Listen:
I have been enamored of Jessica Strasser’s work for ages. She is the person who changed my feeling about mystery novels. Her novels are accessible, fascinating and take you along on a wild ride, where even if you know more than the characters, still manages to surprise and delight you. Here is Jessica’s previous appearance on the podcast in episode #96 for The Last Caretaker.
In This Episode
- How Jessica structured the dual POV, dual timeline narrative in Catch You Later
- The inspiration behind the story
- The concept of a reliable or unreliable narrator
- How she built tension by giving readers more information than the characters have
- The importance of friendship and friendship rituals as a central theme
- Jessica’s process for incorporating backstory
- How she researched state troopers and highway travel stops for authenticity
- The “murky middle” struggle and how she keeps her writing momentum going
- Throwing obstacles at her characters in an organic way
- Why she includes book club discussion questions
- Jessica’s disciplined writing routine—1,500 words a day, five days a week
- Why she overwrites
- Jessica’s next book and plans for the near future
Watch on YouTube
About Jessica Strawser
Jessica Strawser is editor-at-large at Writer’s Digest and the USA Today bestselling author of suspenseful book club novels, including Almost Missed You; Not That I Could Tell (a Book of the Month pick); A Million Reasons Why; The Next Thing You Know (a People Magazine Pick), and her latest, Catch You Later, as well as The Last Caretaker, both instant USA Today bestsellers. She has written for The New York Times, Modern Love, Publishers Weekly and other fine venues, and is a popular writing instructor and freelance editor specializing in helping writers with their submission packages. She lives with her husband and children in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she was named 2019 Writer-in-Residence for the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County and awarded an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for 2024.
Connect with Jessica
Catch You Later on Estelle’s Bookshop
Jessica’s prior appearance on the podcast
#96 Writing and Elevating a Suspense Novel
Connect with Estelle
Erasmus Estelle Erasmus: an award-winning journalist, is the author of WRITING THAT GETS NOTICED (named a “Best Book for Writers” by Poets & Writers Magazine), a Contributing Editor for Writer’s Digest, and host of the podcast Freelance Writing Direct. She is an adjunct instructor for NYU’s School of Professional Studies/Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts, has written for over 150 publications, including The New York Times, Next Avenue/PBS, WIRED, The Independent,The Washington Post, and AARP: The Magazine, and was the editor-in-chief of five national publications. Follow her on Substack at https://estelleserasmus.substack.com
Apply to be on Freelance Writing Direct in a coaching episode: email [email protected] and state three of the issues you are dealing with that you would like Estelle’s help with.
Get Writing That Gets Noticed, named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers Magazine.
Order Her Audiobook
Writing That Gets Noticed was selected as the Feb/March book for My WriteDay’s subscription box service of writing craft books! So honored! My WRITEDAY is a bi-monthly subscription box program that delivers curated products from authors, creators, and small businesses to readers in the US. It’s unique in that many products are sourced from writers who are also crafters and artisans.
Sign up for Estelle’s Substack(for craft advice and writing opportunities). Paid subscribers receive opportunities for pitch reviews, plus bonus clips from Freelance Writing Direct guests.
Read Estelle’s latest post on Substack (and an offer to paid subscribers) 5 Hard Truths about Essay Writing
Student Work
Congrats to my NYU student Jodi H. Arndt for her searing and sad piece on Next Avenue that she workshopped during class: Losing My Mom, Even Though She’s Still Here.
NYU even highlighted it on their instagram.
* If you are interested in publishing on Next Avenue, this is episode #118 with Julie Pfitzinger, Managing Editor of Next Avenue
Classes
Estelle’s private small Zoom classes are sold out for March 2025 and May/June 2025 (the May/June class sold out in 2 days). Email her at [email protected] to get on the list for her next class (in the Fall) and find out how to secure your spot.There are currently 2 spots left for her fiction class for September. She is also doing a nonfiction class in October/November.
Her newest NYU class now taking registrations is Writing About Your Life Through Memoir, Essays and Articles.
Webinars
Finally, snag your spot for the next editor-on-call event in partnership with NYU. Estelle will be in conversation with Willa Bennett, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazines. Register here before space runs out.
Sign up for her Webinar on April 24th from 1:00-2:30 pm ET for Writer’s Digest: Layering Throughlines and Timelines into Your Essays and Books to Pack a Punch. It will be generative, informational, and interactive.
Award Announcement
I’m so honored that Freelance Writing Direct has been named a 2025 Podcast of the Year Winner in the Education category by the American Writing Awards. I love educating my listeners/viewers on all aspects of publishing, writing, craft and structure. For a list of winners go here
Conference Appearance
I’m delighted to be speaking at Open Secrets Live on May 3rd on the relationship panel. Here is a link to the event (there are limited tickets left for $25). Here is a recent piece I wrote for Next Avenue/PBS about life as the ‘Dating Diva‘. Here is a link Rachel’s episode #129 on the podcast.
Here is a description of the panel I’m in. I love the company I’m with.
Panel of essayists and memoir authors discussing relationships and how to write about them. Speakers include Dirty Lola, sex edutainer, Estelle Erasmus, author of Writing That Gets Noticed and host of the Freelance Writing Direct podcast, Judy McGuire, author of How Not to Date, Gabrielle Alexa Noel, content creator and author of How to Live With the Internet and Not Let It Run Your Life, and Molly Roden Winter, author of More: A Memoir of Open Marriage. Moderated by Rachel Kramer Bussel.
