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.

Sandra Block graduated from Harvard and is a practicing neurologist. Her work has been published in the Washington Post. Little Black Lies is her debut and a finalist in the International Thriller Awards, and The Girl Without a Name and The Secret Room are the other books in the Zoe Goldman series. What Happened That Night is her stand-a-lone novel, and Girl Overboard is a Young Adult thriller. The Bachelorette Party is her newest novel.

Among other things, Sandra and Carter discuss defining success as an author, competing with the emergence of AI, and writing gore in their novels. At the end of their conversation, they make up a suspenseful story using a line from Stuart Turton’s The Last Murder at the End of the World.

Emily Jon Tobias is an award-winning writer whose work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and has been featured in literary journals such as Santa Clara Review, Flying South Literary Journal, Typehouse Literary Magazine, and more. Her debut collection MONARCH: STORIES won the American Book Fest International Book Award and an International Impact Book Award. Emily is a mentor in the PEN Prison Writing Mentorship Program and holds a MFA in Writing from Pacific University Oregon.

Among other things, Emily and Carter discuss publishing a book without an agent, how rejection helps to build community, and how writing a book helped Emily through early sobriety. At the end of their conversation, they make up a mysterious story using a line from Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.

Pamela Statz grew up in Wisconsin and attended UW Madison, earning degrees in Journalism and History. She’s worked in media and advertising in San Francisco and Portland for Lucasfilm, WIRED, Nike, and Wieden+Kennedy. Thorn City is her first novel.

Among other things, Pam and Carter discuss Pam’s experiences with writing classes, considering self publishing, and writing a book with multiple POVs. At the end of their conversation, they make up a funny short story using a line from Matthew McConaughey's Greenlights.

Alex Kenna is a prosecutor, writer, and amateur painter. Before law school, Alex studied painting and art history at Penn. She also worked as a freelance art critic and culture writer. Alex’s debut novel, What Meets the Eye, was nominated for a Shamus Award for best first PI novel. Kirkus Reviews called it a “righteous, painful debut,” and Bookpage called her “a master in the making.”

Among other things, Alex and Carter discuss finding creative outlets after professional schooling, navigating doubts throughout the first-draft process, and mixing genres to create a compelling story. At the end of their conversation, they make up a comedic story using a line from David Guterson’s The Country Ahead of Us, The Country Behind.

Georgia Jeffries is a writer of Emmy Award-winning drama and acclaimed noir fiction, and has been honored with multiple Writers Guild Awards, Golden Globes, and the Humanitas Prize. She worked as a journalist for American Film before writing and producing Cagney & Lacey, China Beach, and Sisters. Her short stories have appeared in national suspense anthologies, and she has also written biographical and historical profiles for HuffPost, Los Angeles Review of Books, and University of California Press. She is a professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she created the BFA Television Thesis program.

Among other things, Georgia and Carter discuss optimism in the entertainment industry, teaching craft and business to MFA students, and how experience in screenwriting translates to writing novels. At the end of their conversation, they make up a suspenseful story using a line from William Kent Krueger’s Fox Creek.