Outliers Writing University Podcast Series

GET TO KNOW Author Ryan Pote

Ryan is a twelve-year veteran Navy helicopter pilot and mission commander who was part of a joint interagency special operations task force (JIATF). He did three deployments during Operation MARTILLO countering narcotics smuggling throughout Central and South America. Ryan then served as a search and rescue pilot for the US Navy Experimental Test Wing and NASA. After getting out of the Navy, he was a federal investigator for five years on prototype aircraft development programs. He currently works for the Navy’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Test and Evaluation Unit. Before the Navy, he lived and worked in Hawaii as a PADI SCUBA Instructor and lab tech researching algal-biofuels for Shell Oil. Ryan’s been the director of an oil company, a bartender, and even a live musician. He attended college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and earned a master’s degree in US History and Teaching from Ashland University. Ryan volunteers his time as a judge for the Clive Cussler Adventure Writer’s Competition. He lives with his wife and children in New England.
https://www.ryanpote.com

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Hannah Mary McKinnon

Internationally bestselling author Hannah Mary McKinnon was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland and moved to Canada in 2010. Her eight suspense novels include THE REVENGE LIST, ONLY ONE SURVIVES, and A KILLER MOTIVE, and her work has been optioned for the screen. She also writes holiday romantic comedies as Holly Cassidy. Hannah Mary lives near Toronto, Canada with her husband and three sons. You’ll find her on socials as @hannahmarymckinnon.
https://hannahmarymckinnon.com/

GET TO KNOW Author and Editor Jessica Balboni

After graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in English Literature, I moved to New York City and began my career in media, working in several mediums including print (Premiere Magazine, Esquire Magazine) and broadcast (A&E, The Food Network). I then landed a dream job helping run the Rockefeller Foundation’s Film Fellowships Program, ultimately aiding and guiding the successes of countless writers, filmmakers, and artists from all over the country.
After leaving Rockefeller, I spent over a decade with ESPN in their Upper West Side offices. During my tenure there, I held several key positions, and also created and developed The Bridge, an internal newsletter and website devoted to ESPN’s Marketing and Creative Services. Entirely on my own, and while also serving as an Associate Director of Creative Services, I built both the website and newsletter, created and oversaw all of the content and the contributors, and served as both its Publisher and Editor-in-Chief.
Going as far back as I can remember, I’ve also had a passion for volunteer work, one sparked not long after my father brought me to Boston’s landmark Pine Street Inn during my early childhood. I’ve worked with (or volunteered for) The Partnership for the Homeless, The Coalition for the Homeless, City Harvest, City meals-on-Wheels, The Harvard Square Churches Meal Program, The Friday Night Supper Program, and The Pine Street Inn for over two and a half decades, among others. After leaving ESPN, I devoted the next several years of my life to working in nonprofit full time.
After being inspired to return to my literary roots and the kind of work that brings me the most joy professionally and personally, I approach every single project with equal amounts passion, perfectionism, creativity, and discipline. 
An East Coast loyalist, I’m a devoted fan of the Red Sox, live music, the enabling of diet coke and dark chocolate-addicted doormen, and the Oxford comma.
https://www.jessicabalboni.com/

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Audrey J Cole

Audrey J. Cole is a USA TODAY bestselling thriller author, and her work has been translated into multiple languages. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her two children. Before writing full time, she worked as a neonatal intensive care nurse for eleven years.
Sign up for her email list at www.audreyjcole.com to receive free bonus content, promotions, and new release updates.

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Lynette Eason

Lynette Eason is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of Double Take, Target Acquired, and Serial Burn as well as the Extreme Measures, Danger Never Sleeps, Blue Justice, Women of Justice, Deadly Reunions, Hidden Identity, and Elite Guardians series.
 
https://lynetteeason.com/

Criminal Mischief 72: DEA Stories with Retired Special Agent Dave Gaddis

Dave Gaddis was a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent for more than 25 years, serving in some of the most dangerous drug enforcement regions around the world.
From Miami to Mexico, Colombia to Nicaragua, he worked investigations against the Mexican and Colombian cartels responsible for supplying all of the cocaine and most of the heroin destined for the United States.
Beginning as a criminal investigator in Miami’s Cocaine Cowboys era in the 1980s, he finished his career in 2011 as the Chief of Global Enforcement Operations at his DEA Headquarters office overlooking the US Capitol and Washington, DC skyline.
Dave is currently retired, and lives far off the beaten path in a quiet and peaceful setting. His profound experience in criminal investigations and US Drug Control Policy has enabled him to speak professionally around the world on both topics.
https://www.a-nobleexperiment.com/

