Welcome back to my interview with cultural historian and Columbia professor Jeremy Dauber, author of the newly released book "American Scary: A History of Horror, from Salem to Stephen King and Beyond."

As “J.A. Dauber,” he is also the author of the YA novel "Mayhem and Madness: Chronicles of a Teenaged Supervillain," and a new middle grade novel, currently titled "Press 1 For 1nvasion," that will come out next year.

Today I’m talking with Jeremy about what I call inner stuff–the thoughts, ideas, and attitudes that affect your work, even if you’re not fully conscious of it.

We covered:

- Finding the right balance of being comprehensive and not overwhelming–or boring–the reader

- The parts of publishing a book that get easier the more you do it

- The privilege of working in a field where you can keep getting better and better (as opposed to, say, baseball, where your performance will peak)

- Some frank talk about how parenting impacts your work (loved hearing this from a man!)

- A plug for offering babysitting at conferences and not holding events during the dinner hour

- Taking aim at the myth of the creative genius, and that good work just flows

- And while we’re at it, debunking the myth of the difficult genius

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thank you for listening!

And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value).

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