Outliers Writing University Podcast Series

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author and Outlier Boyd Morrison

Join Terry Shepherd and Jennifer Dornbush in the Outliers Studio at Bouchercon 2025 in New Orleans for a chat with best-selling author and Outlier Boyd Morrison
 
https://boydmorrison.com

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 73: Charles Lutz Retired DEA Senior Executive

Charles received a BA in Political Science at Penn State University-1967.
Army Intelligence Officer through its ROTC program and served one year in Vietnam—for six months in the field was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.  
In 1970-Special Agent with the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in Philadelphia.  
In 1974-assigned by the Drug Enforcement Administration to Bangkok, Thailand. Won Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, and received Letter of Commendation from President Gerald Ford.
In 1978-reassigned to DEA HQS Training Division.
In 1979-promoted to the Narcotics Attaché position in Cairo, Egypt.  
In 1981-returned to DEA headquarters. Volunteered to go to Ft. Lauderdale for Florida Joint Task Force. Involved in second largest seizure of cocaine in Broward County history.  
In 1984-reassigned as Resident Agent-in-Charge at Reno, Nevada.
1986-promoted to Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge at Miami and placed in charge of DEA’s Caribbean operations to disrupt the Colombian cartel’s smuggling operations.
In 1990, reassigned to HQS to take charge of Operation Snowcap in South America targetin clandestine laboratories producing the coca base needed by the Colombian cartels for their cocaine labs.  
In 1994-appointed Deputy Chief of International Operations.
 In 1995-promoted into the Senior Executive Service as DEA’s Special Agent-in-Charge in Bangkok, Thailand where he assisted the State Department in establishing diplomatic relations with Vietnam.
1998-returned to Washington to manage DEA’s Operations Division budget and the HQS Command Center.
2000-set up a new organization within the DOJ— Counterdrug Executive Secretariat--to improve coordination, cooperation and information sharing among federal, state & local drug law enforcement agencies, and the Intelligence Community. 
After 9-11 struck—retired from the DEA and appointed by the TSA as its Federal Security Director at Orlando International Airport.
 Then hired in 2005 by the Department of State as Anti-terrorism Program Manager /Counterterrorism Advisor to the Government of the Philippines.
 After retirement from full-time employment, Lutz became a private investigator, international consultant, and background investigator for the Department of State.
 

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author and Outlier Carter Wilson

Carter Wilson is the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of ten psychological thrillers known for their intense emotion, tight pacing, and haunting twists. His books have received starred reviews from every major trade publication, have been optioned for film and television, and his 2025 novel Tell Me What You Did was selected as a national monthly pick by Barnes & Noble. In addition to his fiction, Carter is the creator and host of Making It Up, a podcast featuring unscripted, revealing conversations with fellow writers about the creative process. He is also the founder of Unbound Writer, a company devoted to helping writers find their voice through coaching, immersive retreats, and online classes. Find him at www.carterwilson.com

GET TO KNOW Author Angela Shupe

Outliers Get to Know host Tracey Devlyn welcomes debut author Angela Shupe to discuss IN THE LIGHT OF THE SUN—a powerful WWII novel of music, resistance, and the enduring bonds of sisterhood.
Two sisters. Two countries. One war.
Separated by oceans and a global conflict, Caramina and Rosa Grassi must each discover how far they’ll go—and what they’ll sacrifice—for love, truth, and survival.
“Hauntingly beautiful… shines a light on wartime in the Philippines and Italy… a riveting, unforgettable must-read novel.” —Sharon Kurtzman, author of The Lost Baker of Vienna
Born and raised in Michigan, ANGELA SHUPE is an award-winning author whose essays and short stories have been published in various journals and magazines. In the Light of the Sun is her debut novel. https://angelamshupe.com
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GET TO KNOW Best-selling author Lisa Jewell

Best-selling Author Lisa Jewell entered the Outliers Studio at Bouchercon 2025 in New Orleans for a lively chat with Terry Shepherd and Jennifer Dornbush.
 
Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three novels, including Don’t Let Him In, None of This Is True, The Family Upstairs, and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold more than fifteen million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into over thirty languages. Connect with her on X @LisaJewellUK, on Instagram @LisaJewellUK, and on Facebook @LisaJewellOfficial.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: PSYCH TALK: Unique Forensic Methods for Fiction

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: PSYCH TALK with Forensic Psychologist Dr. Katherine Ramsland
I like to include a unique forensic method in each novel in my crime series, The Nut Cracker Investigations, that will offer readers something they might not have heard of before. While I was writing the fourth book, You Can’t Hide, I participated in a week-long forensic art course called “Drawing to Depict the Deceased for Identification.” In other words, putting a face on unidentified human remains. I describe it here as part of my plot.
https://www.katherineramsland.net/author
 
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF On Outliers YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLia8l2DJ_EnXVBBYu0gtb1Ijjwkf0f6dn
 
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF On Your Favorite Podcast Outlet:
https://www.outlierswritinguniversity.com/shows
 
Outliers Writing University: https://www.outlierswritinguniversity.com

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Samantha Downing

Samantha Downing is an internationally bestselling thriller author whose books have appeared on the Sunday Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Her novels include My Lovely Wife, He Started It, For Your Own Good, and A Twisted Love Story.Her debut novel, My Lovely Wife, was nominated for the Edgar, ITW, and Macavity awards in the US, the CWA award in the UK, and was the winner of the Prix des Lectrices award in France. Her latest thriller, Too Old For This, was released in August 2025 and became an instant national bestseller.
https://www.samanthadowning.com/

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Tasha Alexander

Outliers Get to Know host Tracey Devlyn sits down with New York Times bestselling author Tasha Alexander to talk about THE SISTERHOOD—a captivating blend of historical mystery, female friendship, ancient secrets, and royal intrigue.
A poisoned debutante. A royal mandate. A tomb with secrets from ancient Britain.
When a young woman dies at her own engagement party, Lady Emily is tasked by the King to investigate. As the body count rises, clues lead to a Roman-era tomb and a connection to the fearsome warrior queen Boudica. Fans of historical suspense, this one’s for you.
 
TASHA ALEXANDER is the author of the New York Times bestselling Lady Emily mystery series. The daughter of two philosophy professors, she studied English literature and medieval history at the University of Notre Dame. She and her husband, novelist Andrew Grant, live on a ranch in southeastern Wyoming. https://TashaAlexander.com 
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GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Brad Thor

Best-selling Author Brad Thor sat down with Terry Shepherd and Jennifer Dornbush in the Outliers Studio at Bouchercon 2025 in New Orleans for a lively and fun chat. @BradThor
BRAD THOR is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five thrillers, including EDGE OF HONOR, BLACK ICE (ThrillerFix Best Thriller of the Year), NEAR DARK (one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of the Year), BACKLASH (nominated for the Barry Award for Best Thriller of the Year), SPYMASTER (“One of the all-time best thriller novels” —The Washington Times), THE LAST PATRIOT (nominated Best Thriller of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association), and BLOWBACK (one of the “Top 100 Killer Thrillers of All Time” —NPR).
Brad has appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, FOX News Channel, FOX Business Channel, CNN, CNN Headline News, and MSNBC (among others) to discuss terrorism, as well as how closely his novels of international intrigue parallel the real threats facing the world today.
Brad has served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Analytic Red Cell Unit. He has also lectured to law enforcement organizations on over-the-horizon/future threats, and has been a keynote speaker for the National Tactical Officers Association annual conference.
In 2008, Brad shadowed a Black Ops team in Afghanistan to research his thriller, The Apostle.
Brad graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California where he studied creative writing, film, and television production. Prior to becoming a novelist, Brad was the award-winning creator, producer, writer and host of the critically acclaimed national public television series, Traveling Lite.
https://bradthor.com/brad-thor/

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Christa Carmen

Christa Carmen lives in Rhode Island, and most of her writing inspiration comes from gazing upon the ghosts of the past and into the dark corners of nature. Her new Gothic suspense novel, Beneath the Poet’s House, was released on December 10, 2024, and she is also the author of The Daughters of Block Island, a winner of the Bram Stoker Award and a Shirley Jackson Award nominee; the Indie Horror Book Award-winning Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked; and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated “Through the Looking Glass and Straight into Hell” (Orphans of Bliss, Wicked Run Press). She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Boston College, and an MFA from the University of Southern Maine. When she’s not writing, she keeps chickens; uses a Ouija board to ghost-hug her dear, departed beagle; and sets out on adventures with her husband, daughter, and bloodhound–golden retriever mix.
https://www.christacarmen.com