The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

Acclaimed debut novelist Jessica Siskin spoke with us about her creative career spanning fashion, viral food art, and fiction, and her debut novel LOOKS PERFECT.

Jessica Siskin is an author, former fashion executive, and founder of the viral Instagram brand Misterkrisp, a popular Instagram-based business specializing in elaborate, custom Rice Krispies Treats.

Her debut novel, Looks Perfect, follows a buzzy fashion designer whose relationship crumbles just as her business explodes. The book explores identity, performative culture, and what authenticity means in a hyper-visible world.

Bestselling author Ali Rosen called the book, “A timely exploration of identity in the age of curated selves, Looks Perfect follows a fashion insider navigating the distance between appearance and authenticity.”

Jessica Siskin earned her MFA from the New School.

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In this file Jessica Siskin, Milena, and I discussed:

Curating a new list of writerly New York City bars

What it means to “swim through your feelings”

The themes of image-making, authenticity, and online performance at the heart of her book

Why she pivoted from food art to writing fiction

When taking time off from your WIP is OK

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

jessicasiskin.com

Looks Perfect: A Novel by Jessica Siskin [Amazon]

Jessica Siskin on Facebook

Jessica Siskin on TikTok

Jessica Siskin on Instagram

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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Bestselling author, comedian, and podcaster Sam Tallent spoke with us about his journey from self-publishing his first novel out of necessity during COVID to landing a traditional deal and hitting #1 on Amazon with his latest thriller, BRUT.

Sam Tallent is a comedian who has performed more than 45 weekends per year across America, Canada, Europe, Japan, and Australia over the last decade. His first novel, Running the Light, is soon to be a major motion picture.

His second novel and first traditional hardcover, Brut, is about a hitman forced to take an impossible job. Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, said of the author, “Tallent blends striking prose and rich characterization in this exceptional thriller centered on an ex-Marine turned hit man . . .”

Nic Pizzolatto, creator of True Detective, said of the book, “A brutal story about a master killer … Brut is a work of profound existentialist beauty that depicts love, loss and the riddle of identity with such depth and power it belongs in the company of Robert Stone, Denis Johnson and Cormac McCarthy. I was blown away.”

Tallent has released two major comedy specials: Waiting For Death to Claim Us (available on Amazon Prime) and The Toad's Morale (available on YouTube). He is also a frequent guest on prominent comedy networks and podcasts, including the Joe Rogan Experience and others.

In addition to stand-up, he hosts the popular Chubby Behemoth Podcast.

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In this file Sam Tallent, Milena, and I discussed:

How he plans to make young men read

The surprising emotional origins of Brut as a love story

His literary influences

The DIY ethos threading through his career

His philosophy on writing discipline

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

samtallent.com

Brut: A Novel by Sam Tallent [Amazon]

Sam Tallent Amazon Author Page⁠

Chubby Behemoth Podcast

Sam Tallent on Twitter

Sam Tallent on YouTube

Sam Tallent on Instagram

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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Bestselling author, publisher, and lit podcaster Zibby Owens spoke with us about the evolution of her media company from a podcast into a publishing house, her editorial philosophy, and her new essay collection BETWEEN CHAPTERS.

Zibby Owens was dubbed “the book world’s biggest cheerleader” by the New York Times, and is the national bestselling author and editor of seven books including Blank: A Novel, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, and On Being Jewish Now: Reflections from Authors and Advocates, which has spent 29 weeks on the USA Today bestseller list.

Her latest book, Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot, consists of “…forty short, funny, honest essays…about what happens when the life you carefully built stops looking like the life you thought you'd have—and you have to figure out who you are now.”

Susan Orlean said of the book, “It is as warm and engaging as morning coffee with a best friend. Zibby parses the joys and pains of midlife awakening and reinvention in these bite-sized essays, each one landing with authenticity and humor and honesty."

