On Sunday, we named Rebecca Makkai’s The Great Believers our top book of 2018. Today, she joins Daniel Ford on the podcast to chat about how a weird childhood led her to storytelling (a cult may or may not be involved), the effort she put into improving her character work, and what inspired the unforgettable narrative readers fell in love with this year. Oh yeah, Makkai also discusses what it was like appearing on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” No big deal. To learn more about Rebecca Makkai, visit her official website, like her Facebook page, or follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Also read Adam Vitcavage’s interview with the author. Today’s episode is sponsored by Libro.fm and OneRoom.