Episode Details

📘 Episode Synopsis

In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing and Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with author and educator Lincoln James, whose work spans decades, genres, and emotional terrain. Known for his haunting thrillers and his compassionate presence in the classroom, Lincoln shares how his novels—We Are Human, Written Just for You, The Vanishing Eight, and more—explore the unspoken corners of grief, love, and identity. Together, they unpack how storytelling can be both a survival instinct and an act of healing, and why the same empathy that drives a good novel can transform how we teach, connect, and lead.

🗝️ Show Notes

Guest: Lincoln James — author of We Are Human, Written Just for You, The Vanishing Eight, Devils Like Us, and All the Time; Communication professor in New York City.

Host: Dr. Joey Weisler, creator of Classroom Narratives: Healing and Education.

Key Topics:

1. Humanity in Horror: How We Are Human reframes Frankenstein-like themes to explore trauma, identity, and survival in a fractured world.
2. Thrillers as Emotional Architecture: Why thrillers allow readers to confront fear, loss, and shame in “safe” emotional spaces—and why catharsis matters.
3. Teaching Through Storytelling: Lincoln’s reflections on how his classroom work mirrors his fiction: guiding students to find voice, confidence, and meaning through narrative.
4. From Fourth Grade to Fiction: A childhood teacher who said “yes” to his stories sparked a lifetime of creative courage—and shaped his teaching philosophy today.
5. The Writer’s Craft: Lincoln’s meticulous research process—character sheets, historical detail, and authenticity that brings each era to life.
6. Sustaining Creativity Without Burnout: Why writing “for himself” keeps him balanced while juggling teaching, editing, and nationwide book signings.
7. Connection and Continuity: How all of Lincoln’s books exist within a shared universe of emotional echoes and Easter eggs, inviting readers to look deeper.
8. Looking Ahead: Sneak peek into The Ninth Layer, his upcoming thriller set in 2002, where a college class finds itself trapped beneath the earth—both literally and psychologically.
9. Emotion as the Goal: “If my words can make someone feel something—that’s all I could ever hope for.”
10. Bridging Story and Humanity: Both the classroom and the written page become spaces where courage meets empathy, and where tension meets tenderness.

🔗 Connect with Lincoln James

• 🌐 Website: thelincolnjames.com
• 📸 Instagram: @lincolnjjames
• 📖 New Book: We Are Human (released Tuesday, 11/11/2025!)