Peter Blauner is the author of nine novels, including Slow Motion Riot, winner of an Edgar Allan Poe award for best first novel from Mystery Writers of America, and The Intruder, a New York Times bestseller and a bestseller overseas. He began his career as a journalist for New York magazine in the 1980s and segued into writing fiction in the 1990s. He has been a staff writer for several television shows, including Law & Order: SVU and Blue Bloods. His new novel, Picture in the Sand, which spans sixty years and the distance from Hollywood to Cairo, was published in January, 2023 and is his first work of historical fiction.

Among other things, Peter and Carter discuss writing for television and how it differs from writing novels, the transition from journalism to fiction, and complications when writing historical fiction. At the end of their conversation, they make up a suspenseful story using a line from John Grisham’s The Rainmaker.

Caroline Cleveland credits growing up in the rural South and its quieter way of life for her lifelong passion for books and storytelling. Her dedication to the written word led her to law school at the University of South Carolina, where she earned her degree in 1991. She is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a specialist in labor and employment law and is the founding partner of Cleveland & Conley, LLC. Her debut novel, When Cicadas Cry, about a high-profile murder case in a small South Carolina town rife with racial tension, will be published by Union Square Publishing on May 7, 2024.

Among other things, Caroline and Carter discuss the Murdaugh family, writing unreliable narrators, and how legal experience and connections can influence writing novels. At the end of their conversation, they make up a suspenseful and captivating story using a line from Hot Springs by Stephen Hunter.

Diego Báez is a writer and educator. He is the author of Yaguareté White, a finalist for the Georgia Poetry Prize and a semifinalist for the Berkshire Prize for Poetry. A fellow at CantoMundo, the Surge Institute, and the Poetry Foundation’s Incubator for Community-Engaged Poets, Báez has served on the boards of the National Book Critics Circle, the International David Foster Wallace Society, and Families Together Co-operative Nursery School. His poems, book reviews, and essays have appeared online and in print.

Among other things, Diego and Carter discuss how music can inspire poetry, knowing who to listen to and trust when getting feedback, and compiling a collection of poetry in a methodical way. At the end of their conversation, they make up an intriguing science-fiction story using a line from Stardust by Neil Gaiman.