In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Lindsey Salatka discusses her debut novel, Fish Heads and Duck Skin. This story is loosely based on Lindsey’s own life, specifically the five years she and her family lived in Shanghai. While living abroad, Lindsey jotted down her observations on the city, the lifestyle and the people of Shanghai. When she began to write the book, Lindsey originally intended it to be a memoir, but that quickly changed. She decided that it would be much more fun to use her experience as the basis for a work of fiction. Fish Heads and Duck Skin is the story of a woman finding herself somewhere far away from home and learning to fall in love with herself and her place in the world. In this episode, I’ll chat with Lindsey about her writing journey, why she loves visiting with book clubs, and how she came up with the title for her book (Here’s a hint: It was inspired by her daughter’s two favorite foods).

The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!

In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, I’m chatting with award-winning author Gale Massey. Her latest book is titled Rising and Other Stories. This short story collection was ten years in the making. These stories represent Gale’s learning curve and demonstrate how her confidence as a writer as grown over the years. It wasn’t until after curating this collection that she realized her stories shared several themes in common: nature, water, grief and the notion of women (especially girls) taking on the world. This latter theme is also present in Gale’s first novel, The Girl from Blind River, a coming-of-age story about a young girl finding her way through adolescence to the brink of adulthood where she can finally make her own decisions. In this episode, I’ll chat with Gale about her writing journey, how learning to play poker was the spark she needed to write her first novel, and why she believes The Girl from Blind River is the story she was born to write.

The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!

In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, I’m chatting with author Kristen Fogle. Kristen is the Executive Director of the nonprofit literary center San Diego Writers, Ink. She is also the author of four journaling books. Writers Ink’s tag line is: Everyone has a story. Write Yours Now. Kristen and I talk about why that is such a bold statement, and why she believes that everyone is (or has it within them to be) a writer. Kristen has spent her career helping writers as an editor, an instructor and a mentor. She discusses the rules of writing, creating dynamic characters and journaling in whatever format sets you on fire. In this episode, I’ll chat with Kristen about her writing journey, her favorite writing prompts and the importance of feedback -— not just what you do with it, but also the people from whom you choose to take it.

The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!

IIn this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Lars Emmerich discusses his conspiracy thriller series featuring female protagonist Sam Jameson. Lars admits that having a female lead for stories in this genre is a bit unusual. But if murder, espionage, and smart, tough, feisty female government agents are your thing, you’ll want to check out this series.  Inspired by Tom Clancy and similar authors, Lars was fascinated by the way they constructed their stories in two main respects —- first, the idea that what is right in front of you is rarely the whole story; and second, the ability to weave several different storylines into a compelling ending. Lars drew upon these lessons when writing his thriller series. And he admits that when it came to creating his main character, Sam Jameson, it was a less about learning who she was and more about discovering who she wanted to be. In this episode, I’ll chat with Lars about his writing journey, how he changed his method of selling books by working directly with readers, and why he thinks that writing books always ends up being more like a science project than an art project about half-way through the story.

The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!