Ledger: A Writing Podcast

R.L. Maizes is the author of the novels "A Complete Fiction" and "Other People's Pets" as well as the short story collection "We Love Anderson Cooper." Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Lit Hub, and more.  She stopped by to talk about "A Complete Fiction," how she engages with her own ideas (and the how the world influences those ideas), and we have a candid and revealing conversation about mental health. She also discusses how "A Complete Fiction" was on submission for 18 months when she pulled it, made a storyline change, and sold it within two weeks! We discuss that and so much more! Thank you to Ms. Maizes for her time, honesty, and sense of humor. Visit https://www.rlmaizes.com/ to learn more about her and her work. - - - - I published two flash fiction pieces in April on https://substack.com/@austinrwilson, and have more coming in May, along with...three more interviews! Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Follow the show through our Instagram account @MossHeartBooks and order books through our website or our Affiliate link on Bookshop.org. Thank you so much!

Juliette Lin is a 2025 graduate of Lena Waithe's Hillman Grad Foundation, a 2026 Writer's Guild Foundation Support Staff Trainee, and a cancer survivor. She stopped by Ledger to chat about submitting to competitions/fellowships (and how getting into one doesn't mean instant success), how she learned self-advocacy as a writer/creator, how improv helped her confront and accept failure and ultimately empowered her life and writing, and how reading other peoples' work helps you understand your own so much more! This episode is particularly helpful for any screenwriters out there who are pre-Writers Guild Association (WGA) because it lays out a path forward for refining your craft and intentionally molding your career as a writer. We also talk about how *external* deadlines help, meaning deadlines that someone other than you has set. So seek those out and get writing! Visit Juliette Lin online at www.juliettelinwrites.com and check out the Hillman Grad Foundation at www.hillmangradfoundation.com  Thank you! - - - - I have an article called "The Big Lessons I Learned from Writing Short Stories" up at RemoteWritingJobs.org and an interview with Penguin Random House publicist Abigail Monti at MossHeartBooks.com and austinRwilson.substack.com. Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Follow the show through our Instagram account @MossHeartBooks and order books through our website or our Affiliate link on Bookshop.org. Thank you so much!

Lincoln Michel is the author of the novels "Metallic Realms" and "The Body Scout" as well as co-editor of the flash fiction anthologies "Tiny Nightmares" and "Tiny Crimes." He also regularly publishes on Counter Craft, his Substack dedicated to the craft and enjoyment of writing and reading. His article "Turning Off the TV In Your Mind" is about writing that overly relies on visuals in a way that doesn't lean into the strengths of prose fiction. It's an interesting read and one that immediately made me afraid I was failing in that very specific way. We heavily discuss that article and also his piece called "Why Literature Needs a Punk Rock Mindset," along with the ways in which the internet may be affecting our reading/writing, why writing with intention can typically support almost any stylistic choice, and even how LLMs are almost certainly more of a problem in undergraduate college courses than anyone is actually reporting. Definitely check out his Substack, Counter Craft, and grab his books from your local bookstore or through the affiliate links to Moss Heart Books on Bookshop.org. Thank you! - - - - I have an article called "The Big Lessons I Learned from Writing Short Stories" up at RemoteWritingJobs.org and an interview with Penguin Random House publicist Abigail Monti at MossHeartBooks.com and austinRwilson.substack.com. Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Follow the show through our Instagram account @MossHeartBooks and order books through our website or our Affiliate link on Bookshop.org. Thank you so much!

Kathy Fish is a flash fiction author and teacher, with work published in Ploughshares, Copper Nickel, Washington Square Review, Waxwing Magazine, Electric Literature, Guernica, Smokelong Quarterly, F(r)riction and many more. She runs The Art of Flash Fiction Substack and is running a Flash Fiction Extravaganza from March 1st to 22nd, 2026 for paid subscribers. This isn't a sponsored show, I just love flash fiction and am having a blast there. We talk about how she starts writing a short-short story, how she came to teaching, how deadlines help, and the differences between vignettes and prose poems. Go to https://artofflashfiction.substack.com to see Kathy's work and join in on the flash fiction fun! Thank you! - - - - - I have an article called "The Big Lessons I Learned from Writing Short Stories" up at RemoteWritingJobs.org and an interview with Penguin Random House publicist Abigail Monti at MossHeartBooks.com and austinRwilson.substack.com. Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Follow the show through our Instagram account @MossHeartBooks and order books through our website or our Affiliate link on Bookshop.org. Thank you so much!

Kyle Winkler writes weird-horror and is the author of "The Ship of Death," which comes out from Harper Collins on September 29, 2026. He's also written "The Nothing That Is," "Tone-Bone," "Enter the Peerless" and more, all of which are either partially or completely set in Indiana. We chat about the publication of his first novel, his life inside academic and its influence on the genre he writes, where the word "necropotent" comes from, the ol' familiar specter of self doubt and its role in a writer's life, but also how community plays a role in each of our creative lives. It's an awesome chat that left me ready to get back to the keyboard! Read more about Kyle's work at KyleWinkler.net and go to Bookshop.org to preorder "The Ship of Death" which Wil Wheaton has already blurbed by saying, "You're giving me cosmic horror, literary found footage, and a tabletop game, all in the same novel? It's wickedly funny and weird? Sign me the f*ck up right now." You won't want to miss this one folks. Thank you! - - - - - Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Follow the show through our Instagram account @MossHeartBooks and order books through our website or our Affiliate link on Bookshop.org. Thank you so much!

Ira Rat is the owner/operator, publisher, editor, and graphic designer behind Filthy Loot Press, one of the best publishers for transgressive, weird, and underground fiction, both horror and otherwise. Is there such a thing as *too* weird for Filthy Loot? Should your poop-centric story have at least some artful storytelling? (Yes.) We also discuss why you should pay EXTRA SPECIAL ATTENTION (all caps, so you know it's legit) to a publisher's call for stories, rather than just submitting whatever the heck you have. And, finally, straight from a publisher and editor: how should you respond to having your work rejected? Find Filthy Loot on Instagram @filthyloot and head to FilthyLoot.com to buy books. Thank you! - - - - - Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Follow the show through our Instagram account @MossHeartBooks. Thank you!

