In Episode 10, we interview bestselling author Jaquelyn Mitchard about the stories and struggles that went into the first page of her latest novel, The Good Son, published by Mira on January 18. If you’re looking for a gripping new story this winter, The Good Son will captivate you and remind you of the extraordinary compassion that Mitchard brings to her characters, two women, one whose son was convicted of murdering the other’s daughter. It’s a courageous story to take on for any writer and one with a fascinating real life backstory. Mitchard says she is most proud of this book and shares loads of wisdom about the craft, reminding all writers to never lose heart in the journey.
Page One, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.
About the guest author:
Jacquelyn Mitchard is the New York Times bestselling author of 22 novels for adults and teenagers, and the recipient of Great Britain’s Talkabout prize, The Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson awards, and named to the short list for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was the inaugural selection of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club, with more than 3 million copies in print in 34 languages. Her essay collection, The Rest of Us: Dispatches from the Mother Ship, was drawn from her newspaper column syndicated by Tribune Media, and her other essays have been widely anthologized and published in magazines worldwide, and incorporated into school curricula. She served on the Fiction jury for the 2003 National Book Awards, and served as editor-in-chief of Merit Press, a Young Adult imprint under the aegis of Simon and Schuster. She is a Distinguished Fellow at the Ragdale Foundation and a DeWitt Clinton Readers Digest Fellow at the Macdowell Colony. Mitchard has also taught in the MFA programs for Creative Writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Miami University of Ohio and Western New England University. She lives on Cape Cod with her husband and their nine children.
Author Website: https://jacquelynmitchard.com/
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About the host:
Holly Lynn Payne is a writing coach and internationally published author in eleven countries whose work has been translated into nine languages. Her most recent novel, Damascena:The Tale of Roses and Rumi, has been optioned for a film series. She is the founder of Skywriter Books, an award-winning small press, publishing consultancy and writing coaching service. The former CEO and founder of Booxby, she lives in Marin County with her daughter and enjoys mountain biking, surfing and hiking with her labrador retriever, Lady Gaia. To learn more about her writing coaching services, please visit hollylynnpayne.com.
As an author and writing coach, I know that the first page of any book has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. So I thought to ask your favorite master storytellers how they do their magic to hook YOU.
After the first few episodes, it occurred to me that maybe someone listening might be curious how their first page sits with an audience, so I’m opening up Page One to any writer who wants to submit the first page of a book they’re currently writing.
If your page is chosen, you’ll be invited onto the show to read it and get live feedback from one of Page One’s master storytellers. Page One exists to inspire, celebrate and promote the work of both well-known and unknown creative talent.
You can listen to Page One on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher and all your favorite podcast players.