Welcome to the Story Impact author interview podcast.

What happens when a writer takes one of literature’s most iconic detectives and gives him the one thing he never knew he needed: an intellectual equal?

New York Times bestselling author, Edgar Award winner, and Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Laurie R. King joins host Lisa Towles for a wide-ranging conversation about Sherlock Holmes, Mary Russell, unforgettable characters, mystery craft, and what it takes to sustain a creative career.

Laurie looks back at the bold decision behind The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, which introduced the fiercely intelligent Mary Russell as Holmes’s apprentice, equal, and eventual wife. She recalls the early skepticism the pairing encountered among Sherlockians, her eventual welcome into the Baker Street Irregulars, and how Mary Russell grew into the heart of a series that has captivated readers around the world.

The conversation also turns to Laurie’s newest novel, Those Who Are Gone, featuring San Francisco Police Department Inspector Raquel Laing, and the creative possibilities of cold cases, intertwined timelines, and characters whose strengths can also complicate the mysteries they’re trying to solve. Laurie and Lisa explore playing fair with mystery readers, first drafts and rewrites, the growing business demands placed on authors, and the challenge of protecting creative energy while still bringing books into the world.

In this conversation:

• Reinventing Sherlock Holmes • Mary Russell and the Sherlockians • The Baker Street Irregulars • Raquel Laing and Those Who Are Gone • Playing fair with mystery readers • First drafts and fragile ideas • Marketing vs. creative energy • How story ideas become pearls • Building a lasting writing career

About Laurie R. King

Laurie R. King is a New York Times bestselling crime novelist, Edgar Award winner, and Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. She is the creator of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, the Kate Martinelli mysteries, standalone novels, and the Raquel Laing series. Her newest novel, Those Who Are Gone, brings SFPD Inspector Raquel Laing back for a new investigation.

Learn more: laurierking.com

About Host Lisa Towles

Lisa Towles is an award-winning crime novelist, book coach, podcast host, and founder of the Story Impact platform. She is the author of 16 books, including The Weight of Cold Things, the E&A Investigations series, and her nonfiction book, The ME Factor. Her work explores identity, secrets, human behavior, and the forces that shape the stories we tell about ourselves.

Learn more: lisatowles.com

About Story Impact

Story Impact is a platform dedicated to Books · Meaning · Purpose, bringing together author interviews, book coaching and consulting, workshops, and Story Impact Magazine. Through conversations and resources for writers and readers, Story Impact explores how stories are created, why they matter, and the impact they have on the world.

Learn more: storyimpactconsulting.com

Follow the Story Impact Podcast on Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube at Story Impact Media.

Stories hold the world together.

Welcome to the Story Impact author interview podcast.

What does it mean to build a creative life across continents, blending the resonance of music with the deep history of historical fiction?

Scottish novelist and lifelong musician K.D. Neill joins host Lisa Towles to discuss his remarkable journey from a planned two-year relocation in South Africa to more than half a lifetime on the continent, featuring years on the road as a touring singer-songwriter, a number-one single, multiple recording contracts, and ultimately his epic Deceit of the Empire trilogy.

At the heart of the conversation is the intersection of travel, displacement, and artistic creation. Kenny shares memories of camping under a Northern Cape sky blanketed in stars and writing his hit song "God's Country" on a mountain road above the clouds near Eswatini. From there, the discussion goes deep into the unexpected cultural similarities between Scotland and South Africa, the real 19th-century history of the Xhosa people and Lord Chelmsford that inspired his trilogy, and whether it is innovation or deep cultural myth that truly reaches the human heart. Kenny even treats listeners to an exclusive live acoustic performance of an original song written for South Africa's homesick expats.

In this conversation:

• A two-year plan that turned into more than half a lifetime rooted in Southern Africa

• Achieving a number-one single, recording contracts, and a thriving career on the road

• Songwriting above the clouds and sleeping under a desert sky packed with stars

• How music and historical fiction feed each other creatively

• The real 19th-century history behind the Deceit of the Empire trilogy

• Expanding a single manuscript into an immersive multi-book historical saga

• An exclusive live acoustic performance of an expatriate ballad

Learn more about K.D. Neill and his books: K.D. Neill Books

Story Impact is hosted by Lisa Towles, award-winning crime novelist, book coach, and founder of Story Impact Consulting, exploring books, meaning, and purpose through conversations with authors, artists, and visionaries.

Learn more about Lisa Towles:

lisatowles.com storyimpactconsulting.com

Follow Story Impact on Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube at Story Impact Media on YouTube.

Stories hold the world together.

Welcome to the Story Impact author interview podcast.

What does it mean to be human in the age of technology?

Writer Jesse Ratner and photographer Dan Kutler join host Lisa Towles to discuss The Cage You Carry, a provocative new book exploring technology, identity, creativity, connection, and the forces shaping contemporary human experience through poetry and photography.

At the heart of the book is the metaphor of the “cage”: the structures imposed upon us, the ones we construct ourselves, and the complicated ways they can protect, confine, and shape us. From there, the conversation goes deep into agency, vulnerability, individuality, human connection, and our relationship with the systems surrounding us.

Jesse’s visceral poetry and Dan’s photography approach these questions through two very different artistic lenses. Jesse reads from “Vending Machine Angel” and “Cathedral of Wires,” while Dan takes us inside the images and creative choices that give the book its distinctive visual language. They also share how the project came together and how Jesse’s viral writing became the catalyst for The Cage You Carry.

In this conversation: • The many meanings behind the “cage” we carry • Technology, algorithms, automation, and human agency • Connection, vulnerability, individuality, and identity • Poetry, photography, and lived human experience • The origins of The Cage You Carry • Art, creativity, and what it means to be human

Pre-Order The Cage You Carry: https://thecageyoucarry.com/

Learn more about Jesse Ratner: https://copythatconnects.biz/

Learn more about Dan Kutler: https://www.dankutler.com/

Story Impact is hosted by Lisa Towles, award-winning crime novelist, book coach, and founder of Story Impact, exploring books, meaning, and purpose through conversations with authors, artists, and visionaries.

https://lisatowles.com/ https://storyimpactconsulting.com/podcast

Follow Story Impact on Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Stories hold the world together.