Joshua Hull is a screenwriter and author from Indiana, which means he and I have a lot in common. His novel "8114" is out from Clash Books on August 26, 2025 and is intended to unsettle you in many ways. Are there rules to writing screenplays and prose stories? What's it feel like to have a book so close to publication? Is the setting you grew up in the one you *should* be writing in? We also chat about how important it is to hang onto fun and reject the faux anger and weird outrage people seem to love, nowadays. Find Joshua on Instagram and Facebook @joshuathehull and check out his work from Tenebrous Press, Clash Books, and on Shudder! Thank you! - - - - - Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can now support the show through Patreon at https://patreon.com/LedgerPodcast and get exclusive written posts, behind-the-scenes info about episodes, Q + A sessions with me about podcasting and writing, as well as co-writing sessions/hangouts. I'm exploring the possibility of adding a script coverage and notes tier if there's enough interest, so keep your eyes out for that. I am already offering my services as a reader outside of Patreon, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds.  Contact me via my website for rates and availability, or on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks. Thank you!

Andre Dubus III is the author of HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, TOWNIE, DIRTY LOVE, SUCH KINDNESS, and more, along with his newest, GHOST DOGS: ON KILLERS AND KIN, a collection of essays. A previous episode, "The Most Important Question a Writer Can Ask," covers an appearance of Andre's at Politics & Prose when he gave some advice on writing that deeply affected me. This episode continues that trend. Andre discusses the impulse toward fiction versus non-fiction, and how his head does or doesn’t make that distinction; how he came to teaching and what it means to him; the important work of maintaining the carpentry of his brother, Jeb; poetry, beauty, love - and how feeling follows action. Find out more about Andre's work at https://www.andredubus.com/ - but never on Facebook ;) - - - - - Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can now support the show through Patreon at https://patreon.com/LedgerPodcast and get exclusive written posts, behind-the-scenes info about episodes, Q + A sessions with me about podcasting and writing, as well as co-writing sessions/hangouts. I'm exploring the possibility of adding a script coverage and notes tier if there's enough interest, so keep your eyes out for that. I am already offering my services as a reader outside of Patreon, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds.  Contact me via my website for rates and availability, or on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks. Thank you!

Jamarcus Turner is a TV writer who wrote and story edited for the Chuck Lorre-produced Bob Hearts Abishola, and he also just so happens to live in Indiana. This is the VERY FIRST in-person interview for Ledger! Jamarcus stopped by to talk about when he started writing for TV - it is unlike anyone else's story, no doubt about it - how he got his 10,000 hours of *watching* TV in, what it's like to work in a writer's room, and what you should focus on when in a meeting for a potential writing job. If you're working toward becoming a TV writer, or *any kind* of professional writer, Jamarcus covers so much here that can help you now and far into your writing career. You can find him online on Instagram, @jtcomedyofficial, and on Twitter, @MrMarcus260. Thank you so much to Jamarcus for coming by and to you for listening! - - - - - Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can now support the show through Patreon at https://patreon.com/LedgerPodcast and get exclusive written posts, behind-the-scenes info about episodes, Q + A sessions with me about podcasting and writing, as well as co-writing sessions/hangouts. I'm exploring the possibility of adding a script coverage and notes tier if there's enough interest, so keep your eyes out for that. I am already offering my services as a reader outside of Patreon, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds.  Contact me via my website for rates and availability, or on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks. Thank you!

SHORT FICTION! This is the official audio release of my story "Hate to Meet You," which was originally published in Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Death, issue #06, by Ahoy Comics. Two high school coaches meet each other for the first time and realize immediately that they hate each other. They also realize they'll not be able to escape one another... Watch out for more featured short fiction right here on Ledger! - - - - - Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can now support the show through Patreon at https://patreon.com/LedgerPodcast and get exclusive written posts, behind-the-scenes info about episodes, Q + A sessions with me about podcasting and writing, as well as co-writing sessions/hangouts. I'm exploring the possibility of adding a script coverage and notes tier if there's enough interest, so keep your eyes out for that. I am already offering my services as a reader outside of Patreon, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds.  Contact me via my website for rates and availability, or on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks. Thank you!

Brent Forrester is an Emmy Award-winning writer who has worked on an incredible list of shows including The Office (where he also executive produced and ran the writer's room at one point), The Simpsons, The Ben Stiller Show, King of the Hill, The Larry Sanders Show, and more! He stopped by Ledger to chat about how to overcome writing pressure, managing expectations, and failure; what it's like to pitch a TV show to studio executives (and the actor he has attached to his current pitch for his show Surf Lodge); the need for bravery from artists in the face of tyranny; and that one time he told a joke that bombed in front of Steve Carell. It's an incredible chat with an accomplished TV writer, an invaluable look behind the scenes at the life of a successful writer. Go to brentforrester.com to check into taking his next pilot writing class where he teaches his Six Step System - it's only $200 which is NUTS - it's basically guaranteed you're going to have a blast and meet some likeminded writers. Thank you so much to Brent for stopping by, and thank you to you for listening! - - - - - Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can now support the show through Patreon at https://patreon.com/LedgerPodcast and get exclusive written posts, behind-the-scenes info about episodes, Q + A sessions with me about podcasting and writing, as well as co-writing sessions/hangouts. I'm exploring the possibility of adding a script coverage and notes tier if there's enough interest, so keep your eyes out for that. I am already offering my services as a reader outside of Patreon, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds.  Contact me via my website for rates and availability, or on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks. Thank you!

Today’s guest is screenwriter Laura Kroeger, one of two winners of the 2024 Final Draft Big Break contest. Disclaimer: Final Draft is not sponsoring today’s episode. Laura Won the Big Break Contest with her script BIGGER IN TEXAS. She talks about the genesis of that script as well as how the Women In Film & Video (WIF) fellowship helped her writing; how her own reading and writing groups and their dedication to the craft/art have shaped her as a writer; how integral her manager Max Gonzalez at Fourth Wall Management has been; and the incredible amount of hard work she’s put in both at and away from the keyboard/page. It's a wonderful chat and a great peek into writing for film and TV for anyone who is curious what it's like right at the beginning of a career. - - - - - Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can now support the show through Patreon at https://patreon.com/LedgerPodcast and get exclusive written posts, behind-the-scenes info about episodes, Q + A sessions with me about podcasting and writing, as well as co-writing sessions/hangouts. I'm exploring the possibility of adding a script coverage and notes tier if there's enough interest, so keep your eyes out for that. I am already offering my services as a reader outside of Patreon, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds.  Contact me via my website for rates and availability, or on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks. Thank you!

