Writers Drinking Whiskey: Table of Contents
Episode guide and everything you need to join us for literary happy hour
Introductions
Writers Drinking Whiskey is not your granddad’s writers-selling-their-books podcast. It is a celebration of stories and storytellers, and we probably talk about life, dealing with adversity, overcoming failure and rejection, how to make a kickass cocktail, pet peeves, guilty pleasure, and everything else thrice as much as we talk writing craft and publishing. If I’m trying to sell anything, it’s the author, and if you watch an episode and fall in love with a guest, there’s a GREAT chance they’ll show up again and again.
The show is truly a labor of fun, which is why I call it “your literary happy hour.” That said, we don’t shy away from deeper topics; regrets, those things that haunt us, painful memories, and everything else do come up from time to time. The show is about building connection and community, and to do that you have to go below the surface level. (Note, there are approximately infinity podcasts dedicated to national and geo- politics, so neither is a focus of the show… Unpopular Opinion: there is way more to all of us than our politics, and it’s that beyond that I’m interested in.)
So pull up a stool and join the show where everybody knows your name!
Table of Contents
This TOC is in inverse order, so you’ll find the latest episode on top. So you can easily find your favorite storytellers, I’ve listed them by name, followed by a brief description of the episode. The only exception to this are the Open Bar author panels, in which I’ve listed by subject, followed by the authors in attendance.
NOTE: Writers Drinking Whiskey was on YouTube long before I started this Substack, so many of the links take you there. Thanks for understanding!
Season 3
Jason J. Willis - From traumatic brain injury to LitRPG author
Jon DiSavino - Short Story Today host shares his passion for the short story
J.D. Barker - Vampire Legends & Horror Writing
Linda Joffe Hull - Consumerism, Writing Collaborations, and Reading Kafka in 2nd Grade
Dr. Jeff Meldrum - Studying Sasquatch: Science beefs, hostile audiences, & weighing the evidence
Kill the Dog: how to elicit emotion and the power of vulnerability - panel includes William R. Hincy, John Gilstrap, Dario Ciriello, Sue Alcon O’Connor, and Austin Camacho
Mark Bergin - Dying on the job - a cop's life (and death) | crime fiction
William R. Hincy - “You ain’t never seen a book like me!” Past guests pirate the show and turn the interview tables and grill your favorite podcast host
Character development: how to write 3-dimensional characters - panel includes William R. Hincy, John Gilstrap, Gabi Lorino, and Mike Kozlowski
Jessica L. Sparrow - Spine-Tingling Tales: Gothic Rican Storytelling
Adam Vines - Poetry, Fishing, and Day Kink
Michael Mayes - The Unexplained: Black Panthers, Sasquatch, and Middle School
Astra Capone - Control, Love & British Accents
Irish writers’ wisdom - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, Austin Camacho, and Jesse Darnay (Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!)
Diane Hammond - Giving Free Willy a High Five
Mastering suspense - panel includes William R. Hincy, Vaughn A. Jackson, Linda Hull, David Swinson, Gabi Lorino
Emanuel Rose - Nature, Narrative, and Authentic Marketing
Writing Stakes - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, Sue O’Connor, Diane Hammond, and John Gilstrap
Reavis Wortham - Whiskey, Crime, and Texas
D.A. Spruzen - Dancing Through Fiction
T.D. Johnston #2 - Inspiring dread and confronting Evil
Sue Alcon O’Connor - Strange Things and Healing Words
Antagonists and characters smarter than you - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, SJ Rozan, T.D. Johnston, and Diane Hammond
Niles Reddick - Near-Death Experiences, UFOs, and Short Fiction
Season 2
Linda Zimmermann - The Unexplained: UFOs, Ghosts, and Bad Science
Writing process - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, Linda Joffe Hull, Keir Graff, Sue Alcon O’Connor
Amanda R. Woomer - Spooky Tales and Killer Moms [True Crime]
Dana King - Justice on the Rocks (crime fiction with a Pittsburgh bent)
Writing dialogue - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, John Gilstrap, David Swinson, and Dana King
David Swinson - Counter-Culture, Crime, and Creative Craft
Théron Regnier & Hope Ewing - A night at the Obscure distillery and cocktail experience with an author and a master distiller
How to immerse the reader - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, John Gilstrap, Stephen Hunter, and Dana King
Matt Pruitt - The Unexplained: Is Sasquatch an Artifact of the Mind, or Biological Reality?
How to develop your authorial voice - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, Jesse Darnay, Gabi Lorino
Story Structure - panel includes William R. Hincy, John Gilstrap, Janice Hardy, Gabi Lorino, and Dario Ciriello
Austin Camacho - Psychology in Fiction & Martial Writing
John Engel - Writing Legacies & Life After Health Scares
Ken Liu - The Hero's Journey, Writing with AI, and Overcoming Failure
Story openings & choosing the right editor - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, Gabi Lorino
John Gilstrap - Danger and Thrills
Fixing broken stories - panel includes William R. Hincy, John Gilstrap, and Mathieu Cailler
Charles Hood - Feasting on 'A Salad Only the Devil Would Eat' (creative nonfiction and poetry)
Character deaths - panel includes William R. Hincy, John Gilstrap, James Grady, SJ Rozan, and Keir Graff
Larry Felson and Joe Smith - The Poetry of Revolution
Keir Graff - Potlucks, Persistence, and Fiction
“Kill your darlings” and developing your authorial voice - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, Jesse Darnay, and Gabi Lorino
Michael Branch - If Thoreau Drank More Whiskey (humor, creative nonfiction, and jackalopes)
SJ Rozan - Vodka, Writing, and the Architecture of Storytelling
Writer’s block and tagging dialogue - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, John Macilroy, and Mike Kozlowski
Richard Hawley - Boyhood, Stalled Males, and the Wonder of Late Life
Artificial intelligence’s impact on writing and “show don’t tell” - panel includes William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, Daniel Cross Turner, and Mathieu Cailler
Ray McManus - Poetry, Life, and 'Doin' Stupid Stuff'
Stephen Hunter - 'Front Sight' and the Evolution of Film
James Grady - Whiskey, Writing, and Wisdom: 'The Smoke in Our Eyes' and the Art of Storytelling
Kali White - crime fiction with true crime roots
Season 1
Christmas Extravaganza - readings from A Fire for Christmas by William R. Hincy, Laws of Depravity by Eriq La Salle, and more!
Gabi Lorino - Holiday Writing
Jesse Darnay - Bohemian Poetry (and a spot of tea)
John Lane - A Woodstock of Frog Love (poetry and nature writing)
Michael A. Kozlowski - Writers, Witches, Whiskey, and Tomfoolery (Halloween special)
Eriq La Salle - Crime Thrillers and Human Complexity
Donna Keel Armer - Traveling Solo (mysteries and travel talk)
Jim Kearney - short stories, life as a schoolteacher, and brushes with the paranormal
John Macilroy - Not Exactly Rocket Scientists (short stories,
Daniel Cross Turner - creative nonfiction
Dana Ridenour - Undercover with Anarchists (crime fiction with former undercover FBI agent)
Janice Hardy - Morally gray areas, young adult novels, and conversation with an editor
Dan Conover (D.C. McIlroy) - Neopagan Fantasy
Mathieu Cailler - Poetry in the Catacombs
Ioanna Arka - astrophysics and transgressive erotica
Dario Ciriello - Memoir, mature protagonists, and one thrilling editor!
T.D. Johnston - The Art of the Short Story