of The Story Blender, host Steven James sits down with thriller heavyweights Ryan Steck and Simon Gervais to talk about their new collaborative novel, The Second Son. The trio digs into what it takes to write as a duo, how high-concept thriller ideas are built and refined, and why today’s authors must think beyond the page and treat writing as a business. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about craft, collaboration, and the realities of building a career in modern publishing.

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00:45:50

Season 10 - Episode 2: Tony Marr

The Story Blender ·

2026/01/08

This week, acclaimed storyteller Tony Marr returns to talk about techniques to tell personal stories. We discuss the three key questions to ask yourself about any personal story you wish to share, how to end your stories, how to be vulnerable without oversharing, and how to retain the trust of your listeners as you tell your stories. If you have a personal story to share, this is the episode for you.

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00:45:03

Season 10 - Episode 1: Carter Wilson

The Story Blender ·

2026/01/01

As we kick off the 2026 year, I sit down with my good friend and our first guest, Carter Wilson. His work has received starred reviews from every major trade publication, has won multiple awards, and has been optioned for television and film. His 2025 release, Tell Me What You Did, was selected by Barnes & Noble as a national monthly pick. We talk suspense, making good on plot promises, how emotions fuel character development, and a rapid-fire word association game.

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00:38:17

Ep. 47 - 2025: John R. Carlos

The Story Blender ·

2025/12/18

Science fiction author John R. Carlos joins me to talk about world building and how emergent trends in technology might affect our lives in the future. We touch on context and trajectory—both in culture and in storytelling—and how stories can equip us with the courage to face oppression in whatever form it might come. We also talk about his debut novel Cryonic Dreams: Awakening. Check it out!

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00:48:28

Ep. 46 - 2025: Mia Sheridan

The Story Blender ·

2025/12/04

This week, bestselling author Mia Sheridan joins me to talk about how monsters can be made, whether it’s important to include the background on a villain in your story, how much believability stories need, longing for justice to occur in the stories that we read, and what’s more important—a story’s beginning or the ending? We also chat about her latest romantic thriller, The Fix. ,working through ⠀

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00:42:30

Ep. 45-2025: Melinda Leigh

The Story Blender ·

2025/11/27

Melinda Leigh, the bestselling author of 40 novels, talks about how her background in the martial arts informs how she writes fight scenes (and why you need vaguely specific details to make them believable). We also talk plot twists, why it’s so much fun to write villains, working through revisions, voice, and honest writing. Check it out!

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00:52:23

Ep. 44 - 2025: David Morrell

The Story Blender ·

2025/11/21

This week on The Story Blender I talk with legendary action thriller writer David Morrell. As the author of First Blood, he is known as the father of the modern action thriller. In this wide-ranging conversation, he shares his inspiration, words of advice for aspiring authors, and hard-won insights into the writing process that you just won’t want to miss. Check it out.

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00:58:24

Ep. 43 - 2025: John Branyan

The Story Blender ·

2025/11/13

Join me as I chat with acclaimed comedian John Branyan. We talk about secrets to comedy, how to gain confidence, how to tap into the truths of life and your own experiences to find humorous stories to tell. He also explains the history behind his famous Shakespearean “Three Little Pigs” rendition and shares who he thinks are the three comedians you definitely need to check out today. Give it a listen and enjoy.

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00:46:55

Ep. 42 - 2025: Traci Hunter Abramson

The Story Blender ·

2025/11/06

This week I sit down with former CIA officer, Traci Hunter Abramson to talk about writing political and spy thrillers. We cover what spies are (and what they are not), what to include in your novels and what to leave out, advice she would give to aspiring authors, and the story behind her latest novel, VICTIM #8. Check it out!

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00:45:55

Ep. 41 - 2025: Terry Whalin

The Story Blender ·

2025/10/30

My guest this week is an author, editor, and publishing professional who has written more than 50 books and coached hundreds of authors on how to put together book proposals. Terry Whalin and I talk about the importance of details, gripping openings, showing instead of telling, looking at the bigger picture, giving readers a reason to flip the page, and The 11th Myth. Check it out!

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00:46:16

Ep. 40 - 2025: Chris Riley

The Story Blender ·

2025/10/23

This week, Chris Riley, the author of the classic screenwriting book The Hollywood Standard, joins me on The Story Blender. In a wide-ranging conversation, we discuss how to keep viewers and readers from leaving the dream, when to focus on our shared humanity in the stories we tell, why stories are a gift that we give to our audiences, what a story actually is, and what is more important, story or structure. Check it out and have a pen ready to take notes!

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00:44:29

Ep. 39 - 2025: Yannick Murphy

The Story Blender ·

2025/10/16

Don’t miss this week’s conversation with novelist Yannick Murphy. We examine whether or not there is such a thing as talent, how a story is like a mirror, and how to write in a way that makes the reader feel like you are their best friend. Learn to observe what has gone unnoticed, bring a sense of presence to the page, and invite in the turbulence. Give it a listen!

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00:47:52

Ep. 38- 2025: Daniel Church

The Story Blender ·

2025/10/09

This week on The Story Blender, I chat with horror writer, Daniel Church. We talk about folk horror, the importance of atmosphere in scary stories, what frightened him as a child (you might be surprised when you hear what it was!). You'll also catch some of his recommendations for movies and other authors who write stories that will bring a chill to your bones. He has a new book out just in time for Halloween called THE SOUND OF THE DARK. Give it a listen. With the lights on…

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00:45:09

Ep. 37 - 2025: Jennifer Fawcett

The Story Blender ·

2025/10/02

This week, Jennifer Fawcett joins me to talk about how playwriting and novel writing intersect and inform each other. We explore what a scene is and why scenes in plays are longer than they often are in novels. We also talk about the importance of surprise, the difference between motivation and intention and her latest thriller Keep This For Me. Give it a listen!

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00:44:58

Ep. 36 - 2025: Jerome Charyn

The Story Blender ·

2025/09/25

This week I talk with acclaimed author Jerome Charyn, who has been a professional writer for 70 years. We explore the music of sentences, the lyrical landscape of New York City, looking for magic in the stories we write and tell, the importance of the first and last sentence, and how every sentence in Hamlet destroys you. Check it out!

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00:43:14

Ep. 35-2025: Victoria Dowd

The Story Blender ·

2025/09/18

This week, crime writer Victoria Dowd joins me to discuss the art of the red herring, how to plant clues in plain sight in a way that no one will notice, locked room mysteries, and coming up with (almost!) impossible crimes. We also discuss her latest historical mystery, Death in the Aviary. Check it out!

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00:47:15

Ep. 34-2025 Carol VandenHende

The Story Blender ·

2025/09/11

This week on The Story Blender I talk with award-winning author Carol VanDenHende about the power of letter writing to the people who’ve impacted you in your life. We dive into how stories can bridge differences, the freedom that comes from accepting that you are enough, what 5-year-olds can teach us about narrative theory, and using stories as a force for good. Give it a listen, and check out her Orchid trilogy for some powerful, poignant novels.

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