Christine Wenc is a former staff member for The Onion and the author of Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire, out right now in hardcover! Christine stopped by to chat about how she started researching the book in 2018; searching for (and maybe never finding) objective truth; coming to terms with the ways in which others can live in perceptually-generated realities, and how academics can cut, like, a TON of words from all their writing (she’s an editor too, so can say that). Not only is her book an awesome history of The Onion, it’s a great look at print news media and the massive shifts for everyone involved - from publishers and writers on down to readers and viewers - that took place between the late 80s and early 2000s. Come for the funny stories about The Onion being created and managing to succeed and change comedy writing forever, stay for the details about how monetizing news is maybe a necessary evil we just keep making more and more evil? It’s a lovely chat, and it’s a book I highly, highly recommend if you enjoy any of those things. -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson I'm offering my services as a reader, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds.  Contact me via my website for rates and availability, or on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks. Thank you!

Jessica Berg is the founder and chief literary agent at Rosecliff Literary. Recently, they hired Tommy Dean, former guest of the show and the EIC of Fractured Lit and Uncharted Mag, two literary journals that publish a lot of great fiction. Jessica and I discuss whether a literary agent needs to be a lawyer, what a day of work looks like for her, how to handle multiple rejections of a project, and how important community is to writers and, really, just people in general. Go to RosecliffLiterary.com to follow the agency on their socials as well as on Manuscript Wishlist and Query Tracker. Thank you so much to Jessica for stopping by and helping de-mystify the world of literary agents a little more. -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson I'll be offering my services as a reader here soon, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds. Watch out for more information on my website and on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks. Thank you!

"Am I a writer?" is NOT the question, but it's absolutely related to the most important and revealing question a writer can ask themselves. Today on Ledger I talk about how I've struggled with defining myself as a writer in the past and the way I get past that weird mental battle. This is the first of my non-interview episodes for the new phase of Ledger, with more on the way, including some audio fiction! To watch the Andre Dubus III interview referenced in this episode, visit the Politics & Prose YouTube page here: https://youtu.be/459xFKOM9vs?si=du-K5QY81lpaI_Eq&t=2272 That's a time-stamped link for the exact exchange I reference, and I definitely recommend watching the whole video as well as subscribing to their channel. They regularly host amazing writers! ----- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell other writers about it! Swing by austinRwilson.com to Austin's publishing credits, to contact him, or to read free fiction. Links to all Austin's work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can also go to mossheartbooks.com to check out Moss Heart Books, an independent bookshop which can also be followed on Instagram @mossheartbooks. Thank you!

Ledger is changing!  The craft of writing has so much that goes into it, so many people who help writers produce, finish, and publish their work, so instead of only interviewing writers, Ledger will also begin featuring chats with everyone from Beta readers to editors, to publicists and publishers! Along with those new interviews there will be shorter episodes offering bits of writing advice. These will be quick and to the point, showcasing ANYTHING that has helped the writing flow. And finally - audio fiction. Starting exclusively with fiction by Austin Wilson, Ledger will now publish audio short stories across many different genres. No outside submissions will be considered as of now, but there is that potential in the future when compensation for writers is guaranteed. This is the next stage of Ledger, one that zooms out to contain much more of what makes the writing happens. It's going to be so much fun! ----- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell other writers about it! Swing by austinRwilson.com to see the host's publishing credits, to contact him, or to read free fiction. Links to all his work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can also go to mossheartbooks.com to check out Moss Heart, an independent bookshop which can also be followed on Instagram @mossheartbooks. Thank you!

Alex Wrekk is the writer and creator of Stolen Sharpie Revolution, a fantastic book now two decades into its print run and continuing to influence zinemaking and zinemakers the world over. Alex also creates the zine Brainscan, and, sometimes, a handful of years will go by before a new issue shows up - but! - it’s always being worked on. We chat about doing multiple drafts of zines, about the presentation of the zines themselves, and even about how I view Stolen Sharpie Revolution as a permission slip to all creators out there. What is a zine? Well, we talk about that too, but truly, a zine is WHATEVER you make. It’s an artform driven by the Do-It-Yourself mindset - which Alex and I talk about of course - which means you should go out there and do it yourself. Make a zine! Alex's work: Portland Button Works & The Spiral House - https://portlandbuttonworks.com/ Alex's zine catalog - https://portlandbuttonworks.com/alex-wrekk-zines-brainscan Midwest Perzine Fest - https://midwestperzinefest.wordpress.com/ DIY witch blog - DIYwitchery.com Critical Thinking Witch Collective - https://criticalthinkingwitches.com/ Thank you so much to Alex for coming on and to you for listening! -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. My website also has links to my newest story, Dynasty of Blood, a serialized story set in a fictional 1980s, but one that deals with the historically factual Satanic Panic and its connection to tabletop roleplaying games. Print copies of volumes 1-3 are now available both print-on-demand and print-at-home! Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can also go to mossheartbooks.com to check out my independent bookshop and follow me on Instagram @mossheartbooks. Thank you!

