Outliers Writing University Podcast Series

GET TO KNOW Author Vicki Wakefield

Outliers Get to Know host Tracey Devlyn sits down with crime fiction author Vikki Wakefield to talk about her atmospheric and gripping new thriller—THE BACKWATER.
A deadly fire. A fugitive teen. A journalist chasing the truth.
When nine people die in a trailer park fire, seventeen-year-old Sabine confesses and vanishes into the backwaters. Twelve years later, journalist Rachel Weidermann hunts for the truth—but what she finds could shatter everything. Tense, unrelenting, and impossible to put down.
Vikki Wakefield writes fiction for young adults and adults. Her books explore family, class and relationships in a contemporary setting. Her novels All I Ever Wanted, Friday Brown, In Between Days and Ballad for a Mad Girl have been shortlisted for numerous awards. This Is How We Change the Ending won Book of the Year: Older Readers, Children’s Book Council Awards, 2020. After You Were Gone, a psychological thriller, is her first novel for adults. https://VikkiWakefield.com
Show Notes: https://SuspenseMagazine.com

Get To Know Best-selling Author Liv Constatine

Liv Constantine is the pseudonym of Lynne Constantine, am  Edgar® Award nominated, New York Times and internationally bestselling author with more than two million copies sold worldwide.  She is the co-author of The Last Mrs. Parrish, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick, and her critically acclaimed books have been praised by the Washington Post, USA Today, the Sunday Times, People magazine, and Good Morning America, among many others. Her work has been translated into twenty-nine languages, is available in thirty-four countries, and is in development for both television and film. When she’s not writing, you can find her curled up with her Labrador and Golden Retriever, reading a good book or binge-watching the latest limited series.
https://livconstantine.com/
Outliers YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo-UZ48ILPXLvlfs0u8Baew
 

GET TO KNOW Author Sean Hagerty

Sean Hagerty is a retired Special Operations Soldier with over 25 years of experience. He spent his younger years training and conducting combat operations with the 1st of the 75th Ranger Regiment. After nine years, in 2005, he was selected for and assigned to a Special Operations unit at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. There he spent sixteen years and finished his military career, retiring as a Sergeant Major. He received several awards and decorations throughout his career including three Bronze Stars.
 
Sean currently works for the Department of Defense Science Board as the Senior Advisor. “The Defense Science Board (DSB) is charged with solving tough, technical, national security problems for the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Under Secretaries of Defense, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior Department officials.” His wife Misty is an Executive Officer at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Their children Courtney, Travis, Samantha, and Delaney all live in the Washington D.C. area and are thriving, growing and traveling along their own paths. The grandchildren Rowen, Jameson, and Wren keep Sean and Misty busy.
 
Sean Hagerty has combined over 25+ years of service in the Special Operations community and deep-rooted research instincts from years of academic pursuits in history to tell this story. This story was written mostly in the plush seats of the daily Tacketts Mill/Pentagon commuter bus and the shaky bucket seats of the Franconia Springfield/Largo blue metro line. However, a few chapters were written while traveling for work, taking advantage of uninterrupted thoughts on an airliner. One chapter was even written during an evening break while on a business trip aboard the USS Nimitz CVN 68 aircraft carrier out in the Pacific Ocean. 
 
Cabal all came together during evening edits in his home shared with Misty, in Lakeridge, Virginia. Jones Point was the first novel in the Dane Cooper series.
Cabal is the second.
 
 https://authorseanhagerty.com/
 

Criminal Mischief 68: Weapons in Crime Fiction with Chris Grall

Drs. Katherine Ramsland and DP Lyle discuss weapons and their proper usage in crime fiction with expert Chris Grall and discuss his new book: TRIGGER GUARD, the weapons manual every crime and thriller writer needs. 
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https://www.outlierswritinguniversity.com/media
 
Chris Grall is a retired US Special Forces team sergeant with 26 years of service. He’s been a technical adviser to writers since 2007. Chris has shared his knowledge of firearms and tactics at several conferences and recently published Trigger Guard: A Writers Guide to Firearms.
Trigger Guard earned a first-place award for nonfiction-history from BookFest, and an International Impact Award for writing and publishing.
https://chrisgrall.com/

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Tori Eldridge

Tori Eldridge is the bestselling author of the Lily Wong mystery thriller series—The Ninja Daughter, The Ninja’s Blade, The Ninja Betrayed, and The Ninja’s Oath—as well as a two-time Anthony Award nominee, Lefty and Macavity Awards finalist, and winner of the 2021 Crimson Scribe Award for Best Book of the Year. She penned the standalone Dance Among The Flames and, on May 20, 2025, will introduce her new Ranger Makalani Pahukula Mysteries with Kaua‘i Storm.
 
