Chad Boudreaux has a broad range of government, legal and corporate experience. Prior to serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Boudreaux also served in several high-ranking positions at the U.S. Justice Department, where he focused most of his time on matters relating to terrorism and homeland security. His career in the government led him to write his debut novel, Scavenger Hunt.

Among other things, Carter and Chad discuss how Chad uses his justice, government, and personal experiences as inspiration for his novels, writing main characters of a different gender, and the benefits of hiring PR teams. At the end of their conversation, they make up a gripping story using a line from Chad’s own novel Homecoming Queen.

Midge Raymond is the author of Floreana and My Last Continent, and the award-winning short-story collection Forgetting English. Her writing has appeared in TriQuarterly, American Literary Review, the Los Angeles Times, and others. She has taught writing at Boston University and at writing conferences around the world. She earned a certificate in private investigation from the University of Washington.

John Yunker is the author of the novel The Tourist Trail; editor of the Among Animals fiction series and a nonfiction anthology, Writing for Animals. His plays have been produced at venues like the Oregon Contemporary Theatre. His teleplay Sanctuary was performed at the 2017 Compassion Arts Festival and his short stories have been published in Phoebe, Flyway, Antennae, and other journals.

Among other things, Carter, Midge, and John discuss accepting each other’s ideas when cowriting, the trip to Tasmania that inspired Devils Island, and staying in the industry despite a lack of financial success. At the end of their conversation, they make up a comedic story using a line from Harlan Coben’s The Innocent.

Barbara Nickless is the #1 Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Sydney Parnell crime novels. The series has been optioned for television and has won two Colorado Book Awards and twice won the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. Her standalone spy thriller was released in January 2025. Barbara’s essays and short stories have appeared in Writer’s Digest, Penguin Random House, and other markets. She also teaches creative writing to veterans at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.

Among other things, Barbara and Carter discuss navigating PR as an author, Barbara’s research in Singapore for her espionage thriller, and transitioning from writing series to standalones. At the end of their conversation, they make up a mysterious story using a line from Cara Black’s Murder at la Villette.