Carolyn J Carpenter is a cofounder of Hollywood Gatekeepers and a story analyst, writer, producer, and script reader, which is how I met her! This is another entry in my “Austin went to a film festival” series (along with Drew Larimore and Jim Burnstein) because I met Carolyn at Austin Film Festival in October 2024. Carolyn has a ton of industry experience as a reader and writer, and has worked as a story analyst on movies like "Black Swan," "Zodiac," "Footloose," and "Nixon & Kissinger." She stopped by to talk about what they do at Hollywood Gatekeepers, where they help kick down the gates by offering script reading services like avoiding the saggy middle in your screenplay, and more. Also, we discuss how to answer the question "What else do you have?" and what to do when you feel like you're on the edge of making a huge step forward in your writing life. Thank you to Carolyn for stopping by and to you for listening! -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. My website also has links to my newest story, Dynasty of Blood, a serialized story set in a fictional 1980s, but one that deals with the historically factual Satanic Panic and its connection to tabletop roleplaying games. Print copies of volumes 1-3 are now available both print-on-demand and print-at-home! Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can also go to mossheartbooks.com to check out my independent bookshop and follow me on Instagram @mossheartbooks. Thank you for listening! 

Jim Burnstein, the John H. Mitchell Professor of Entertainment and Director of Screenwriting Program at the University of Michigan stopped by Ledger to talk about his career as a screenwriter. He's written such films as Renaissance Man, starring Danny DeVito and directed by Penny Marhsall, Mighty Ducks 3, a particular childhood favorite of mine, and more. We discussed how he became a successful screenwriter without moving from Plymouth, MI to L.A. - and specifically he in the 80s and 90s - and what that process looked and felt like. He tells us the one thing you shouldn’t say as a writer and how one time he did in fact say that thing to beloved actor (and total comic book nerd; for real, look it up) Ed Asner; what turnaround is and feels like to an actor; and also, what it means to have people on your side, even if it’s ONE person. The books he recommends for screenwriters are, in no particular order: William Goldman’s ADVENTURE IN THE SCREEN TRADE Linda Seger’s MAKING A GOOD SCRIPT GREAT David Howard and Edward Mabley’s THE TOOLS OF SCREENWRITING: A WRITER’S GUIDE TO THE CRAFT AND ELEMENTS OF A SCREENPLAY. Miranda J. Banks's THE WRITERS: A HISTORY OF AMERICAN SCREENWRITERS AND THEIR GUILD Lynda Obst's SLEEPLESS IN HOLLYWOOD Thank you so much to Jim for stopping by! -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. My website also has links to my newest story, Dynasty of Blood, a serialized story set in a fictional 1980s, but one that deals with the historically factual Satanic Panic and its connection to tabletop roleplaying games. Print copies of volumes 1-3 are now available both print-on-demand and print-at-home! Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can also go to mossheartbooks.com to check out my independent bookshop and follow me on Instagram @mossheartbooks. Thank you for listening! 

Playwright Drew Larimore joins Ledger today for a special reason: I read his play UPSTATE in the very first round of submissions as a script reader for the Austin Film Festival, which is THE film festival/contest/conference for writers. I happily put Drew's play through to the next round and also wrote that it had a serious chance of winning the category. It made it to the semifinals and Drew dropped by to talk about the difficulty of writing this play, his fear of its reception, but also how he was happy to hear laughter during workshops/previews as the two characters argue (but also commiserate and care for one another) after the difficult, life-altering decision to return the child they'd adopted. Yeah. The premise is very, very good. We also talk about how he views his writing as a rotating dessert tray of ideas, how he felt supported to tackle a difficult topic, and a whole lot more. To check out his work or to reach to Drew and his agent about producing UPSTATE head to https://drewlarimore.com/. -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. My website also has links to my newest story, Dynasty of Blood, a serialized story set in a fictional 1980s, but one that deals with the historically factual Satanic Panic and its connection to tabletop roleplaying games. Print copies of volumes 1-3 are now available both print-on-demand and print-at-home! Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson You can also go to mossheartbooks.com to check out my independent bookshop and follow me on Instagram @mossheartbooks. Thank you so much! 

Today’s guest is cartoonist, designer, teacher, and Pinball Wizard Ryan Claytor. I’m one of his stops on the digital (and AFK) book tour for his brand-new book, One Bite At a Time: The First 20 years of Elephant Eater Comics. You can purchase the book at OneBiteAtaTimeBook.com along with more of his work Ryan stopped by to talk about his path from Marvel Comics intern to auto-bio cartoonist to totally unhinged (in a fun way) pinball devotee. We talk about his shiny basketball shorts, but also, in good ol’ Ledger style, existential crises as well, along with whether it's truly possible to bring what's in your head out into the world as a physical object. Ryan says this book is the closest he's ever gotten, so make sure you go to ElephantEater.com and check out all of his work, and again, if you go to OneBiteAtaTimeBook.com you can find yourself right there to buy this very gorgeous volume. -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. My website also has links to my newest story, Dynasty of Blood, a serialized story set in a fictional 1980s, but one that deals with the historically factual Satanic Panic and its connection to tabletop roleplaying games. Print copies of volumes 1-3 are now available both print-on-demand and print-at-home! Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Thank you so much! 

Rana Tahir writes poetry, non-fiction, and fiction, and is the author of Heroes and Monsters, the Stranger Things Choose Your Own Adventure novel as well as SPIES: Noor Inayat Khan, a CYOA tale of the eponymous WWII spy. During the interview I reference a chat she had on the Books With a Past show, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/live/-0IiY5wkreo?si=JoUvs-FSfzNaqHkl Rana and I discuss how you never know who is seeing your writing and where it will lead you; the program Scrivener; Harry Styles fan-fic; whether Robin from Stranger Things is tall (she’s not); writing in second person; and a special performance of an early poem by Rana Tahir that you won’t want to miss. Thank you so much to Rana for stopping by and to you for listening!  -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. My website also has links to my newest story, Dynasty of Blood, a serialized story set in a fictional 1980s, but one that deals with the historically factual Satanic Panic and its connection to tabletop roleplaying games. Print copies of Volume 1 are now available! Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Thank you so much! 

Glenn Stout is a writer, editor, consultant, teacher, and more. Perhaps most best known as the series editor of The Best American Sports Writing series, which ran from 1991 to 2020, Glenn has been involved with narrative non-fiction in some form since the late '80s and early '90s. His book The Young Woman and the Sea was recently adapted for Disney, starring Daisy Ridley. It is the tale of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to ever swim the English Channel. On today's show we discuss what style is within the genre of narrative non-fiction, as well as how Glenn may go about teaching style; whether sports is the actual focus of sportswriting at all; knitting; and what it's like to start a project and see where it all ends up. Thank you to Glenn for stopping by! Please visit glennstout.com for more info about his work! -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, all of them - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Head over to DriveThruFiction or Itch.io to read my newest story, Dynasty of Blood, a serialized story set in a fictional 1980s, but one that deals with the historically factual Satanic Panic and its connection to tabletop roleplaying games. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Thank you so much!   

