"Problem solving is done in the woods a lot of times for me... or doing dishes, you'll have an aha moment, right? It's the magic—you can't beat it into fruition... magically, it just shows itself. It's quite fun." — Katrina Denza

Katrina Denza’s stories have appeared in Nelle, Slippery Elm, and Jabberwock Review, among other places. Her work has received a scholarship from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and a fellowship from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her debut story collection, BURNER AND OTHER STORIES, was published in November 2025. From 2015 to 2021 she served as chair of the Writers-in-Residence Program for the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities in North Carolina.

Among other things, Katrina and Carter discuss New England, learning to fall in love with the process, and how inspiration can strike at random moments. At the end of their conversation, they make up a gripping story using a line from The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

"Tenacity is essential. Bullheadedness is essential. You have to be really, really stubborn about it... You have to stick in there until your shot comes up. That's all it is." — Tracy Clark

Tracy Clark is the author of the award-winning Cass Raines Chicago Mystery series and the Detective Harriet Foster series, featuring Harriet Foster. A multi-nominated Anthony, Lefty, Macavity, Edgar and Shamus Award finalist, Tracy is also the 2020 and 2022 winner of the G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award, as well as the 2022 Sara Paretsky Award, and is a proud member of Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and currently serves on the Bouchercon national board and the board of the Midwest Mystery Conference.

Among other things, Tracy and Carter discuss learning that writing is a business, killing off characters in a timely manner, and managing rejection. At the end of their conversation, they make up a suspenseful story using a line from Carlene O’Connor’s You Have Gone Too Far.

“I learned a very important lesson from Janet Ivanovich. She said I want readers to forget they’re reading. I want them to be so lost in what they’re doing… they forget there’s a page. You want the writing to disappear… I want them to get sucked into just being lost in the book.”

Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award and two-time Shamus Award nominee and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including the Eve Ronin series, the Sharpe & Walker series, the Ian Ludlow trilogy, fifteen Monk mysteries, and five internationally bestselling Fox & O’Hare books co-written with Janet Evanovich. He has also written and/or produced many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, SeaQuest, and Monk, and is the co-creator of the hit Hallmark movie series Mystery 101.

Among other things, Lee and Carter discuss growing up with parents working in media, putting yourself in a position where opportunities come to you, and writing a screenplay versus a novel. At the end of their conversation, they make up a cinematic story using a line from Tod Goldberg’s Only Way Out.

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Lee at www.leegoldberg.com