“The whole concept of working together started when we were in a writer's room—a Hollywood production company writer's room—and we learned how to create cliffhangers.” – Christina Baker Kline

Christina Baker Kline is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, including Orphan Train, The Exiles, Please Don’t Lie (with Anne Burt), and the forthcoming The Foursome (May 2026). Published in more than 40 countries, her novels have received the New England Prize for Fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Award, among others.

Anne Burt is the coauthor of the thriller Please Don't Lie. Anne’s debut novel, The Dig, was an American Booksellers' Association Indie Next pick and the Strand Bookstore's mystery selection of the month. Her essays and fiction have appeared in numerous publications including Salon and NPR, and she is a past winner of Meridian’s Editors’ Prize in Fiction.

Among other things, Christina, Anne, and Carter discuss how their friendship and writing relationship formed, trying to write with a unified voice in a co-authored novel, and balancing thriller “tropes” with realistic plots. At the end of their conversation, they make up a descriptive story using a line from Wendy Walker’s Blade.

“Readers are giving you such a huge gift—and the gift is their time. So I always feel like to be respectful of that time, I have to be providing them with the best quality book I can.” —Cynthia Swanson

Cynthia Swanson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the psychological suspense novels The Bookseller, The Glass Forest, and Anyone But Her. Cynthia was named 2025 Indie Author of the Year by the Indie Author Project, has received the Colorado Book Award and the WILLA Literary Award, and won the Indie Author Project contest. She is also the editor of the Colorado Book Award winning anthology Denver Noir.

Among other things, Cynthia and Carter discuss taking up writing later in life, Cynthia’s journey to self-publishing, and committing to writing a ghost story. At the end of their conversation, they make up a creepy story using a line from Jacqueline Winspear’s The Comfort of Ghosts.

“I got one life. What do I want to leave behind? And I decided a failed writer was better than a successful attorney.” —Elena Taylor

Elena Taylor spent several years working in theater as a playwright, director, designer, and educator before turning to fiction. Her first series, the Eddie Shoes Mysteries, introduced a quirky mother/daughter crime fighting duo. With the Sheriff Bet Rivers Mysteries, Elena returns to her dramatic roots and brings readers much more serious and atmospheric novels. Elena is also a senior editor with Allegory Editing, where she works one-on-one with writers to shape and polish manuscripts, short stories, and plays.

Among other things, Elena and Carter discuss Elena’s path to becoming a playwright, the role of atmosphere in thrillers, and overcoming comparison within the writing community. At the end of their conversation, they make up an incredible story using a line from Mailan Doquan’s Ceylon Sapphires.