Eugenio Volpe is the author of I, Caravaggio, out now from Clash Books. Go to Clash Books.com or EugenioVolpe.com to grab a copy and find out more about what Eugenio is up to. We cover the warring halves of an artist, Caravaggio's prescient nature as a thinker/creative, Catholicism, and yes also we talk about civets. This one is NSFW in places so heads up! Thank you so much to Eugenio for stopping by and thank you to Clash Books for putting out wild stuff that is different and absolutely worth your time as a reader. -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review the show wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, all of them - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. Head over to DriveThruFiction or Itch.io to read my newest story, Dynasty of Blood. Volumes 01 & 02 are live now, with more on the way, including some NEW ORIGINAL art. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Thank you so much!   

Beyond the Bounds of Infinity is a fiction anthology featuring 20 stories from marginalized voices, all inspired by the works and worlds of H.P. Lovecraft. Stephanie Pearre and Vaughn A. Jackson are the anthology's editors and both joined Ledger to chat about the successful Kickstarter launch in 2023 as well as the book's publication on July 10, 2024. We cover the horrible nature of Lovecraft the person and the ways in which it must be confronted; utilizing Kickstarter for smaller publishers (and managing and/or not managing the stress); maintaining authorial voice while editing; and how to title a story! Thank you so much to Stephanie and Vaughn for the chat and insights into editing an anthology as a whole versus a story by itself, and so much more. Make sure you swing by Raw Dog Screaming Press and buy a copy of Beyond the Bounds of Infinity - https://rawdogscreaming.com/books/beyond-the-bounds-of-infinity/ - and enjoy the weird tales! -- -- -- -- -- Please rate and review the show wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, all of them - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. . Head over to DriveThruFiction or Itch.io to read my newest story, Dynasty of Blood. Volumes 01 & 02 are live now, with more on the way, including some NEW ORIGINAL art. Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson Thank you so much!   

Ken Lowery is a tabletop roll-playing game (TTRPG) writer most well-known for writing the fantastic game VOID 1680 AM. He stopped by Ledger to discuss his journey in starting Bannerless Games and the process of writing VOID as well as other games like Lighthouse At the End of the World and Hell Grinders. We chat about the community aspect of VOID 1680 AM, including how he actually has his own AM radio broadcaster from which he broadcasts player creations, plus the perceptions (and some hesitations) of playing solo tabletop games. His newest game is No-Tell Motel, a more narrative-focused mystery game that is currently on Crowdfundr - https://crowdfundr.com/notellmotel?ref=ab_75SIUaHJrtV75SIUaHJrtV - so make sure you check it out. Visit Bannerless Games on Itch to find more of what Ken has written - https://bannerlessgames.itch.io/ - and then maybe go play a game tonight! -- -- -- Please rate and review the show wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, all of them - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. You can also check out my work on Medium, including my weird sci-fi publication Shibboleth, which features aliens, government conspiracies, and maybe even sentient fire. Head over to my Itch.io page to read my newest story, Dynasty of Blood. Volume one is live now, with more on the way, including some ORIGINAL NEW art. Thank you so much! https://austinrwilson.itch.io/  

Brian Allen Carr is a novelist originally from Texas, author of the books Sip; Opioid, Indiana, and his newest book, Bad Foundations, which is out via Clash Books as of January 23, 2024. It is a peek into a hidden and ignored world beneath the feet of midwesterners, a world that literally supports their entire lives. The narrator is a man named Cook, someone who will essentially become a coworker to readers as they open this book. Brian chats with Ledger about the importance of setting, how he utilizes and thinks of genre (one of Ledger's favorite topics; but in this case there are sharks leaping out of puddles), and how he is currently working as a foundation inspector like his book’s protagonist. One of the bigger topics in this episode is success and, specifically, what happens when you win a big short story contest? Brian won the inaugural Texas Observer Short Story Contest in 2011, which was judged by Larry McMurtry. Make sure you check out Bad Foundations out from Clash books. Thank you so much to Brian for chatting and thank you for listening! -- -- -- Please rate and review the show wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, all of them - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by AustinRWilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. You can also check out my work on Medium, including my weird sci-fi publication Shibboleth, which features aliens, government conspiracies, and maybe even sentient fire.

Debut novelist David Connor joins me to chat about his book Oh God, the Sun Goes which is out TODAY, August 1st, 2023 from Melville House. Although this is his first novel he has in fact always been writing, which we talk about for sure. He has an undergrad degree in neuroscience and during that time in school he took a writing workshop with Maggie Nelson. Things changed after that. Also, what’s becoming a touchstone for the show, he mentions the genesis of his novel came out in a few sentences on his phone. We talk about the perspective of the story, specifically how “close” or “distant” the third person narrative hews, how he utilizes the passage of time and our perception of that phenomenon, and whether this is metafiction or not? Is it? IS IT? Well…yeah, is it? We do tiptoe up to some topics David says he doesn’t want to dive too deeply into, for fear of giving away the magic trick, including psychedelics. His book is a strange, fantastical journey into perception and time featuring noir sensibilities...that was maybe was influenced by psychedelics? Grab David’s book wherever books are sold, or over at my affiliate link on Bookshop.org. That’s a great way to support the show and get some fantastic new reading material. If I’ve interviewed someone and their work is available via that site, it’s on my list. -- -- -- -- Please rate and review the show wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, all of them - and tell people you think would like it. Swing by AustinRWilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. You can also check out my work on Medium, including my weird sci-fi publication Shibboleth, which features aliens, government conspiracies, and maybe even sentient fire.

