How NY Times Bestselling Author Ashley Audrain Writes: Redux

The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

Note: A revisiting of an amazing chat I had with Ashley Audrain. Also ...

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New York Times bestselling author, Ashley Audrain, spoke to me about giving herself permission to write sh*tty first drafts, writing in public, and her second novel THE WHISPERS.

Ashley Audrain’s debut novel, The Push, was a New York Times, Sunday Times (London), #1 international bestseller, and a Good Morning America Book Club pick. It has sold in more than 40 territories, and a limited TV series is currently in development.

Her latest, The Whispers, is described as “ … a propulsive page-turner about four families whose lives are changed when the unthinkable happens – and what is lost when we give in to our own worst impulses.”

The New York Times Book Review wrote, "Expertly, subtly and powerfully rendered …. [The Whispers] delivers a sucker-punch ending you’ll have to read twice to believe.” And #1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune called it, “[An] electrifying … razor-sharp page-turner.”

Ashley Audrain previously worked as the publicity director of Penguin Books Canada, and prior to that, worked in public relations.

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In this file, Ashley Audrain and I discussed:

• Why she felt intimidated by writers while working in PR
• How to write claustrophobic, voyeuristic fiction
• Why she is drawn to the darker side of literature
• Tapping into the messiness of midlife ennui
• How to escape your kids
• And a lot more!

Show Notes:

• Writers Rising 2024
• ashleyaudrain.com
• The Whispers By Ashley Audrain (Amazon)
• Ashley Audrain Amazon Author Page
• Ashley Audrain on Instagram
• Ashley Audrain on Twitter
• Kelton Reid on Twitter

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