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

Yale educator and TV writer/producer, Aaron Tracy, returns to chat with us about why truth is stranger than fiction, what it’s like to teach at Yale, and his non-fiction narrative podcast “The Secret Life of Roald Dahl.”

Aaron Tracy also teaches “The Art and Craft of Television Drama” as well as “Narrative Podcasts” at Yale University, and his TV credits include Law & Order: SVU, Fairly Legal, and The Tap which Aaron produced alongside one of his heroes, the legendary late Rob Reiner.

He is also a Creator, Director, and Exec. Producer of scripted audio dramas for iHeartRadio, Audible, and Spotify, with various production partners including: Supreme: The Battle For Roe, starring Eva Longoria (feat. Maya Hawke and William H. Macy), and Nowhere Man, a noir political thriller Executive Produced by and starring Lee Pace, with co-stars Zosia Mamet, and Chazz Palminteri.

His latest production is the hit narrative podcast, “The Secret World of Roald Dahl,” a new series from iHeartMedia, Imagine Entertainment, and Parallax. Created and hosted by Aaron Tracy, it goes beyond the pages of Willy Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG to uncover the stranger truth behind the author himself.

Aaron’s debut audio drama, The Coldest Case, a detective thriller starring Aaron Paul, Krysten Ritter, and Alexis Bledel, premiered as the #1 download on Audible in 2021, and has since become the most downloaded show in Audible Plus history.

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In this file Aaron Tracy, Milena and I discussed:

How a former spy and struggling screenwriter became one of the most successful writers for children of all time

His evolution from screenwriter to narrative non-fiction podcast

An update on Yale’s Narrative Podcasts course in its 3rd year

Exciting news about his debut novel The Honeymoon Period

Why Roald Dahl was kind of a jerk

And a lot more! 

Show Notes:

The Secret World of Roald Dahl – listentoparallax.com/shows/secretworldofpodcast

⁠How to Write a Bestselling Audio Drama with Writer/Producer Aaron Tracy: Part One⁠⁠

⁠⁠Yale University – Aaron Tracy⁠⁠

⁠⁠Aaron Tracy Audible Page⁠⁠

⁠⁠Aaron Tracy on IMdB⁠⁠

Aaron Tracy on Twitter⁠⁠

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter
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In anticipation of the third part in our series!

Yale educator and TV writer/producer, Aaron Tracy, returns to chat with me about surviving the WGA writer’s strike, finally teaching the podcast at Yale, and his latest audio thriller on Audible, Nowhere Man, starring Lee Pace and Zosia Mamet.

Aaron Tracy also teaches “The Art and Craft of Television Drama” at Yale University, and his TV credits include Law & Order: SVU, Fairly Legal, The Tap, and Sequestered, a serialized thriller that ran two seasons, for which he was Creator and Executive Producer. 

He is also a Creator, Director,  and Exec. Producer of scripted audio dramas for iHeartRadio, Audible, and Spotify, with various production partners including: Supreme: The Battle For Roe, his 9-part audio drama starring Eva Longoria (feat. Maya Hawke and William H. Macy); Murder in Bermuda (feat. Mary-Louise Parker); and many others.

His most recent is Nowhere Man, a noir political thriller Executive Produced by and starring Lee Pace, with co-stars Zosia Mamet, and Chazz Palminteri. “Set in the mid-1980s, Nowhere Man is a dark, paranoid thriller about temptation and obsession through the prism of a profession most people don’t even know exists.”

Aaron’s debut audio drama, The Coldest Case, a detective thriller starring Aaron Paul, Krysten Ritter, and Alexis Bledel, premiered as the #1 download on Audible in 2021, and has since become the most downloaded show in Audible Plus history.

[Discover ⁠The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at ⁠writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please ⁠click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Aaron Tracy and I discussed:

Why he loves the ‘80s period pieces

How his directing experience has shaped his writing

Why he teaches the narrative podcast the same way he teaches Television Drama

The two greatest innovations of the modern TV art form 

What aspiring TV writers should be reading

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

⁠How to Write a Bestselling Audio Drama with Writer/Producer Aaron Tracy: Part One⁠

⁠Yale University – Aaron Tracy⁠

⁠Aaron Tracy Audible Page⁠

⁠Amazon Author Page for William Goldman⁠

⁠Story by Robert McKee⁠ [Amazon]

⁠Save the Cat by Blake Snyder⁠ [Amazon]

⁠Aaron Tracy on IMdB⁠

⁠Aaron Tracy on Twitter⁠⁠

⁠Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer⁠⁠

⁠⁠diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram⁠⁠

⁠⁠Kelton Reid Instagram⁠
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In anticipation of the third part in our series!

Yale educator and TV writer/producer, Aaron Tracy, spoke with me about what it takes to make it as a TV writer, breaking into the audio drama space, producing Audible’s most successful original fiction series, and working on the upcoming “Supreme” with Eva Longoria.

Aaron Tracy teaches “The Art and Craft of Television Drama” at Yale University, and his TV credits include Law & Order: SVU, Fairly Legal, The Tap, and Sequestered, a serialized thriller that ran two seasons, for which he was Creator and Executive Producer. 