Brock Swinson is the author of Ink By the Barrel: Secrets from Prolific Writers which is available now at BrockSwinson.com. He's also a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, a marketing copywriter, the host of the Creative Principles podcast, and currently is creating a docuseries titled Daredevil Society. He stopped by to chat about what prolific means for him as well as for writing in general, what it's like to ghost write, whether he writes every day or if you need to (the BIG topic on Ledger, it seems), and how Daniel Kraus is on another freaking level. Thank you to Brock for stopping by, make sure you check out all his work here: https://linktr.ee/brockswinson Be sure you download your free copy of Ink By the Barrel. -- Links to all of my work are available here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson. If you'd like to support the show, you can buy books from my Bookshop affiliate link https://bookshop.org/lists/ledger-guests, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or share the show with someone you think will love it. Thank you so much!

Albert Wendland is the author of three sci-fi novels and a poetry collection, all featuring his character Mykol (pronounced "Michael") Ranglen as a universe-exploring poet adventurer. His newest novel is "Haunted Stars" and is available now from Dog Star Books. Apart from the poetry collection - which features poems written by Ranglen - the books are adventures colored by Golden Age sci-fi yearnings but with a noir sensibility added in. You wonder who to trust. You wonder what the next discovery will mean for the humans bouncing between stars. You turn each page with wonder. Wendland is also co-founder of the Seton Hill University Writing Popular Fiction MFA, alongside Lee McClain. He still teaches there in an adjunct capacity while also writing and doing things other than writing to stay sane, just like his character Ranglen. We chat about the MFA program, how he came to create his sci-fi alter ego, what it's like writing multiple stories with a recurring character, plus how teaching plays into his reading and writing. Find his work at https://albertwendland.blogspot.com/ and to learn more about the Writing Popular Fiction program visit https://www.setonhill.edu/academics/graduate-programs/writing-popular-fiction-mfa/faculty/. Thank you to Albert for the discussion and thank you for listening! -- -- -- -- Links to all of my work are available here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson. If you'd like to support the show, you can buy books from my Bookshop affiliate link https://bookshop.org/lists/ledger-guests, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or share the show with someone you think will love it. Thank you so much!

Lor Gislason is the author of Inside Out, a goopy gross horror adventure out now from DarkLit Press. They are also the editor of the anthology Bound In Flesh from Ghoulish Books, an author of non-fiction horror reviews and appreciation, and are currently writing more entertaining body horror filled with memorably gross scenes and stories. Lor stopped by to talk about their writing journey, the dreams that led to Inside Out gooping onto the page, as well as what their writing routine looks like and whether there’s such a thing as too gross. Also, yes, there is a mention or two of cannibalism. Check out links to all of their work and social media right here: https://linktr.ee/lorgislason Thank you so much to Lor for coming by and to you for listening! — — — You can read my most recently published story at Defenestrationmag.net. It’s called “Men’s Rights Activists Resurrect Charles Bronson” and is a humorous tale of some reliably ignorant people, plus necromancy. Join the Ledger Discord server or support the show by buying books via my Bookshop affiliate link both found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson As always, check out my work at austinRwilson.com. Ledger is officially now part of the Writer's Bone Podcast Network. It’s featured alongside many great writing shows, including the official Writer's Bone show itself. Check it all out at WritersBone.com. Thank you for listening and supporting the show however you do!

Emily Marie Passos Duffy is the author of the poetry collection Hemorrhaging Want & Water, out now from Perennial Press and available on Perennial Press.com. It’s hard to beat the publisher’s description of the book, which describes it as "Pastoral city smut for bad girls with big hearts.” If you’re looking for poetry that travels the globe but also hops across the borders of genre and form then you might really dig this. Emily and I chatted about connective thematic tissue between poems, a recurring character named Alias, and when/where humor flows into her work. Follow Emily on Instagram @duffylala and find links to her work there. Check out my latest story on Defenestrationmag.net, where my story “Men’s Rights Activists Resurrect Charles Bronson” was included in the April 2023 collection of stories. Also, brand-new, join the Ledger Discord server and find my Bookshop affiliate link here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson and as always check out my work at austinRwilson.com. The biggest news is Ledger has officially joined the Writer's Bone Podcast Network and will be featured alongside many great writing shows, including the official Writer's Bone show itself. Check it all out at WritersBone.com. Thank you!

James Spooner is the author of The High Desert out now from Harper Collins, available here - https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-high-desert-james-spooner?variant=40828374777890 Set in the late eighties and starring James as a teenager discovering punk rock and as the book's synopsis says, "Mixed race, acutely aware of his Blackness, James doesn't know where he fits until he meets Ty, a young Black punk who introduces him to the school outsiders—skaters, unhappy young rebels, caught up in the punk groundswell sweeping the country." It's a memorable coming-of-age tale with the rebellious nature of punk rock driving the pining teens seem to universally feel, that yearning to discover themselves and to go somewhere else. James also made the documentary Afro-Punk, a look at the reality of being a black punk told through the lives of people who live it. We talk about how the tagline of his book came about - Black. Punk. Nowhere. - how he focused on writing characters with unique voices, the challenge of moving past pain when writing memoir, and even when exactly the narration boxes were added to his story. Also, we talk about two of the best punk shows he's ever been to and the magnificent joy of being at a punk show and experiencing it with a crowd. I loved The High Desert and talking to James was a blast. Go to spoonersnofun.com to check out all his work. Pre-order the anthology he co-edited with Chris L Terry called Black Punk Now. https://softskull.com/dd-product/black-punk-now/ -- -- -- Check out my work on austinRwilson.com, at https://austinrwilson.medium.com/ and https://medium.com/shibboieth. Thank you for listening and sharing!

Justice Warriors Vol. 1 is out NOW from Ahoy Comics and available wherever books are sold. Buy it from your local bookstore or comic shop! It's a wild satire, disgusting but delightfully so – it’s one of the most unique comics on the shelves. How did these two storytellers get together? How did Matt Bors decide to step away from political cartooning to cowrite this story about a cop made out of poop with Ben Clarkson, an experienced artist and storyteller in painting, illustration, and animation? You WON'T BELIEVE IT! But seriously, it's a fun story. How does a massive world filled with bonkers characters, driven by economic and political satire come together in a cohesive comic book? Take a listen! Visit TheBenClarkson.com to see Ben's art, including some from Justice Warriors. Head to MattBors.Substack.com to subscribe to Matt’s newsletter and get some great insights into how he tells stories. Tell anyone who likes to laugh and maybe feel bad about laughing to read Justice Warriors. Check out my work at austinRwilson.com, including comics and short stories, and please share, rate, and subscribe to the show. Thank you so much!

