This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome Chuck Wendig, author of The Staircase in the Woods.
About The Staircase in the Woods: Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what.
Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something extraordinary: a mysterious staircase to nowhere.
One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.
Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods…
About Chuck Wendig: Chuck Wendig is the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers, The Book of Accidents, Wayward, Black River Orchard, and more than two dozen other books for adults and young adults. A finalist for the Astounding Award and an alumnus of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, he has also written for comics, games, film, and television. He’s known for his popular blog, terribleminds, and books about writing such as Damn Fine Story. He lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with his family. His agent is Stacia Decker, with Dunow, Carlson and Lerner.
This week’s picks:
- Chuck: Birdwatching
- Tracy: mac glocky (YouTube)
- Patrick: Star Wars: Maul-Shadow Lord
Links:
- Chuck Wendig on TerribleMinds
- Tracy Townsend on BluSky
- Patrick Hester on Instagram
- The Functional Nerds Patreon Page
© 2025 Patrick Hester
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