We have trouble believing you haven’t already heard of our guest this week, Susan Wiggs, but just in case—she’s the author of many many novels, a multiple #1 New York Times bestseller and an overall amazing storyteller. Her current novel, The Lost and Found Bookshop, is on sale now and her most recent bestseller, The Oysterville Sewing Circle, is just out in paperback.

We talk crafting a story, starting from the emotional journey versus the physical plot, building a character, choosing a setting and our collective addiction to writing books, and Susan reveals that she does indeed read fiction while she’s writing fiction—and it’s a good thing, too, because her reading list is long indeed. 

Links from the Pod

Writing the Blockbuster Novel by Albert Zuckerman

This American Life, Promised Land (the “I Wish” song episode)

#AmReading (all Susan, and you’ll see why)

Aging in Place by Aaron D Murphy

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

On Ocean Boulevard by Mary Alice Monroe

House Lessons by Erica Bauermeister

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

Sabrina and Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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