Before writing, Tori performed as an actress, singer, dancer on Broadway, television, and film in such shows as the original first national company of Cats, The Love Boat, and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Born and raised in Honolulu—of Hawaiian, Chinese, Norwegian descent—Tori graduated from Punahou School with classmate Barack Obama. After living in NYC and Los Angeles, for over 35 years, she now lives and writes from Portland, Oregon. Her deep interest in world culture has prompted her to visit nine countries, including Brazil, China, and Japan. Tori holds a 5th degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts and has taught classes and seminars across the U.S.
 
https://torieldridge.com/

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Andrea Bartz

Outliers Get to Know guest host Tracey Devlyn sits down with New York Times bestselling author Andrea Bartz to discuss her chilling new thriller—THE LAST FERRY OUT.
A deserted island. A vanished friend. A truth more dangerous than she imagined.
When Abby returns to the tropical island where her fiancée died, she’s desperate for answers. But the deeper she digs, the more tangled the lies become—and someone will do anything to make sure the past stays buried. Tense, atmospheric, and addictive.
 
Andrea Bartz is a journalist and the New York Times-bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick We Were Never Here, The Spare Room, The Lost Night, and The Herd. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, and many other outlets, and she's held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other publications. She lives in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley.
 https://AndreaBartz.com

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Tori Eldridge

Outliers Get to Know host Tracey Devlyn sits down with bestselling author Tori Eldridge to talk about her atmospheric and heartfelt mystery—KAUA’I STORM.
A fractured family. A deadly forest. A homeland worth fighting for.
When park ranger Makalani Pahukula returns to Kaua‘i, she finds her cousins missing, her family splintered, and a body in the woods. As the island whispers its secrets, she’ll have to dig deep into her heritage—and her heart—to stop a tragedy from repeating.
 
 
Tori Eldridge is the Hawaiian, Chinese, and Norwegian author of the Lily Wong mysteries, Dance Among the Flames, and numerous short stories. Born in Honolulu, she graduated from Punahou School with classmate Barack Obama before performing as an actress, singer, and dancer on Broadway, television, and film, and earning a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts. Her literary works have garnered Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Award nominations and the 2021 Crimson Scribe for Best Book of the Year. Tori lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, near her precious mo‘opuna (grandchildren). https://ToriEldridge.com
 

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Alex Segura

Outliers host Tracey Devlyn sat down with USA Today bestselling author Alex Segura to chat about his new mystery—ALTER EGO.
Alex Segura is the author of Alter Ego, an instant USA Today bestseller and featured in Cosmpolitan, Parade, The Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and described as “thrilling” by the Wall Street Journal.
https://www.alexsegura.com/

GET TO KNOW Author Francesco Paolo

Outliers host Tracey Devlyn sat down with debut author Francesco Paolo to chat about his contemporary noir—LEFT ON RACHO.
Born in Turin, Italy, and raised in Italy, Thailand, and Australia, Francesco Paolo eventually made his way to the U.S. where he earned an engineering degree from MIT and an MBA from U.C. Berkeley (Haas). Francesco and his wife Jackie have called New York City home for the past twenty-five years.

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Jayne Ann Krentz

Outliers host Tracey Devlyn sat down with New York Times bestselling author Jayne Anne Krentz to chat about her new romantic thriller—SHATTERING DAWN.
New York Times bestseller Jayne Ann Krentz uses three different pen names for each of her three “worlds.”   As Jayne Ann Krentz (her married name) she writes contemporary romantic-suspense.  She uses Amanda Quick for her novels of historical romantic-suspense.  Jayne Castle (her birth name) is reserved these days for her stories of futuristic/paranormal romantic-suspense. She is married and lives with her husband, Frank, in Seattle, Washington
https://jayneannkrentz.com