The award-winning creator, producer, and host of the megahit Lore podcast, TV show, and book series, Aaron Mahnke, joined me this week to share how he created his scary storytelling universe from scratch, his writing regimen for success, and advice to fellow scribes. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! In less than three years the writer and former graphic designer grew his humble “true life scary story” podcast, Lore, from a small email list and an effort to market his self-published novels, into a critically acclaimed show with more than 100 million downloads. The podcast won Apple Podcasts’ Best of 2015 & 2016, and picked up a “Best History Podcast 2016” from the Academy of Podcasters. Lore was also recently turned into an Amazon TV series by producers of The Walking Dead and The X-Files (with Aaron as a co-exec. producer), as well as a live tour, and a book series from Penguin Random House. The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures is the first in a three-book series from the author. The books include both old and new tales from the world of Lore, with their signature blend of history and the macabre, to plumb the depths of our collective nightmares. Entertainment Weekly noted that Mahnke “… dives deep into the world of folklore and the darker side of history in a quest to root out the fragment of truth at the bottom of our fears.” The author has been featured in the Huffington Post, The Guardian, Esquire, The Atlantic, USA Today, and others. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In Part One of this file Aaron Mahnke and I discuss: The writer’s ten year journey (including the lows) to award-winning podcast producer How an indie novelist turned a crazy idea into a scary storytelling universe Why you need to get out of your writer’s bubble The meticulous research and writing regimen that goes into The World of Lore Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to StudioPress.com TheWorldofLore.com Subscribe to Lore on Apple Podcasts Aaron Mahnke’s author page at Amazon The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures – Aaron Mahnke Aaron Mahnke on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter