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Today’s guest is someone whose career spans advertising, Hollywood, and bestselling fiction. Marshall Karp is a #1 New York Times bestselling author known for his work on the NYPD Red series with James Patterson, along with his own novels including Don’t Tell Me How to Die and the Lomax and Biggs Mysteries. Before writing novels, he built a successful career in advertising and later transitioned into screenwriting, where one of his scripts became the film Just Looking, directed by Jason Alexander. The film went on to air on major platforms like HBO and Netflix and was later recognized as a classic independent film, with Marshall and Jason touring and promoting it across the country. He gradually moved toward writing, building toward a long-term goal of becoming a full-time storyteller.

In this episode

Marshall breaks down how his stories come together, starting with character and why knowing them inside out changes how the entire story unfolds. He shares how books like Don’t Tell Me How to Die took shape, the risks he took stepping outside his usual genre, and what made it resonate with readers. He also offers practical advice for writers, from building discipline and doing the work consistently to understanding your audience and writing stories that truly hold attention. Along the way, he talks through what he learned from studying consumer behavior in advertising and how those insights carry over into storytelling. We also get a behind-the-scenes look at how working with James Patterson really works, and the storytelling principles that came out of that collaboration.

Tune in to hear Marshall Karp unpack how he thinks as a writer, how his characters come to life, and how his books are built behind the scenes.

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Want to dive into Marshall’s books? Start here:

NYPD Red: https://a.co/d/09lC3z9I

Don’t Tell Me How To Die: https://a.co/d/0gL51BJY

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JPC3FA?ingress=0&visitId=d530e726-cae4-45c8-a85f-1ff330502842&ref_=aufs_ap_ahdr_dsk_ab

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Want to learn more from Marshall and follow his work? Check him out here:

Website: www.karpkills.com

Instagram: @marshallkarpauthor
https://www.instagram.com/marshallkarpauthor/

TikTok: Marshall Karp
https://www.tiktok.com/@marshallkarp

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