Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum

New York Times bestselling author Jenna Blum joins Jane Healey to celebrate the fifth anniversary—and rebrand—of the podcast and to discuss her sharp, darkly funny romantic thriller, Murder Your Darlings. The novel follows mid-career historical fiction writer Sam Verner as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with a charismatic, bestselling novelist—only to find herself entangled in a web of obsession, ambition, and mounting bodies. Jenna shares how she pivoted from historical fiction to suspense, why she wanted to explore codependency and narcissism, and how her own writing life inspired the novel’s behind-the-scenes publishing details. From blizzards in Maine to deliciously vile antiheroes, this conversation dives into love, power, and the strange, wonderful world of being a writer.