“The best form of marketing is just producing more work—because you never know when the next idea will catch fire.” —Joe Hart

Joe Hart is the Edgar Award-winning and Wall Street Journal-bestselling author of seventeen novels, dozens of short stories, and several novellas. His work has been translated into eight languages and optioned for film. His latest novel, WYNDCLYFFE, was just released earlier this month.

Among other things, Joe and Carter discuss the importance of word-of-mouth for book sales, why dark thrillers have been so successful lately, and writing strong protagonists who aren’t boring. At the end of their conversation, they make up a suspenseful story using a line from Karen Slaughter’s This Is Why We Lied.

“The desire was always there, but the drive wasn’t. I allowed other things to interfere instead of saying, ‘This is something you really want to do.’" —Dwayne Goetzel

Dwayne Goetzel is a lawyer who specializes in trademarks, domain names, copyrights, licensing, and litigation relating to those fields. He is an attorney, father, writer, and someone who’s navigated several career choices. He has written nine novels.

Among other things, Dwayne and Carter discuss continuing writing during publishing struggles, the value of being a part of the writing community before being published, and copyright as it relates to authors. At the end of their conversation, they make up an unpredictable story using a line from Mark Bowden’s Black Hawk Down.

“It was the craziest overnight five-year success story ever.” —Leigh Dunlap

Leigh Dunlap went to film school at the University of Southern California to study screenwriting, which led her to a job selling socks at Fred Segal and eventually to an assistant’s desk at a Hollywood talent agency. That’s where she really learned how to write—while reading hundreds of scripts sent in for actors. Her first screenplay, A Cinderella Story, with Hilary Duff, was made by Warner Brothers. Since then, Leigh has written two other movies (The Standoff and 16-Love) that were produced. Bless Your Heart is her debut novel.

Among other things, Leigh and Carter discuss gaining experience by working at a talent agency, changes in writing during the pandemic, and writing scripts versus novels. At the end of their conversation, they make up a brief story using a line from Michelle Jabes Corpora’s His Face is the Sun.