Steven Pressfield is a mentor to many writers through books like The War of Art and Turning Pro.  But Steve learned his creative lessons the hard way, and he shares that story in his new book, The Knowledge. In this interview, I ask Steve how he turned real life into fiction, accessing the darker side of life, choosing book titles, and more. In the introduction, I mention Kobo's move into South Africa, the new self-publishing salon with me and Orna Ross, and India's move into cashless payments. In my personal update, I talk about the inevitable self-doubt that comes with any new creative project, and the launch of End of Days this week. Plus the Petal to the Metal podcast for anyone thinking of leaving their day job this year. Today's show is sponsored by my own How to Write a Novel course, which I created while writing End of Days, so you get a behind the scenes look at how the book came together. One course member, Leigh Anderson said, “This course is exactly what I was looking for. I now feel well on my way to writing and completing my first draft. It has been a real breakthrough for me.” Check it out at www.TheCreativePenn.com/writenovel Steven Pressfield is the author of screenplays including The Legend of Bagger Vance, novels around the classical wars of ancient Greece and modern warfare like Gates of Fire, and non-fiction works including The War of Art and Turning Pro. His latest book is The Knowledge: A Too Close to True Novel, which is the origin story of The War of Art. You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below. * On writing in different genres * How personal should fiction be? * Whether writing from our dark side can be cathartic * The key to choosing a book's title * Why the theme of a book matters so much and how to find it, even when it's elusive * Where Steven sees blogging fitting into his writing business * Steven's view of the current state of the publishing industry You can find Steven at www.StevenPressfield.com,