Some books remind you that fantasy can be brutal, funny, and painfully human all at once.

This week, I’m joined by Joe Abercrombie, author of the First Law series and his latest, The Devils, for a conversation about the strange dance between fantasy and the expectations that come with it. We talk about drifting around the edges of genre labels (including the ever persistent “grimdark”) and what it means to write stories that refuse to behave exactly the way readers expect.

Joe shares how his background as a film editor shaped the way he builds a story, from pacing to perspective to the careful balancing act of an ensemble cast. We also commiserate over a familiar writerly condition: the convenient amnesia that allows us to forget the horrors of drafting just long enough to start the next book. Joe compares the process to laying bricks. You keep placing them, one after another, even when some are crooked and others will need replacing later. Eventually you look up and realize a wall has begun to take shape.

Links:

Follow No Write Way on Instagram

V.E. Schwab’s Website

Joe Abercrombie’s Website

Credits:

Host: V.E. Schwab

Producer/Editor/Mixer: Jenna Maurice

Some books feel like a rom com written in a minor key.

This week, I’m talking with Ashley Winstead, author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and her latest, Future Saints. We chat about the idea that first drafts are just secret monsters, something you have to let out just to learn their shape. Ashley tells me about the sticky note she kept on her laptop that read, “no one will ever see this,” a small, stubborn permission that made it possible for her to keep going.

She walks me through her rigorous and deeply self-aware writing process, including how she lets her brain decide what it can realistically handle each day instead of having word count goals or a time frame. And somewhere along the way, I realize I’ve found a kindred spirit, especially when it comes to our shared tendency toward slightly psychotic outlining. What a joy. 

Check out the playlist for Ashley’s book Future Saints (mentioned in this podcast) in the links below.

Links:

Follow No Write Way on Instagram

V.E. Schwab’s Website

Ashley Winstead’s WebsiteOfficial Future Saints Playlist

Credits:

Host: V.E. Schwab

Producer/Editor/Mixer: Jenna Maurice

Some stories are portals. Some storytellers are too. 

This week, I’m joined by T. L. Huchu, author of The Edinburgh Nights series, for a conversation that feels a little like falling down a rabbit hole together. T. L. often interviews me when my tours bring me through Edinburgh, so this time we flipped the script, and as always, time behaved strangely around us.

We talk about bookstores as cathedrals, the idea that a writer is less an architect and more a conduit for the stories that seize them, and what it means to be an atheist who still has religious experiences on the page, moments of possession, of surrender, of something bigger moving through you.

T. L. believes you are what you eat, creatively speaking, and we dig into the stories he devoured, loved, and metabolized into his own work. We wander into the magical practice space of short stories, the long and persistent road to publication, and the origin story that proves success is often built on a refusal to quit.

Links:

Follow No Write Way on Instagram

V.E. Schwab’s Website

Credits:

Host: V.E. Schwab

Producer/Editor/Mixer: Jenna Maurice

Some books tilt the world just slightly off its axis and dare you to find your footing.

This week, I’m joined by Mona Awad, author of Bunny and Rouge, whose stories feel at once unsettling and luminous. We talk about the poem she once wrote for a class, one her teacher loved so much it terrified her into dropping the course, and how that early moment shaped her relationship with risk and praise.

We wander into our shared desire to invite fantasy and magic into the real world, and the way our minds can feel like haunted houses crowded with every character we’ve ever written. We talk about long walks as part of her drafting process, the strange alchemy of revision, and the quiet power of clothing in her books. 

PS. If you need us we will be under a cozy blanket watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

Follow No Write Way on Instagram

V.E. Schwab’s Website

Mona Awad's Website

Credits:

Host: V.E. Schwab

Producer/Editor/Mixer: Jenna Maurice

Some books arrive as love stories and leave you thinking about much more.

This week, I’m joined by Kennedy Ryan, bestselling author of Can’t Get Enough and Before I Let Go, for a conversation that feels less like an interview and more like gabbing with a very wise bestie. We talk about the fragility of success, the realities of moving between traditional and self-publishing (and why she’s done both—more than once), and the way her novels operate as Trojan horses: sweeping romances that carry big, necessary conversations about justice, equity, and identity.

Kennedy also shares how her background in journalism shapes her work, from the deep research phase that anchors each book to the responsibility she feels when writing stories meant to spark discourse. It’s thoughtful, honest, and deeply human—and a reminder that love stories can do much more than “that thing.”

Links:

Follow No Write Way on Instagram

V.E. Schwab’s Website

Kennedy Ryan’s Website

Credits:

Host: V.E. Schwab

Producer/Editor/Mixer: Jenna Maurice

Some books feel like an escape hatch you didn’t know you needed.

For the first episode of Season 4, I sat down with Matt Dinniman, author of the wildly popular Dungeon Crawler Carl series and his latest novel, Operation Bounce House. Matt calls himself a “psycho pantser” (affectionately), and he lives up to the title, walking me through a writing process that’s as wild and inventive as his stories—one that sometimes even leaves room for reader input.

We talk about writing without a map: trusting chaos, breaking rules, and finding momentum by charging toward the thing you know isn’t going to happen. Matt shares his unconventional, sometimes delightfully unhinged process, how surprise keeps him writing, why play is often the surest way through a block, and his untraditional approach to rights—what he chooses to keep, what he lets go, and why ownership matters to him.

Welcome to Season 4.

Follow No Write Way on Instagram

V.E. Schwab's website

Credits:

Host: V. E. Schwab
Producer / Editor / Mixer: Jenna Maurice

Plot twist—I’m the guest this week.

And there’s no one I’d rather hand the reins to than my BFF (and producer of this podcast), Jenna. We get into the details of my writing process—from early research to finding the right title—and talk about the kinds of fantasy I’m drawn to, and why. We explore how setting functions as a character in my stories, the balance between realism and the fantastical, and the logic behind how my worlds work.

Also, yes, we talk about mermaids. Because the ocean is still mostly unexplored, and hope is a powerful thing.

This week, we summon Laura Steven, author of The Exact Opposite of Okay and Our Infinite Fates, for a thoughtful and refreshingly frank conversation. She walks us through the slow-burn nature of her creative process, opens up about the very real highs and lows of life in publishing, and reminds us that believing in yourself can be its own kind of survival skill. It’s a deep dive into persistence, perspective, and the long game of storytelling.

This week marks a first—we’re summoning two authors at once! The powerhouse writing duo Christina Lauren (yes, they of the swoony romance bestsellers) joins me for a conversation that’s equal parts craft deep dive and master class in creative friendship. We talk about their ever-evolving writing process, the magic of knowing you don’t have to be good at the same things to make something great, and the puzzle-piece partnership that fuels their stories. They share lessons learned—like how you can’t polish what isn’t fully formed, and how a good book becomes great in the edit. Also: the unexpected tranquility of Pilates.

SWOON ALERT! This week, we summon Tia Williams, bestselling author of Seven Days in June and A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. We dive into her writing process and why every new book begins in her Notes app (because once that laptop’s open, it’s real), the tricky art of writing middles (think chicken that looks done until you cut in and find it’s still pink), and how she finished her first novel before she even hit double digits.

Sharpen your pencils (and maybe your swords)—this week, we summon Brandon Sanderson, bestselling author of Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive, and the expansive Cosmere universe. He shares how he kept writing draft after draft (maybe even a dozen or more) before selling his first novel, the secret stash of stories he hid behind a painting as a kid, and why staying sharp in revision is one of the most important skills a writer can develop. We dive into worldbuilding, resilience, and the stubborn magic of believing your stories matter—even when no one’s reading them yet.