Episodes

Monday Oct 05, 2020
Matt Haig Talks Anxiety, Panic, Depression & Writing As Therapy
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Today's guest is Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library, a Good Morning America Book Club pick for October. Matt joined me to talk about mental health as a writer, and how to manage during the pandemic.
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Monday Sep 28, 2020
Monday Sep 28, 2020
Today's guest is Lori M. Lee, author of the YA Fantasy Forest of Souls. Lori joined me to talk about launching a book during the pandemic, pivoting to online marketing and promotion, and how she handled depression and anxiety during the ongoing epidemic.
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Monday May 04, 2020
Mag Dimond On Using Mindfulness To Write During the Pandemic
Monday May 04, 2020
Monday May 04, 2020
Today's guest is Mag Dimond, author of Bowing to Elephants, which recently won Best Indie Biographies & Memoirs from Kirkus). Her book has been compared to EAT PRAY LOVE in professional reviews and has received accolades from many thought leaders in the mindfulness space. Mag joined me today to talk about using mindfulness practice to help ease your writing experience during the pandemic.
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Monday Apr 06, 2020
Caroline Zancan On the Editor & Writer Relationship
Monday Apr 06, 2020
Monday Apr 06, 2020
Today’s guest is Caroline Zancan author of the novel Local Girls, as well as her latest, We Wish You Luck. She is a graduate of Kenyon College and holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. A Senior Editor at Henry Holt, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their children.
Caroline joined me today to talk about unique mix of art and business that is the publishing industry. Aslo covered - being both an author, and an editor, and the often misunderstood author / editor relationship.
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Links for Caroline
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolinezancan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinezancan82
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Monday Mar 30, 2020
Monday Mar 30, 2020
Today's guest is Sarah Jane Stratford. Her first novel, Radio Girls, was based on the early days of the BBC and its pioneering talks producer, Hilda Matheson. Red Letter Days, her newest novel, continues that tradition by similarly highlighting a little known but influential woman in media set during the 19 fifties Red Scare and inspired by the real life TV producer Hannah Weinstein, Red Letter Days reveals the untold story of women who escaped the Hollywood blacklist. Sarah joined me today to talk about the inspiration for Red Letter Days and the research involved in writing about the Red Scare. Also covered - the challenge of basing a fictional character on a real person, and the last repercussions of the Red Scare.
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Links for Sarah:
Site: http://www.sarahjanestratford.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stratfordsj
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahJaneStratfordAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahjanestratford/
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Monday Mar 23, 2020
Tom Lutz on The Constantly Changing Landscape of Publishing
Monday Mar 23, 2020
Monday Mar 23, 2020
Today’s guest is Tom Lutz, editor in chief of the LA Review of Books a nonprofit dedicated to promoting writing about literature, culture and the arts.. He teaches creative writing at the University of California in Riverside and is on a quest to visit every country in the world: 135 down, only 60 to go. Tom has dovetailed his wanderlust and passion for writing into seven nonfiction books—some on travel, one on the history of slackers, another on the history of tears. His first crime novel, Born Slippy, was published in January.
Tom joined me today to talk about some of the monumental changes he’s seen in publishing during this decade, as well as how global trade and politics affects every day artists, as well as his first crime novel, Born Slippy, and tackling the topic of toxic masculinity.
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Links for Tom:
Site: https://www.tomlutzwriter.com/
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Monday Dec 30, 2019
Rebecca Syme On Using Your Strengths to Write Better, Faster
Monday Dec 30, 2019
Monday Dec 30, 2019
Today’s guest is Rebecca Syme, creator of the Better-Faster Academy, producer of the Quit Cast for Writers, as well as being an author herself. Rebecca joined me today to talk about how knowing your personality strengths can help you be a more productive writer. Also covered: how to deal with burnout – and how to know when you’re in it.
Links for Rebecca:
Website: https://betterfasteracademy.com/
QuitCast Podcast: https://betterfasteracademy.com/podcast/
Smarty Pants Book Marketing Podcast: https://www.rlsyme.com/category/podcasts/
Writing as R.L Syme & Becca Boyd: https://www.rlsyme.com/
Clifton Strengths Assessment: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/home.aspx
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A Map For Wild Hearts by Andrea Hannah

Monday Dec 02, 2019
Tracy Chevalier On Writing Historical Fiction
Monday Dec 02, 2019
Monday Dec 02, 2019
Today’s guest is Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With A Pearl Earring. Her tenth novel, A Single Thread, released recently. Tracy joined me today to talk about the the plight of “excess women” in England post World War 1, how writing leads her to hobbies - not the other way around – and how a writer needs something in their lives that isn’t word-based. Also covered: the pressure of an expectant audience, and learning your own rhythms as a writer.
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Links for Tracy
Website: https://www.tchevalier.com/index.php
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When the Truth Unravels by RuthAnne Snow

Monday Aug 26, 2019
Melissa DeLaCruz On Maintaining Creative Spark Through 50 Novels
Monday Aug 26, 2019
Monday Aug 26, 2019
Today’s guest is Melissa DeLa Cruz #1 New York Times bestselling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for readers of all ages. With her 50th novel The Birthday Girl releasing earlier this month. Melissa joined me to talk about longevity in publishing, retaining the spark of creativity, and how writers need community.
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Monday Jul 15, 2019
Writing A Novel Set In the Publishing World with Lauren Mechling
Monday Jul 15, 2019
Monday Jul 15, 2019
Today’s guest is Lauren Mechling, who has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, The New Yorker online, and Vogue, where she writes a regular book column. She's worked as a crime reporter and metro columnist for The New York Sun, a young adult novelist, and a features editor at The Wall Street Journal. A graduate of Harvard College, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.
Lauren joined me today to talk about how her own experiences in print media helped form the world of her new novel, How Could She, the complexities of female friendships as a storytelling concept, and how podcasts figure into Lauren’s new novel.
Links for Lauren:
Website: https://www.laurenmechling.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenmechling
IG: https://www.instagram.com/laurenomics/
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A Map for Wild Hearts: How to Make Art Even When You're Lost by Andrea Hannah