The Story Blender

A native of Pasadena, Paul Roland has been pursuing filmmaking since high school and graduated from Cal State Northridge. His directorial debut, "Exemplum," was produced on a budget of $9,500 with a skeleton crew of four people. He credits Ingmar Bergman, Fritz Lang, and James Cameron as the three primary influences on his filmmaking style. Check it out, give it a listen

This week I caught up with award winning author Cara Putman as we chat about suspense, motivation, what creates tension and weaving ethical and mortal dilemmas into your stories to write books readers won’t want to put down. Grab a copy of her latest book “The Vanish”. Check it out, give it a listen and subscribe!

This week I catch up with author and fiction instructor Matthew Salesses. He has written a book on writing called CRAFT IN THE REAL WORLD and tackled some of the big questions authors have regarding critiquing each others’ work. Learn how to offer and receive helpful feedback on your writing, how to stay motivated, and how to remain on-task in your project. Join us for a fun and

Listen as I chat with Kathleen Antrim, and D.P. Lyle, both some of the mastermind behind the outliers online writing university program. Doug is one of the countries, foremost, experts on forensic medicine in fiction, catheters written, and planned many writers conferences over the years. I pick their brains about what makes a story work the best advice that their mentors have sha

Listen to the fascinating conversation I have with humorist and acclaimed storyteller Andy Offutt Irwin. He shares insights on coming up with stories of your own to tell by looking at quests, obstacles, choices, and new wisdom. We talk about the difference between a comedian and a humorist, what (actually) makes something funny, vegetarian roadkill, and more. Check it out, give it

This week I catch up with #1 international best selling author Robert Dugoni. As both an acclaimed writer and popular conference speaker, Robert is an expert at both understanding story and delivering thrilling novels. Join us as we chat about trusting your reader, leaving out what readers can presume, what it really means to show and not tell, and creating honest and authentic cha

This week I chat with New York Times bestselling author Christopher Reich, about his latest novel, Matterhorn, and his writing process. We talk about the importance of believability in stories (even if they’re spy thrillers and international intrigue novels), some of his favorite authors, how to get started if you have the passion to write a story, and the dangers of reaching for

Listen as I chat with novelist and screenwriter Janice Hallett from London. We talked about her latest book, her writing process, her world travels, and her unique style or writing epistolary novels. She has a new novel out now and she shares from her heart about the importance of fiction, or emotion and empathy in stories, and what she hopes you as a reader will take away from you

On this week’s episode of The Story Blender, I speak with noted reality television, and unscripted TV show expert Troy Devolld. We talk about how reality TV has matured and grown in recent years, the not-so-secret secrets to developing a great show (hint, hint, it has to do with authenticity not just conflict.) We also discuss what it means to reinvent yourself (and it might not

Join me as I speak with the NYT #1 bestselling author of the blockbuster Gray Man series, Mark Greaney. He shares his insights into writing action scenes that really work, avoiding fire and steam warehouses, reaching readers on an emotional level even when you’re writing a kinetic story, training with SWAT teams for authenticity, and more. Check it out and be sure to check out hi