#1 New York Times bestselling author, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, returned to chat about why bestsellers stick around for years, why fiction is perfectly geared for the human mind, and her latest YA thriller, THE GRANDEST GAME.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 25 acclaimed young adult novels, including The Inheritance Games series (over 3 million copies sold), Little White Lies, Deadly Little Scandals, The Lovely and the Lost, and The Naturals series.

Her latest is another #1 New York Times bestseller, The Grandest Game (Volume 1) “... a new series that brings readers deeper into the lush, romantic, and puzzle-filled world of the #1 bestselling Inheritance Games series, set a year after we last saw Avery and the Hawthornes.”

Jen is a Fulbright Scholar with advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science including a Ph.D. from Yale University, and “...is one of the world's leading experts on the psychology of fandom and the cognitive science of fiction and the imagination.”

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Jennifer Lynn Barnes and I discussed: 

• Juggling a book launch, edits, and revisions for three new books
• How to reboot a hit series to capture the same energy as the original
• Why she approaches writing as both a scientist and an author
• How she uses lists of her favorite tropes to unlock her scenes
• More theories on why readers love fiction
• And a lot more!

Show Notes: 

• How #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Jennifer Lynn Barnes Writes: Part One
• Jenniferlynnbarnes.com
• The psychology of fiction with Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Re:Thinking with Adam Grant - TED Audio Collective
• The Grandest Game (Volume 1) (The Grandest Game, 1) By Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Amazon)
• Jennifer Lynn Barnes Amazon Author Page
• Jennifer Lynn Barnes on Twitter
• Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices