Podcasts about Writing

Subscribe to Greg Fitzsimmons: https://bit.ly/subGregFitz Comedian Beth Stelling returns to Fitzdog Radio. Greg and Beth talk about writing on Crashing, growing up in Dayton, Ohio, family drama, social media trolls, abortion jokes, comedy careers, ticket sales, and why getting older changes everything. Plus stories about Beth's eccentric father, special-needs softball games, and the realities of life on the road as a stand-up comic. Follow Beth:@bethstelling Tour dates and specials:https://bethstelling.com/ This show is produced by Gotham Production Studios and part of the Gotham Network. https://www.gothamproductionstudios.com/studios/ Follow Greg Fitzsimmons: Facebook: https://facebook.com/FitzdogRadio Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregfitzsimmons Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregfitzshow Official Website: http://gregfitzsimmons.com Tour Dates: https://bit.ly/GregFitzTour Merch: https://bit.ly/GregFitzMerch “Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons” Book: https://amzn.to/2Z2bB82 “Life on Stage” Comedy Special: https://bit.ly/GregFitzSpecial Listen to Greg Fitzsimmons: Fitzdog Radio: https://bit.ly/FitzdogRadio Sunday Papers: http://bit.ly/SundayPapersPod Childish: http://childishpod.com Watch more Greg Fitzsimmons: Latest Uploads: https://bit.ly/latestGregFitz Fitzdog Radio: https://bit.ly/radioGregFitz Sunday Papers: https://bit.ly/sundayGregFitz Stand Up Comedy: https://bit.ly/comedyGregFitz Popular Videos: https://bit.ly/popGregFitz About Greg Fitzsimmons: Mixing an incisive wit with scathing sarcasm, Greg Fitzsimmons is an accomplished stand-up, an Emmy Award winning writer, and a host on TV, radio and his own podcasts. Greg is host of the popular “FitzDog Radio” podcast (https://bit.ly/FitzdogRadio), as well as “Sunday Papers” with co-host Mike Gibbons (http://bit.ly/SundayPapersPod) and “Childish” with co-host Alison Rosen (http://childishpod.com). A regular with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel, Greg also frequents “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “Lights Out with David Spade,” and has made more than 50 visits to “The Howard Stern Show.” Howard gave Greg his own show on Sirius/XM which lasted more than 10 years. Greg's one-hour standup special, “Life On Stage,” was named a Top 10 Comedy Release by LA Weekly. The special premiered on Comedy Central and is now available on Amazon Prime, as a DVD, or a download (https://bit.ly/GregFitzSpecial). Greg's 2011 book, Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons (https://amzn.to/2Z2bB82), climbed the best-seller charts and garnered outstanding reviews from NPR and Vanity Fair. Greg appeared in the Netflix series “Santa Clarita Diet,” the Emmy-winning FX series “Louie,” spent five years as a panelist on VH1's “Best Week Ever,” was a reoccurring panelist on “Chelsea Lately,” and starred in two half-hour stand-up specials on Comedy Central. Greg wrote and appeared on the Judd Apatow HBO series “Crashing.” Writing credits include HBO's “Lucky Louie,” “Cedric the Entertainer Presents,” “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher,” “The Man Show” and many others. On his mantle beside the four Daytime Emmys he won as a writer and producer on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” sit “The Jury Award for Best Comedian” from The HBO Comedy Arts Festival and a Cable Ace Award for hosting the MTV game show "Idiot Savants." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on Word Balloon, we're catching up with one of comics' most distinctive visual storytellers, Rod Reis.Rod is taking on a huge creative challenge with DC's new Elseworlds Supergirl series, serving as the complete artistic force behind the book. Writing the visual language, designing the worlds, drawing, painting, and bringing every page to life. The series imagines a dramatically different destiny for Krypton's last children. In this reality, Kara Zor-El and baby Kal-El share the same escape rocket from Krypton, launching them into a sprawling science-fiction adventure that takes the Superman mythology into entirely new territory.One of the most striking aspects of the book is Rod's reimagining of Krypton itself. From the architecture and technology to the appearance and culture of its people, he's creating a version of the doomed world unlike anything we've seen before.We'll also look back at Rod's acclaimed work on New Mutants and the X-Men line, where his painted style brought a dreamlike and often unsettling atmosphere to the mutant corner of the Marvel Universe. And we'll talk about his remarkable career journey. From breaking into American comics as a colorist, collaborating with some of the industry's top artists, to evolving into one of comics' most accomplished full-spectrum creators whose work is instantly recognizable on sight.

In this episode of Two Pastors and a Mic, we sit down with our friend Bill Vanderbush for one of the most honest, thought-provoking, and hope-filled conversations we've had on the podcast.We talk about union with Christ, the finished work of Jesus, the roots of ancient Christianity, and why so many people are rediscovering the goodness of God in a fresh way. Bill shares powerful insights from his newest books, opens up about the current state of the Church, and challenges fear-based theology with a Gospel centered on love, identity, and belonging.This conversation explores:• The ancient roots of union theology• Why the Gospel became more about what we do than what Jesus has done• The Council of Nicaea, church history, and modern Christianity• Fear, punishment, and the goodness of God• Why people are deconstructing unhealthy theology• Identity, sonship, and knowing God as Father• The difference between religion and authentic relationship with Jesus• Why “God is better than you think” changes everythingWhether you're deconstructing old beliefs, rediscovering your faith, or simply hungry for deeper conversations about Jesus, this episode is packed with wisdom, grace, and hope.00:42 - Bill's Influence on the Podcast02:44 - Writing for Future Generations03:41 - The Sound of Your Blood Explained05:13 - Reaching Deconstructed & New Age Audiences06:00 - Union Begins in Genesis07:42 - Identity, Union & Knowing Who You Are09:25 - Ancient Christianity & Church History11:23 - How Christianity Became Complicated13:25 - Salvation, Belief & the Finished Work15:33 - Ancient Creeds vs Modern Theology17:23 - Living From Union With Christ18:29 - Simplifying the Gospel Like Jesus19:46 - Are We Headed Toward Another Church Council?21:06 - Returning to a Christ-Centered Gospel22:30 - Fear-Based Theology & Punishment24:11 - Honoring Past Generations While Growing26:16 - The Problem With “Heresy Hunting”27:22 - God Is Better Than You Think28:12 - Asking Jesus Directly29:54 - Rediscovering Wonder & Childlike Faith32:40 - Healing Orphan Thinking & Family Wounds33:41 - Where to Find Bill Vanderbush34:35 - Final Thoughts on God's Goodness35:42 - “You're Loved & There's Nothing You Can Do About It”

The job market has dramatically changed — and most people are still playing by the old rules. In this episode, talent acquisition expert and senior leader, Dena Ayala, pulls back the curtain on what's actually happening on both sides of the hiring table. We talk about how AI is reshaping resumes and recruitment, why your personal story is your most underutilized asset, and how women especially can advocate for themselves with more confidence and creativity. Whether you're actively searching or simply future-proofing your career, this one is full of practical moves you can make today!What we cover:

The southeastern shores of Australia are famous for gorgeous beaches, whale watching, and sunny holiday vibes, but in late 1994, the people of Sydney's Northern Beaches were shocked by two horrific crimes. It began with a 34-year-old landscape gardener, Stephen Dempsey, who went missing after an impromptu stop at the Deep Creek Reserve. Months later, a gentle father of seven and taxi driver, Ezzedine Bahmad, was brutally murdered during a late-night shift. Police were left with two separate mysteries until a gruesome discovery in the waters of Pittwater broke both cases wide open. The clues led investigators straight to a 21-year-old local predator and a secret inside a refrigerator. Join Jen & Cam as they discuss "Natural Born Killer: The Murders of Stephen Dempsey & Ezzedine Bahmad." Our team: Listener Discretion by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward October ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Research & Writing by Lauretta Allen Executive Producers Nico & Jesse of ⁠⁠The Inky Pawprint Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwfbxpf_Df8&t=651s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8ba2wegsLE https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/manly-daily/tv-program-airs-double-murderers-grisly-legacy-and-the-detectives-who-brought-him-to-justice/news-story/66fcd6febf5e94b6df0518a46ce326d8 https://www.newspapers.com/image/119757905/?match=1&terms=%22Ezzedine%20Bahmad%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/120314029/?match=1&terms=%22Ezzedine%20Bahmad%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/123802030/?match=1&terms=%22Ezzedine%20Bahmad%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/123799267/?match=1&terms=%22Ezzedine%20Bahmad%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/123798555/?match=1&terms=%22Ezzedine%20Bahmad%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/121556143/?match=1&terms=%22Ezzedine%20Bahmad%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/120349777/?match=1&terms=%22Ezzedine%20Bahmad%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/119760539/?match=1&terms=%22Ezzedine%20Bahmad%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/119750941/?match=1&clipping_id=new https://www.newspapers.com/image/119750369/?match=1&clipping_id=new https://www.newspapers.com/image/119769787/?match=1&terms=%22Stephen%20Dempsey%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/121833412/?match=1&terms=%22Stephen%20Dempsey%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/120349777/?match=1&terms=%22Stephen%20Dempsey%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/120358673/?article=bdc526d1-b9a5-45a4-a957-af56e629e815&terms=%22Stephen%20Dempsey%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/121429952/?match=1&terms=%22Stephen%20Dempsey%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/119750941/?match=1&terms=%22Stephen%20Dempsey%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/119651222/?match=1&terms=%22Stephen%20Dempsey%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/119644553/?match=1&terms=%22Stephen%20Dempsey%22 https://www.smh.com.au/national/families-are-the-forgotten-victims-20091028-hl1j.html https://www.9news.com.au/national/news-nsw-sydneys-abandoned-nazi-spy-camp/ca9e1fbc-5327-4a4f-9738-291e78d54b67 https://www.pittwateronlinenews.com/narrabeen-creek-history.php Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to write and publish 43 books? In this inspiring episode of the Speaking Podcast, we sit down with Aaron Ryan, a prolific author and voiceover artist who has mastered the art of indie publishing. From his early "calling" in second grade to his latest epic sci-fi releases, Aaron shares the secrets behind his incredible productivity and creative process. We dive deep into the advantages of being an indie author—retaining rights, commanding higher royalties, and maintaining total creative control. Aaron also reveals his unique approach to marketing: stop "selling" and start being an enthusiast. Whether you're an aspiring writer, a fan of epic sagas like Dissonance and The Talisman, or simply looking for a masterclass in following your passion, this conversation is packed with heart, humor, and actionable advice.     Timestamps Timestamp Topic Description 0:00 Welcome & Introduction to Aaron Ryan 0:47 The 43rd Book Launch: A prolific journey in writing 1:35 The Origin Story: Writing "The Electric Boy" in second grade 2:41 A Mother's Gift: Reclaiming childhood memories and early work 3:31 Creative Inspiration: J.R.R. Tolkien and the legacy of Lord of the Rings 4:34 Cinematic Roots: How movies like "I Am Legend" spark book ideas 5:21 The Structure of Creativity: Riding the wave of inspiration 6:12 The Reactive Career: Balancing authorship with voiceover work 6:43 The Art of the Book Cover: Subjectivity and designing your own brand 8:16 The Growing Library: Managing a massive catalog of work 9:17 Indie vs. Traditional Publishing: Why creative control is king 11:37 The Enthusiast's Marketing Strategy: Stop selling, start sharing 12:54 Box Sets and All-in-Ones: Meeting readers where they are 14:35 Formatting for Legibility: Trial and error in book design 16:13 The Emotional Toll of Writing: Therapeutic work and the 9/11 connection 25:57 Dealing with Reviews: Developing structural integrity against the "haters" 31:19 Trajectory vs. Endorsement: Why the mission comes before the feedback 33:05 The 51-Hour Audiobook: Bringing stories to life as a voice actor 34:40 The Talisman Finale: Navigating the multiverse and interstellar names 36:31 The Heart of the Work: Why "The End" saga and "Forecast" are personal favorites 42:52 Where to Find Aaron: AuthorAaronRyan.com and exclusive groups 43:44 Outro: RoyCoughlan.com and the PodFather Network      

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage sits down with Elissa Shay. actress, writer, and producer, to break down her journey from struggling to find the right roles in Hollywood to producing and starring in her own feature film, Fractured.After facing challenges as a mixed-ethnicity actress in an industry that often struggles with representation, Elissa took control of her career—writing, producing, and financing projects that aligned with her purpose and creative voice.

Beauty is one of the most celebrated words in art and faith conversations, but it may also be one of the most misunderstood. Is beauty simply what pleases the eye, or is it something deeper? Can beauty exist alongside suffering, loss, and the grotesque? And what happens when we settle for beauty that comforts us while avoiding the realities that transform us?What if beauty requires darkness, mystery, and even lament in order to reveal its deepest meaning? In this roundtable discussion, Stephen Roach and guests Corey Frey, Liv Ross, and Scott Aasman wrestle with beauty not as sentimentality or surface appeal, but as a force capable of holding together truth, goodness, suffering, and hope.KEY TOPICSWhy beauty can feel inauthentic when it is removed from struggleThe original meaning of "glamour" as a veil designed to trap and deceive, and why that etymology still matters for artists todayHow the three transcendentals — goodness, truth, and beauty — function like a trinity: remove one and the others collapse into vanity, brutality, or cover-upWhat Edmund Burke and Kant meant by the sublime, and why terror and beauty belong together rather than apartThe real context behind Dostoevsky's phrase "beauty will save the world," drawn from The Idiot, and why stripping it from that argument changes everythingThomas Kinkade's stated goal of painting a world where the Fall never happened, and what his private life and Andy Warhol quote reveal about the cost of bypassing Holy SaturdayWhy form without substance is essentially pornographic, and how true beauty requires the material and the spiritual coming togetherHow artistic isolation stunts creative roots the way a tree grown in perfect conditions falls in the first storm and why community, friction, and disagreement strengthen both the artist and the workAbout the Guests:Corey Frey is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and co-founder of The Well Collaborative, a community dedicated to creativity, curiosity, and culture. He lives in Maryland with his wife and continues to explore the intersections of art, faith, and imagination.Liv Ross is an urban monk, poet, essayist, and Managing Editor of Traces Journal. Writing from the Ozarks, her work explores place, wonder, memory, and spiritual formation. Her first book, The Blackbird Ballad, was published by Solum Literary Press in 2026.Scott Aasman is an award-winning illustrator, educator, and co-founder of Salt Cellar Arts, an arts-focused community for the spiritually attentive and creatively engaged. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with his wife and two children.Resources MentionedBeauty Will Save the World by Brian ZahndThe Idiot by Fyodor DostoevskyThe Thought of the Heart and the Soul of the World by James Hillman Works by Flannery O'Connor Works by Cormac McCarthy Paintings of Thomas Kinkade Landscapes of J. M. W. TurnerConnect with Our GuestsCorey Frey coreysfrey.comLiv Ross The Abbey of Curiosity Substack The Blackbird BalladScott Aasman Instagram – San IllustrationSend us Fan MailSupport the showJOIN US FOR BOOK CLUB! Every Tuesday at 8 pm EST in June 2026, we will be reading James's book online in our Patreon community! We'd love to have you with us. Visit patreon.com/makersandmystics to RSVP. Sign Up for Our Newsletter! http://eepurl.com/g49Ks1Give a one-time donation https://buy.stripe.com/9AQeYj7431fD12waEOJoin the Makers & Mystics Creative Collective https://www.patreon.com/c/makersandmystics

Host Jeff Goldsmith talks to writer-producer Aline Brosh McKenna about her latest film, The Devil Wears Prada 2. Download my podcast here Copyright © Unlikely Films, Inc. 2026. All rights reserved. For more great content check out Backstory Magazine @ Backstory.net

How do you go from sharing a cramped Los Angeles bedroom with four other guys to landing a full series order from Netflix off a single pitch? In today's episode, we sit down with Dan Perrault, the visionary co-creator of the hit mockumentary American Vandal and the series Players, to explore his incredible journey from producing viral YouTube sketches to becoming a major showrunner and actor. Dan pulls back the curtain on the "streaming gold rush" that launched his career, the high-stakes crunch to flesh out a season-long arc in just two weeks, and his fascinating experiences acting opposite Hollywood icons like Jamie Foxx and Mark Ruffalo. From mastering the technical art of self-taping to why a failed pilot script is actually a powerful tool for growth, Dan offers a candid and inspiring look at how to write your own path in an industry that rarely hands out invitations. Tune in to discover how a DIY spirit and a parody about high school graffiti turned into a global phenomenon. These are unforgettable stories that landed Dan Perrault right here. Credits: American Vandal Jury Duty: Company Retreat The Residence Players Strays Guest Links: IMDB: Dan Perrault, Writer, Producer, Actor THAT ONE AUDITION'S LINKS: For exclusive content surrounding this and all podcast episodes, sign up for our amazing newsletter at AlyshiaOchse.com. And don't forget to snap and post a photo while listening to the show and tag me: @alyshiaochse & @thatoneaudition SELF-TAPE MAY CLASS: Starting May 7th - FREE What's My Frame THE BRIDGE FOR ACTORS: Become a WORKING ACTOR (50% off special) THE PRACTICE TRACK: Membership to Practice Weekly PATREON: @thatoneaudition CONSULTING: Get 1-on-1 advice for your acting career from Alyshia Ochse COACHING: Get personalized coaching from Alyshia on your next audition or role INSTAGRAM: @alyshiaochse INSTAGRAM: @thatoneaudition WEBSITE: AlyshiaOchse.com ITUNES: Subscribe to That One Audition on iTunes SPOTIFY: Subscribe to That One Audition on Spotify STITCHER: Subscribe to That One Audition on Stitcher EPISODE CREDITS: HOST/PRODUCER: Alyshia Ochse WRITER: Maddie McCormick WEBSITE & GRAPHICS: Chase Jennings SOCIAL: Alara Cerikcioglu

Why does the title never feel like enough? Why do so many of us hit every goal we set and still go to bed feeling like we came up short? My guest this week has a name for it. Brooke Taylor calls it the success wound, the pain that comes from mistaking our productivity and achievement for our worth. We get into where it comes from, why creative people are especially prone to it, and what it actually looks like to stay ambitious without running yourself into the ground. If you have ever caught yourself answering "How are you?" with "busy" and felt a little proud of it, this one is for you.In this conversation, we coverWhat the success wound is, and why Brooke describes it as a cultural wounding rather than a personal failingWhy "you are not your work" is so hard to live out when your work carries your worldview and your voiceHow the meaning of hard work flipped over time, from a marker of the working class to a badge of statusThe three things Brooke found that nearly all "unfulfilled achievers" shareHer own story: managing eighty million dollars in ad revenue at Google by twenty-four, and what it cost herThe difference between manic ambition and aligned ambition, and why they can look identical from the outsideThe "two power sources" behind all ambition, and how to tell which one is running your engineTwo questions you can ask yourself this week to spot when you have slipped into the woundApproximate timestamps00:00 Welcome and why this phrase stopped me in my tracks01:00 Defining the success wound03:00 Creativity as a conversation, and how the industrial age rewired our sense of worth05:00 How Silicon Valley resets your definition of "enough"06:00 The three things unfulfilled achievers have in common08:00 Brooke's story: Google, recovery, and a hard reckoning09:00 What organizations get out of the success wound, and the high achiever ceiling11:00 Choice, gears, and the two settings that lead to burnout12:00 Manic ambition vs. aligned ambition13:00 The lamp metaphor: the success wound or the true self14:00 Writing a book at 5 a.m. while pregnant, and why that was aligned, not manic16:00 Two questions to catch yourself in the wound17:00 Where to find BrookeA few lines worth sitting withBrooke describes the success wound as the pain that comes from tying our worth to what we produce and achieve, rather than to who we are.On ambition, she offers a simple image: it runs on one of two power sources, the success wound or the true self. Same hard work, very different fuel.And one telltale sign you are operating out of the wound, in her words, is that you keep repeating the same patterns and expecting them to feel different.About Brooke TaylorBrooke Taylor is a transformational career coach, keynote speaker, and the leading authority on the success wound, a phenomenon she pioneered through more than a decade of research. She began her career in Silicon Valley and spent years as a marketing lead at Google, where she earned the Google Global Sales Award. Her work helps high achievers move from manic ambition to aligned ambition so they can do meaningful work as whole people, not depleted ones.Find BrookeWebsite: brooketaylorcoaching.comFree book exercises: brooketaylorcoaching.com/bookInstagram: @BrookeTheTaylorMentioned in this episode:To listen to the full interviews from today's episode, as well as receive bonus content and deep dive insights from the episode, visit DailyCreativePlus.com and join Daily Creative+.The Brave Habit is available nowMy new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

Welcome to our very first summer episode of Leaders of the West! For June and July, we're doing something a little different around here. Instead of guest interviews, I'm spending the summer diving into more solo episodes, talking about life, business, career growth, hiring, job seeking, and the heart behind why Of The West was created in the first place. And to kick things off, we're re-airing the most downloaded solo episode we've ever released, How to Push Through a Losing Season.Originally recorded in December 2023, this episode is an incredibly personal conversation about walking through difficult seasons in both life and business. I share some of the hardest experiences my family faced, what helped us keep moving forward, and the mindset shifts that carried us through uncertainty and loss. We also talk about recognizing patterns, preparing for hard seasons before they happen, and why resilience is something we build over time. Whether this episode finds you in a difficult season right now or simply preparing for whatever life may bring next, I hope it reminds you that hard seasons never last forever.Be sure to subscribe/follow the show so you never miss an episode!Connect with Jessie:Follow on Instagram @ofthewest.co and @mrsjjarvFollow on Facebook @jobsofthewestCheck out the Of The West websiteResources & Links:Join The Directory Of The WestGet our FREE resource for Writing a Strong Job DescriptionGet our FREE resource for Making the Most of Your InternshipGet our FREE resource: 10 Resume Mistakes (and how to fix them)Get our FREE resource: How to Avoid the 7 Biggest Hiring Mistakes Employers MakeEmail us at hello@ofthewest.coSubscribe to Of The West's ⁠NewslettersList your jobs on ⁠Of The WestMentioned in this episode:Click below to check out open jobs on Of The West.Open Jobs on Of The West

Why does it take a whole year to make a kids' book? What's it like to visit Richard Branson's private island? And who doesn't love a Nissan Micra? Answering all these questions is bestselling children's author Rachel Bright! She tells us how she went from losing hope after an early rejection to landing a three-book publishing deal, and enjoying huge success with The Lion Inside. We talk about talent, timing, and the third magic ingredient that got Rachel where she is today. We also discuss Rachel's time working as an air hostess for Virgin Atlantic, and what happened when she went to Necker Island. We find out how to wear hats, and in a podcast exclusive, Rachel shares her favourite verruca hack. As is tradition, we finish with Scummy Mummy Confessions - this time involving a basketball and an erect horse penis. Find out more about Rachel's brilliant books by following her on Instagram @rachelbrightbooks. Her latest titles, The Turtle Who Turned the Tide and The Messysaurus, are out now. We are on tour! See you soon, Tiverton, Watford, Manchester and Eastleigh! Then we're visiting all sorts of venues all over the country right up till 2027. Yes, INCLUDING NORWICH! Visit scummymummies.com for dates and tickets. WE HAVE A SHOP! Visit scummymummiesshop.com for our ace t-shirts, mugs, and sweatshirts. FREE UK DELIVERY! We're on Instagram and Facebook @scummymummies. If you like the podcast, please rate, review and subscribe. Thank you for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I chat with author Andrew Edwards to discuss his novel King of Dogs and the deeper realities that inspired it. While the conversation begins with fiction, it quickly expands into a wide-ranging discussion on spiritual warfare, civilizational decline, modern nihilism, masculinity, technology, geopolitics, and what it means to remain fully human in an age of fragmentation.   We explore the themes beneath the story: the forces competing for our attention, the spiritual consequences of a culture without transcendence, the nature of suffering, and the battle for the human soul in a world increasingly defined by distraction and disorder.   Is modern society experiencing a political crisis, a cultural crisis, or a spiritual one? And how can Christians cultivate clarity, courage, and faithfulness amid uncertainty and collapse?   This conversation uses fiction as a lens to examine the world we actually inhabit.   About Andrew Edwards: Andrew Edwards is a novelist, essayist, and cultural commentator whose work explores the intersection of faith, meaning, masculinity, power, and civilizational decline. His novel King of Dogs blends post-collapse fiction, spiritual symbolism, and philosophical reflection to examine what remains of the human person when the structures of modern life begin to fail. Through both fiction and non-fiction writing, Edwards explores the moral, spiritual, and cultural questions shaping the modern world.   Connect with Andrew Edwards: * X / Twitter: https://x.com/goldengoatguild * Substack: https://substack.com/@goldengoatguild Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow  Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com  Podsworth App: https://podsworth.com  Code: BUCK50 for HALF off your first order! Clean up your recordings, sound like a pro, and support the Counterflow Podcast! Full Ad Read BEFORE processing: https://youtu.be/F4ljjtR5QfA  Full Ad Read AFTER processing: https://youtu.be/J6trRTgmpwE Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!

