We’ve all read a bad novel at one point or another. You’ve probably thought to yourself that you could do better. Well, you’re not alone. Writing a full novel can be a painstaking and time-consuming process. It’s more difficult than people think, but not impossible. Have you ever wondered exactly what goes into writing some of your favorite novels? The frustrating, satisfying, and therapeutic properties of the writing process are all covered by a panel of authors in this week’s podcast.

Author, Joe McNamara explains how his personal experiences fueled his writing, “My characters were able to say things about all of this that I couldn’t say as police chief. In fact, in one of the books, the police chief, the last one-The Blue Mirage, is about a police chief and he’s complaining so much about politicians that one of his aides says, “Now chief, remember, we can’t have a democracy without them.” And it is something I think we Americans all need to remind ourselves of and I love to write about that conflict where, in a democracy, the police must be under civilian control, the military and the police. But who are the civilians? They’re the people that gave us Watergate and all of the other scandals and their ideals and standards of ethics are not what we expect from professional law enforcement. That’s why we always have that conflict that the police authority can be misused for corrupt or political purposes as it has continuously throughout our history.”

Listen to more of the conversation with McNamara and his fellow authors in the latest episode of the Free To Choose Media Podcast, Mystery Stories.