The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

#1 New York Times bestselling author, Tomi Adeyemi, spoke to me about the film adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone, her evolution as a writer, and the final book in her Orisha trilogy, Children of Anguish and Anarchy. Tomi Adeyemi is the #1 New York Times bestselling, Hugo and Nebula award-winning novelist and screenwriter who was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Forbes’s 30 Under 30 in Media, and whose website was named one of the 101 Best Websites for writers by Writer’s Digest. Her Children of Blood and Bone series continues to be a publishing phenomenon, acquired in a heated bidding war with the first two books becoming instant #1 NY Times bestsellers – spending over 150 weeks on the list – and over 1.5 million copies in print to date including recent paperback re-releases. The Nigerian/American writer graduated from Harvard University with an honors degree in English literature and studied West African mythology, religion, and culture in Salvador, Brazil [Discover ⁠The Writer Files Extra⁠ [https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extra]: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at ⁠writerfiles.fm⁠ [https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extra]] [If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please ⁠click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠ [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id984527862]. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Tomi Adeyemi and I discussed: Her newly found balance and definition of success as a writer  Facing rejection early on in her career How she persevered through meticulous planning Why her acknowledgments are so lengthy in her long-awaited capstone to her trilogy What’s next for the superstar And a lot more! Show Notes: ⁠tomiadeyemi.com⁠ [https://tomiadeyemi.com/] ⁠thewritersroadmap.net⁠ [https://www.thewritersroadmap.net/] ⁠Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Legacy of Orisha, 3)⁠ [https://amzn.to/3VWioxA] – June 25, 2024 by Tomi Adeyemi (Amazon) ⁠Tomi Adeyemi Amazon Author Page⁠ [https://amzn.to/4au55sA] ⁠Tomi Adeyemi on Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/tomiadeyemi/] ⁠Tomi Adeyemi on Twitter⁠ [https://twitter.com/tomi_adeyemi] ⁠Kelton Reid on Twitter [https://twitter.com/KeltonReid] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Acclaimed debut novelist Emily Everett spoke to me about finding a writing community, impostor syndrome, setting aside self-doubt, and her literary debut, ALL THAT LIFE CAN AFFORD. Emily Everett is a writer and the managing editor of The Common, a literary magazine based at Amherst College. Her debut novel All That Life Can Afford, is the Reese’s Book Club pick for April 2025 (out now from Putnam Books), was named a most anticipated book of 2025 by Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, and E! News, as well as an Apple Books Audiobook Staff Pick. Described as “A taut and lyrical coming-of-age debut about a young American woman navigating class, lies, and love amid London’s jet-set elite.” New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy said of the book, “Emily Everett’s All That Life Can Afford is a wildly entertaining fish-out-of-water story meets Cinderella fairy tale.” Emily Everett has an MA in literature from Queen Mary University of London, where she lived and worked from 2009 to 2013. Her short fiction appears in Electric Literature, Tin House, and Mississippi Review, among others. [Discover The Writer Files Extra [https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extra]: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm [https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extra]] [If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id984527862]. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Emily Everett and I discussed: Teaching SAT classes for wealthy families abroad Why you don’t have to wait to get started on your book Her thirst to prove herself with the first novel Time-blocking vs writing in the margins with a full-time job On crappy first drafts And a lot more! Show Notes: emily-everett.com [https://www.emily-everett.com/] The Common [https://www.thecommononline.org/] literary magazine All That Life Can Afford: Reese's Book Club [https://amzn.to/4jY4Eef] by Emily Everett (Amazon) Emily Everett on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/ednahi/?hl=en] Kelton Reid on Twitter [https://twitter.com/KeltonReid] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Award-winning writer and producer Arvind Ethan David spoke to me about making sh*t up for a living, late bloomers, and adapting RAYMOND CHANDLER’S TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS into a graphic novel. Arvind Ethan David is the Stoker Award-nominated graphic novelist who has also written chart-topping Audiodramas (The Crimes of Dorian Gray, Earworms), television (Anansi Boys) and plays (The Boy with Wings). Arvind is also a producer of film and theater, including the Emmy & Grammy award-winning musical Jagged Little Pill with Diablo Cody. His latest adaptation TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS is a graphic novel adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novella featuring one of the most well-known characters in hard-boiled fiction, detective Phillip Marlowe. Library Journal called it “A gripping adaptation of a classic short story [...] A compelling exploration of greed and justice in shadowy 1940s Los Angeles.” Arvind is a principal of Prodigal, the entertainment company where he has produced eight feature films including the Asian Academy Award-winning "The Garden of Evening Mists" and theatrical shows including the Tony- and Grammy-winning Alanis Morissette musical "Jagged Little Pill." [Discover The Writer Files Extra [https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extra]: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm [https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extra]] [If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id984527862]. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Arvind Ethan David and I discussed: Why he was told to be more like Chekhov or Grisham His past lives as a lawyer and venture capitalist Working with some of the greatest writers in the world How storytelling is genetic Adapting one of the great prose stylists for a graphic novel The most interesting dinner in literary history And a lot more! Show Notes: Raymond Chandler's Trouble Is My Business [https://amzn.to/446Jqq4] – May 20, 2025 – by Raymond Chandler and Arvind Ethan David; illustrated by Ilias Kyriazis (Amazon) Arvind Ethan David on IMDb [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2366922/] Arvind Ethan David on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/arvind.david/] Kelton Reid on Twitter [https://twitter.com/KeltonReid] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Award-winning author, founder, and editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books, Tom Lutz, took a timeout to talk with me about his early years as a literary ne'er-do-well, what it's like to hang out with your heroes, and why you can assume every writer is faking it just a little bit. "Writing has never felt like a chore to me. It always feels like the space of freedom, and that I'm stealing the time from my job to do something I love." – Tom Lutz In addition to editing the Los Angeles Review of Books, "... a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and disseminating ... engaging writing on every aspect of literature, culture, and the arts," Tom also founded The LARB Radio Hour, The LARB Quarterly Journal, The LARB/USC Publishing Workshop, and LARB Books. He's a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at UC Riverside, and the author of multiple bestselling and award-winning nonfiction titles – translated into dozens of languages – including Doing Nothing (American Book Award winner), Crying, and American Nervousness, 1903 (both New York Times Notables). His fiction debut is, “A literary thriller that wanders the globe,” novel Born Slippy is described as part "... literary thriller, noir and political satire ... a darkly comic and honest meditation on modern life under global capitalism.” Bestselling novelist James Ellroy said of the book, "Lutz has the seven deadly sins nailed and rethought for our 2020 world. You’ve got to dig this book!" Tom's writing has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New Republic, Chicago Tribune, ZYZZYVA, and many other newspapers and literary venues, as well as in dozens of books and academic journals. He previously taught at Stanford University, University of Iowa, CalArts, and the University of Copenhagen. [Discover The Writer Files Extra [https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extra]: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm [https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extra]] [If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id984527862]. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Tom Lutz and I discussed: His early years as a juvenile delinquent and the teacher that duped him into becoming a writer Why "... if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it." How he's happiest (and most creative) when playing hooky On impostor syndrome and sneaking in the back door of an exclusive club of writers What it's like to hang out with Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood And why you may not be the type of writer you think you are Show Notes: TomLutzWriter.com [https://www.tomlutzwriter.com/] All things LARB [https://lareviewofbooks.org/] Born Slippy by Tom Lutz [https://amzn.to/3aKrGTQ] [Amazon] Tom Lutz's Amazon Author Page [https://amzn.to/2N6yjrm] Tom Lutz on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/tom.lutz.3591] Tom Lutz on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/tmlutz22/] Tom Lutz on Twitter [https://twitter.com/TomLutz22] Kelton Reid on Twitter [https://twitter.com/KeltonReid] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

#1 New York Times bestselling author, Susannah Cahalan, spoke to me about her writing process, witch candles, and stepping into the shoes of psychedelic pioneer Rosemary Woodruff Leary in her new biography THE ACID QUEEN. Susannah Cahalan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and public speaker. Her first book, Brain on Fire, has sold over a million copies and has been translated into more than twenty languages. Her second book, The Great Pretender, was shortlisted for the Royal Society’s 2020 Science Book Prize. Her latest biography The Acid Queen: The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, “...chronicles the life of Rosemary Woodruff Leary (1935–2002), a prominent figure in the 1960s psychedelic movement and Timothy Leary’s wife from 1967 through 1976.”  Kirkus gave THE ACID QUEEN a glowing review, calling it a “well-wrought narrative that brings deserved attention to a lost figure in the counterculture,” and Publishers Weekly called it a “... stranger than fiction story [that offers] a vivid portrait of how flower power cracked up in the ’70s.” Susannah Cahalan has been profiled in the New York Times, featured as an answer on Jeopardy!: delivered a TEDx Talk, and appeared as a guest on The Today Show, PBS, BBC’s Inside Science, and Fresh Air, among many others. [Discover https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extraThe Writer Files Extra [https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extra]: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extrawriterfiles.fm [https://mailchi.mp/b93a5bdd9b99/writer-files-extra]] [If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id984527862click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id984527862]. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Susannah Cahalan and I discussed: The throughline that connects all of her books Synchronicities that led her to the life story of a psychedelic icon How she used the research process to fully immerse herself in Rosemary’s persona What she’s learned over the course of her writing career Why you need to find time for “deep work” to get the pages And a lot more! Show Notes: susannahcahalan.com [https://www.susannahcahalan.com/] The Acid Queen: The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary [https://amzn.to/42u1FD9] By Susannah Cahalan (Amazon) Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World [https://amzn.to/4jCbB4n] by Cal Newport (Amazon) The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction [https://amzn.to/4jFUGhC] by Stephen Koch Susannah Cahalan on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/SusannahCahalanauthor/] Susannah Cahalan on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/suscahalan/?hl=en] Kelton Reid on Twitter [https://twitter.com/KeltonReid] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]