Kobo Writing Life Podcast

In this episode, we are joined by Jessica Ward, also known as J. R. Ward. J. R. Ward is the author of the acclaimed series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood. Over 15 million copies of her novels are in print around the world and she has been published in over 25 countries globally! Her latest release as Jessica Ward is The St. Ambrose School for Girls, a coming-of-age novel described as Heathers meets The Secret History.  We were so excited to read this book and to hear more from the phenomenal author behind this new title and dozens of others. We have a great conversation about Jessica’s writing process, the evolution of her career, her new release, writing an unreliable narrator, having multiple pen names, the inspiration for The St. Ambrose School for Girls, and much, much more! For more info, check out J. R. Ward’s website and follow her on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  

In this episode, we spoke with Catherine McKenzie, USA Today best-selling author of “riveting domestic suspense,” I’ll Never Tell,  “one of 2022’s best and most-anticipated thrillers,” Please Join Us, and more! After publishing more than a dozen titles since 2010, Catherine’s latest, Have You Seen Her, is out today! We asked Catherine about her journey to becoming a writer, her previous career in law, why she believes so many lawyers are also published authors, how she plots out her psychological thrillers, what drew her to the genre in the first place, and more! Catherine also gave some great advice for those interested in wrapping their heads around the twists and turns of thrillers. Content note: this episode features brief discussions about real-world missing persons cases, murder, and suicide, and may be upsetting to some listeners. Please listen with awareness of this subject matter. Visit Catherine’s website or follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this episode, we heard from Arizona Tape, author of dozens of books across multiple series, and collaborative writer on many more! We learned about Arizona’s journey to becoming a full-time writer, heard more about her solo and her collaborative writing processes, asked after her favourite manga and anime series, and got some great advice for emerging writers. We also chatted about LGBTQ+ representation, readers seeing themselves represented in Arizona’s books, and why Arizona wanted to write books that her younger self was never able to find. We had a wonderful conversation with Arizona and can’t wait to see what she writes next! Be sure to visit Arizona's website, sign up for her author newsletter, and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

In this episode, we spoke to bestselling author Ruth Ware about her upcoming release, Zero Days, available on June 20th, 2023. Ruth’s novels have been translated into over 40 languages as well as optioned for film and TV, and she has garnered numerous bestsellers internationally. Zero Days is a tech-based, fast-paced thriller wherein the protagonist finds that there is nowhere to hide, and enemies are everywhere. We are very excited for everyone to read Ruth’s latest! We discussed Ruth’s journey to becoming a full-time writer, how she develops the plots for her thrillers, what her writing process looks like, the difference between a “twist” and a “reveal” in storytelling, and much more.  Learn more about Ruth and her work on her website, and find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

In this week’s episode, we spoke with New York Times, USA Today and #1 internationally bestselling author, Christina Lauren – which is the pen name of two authors, Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings! We are here to highlight their latest release – The True Love Experiment, available now – and to learn more about their amazing writing career. Christina and Lauren tell us about how they got started writing together, how they collaborate for reach book, how their collaborative style developed, the importance of fandom, and more. We also got a great list of recommended romance reads, and received some great advice for those writers looking to collaborate with others!  You can learn more on Christina Lauren’s website, and be sure to follow Christina Lauren on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

In this episode, we are joined by award-winning true crime writer Kerrie Droban to discuss her latest release, Aurora, and to hear more about her amazing writing career! Kerrie’s experience as a criminal and family attorney has heavily influenced her career in writing true crime narratives, and she is an expert in criminal pathology and motorcycle gangs who has written many books on both subjects. We heard about Kerrie’s journey from poetry to law to true crime writing, how reading (and even writing) true crime can aid in your fiction writing, how she ended up entering law school, how her creative interests aided her law career (and how her law career aided her writing), advice for aspiring true crime writers, and more. To learn more, visit Kerrie’s website and be sure to follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Content note: Our discussion touches on real crimes and some of the disturbing content involved in said crimes. Please listen with awareness of this subject matter.

In this episode, we talk to author Maren Cooper, writer of literary and contemporary women’s fiction. We spoke to Maren about how she went from working in healthcare to having a writing career, her sources of inspiration, her story as a “second chapter” author, and her latest (and second) novel, Finding Grace, a coming-of-age story about a family struggling to come together again. Maren was very detailed and frank in her discussion of becoming an author, the importance of a writing community, and more; she had a lot of great advice to offer our listeners!   Her next novel will be out this November, so be sure to check out her website to stay updated on her releases. You can also find Maren on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

In this episode, we sat down with Grace Callaway, USA Today and international best-selling author of historical romances (that are often on the steamier side, with lots of mystery and adventure)! Grace’s latest, Glory and the Master of Shadows, is the fourth in her series, Lady Charlotte's Society of Angels, which is, in Grace’s own words, “a Victorian-era Charlie's Angels”! We were so excited to speak to Grace about Glory and the Master of Shadows (and its gorgeous cover), her other books, her journey to writing, advice on research for historical romances, and more!  Be sure to visit Grace's website to learn more about her and her books. You can also find her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.  

In this episode, we are joined by Citra Tenore, an author who wrote her first book at 11 and published it at 12! We chat about how and why she wrote her second, the start of a sci-fi epic, at 19. We heard about how Citra got into writing, her initial dislike of reading and love of film, how she wrote her first book, why she found that sci-fi was her genre of choice for her second book, and where she finds her inspiration. She also offered some great advice for young writers, as well as advice for any parents of young writers out there looking to nurture that interest. We had a great conversation with Citra overall and look forward to seeing what she writes next! You can find out more about Citra on her website, and be sure to grab a copy of The Dead Planets’ Requiem vol. 1, the first in her sprawling sci-fi series.

In this episode, we spoke to Amy Stuart, author of A Death at the Party, out today – get your copy now! A Death at the Party is a thriller that takes place over the course of one day as one woman’s plans for a party go terribly wrong, and has been aptly described as “Mrs. Dalloway with a suspense engine of Lisa Jewell!” We were very excited with this title, and are sure you will be, too. Amy discusses her new release, her path to writing, her experience being a teacher, getting an MFA, and working as a writing instructor, details the interesting framework of her murder mystery-thriller novel, gets into the cast of characters, and regales us with some amazing writing advice!  Learn more about Amy via her website, and be sure to follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.