Author of 27 Essential Principles of Story Daniel Joshua Rubin joined me for Ledger to chat about his book, writing in general and so much more. He's written for the stage, for TV, screenplays and new media, and now this "here's why" book about writing. We discuss why book blurbs work, how important knowing yourself is to writing, battling our inner critics, and even sort of dead low-level mobsters and how their existence can help you. Visit Daniel online at www.danieljoshuarubin.com and www.storyprinciples.com. If you want to study the craft of writing and start thinking about your stories in purposeful and creative ways, read his book. It's one of the three books about writing I HIGHLY recommend. Visit me online at austinrwilson.com or www.medium.com/Shibboieth, follow me on Twitter at austinRwilson or Ledger_Books. Share the show, rate and review it, and watch out for new episodes!

Bella Poynton is a playwright, director, actor, and theatre scholar. She's the director of the Playwrights’ Wing at First Look Buffalo Theatre Company in Buffalo, NY; literary manager for Post-Industrial Productions and is also the director of Queen City Playwrights, Buffalo’s new play development workshop for career playwrights in Western New York. Her plays have been featured in The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2019, The Best American Short Plays 2018-2019, and The Weirdest Plays of 2020.  We discuss conceptualizing speculative (but specifically sci-fi/fantasy) plays for the stage; impossible stage directions; Star Wars; and some straight up theatre theory. See more of her work at http://www.bellapoynton.com/. Find my work at www.austinRwilson.com and also on Medium.com/shibboieth and https://austinrwilson.medium.com/. I have two stories in Love Me, Love Me Not a collection of dark love stories out from Black Hare Press, available here. You can also listen to this and recent Ledger episodes on YouTube here. Thank you for listening and thank you to Bella for coming on! Please rate, review, and share the show!

Max Booth III is the publisher of Ghoulish Books and the author of novels such as Maggots Screaming and Touch the Night, along with his forthcoming collection Abnormal Statistics. We discuss the importance of the word "punk" in the sub-genre splatterpunk, the personal nature of his story "Indiana Death Song," and why exactly we feel the need to not only write, but to release the stories out into the world, plus a whole lot more. You can find Ghoulish Books and Max at https://linktr.ee/ghoulishbooks, including the Ghoulish Discord, as well as links to everything we discuss. Visit my site at austinRwilson.com and watch out for my stories in the Valentine's Day anthology coming from Black Hare Press in 2023. I have free stories you can read at my website, both comics and prose! Follow me on Twitter (or basically every social media platform) over @austinRwilson or @Ledger_Podcast. Rate and review the show when you get a chance and share it with friends!

Stephanie M. Wytovich is the editor of Writing Poetry In the Dark, a collection of essays about poetry, creativity, and writing in general. She is the poetry editor for Raw Dog Screaming Press, a college professor, and an author of poetry and prose fiction. You can find her work at StephanieMWytovich.com or stephaniewytovich.blogspot.com. Is literally everything poetry? Why do we associate "bad poetry" with the entire artform of poetry? How does editing guide all she does and how did she arrive at editing a book of essays about one of her favorite art forms? All this and more on today's Ledger! Visit austinRwilson.com where you can donate to the show and find links to all of my work. Follow me on Twitter @austinRwilson and @Ledger_Podcast, but look out for me on YouTube as well @austinRwilson. I'll be posting the episodes there as audio files but do have plans for video at some point. Thank you for listening!

EV Knight is the author of The Fourth Whore, which won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel, and Three Days In the Pink Tower out now from Creature Publishing. Why do writers bury themselves under guilt? Are writers in fact the weirdest people currently living? How many drafts of a story does she normally create? What was it like to go from writing The Fourth Whore to accepting a Bram Stoker Award for it? We cover all this and more! Make sure you visit EVKnightAuthor.com to check out her work as well as all the ways you can follow her online. Thank you for listening and for sharing the episode and thank you to EV Knight for stopping by to chat! Visit austinRwilson.com where you can donate to the show and find links to all of my work. I have a short story coming on October 1st in the NOM NOM anthology out from Black Hare Press. Pre-order it right here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2M1VF6N?tag=gingercatpubl-20 I also currently have a Shibboleth story available through Mini Komix, check it out right here: https://www.lulu.com/shop/mini-komix/a-late-night-encounter/paperback/product-gmk76j.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Bucket O' Blood is located in Chicago, IL at 3182 N Elston Ave and is filled with horror, sci-fi/fantasy, and welcoming vibes. They sell records, movies, and used/new books and are an essential destination for anyone wanting to buy a story or two that will take them on an adventure. You can find them online here: https://www.bucketoblood.com/ Please visit austinRwilson.com/Ledger to see photos of Bucket O' Blood as well as my recent bookhaul! If you visit the shop let me know, and especially let me know what you buy! Reach out to me on Twitter through @austinRwilson or @Ledger_Podcast or send me an email at [email protected]. If you have a shop you'd like to tell me about please let me know! I can never visit too many bookstores and want to spread the word about as many as possible. Bookstores are landmarks of hope and possibility!     This is NOT an ad or sponsored episode, the content is mine alone.

Blood Mountain, by this episode's guest Brenda Tolian is "A mosaic of mountain songs that penetrate all the way to the beating, blood heart." That's what Josh Malerman says. Brenda Tolian talks about her relationship to Colorado, the importance of telling its stories from indigenous perspectives, why the Bible is actually like really scary, and so much more! Make sure you visit Raw Dog Screaming Press to pick up a copy of Blood Mountain, right here: https://rawdogscreaming.com/books/blood-mountain/ Also visit her website at https://brendatolian.com/. You can find me at www.austinRwilson.com and on Twitter @austinRwilson and @Ledger_Podcast. Thank you for listening!

"A cosmic horror exploration of sisterhood and feminine rage." That's how Jessica McHugh describes her next book of blackout poetry based on the classic Little Women. It will be published from Apokrupha, which is also the publisher of her book A Complex Accident of Life. We discuss two novels she has coming out in 2022 from Ghoulish Books. The first book, Rabbits In the Garden is a reprint coming out in August 2022. Its sequel, Hares In the Hedgerow is a "crazy, cult horror [and] a big love letter to Joni Mitchell." It will be out in November 2022. She also talks about writing two novels that tie-in to the WNUF Halloween Special sequel! Please check out her website www.mchughniverse.com.   My Twitters: @austinRwilson and @Ledger_Podcast My website: www.austinRwilson.com

Terror and delight circle one another in the darkness and Bram Stoker Award-winning author Tim Waggoner is there to guide them directly into your heart. Over the course of more than 50 novels, seven collections, and 20 media tie-in novels Tim has scared, shocked, and entertained readers with his tales of horror. Another thing he's done is teach, both in a classroom and on the page. His non-fiction book Writing In the Dark won the 2020 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement In Non-Fiction and the forthcoming Writing In the Dark: The Workbook expands on the exercises and tools supplied in the first volume. Both are available from Raw Dog Screaming Press and both are magnificent resources for writers. Tim came by Ledger to discuss his teaching, how he stays aware of his stories' potential influence on the real world, and why you'll drop your phone when trying to call 911 as Jason Voorhees sprints toward you.   Thank you for listening! Keep writing and keep telling stories.   Writing In the Dark - https://rawdogscreaming.com/books/writing-in-the-dark/ Writing In the Dark: The Workbook - https://rawdogscreaming.com/books/writing-in-the-dark-workbook/ Tim Waggoner - https://timwaggoner.com/ My work - https://www.austinRwilson.com  

What is the journey like from idea to a published book for a first-time author? Keely Shinners chatted with Ledger about their book How To Build a Home for the End of the World, out now from Perennial Press. Keely discusses the five-year process for writing their first novel, who did those eye-catching sketches in the inside covers of the book, and the "deferred gratification" of writing a novel. Aside from longform fiction, Keely writes short fiction, essays, and is also an art critic. Their work can be seen at www.keelyshinners.com and you can find their book at Perennial Press. Follow Ledger on Twitter through @Ledger_Podcast or @austinRwilson, and find my writing at austinRwilson.com. My most recent story, "Hate to Meet You" can now be read online at Ahoy Comics. It features an illustration from veteran cartoonist Peter Bagge!

Daniel Kraus, author of The Ghost That Ate Us (out in July 2022 from Raw Dog Screaming Press), The Living Dead, Bent Heavens, Trollhunters, and The Shape of Water stopped by Ledger! His newest book is the tale of a poltergeist in a fast-food restaurant, written as a true-crime tale. We discussed how he had to reverse engineer characters/story for that novel, his general writing schedule, whether he's afraid of anything at all, and how George A. Romero is one of his favorite artists of all time. Thank you to Daniel for stopping by! Check out his work at www.danielkraus.com. My work is available at www.austinRwilson.com with supplemental material for the show at austinRwilson.com/Ledger.

Tommy Dean writes and edits flash fiction and also teaches creative writing courses that focus on flash fiction as well as writing in general. He stopped by Ledger to talk about flash - which are usually stories of 1,000 words or less - including Hollow, a collection of his work out through Alternating Current Press. What does success look like for a writer? Is writing flash easier than writing long-form fiction? How does Tommy write and edit his own work (including how those processes are affected by others helping him)? We cover all of this and a lot more! If you enjoyed the episode please share it with a fellow writer and rate/review the show wherever you listened, it really does help new listeners find it. You can find Tommy Dean on Twitter under @TommyDeanWriter and at his website tommydeanwriter.com. Order (or preorder, depending when you see this) his book Hollows here. Keep your eyes peeled for my fiction in Ahoy Comics and in the Tales From the Quarantine anthology. You can also read fiction on my website austinRwilson.com and follow my twitter accounts, @Ledger_Podcast and @austinRwilson. I appreciate you listening!

Robin Sloan’s first novel, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, was a New York Times Best Seller, translated into more than twenty languages. His latest novel, Sourdough, was published in 2017. With his partner Kathryn Tomajan, Robin produces California extra virgin olive oil under the label Fat Gold. He lives in Oakland and works out of the Murray Street Media Lab, down by the railroad tracks. Mr. Sloan stopped by Ledger to talk about computer coding, the ways it intersects with fiction/novel writing, videogames, decapitation (and his lack of expertise in the field), and taking time to appreciate a good flower. Visit RobinSloan.com to subscribe to newsletters and look around at all the cool stuff. Thank you to Robin Sloan for the chat and thank YOU for listening! -- Visit austinRwilson.com for comics and short stories.

Alec Nevala-Lee is the author of "Astounding," a group biography of John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and L. Ron Hubbard. He's written three novels, a lot of short stories, and has published non-fiction in the New York Times and the L.A. Times. Alec stopped by to chat about sci-fi as a genre, that famous quote about the "Golden Age" of sci-fi being 12, how long it took him to write this book (plus his forthcoming bio on Buckminster Fuller), and the relationship between a writer and their agent. To check out more of Alec's stuff head over to nevalalee.com. Thanks so much for listening!

Author Erika Swyler has written two novels, The Book of Speculation and Light From Other Stars, and has received starred reviews from both Booklist and Kirkus. She chats with Ledger about her writing process, the reasons she bristles at certain points of view in stories, her super-secret softcore erotica novel (shhhh), and which videogames she loves. Thank you so much to Erika for being the first interview on Ledger. Visit her website at erikaswyler.com to subscribe to her newsletter and stay up-to-date on all things Swyler! My website is austinRwilson.com and you can find this episode there, along with a transcript of the interview, plus my own fiction and non-fiction. Thank you!  

The first episode of Ledger is here! It's a writing podcast that will be 95% interviews with a sprinkling of news from the publishing world as well as about my own projects. Go to @Ledger_Podcast or @AustinRwilson on Twitter to comment on the show or click on Contact over on austinRwilson.com. Let's talk about writing!