GET TO KLNOW Author Terrence McCauley

Outliers Get to Know host Tracey Devlyn sits down with award-winning author Terrence McCauley to discuss his riveting conspiracy-laced historical thriller—THE TWILIGHT TOWN.
A corrupt cop. A rising Fed. A name you didn’t expect: Oswald.
Set in 1963 Dallas, three cops—one dirty, one ambitious, one desperate—unwittingly spiral into a covert game of power and betrayal. Mob ties, political back channels, and the shadows of history collide in this unputdownable prelude to an American tragedy.
TERRENCE MCCAULEY is an award-winning, bestselling author of thrillers, crime fiction, and westerns. He is the host of the popular podcast Spies, Lies, and Private Eyes (found on Apple, Spotify, etc.) on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. McCauley worked for years as a communications executive in the public service arena, including the MTA in New York City. A resident of Dutchess County, NY, he is currently working on his next novel. https://www.terrencemccauley.com
Love this interview? Please rate the episode and follow the podcast.
Show Notes: https://SuspenseMagazine.com 

GET TO KNOW Author Scott Urbach

Scott Urbach, a former CIA officer and global security executive turned author, brings a wealth of experience and insider knowledge to the pages of his debut novel Admit Nothing. In this espionage thriller, Scott introduces readers to CIA officer Grant Hunter, a protagonist whose assignments and missions mirror the author’s own career. 
The novel is a gripping tale of espionage, betrayal, and high-stakes geopolitical conflict. With meticulous attention to detail and a narrative style that keeps readers on the edge of their seats, Scott has quickly established himself as a formidable new voice in the thriller genre.
Scott and his wife Beth live in Grosse Pointe, MI along with their dog, cat, salamander and Sherman, their forty-five pound tortoise. 
https://www.scotturbach.com/

GET TO KNOW Authors John Gaspard and Michael Varma

John Gaspard
John is an award-winning author of the Eli Marks and Como Lake Players mystery series. He's a screenwriter, filmmaker, and director of six low-budget features. His recent books include the tenth installment of the Eli Marks series, "Twisting the Aces" (with Michael Varma) and “Held Over,” a retrospective of the movie “Harold and Maude” and its over two-year run at The Westgate Theater. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife, two greyhounds, cats, and various pet allergies.
https://www.elimarksmysteries.com
 
Michael Varma
Michael Varma is a magician member of Hollywood’s Magic Castle, a dollar origami specialist, and author of several puzzle and humor books. He is best known for his fun and functional cartoon books, puzzles and games designed to sharpen creativity and enhance critical thinking.
Michael spends his spare time—and crisp dollar bills—turning money into artful origami such as the “Lucky Leprechaun,” “Fabulous Fortuneteller,” and a dozen other of his signature folded characters frequently on display at the Magic Castle and several Southern California art galleries.
He lives with his beautiful bride, Barbara, and their two island castaway kitties, Ginger and Mary Ann, both known for their magical abilities to make tuna disappear.   
 

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 71: Kathy Kleiner Rubin: Surviving Ted Bundy

Join DP Lyle and Katherine Ramsland for an enlightening and chilling interview with Kathy Kleiner Rubin who survived Ted Bundy’s attack at the Chi Omega Sorority house at Florida State University. Her book, A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy, talks about her unbreakable will to survive this and other challenges.
Kathy Kleiner Rubin is a motivational speaker who specializes in survivor impact and is the author of A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy (co-authored with Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi; January 14, 2025; Chicago Review Press). Kleiner has received three death sentences in her life and survived each one—childhood Lupus, serial killer Ted Bundy, and stage two breast cancer. A Light in the Dark was a starred review in Booklist, and recommended by Foreword Reviews and Publisher’s Weekly. Featured in: BBC News, Good Housekeeping, Inside Edition, NPR, People Magazine, Vanity Fair, and USA Today.   
https://www.amazon.com/Light-Dark-Surviving-More-Bundy-ebook/dp/B0C1T56SG6/ref=sr_1_1