The Storytellers

Straight Talk from the World’s Most Acclaimed Suspense and Thriller Authors

By: Mark Rubinstein

Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Simon Vance, Kirsten Potter, Keith Szarabajka, George Newbern, full cast

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Have you ever read a suspense novel so good you had to stop and think to yourself, "How did the author come up with this idea? Their characters? Is some of this story real?" For more than five years, Mark Rubinstein, physician, psychiatrist, and mystery and thriller writer, had the chance to ask the most well-known authors in the field just these kinds of questions in interviews for the Huffington Post.

Collected here are interviews with 47 accomplished authors, including Michael Connelly, Ken Follett, Meg Gardiner, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, and Don Winslow. These are their personal stories in their own words, much of the material never before published. How do these writers' life experiences color their art? Find out their thoughts, their inspirations, their candid opinions. Learn more about your favorite authors, how they work, and who they truly are.

Full cast of narrators includes Robertson Dean, Simon Vance, Kirsten Potter, Robert Fass, Keith Szarabajka, Richard Poe, Marc Vietor, Karen White, George Newbern, Carrington MacDuffie, Ann Richardson, Scott Brick, John Lee, Mirron Willis, Nancy Wu, Sean Pratt, Pam Ward, Joe Hempel, Kathleen Early, Paul Heitsch, Andrew Eiden, Suzanne Toren, John McLain, John Lescault, Malcolm Hillgartner, Susan Ericksen, Chris Abell, Patrick Lawlor, Eileen Stevens, Derek Perkins, Tim Campbell, Hillary Huber, Ralph Lister, Marguerite Gavin, John Rubinstein, Mark Bramhall, Andi Arndt, Stefan Rudnicki, Bernadette Dunne, Michael Kramer, Suzie Althens, David de Vries, and Natalie Ross.

©2021 Mark Rubinstein (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Critic reviews

“A remarkable collection of interviews with some of the most important writers working in the world today. I loved this book.” (Don Winslow, number one internationally best-selling author of The Force and The Cartel)

“[A] fresh compendium.... Particularly revelatory are the authors’ anecdotes about their previous jobs - as reporters, psychiatrists, veterinarians, and lawyers - and the range of perspectives makes for a breezy introduction to the writing game. Thriller writers - and fans curious about the process - are in for a treat.” (Publishers Weekly)

"Just look at this lineup: Lee Child, Patricia Cornwell, David Mamet, Meg Gardiner, Scott Turow, Kathy Reichs, James Rollins - and that’s only a small fraction of them.... A nice companion piece to the slew of more traditional how-to-be-a-writer books on the market.” (Booklist)

Food for thought! And lots of it :)

What a fascinating journey! What an amazing chance to hear successful writers telling about their craft. A delight even if one is not an aspiring writer oneself. How interesting is that so many tell that writing is not getting easier with more books.

Above rating categories don’t really apply…

to this audiobook, because it’s just a series of interviews with best-selling writers. Interesting if abbreviated insight into these authors, but there were several repetitive questions that became very annoying. Multiple narrators were mostly good.

The Storytellers

I enjoyed the interviews with the authors, some I've read and some I haven't. I like knowing what makes them tick. I have communications with some of my authors, which I enjoy and am grateful. I reccomend listening to "The Storytellers".

it was wonderfuli

I enjoyed listening to my favorite authors discuss writing, their process, how they got into writing, and the insightful and delicious question: if you could have five person's over for dinner (blow living or dead) who would they be?

An enjoyment from beginning to end

As a writer it was therapy to hear the private thoughts of these amazing authors, their insecurities and doubts coupled with their trials and tribulations was nourishing to the spirit. I intimately felt every minute of this, hands down my favorite book regarding writing so far.