Episode 6 of The Authors' Studio Podcast is an interview with Rachel Weaver, author of The Last Run.

Rachel Weaver's novel Point of Direction was named a Top Ten Book To Pick Up Now by Oprah Magazine and won the Willa Cather Award for Fiction. Rachel's recent medical memoir, Dizzy, was described by Maureen Corrigan on NPR's Fresh Air as 'an arresting new memoir'.

Her second novel, released in June 2026, The Last Run, was described by Alaska Magazine as 'A page-turning, authentic Alaskan tale that you'll want to devour in one sitting.' Rachel's essays and short fiction have appeared in The Sun Magazine, Gettysburg Review, Blue Mesa Review, Southeast Review, Medicine and Meaning, River Teeth, The Healing Muse, and others. Prior to earning her MFA in Writing and Poetics at Naropa University, Rachel worked for the Forest Service in Alaska studying bears, raptors and songbirds. She teaches at Wilkes University's low-residency MFA program and at Lighthouse Writers Workshop where she won the Beacon Award for Teaching Excellence. Rachel holds a CPA in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University.

More information visit rachelweaver.net

The Authors' Studio podcast is a production of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.

Co-hosts:

Mira Landry

Mark Stevens

www.writermarkstevens.com

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

www.rmfw.org

Theme music: "Moon Shine" by Brass Queens: www.brassqueensnyc.com

Episode 5 of The Authors' Studio Podcast is an interview with Melissa Payne, author of In This Life or Another (September, 2026).

Melissa is the bestselling author of six novels, including The Wild Road Home and Memories in the Drift. After an early career raising money for nonprofit organizations, Melissa began dreaming about becoming a published author and wrote her first novel. Her stories feature small mountain towns with characters searching for redemption, love, and second chances. They have been three-time Colorado Book Award finalists and three-time Colorado Authors League winners for mainstream fiction. Melissa lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with her husband and three children, a friendly mutt, a very loud cat, and the occasional bear.

More: www.melissapayneauthor.com

The Authors' Studio podcast is a production of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.

Co-hosts: Mira Landry

Mark Stevens www.writermarkstevens.com

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers www.rmfw.org

Theme music: "Moon Shine" by Brass Queens: www.brassqueensnyc.com

Vish is a filmmaker and author, born in Hyderabad, India, and now based in Castle Rock, Colorado. He founded The Picture Theory, a storytelling platform built on the belief that every frame and every sentence should make the world feel something.

Prashnenti: the First of All is his debut novel. It began as a screenplay before growing into a larger world on the page, and it moves between Indian mythology, ancient history, and a modern investigation.