He is also the Creator, Head Writer, and Exec. Producer of scripted audio dramas for iHeartRadio, Audible, and Spotify, with various production partners. These include an underdog NBA story with Steve Nash, a legal thriller with James Patterson, a historical romance with Shonda Rhimes, and a courtroom drama with Eva Longoria.

His first show to be released, The Coldest Case, a detective thriller starring Aaron Paul, Krysten Ritter, and Alexis Bledel, premiered as the #1 download on Audible in 2021, and has since become the most downloaded show in Audible Plus history.

His audio entertainment company, Parallax, is the home for “prestige scripted audio thrillers and thought-provoking unscripted fare.”

[Discover ⁠The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at ⁠writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please ⁠click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Aaron Tracy and I discussed:

The two paths available to aspiring TV writers 

Why you need to always be pitching ideas

How audio dramas harken back to the golden days of radio

Landing big stars for "TV shows without the visuals"

Working with Rob Reiner

How to write for the ear

Why the journey is the destination for writers

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

⁠The Art and Craft of TV Drama with Aaron Tracy: Part Two⁠

⁠Yale University – Aaron Tracy⁠

⁠Aaron Tracy Audible Page⁠

⁠Aaron Tracy on IMdB⁠

⁠Aaron Tracy on Twitter⁠

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer⁠

⁠diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram⁠

⁠Kelton Reid Instagram⁠
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling and award-winning author, Emma Grey, spoke with us about the long path to publication, the catharsis of writing through grief, and her latest unexpected love story, START AT THE END.

Emma Grey is the award-winning author of seven books, including the USA Today and international bestsellers, The Last Love Note and Pictures of You. Her newest book, Start at the End, publishing April 7, 2026, is described as a “...sliding-doors novel … that explores second chances and unwritten endings.”

Robinne Lee, author of The Idea of You wrote, "Emma Grey is a talented, beautiful writer, full of wit and wisdom and brilliant observations.” Sarah Damoff, author of The Bright Years called the book “... a tour de force of honest humanity.”

Emma’s book Pictures of You won the gold medal in the American Independent Publisher Book Awards. Along with The Last Love Note, it received a starred review from the American Library Association. Both books were selected for two major American book clubs, including the Book of the Month and the Target Book Clubs.

Her novels have attracted multiple foreign translations deals, a TV option, and Emma co-wrote a stage musical based on one of her teenage novels, which was selected for Broadway Unplugged in Sydney and by the Homegrown Initiative in Melbourne.

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Emma Grey, Milena and I discussed:

Why writers choose to have homework all the time

 Visiting Prince Edward Island to speak about Anne of Green Gables

Why every reader takes away a unique thing from your writing

How her audience feeds into the writing of each new book

Striving for 100 rejections a year to become more resilient

The #writingvanlife

And a lot more! 

Show Notes:

emmagrey.com.au

Start at the End: A Novel – April 7, 2026 By Emma Grey (Amazon)

Emma Grey Amazon Author Page

linktr.ee/emmagreyauthor

Emma Grey on Facebook

Emma Grey on Instagram

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy pub' day Elizabeth!

Award-winning author and journalist Elizabeth Arnott spoke with us about her early studies of serial killers, a wild journalism career, and her latest period-set crime novel THE SECRET LIVES OF MURDERERS' WIVES.

Elizabeth Arnott has written critically acclaimed historical fiction as Lizzie Pook (her maiden name). As a journalist, she covered everything from true crime to Arctic exploration and appeared in publications such as The Sunday Times, National Geographic, The New York Times Book Review, and The Guardian among others.

She has described her much-anticipated latest historical crime novel as Mad Men with murders, and Lessons in Chemistry with a body count. The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives [available for pre-order and landing March 3, 2026; Berkley Hardcover], is a story that “... centers on three unlikely friends—all former wives of serial killers—and their efforts to solve a string of local killings in 1966 California.”

The book was acquired in a heated seven-way auction and named one of “The Best Books for Book Clubs in 2026” by Glamour, and among “The 10 Most-Anticipated Mystery-Thriller Books of 2026” by Marie Claire.

Parade wrote of the book, “... a story that feels like Bright Young Women collided with Mindhunter …. a propulsive, period-set whodunit perfect for anyone who loves early criminal profiling and Mad Men-era aesthetics with bite.”

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to⁠ ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover⁠ The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at⁠ writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please⁠ click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Elizabeth Arnott, Milena and I discussed:

Elizabeth’s early obsession with the film Almost Famous

Renting a flat above a brothel in grad school

Her freewheeling freelance days traveling the globe for stories

When her journalism career hit rock bottom

The path to writing about the forgotten victims of violent crimes

How to write a novel in six weeks

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

⁠Elizabeth Arnott on Instagram⁠

⁠The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives By Elizabeth Arnott⁠ – March 3, 2026 (Amazon)

⁠Elizabeth Arnott on Twitter⁠

⁠Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer⁠

⁠diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram⁠

⁠Kelton Reid Instagram⁠

⁠Kelton Reid on Twitter⁠
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