Zibby has interviewed more than 2,000 authors on her award-winning podcast Totally Booked with Zibby and weekly TV show Totally Booked on JBS. In 2021 she founded Zibby Media with the launch of boutique publishing house Zibby Publishing and unique year-round hosted retreats and events for book lovers. In 2023, she opened indie bookstore Zibby's Bookshop in Santa Monica, CA.

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[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Zibby Owens, Milena, and I discussed:

How her publishing team decides what to acquire

The podcast Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books that launched the “Zibby-verse”

Why those early book fairs in her apartment were the precursor to the LA bookstore

Some early career setbacks

Writing an essay collection that offers a "bookfluencer's" view of a decade of reinvention

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

zibbyowens.com

zibbymedia.com

Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot by Zibby Owens [Amazon]

Zibby Owens Amazon Author Page⁠

Zibby Owens on Facebook

Zibby Owens on Instagram

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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#1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon Cameron spoke with us about her unconventional path to writing, intensive research process, giving hope to young readers, and her ninth novel UP FROM THE ASHES.

Sharon Cameron is the bestselling author of nine award-winning novels, including international bestseller and Reese’s Book Club pick The Light in Hidden Places (2020), Bluebird (2021) and Artifice (2023). She is best known for immersive Young Adult historical fiction and thrillers.

Her latest novel, Up from the Ashes, is based on the true story of two heroes and their resistance in the Sobibor death camp during the Holocaust. Kirkus Reviews (starred review) called it “Powerfully written...Harrowing and riveting.”

A Booklist starred review said of the book, "Cameron's gripping account...carefully balances visceral descriptions of the Nazis' mind-numbing cruelty with moments of tenderness … as well as showing the prisoners' courage, resilience, and creativity... An unforgettable story of triumphant, defiant determination and hope."

Sharon’s books have won the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, the Westchester Fiction Award, the Junior Library Guild’s Gold Standard Award, earned starred reviews from Booklist, SLJ, Book Page and Kirkus, and have been chosen for Indie Next Top Ten, Audible Best Books, among many others.

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[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Sharon Cameron, Milena, and I discussed:

Using her classical piano training as a foundation for her writing

How she stumbled upon inspiration for the latest on book tour

The differences between dramatized reality and pure historical fiction

Writing for young adults and balancing darkness with hope

Her 20-year friendship with Ruta Sepetys

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

sharoncameronbooks.com

Up from the Ashes by Sharon Cameron [Amazon]

Sharon Cameron Amazon Author Page⁠

Sharon Cameron on Facebook

Sharon Cameron on Instagram

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Internationally bestselling author Meg Mason spoke with us about her journalism origins, the winding road to bestseller, how to navigate bad reviews, and her latest novel SOPHIE, STANDING THERE.

Meg Mason is the author of You Be Mother and the critically acclaimed Sorrow and Bliss, which became an international bestseller in 2020. Winner of the British Book Industry Book of the Year, and shortlisted for the Women’s Prize, it has since been translated into more than 30 languages.

Her latest is Sophie, Standing There, set behind the scenes of a literary festival; the novel follows Sophie Pattison, a cheerful but increasingly invisible staffer whose life has quietly unraveled. A starred Library Journal review called the novel “a special treat for book lovers,” and Mason features real authors in the novel.

Ann Patchett praised the book as “a moving examination of what it means to be alone in the world, and what it means to find connection…by turns, heartbreaking, hilarious, and deeply hopeful. Meg Mason is a dazzling talent.”

Meg’s first career was in journalism, beginning at The Times of London, later writing for Vogue, ELLE, GQ, Sunday Style, The New Yorker’s Daily Shouts, among others.

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[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Meg Mason, Milena, and I discussed:

The viral moment that changed everything for Sorrow and Bliss

How to write in third person ventriloquist

The parasocial reader-author dynamic at the heart of her new book

Hanging out with Ann Patchett

The discipline required to write seriously

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

megmason.com

Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason [Amazon]

Meg Mason Amazon Author Page⁠

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter
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