What if the very thing you believe is helping you cope… is actually keeping you stuck?In this deeply honest and inspiring episode, I sit down with recovery advocate, certified sober coach, author, and podcaster Hannah Turner to explore her powerful journey from the chaos of addiction to the clarity of sobriety.At just 21 years old, while studying abroad in Paris, Hannah had a life-changing realization: she was an alcoholic. One pivotal moment came when she discovered a video on her phone—recorded while she was drunk—of herself pleading with her future sober self to get help and stay sober. She didn't remember filming it… but watching it changed everything.Despite a deep desire to quit drinking, Hannah faced the internal battle so many experience—the simultaneous urge to stop and to continue. What helped her begin to break free? Writing.Through poetry, Hannah found a way to process her emotions, confront her pain, and ultimately transform her life.A New Understanding of AddictionIn this conversation, we challenge the common misconception that addiction is about weakness or lack of willpower.Instead, Hannah shares a powerful truth:Addiction is often an attempt to solve a deeper problem.For her, alcohol became a way to numb feelings of inadequacy, silence self-doubt, and cope with past trauma. Struggles with a speech impediment, being labeled “too sensitive,” and experiences that left her feeling unsafe in her own body all contributed to her pain.Alcohol felt like a “magic wand”—until she realized it was actually making things worse.The Clarity of ChaosHannah's healing journey gave rise to her poetry collection, The Clarity of Chaos.Written during her time in Paris while completing her thesis on addiction, the poems were born from a period of vulnerability—when old urges resurfaced and imposter syndrome crept in.What began as a personal outlet became something more.As Hannah explains, her poems naturally fell into two themes:The chaos of addictionThe clarity of sobrietyFrom that realization, her book—and later her podcast—was born.Now two years sober and a graduate of the American University of Paris, Hannah has become a beacon of hope for others navigating similar struggles.A Message of HopeHannah's story is a powerful reminder that healing is possible—and that even in our darkest moments, there is a path forward.Recovery isn't about perfection. It's about honesty, courage, and choosing—again and again—to move toward the light.Connect with Hannah TurnerLearn more about Hannah, her book, and her work here:

Join Rebecca George and Asheritah Ciuciu as they explore biblical joy, trusting God's timing, and practical rhythms to delight in Jesus amidst life's seasons of waiting, despair, and burnout.Keywords:biblical joy, trusting God's timing, delighting in Jesus, spiritual rhythms, hope in despair, joy in suffering, God's delight, spiritual growth, Christian life, faith journeyKey topics:Biblical definition of joy versus worldly happinessThe role of delight and leaning into God's presencePractical rhythms for experiencing joy dailyGod's delight in His creation and in usThe journey from despair to joy through God's workChapters00:00 Introduction to Joy and Despair08:12 The Nature of Biblical Joy12:46 Delighting in Jesus18:12 Finding Joy in Everyday Life22:38 The Journey of Writing and Personal Growth26:30 The Power of Community and Healing32:22 Cultivating Wonder: A Path to Joy37:11 Radiance in Christ: The Joy of His PresenceSponsors:Ever AJ: If your quiet time often feels rushed or scattered, Ever AJ might be just what you need. They design beautiful, functional pieces, like thoughtfully made Bible cases that hold everything in one place, so you can sit down, open up, and actually be present. Check out Ever AJ here!Christian Standard Bible: With Father's Day coming up, I've been thinking about the men who've shaped me, leading with quiet faith, steady presence, and wisdom. If you're looking for a meaningful gift that points him back to truth, I love the Father's Day Gift Guide from Christian Standard Bible. Whether it's a Bible he'll read every morning or something to deepen his study, these are gifts that go beyond the moment and anchor his faith for the long haul. Check out the CSB Father's Day Gift Guide here!Live Oak Integrative Health: If you've been quietly carrying the weight of wanting to grow your family, you're not alone. Rebecca Belch at Live Oak Integrative Health walks alongside women through fertility challenges with a root-cause approach, looking at gut health, nutrition, and overall wellness to help your body support a healthy pregnancy. She's seen so many encouraging stories, including women who've gotten pregnant after finally getting the right support. If you've been looking for answers or just a place to start, this could be a beautiful next step. Learn more at liveoakintegrativehealth.com/radianceLinks:Speaking: https://www.radicalradiance.live/speaking Creative Business Coaching: https://www.radicalradiance.live/coaching Camp for Creatives: https://www.radicalradiance.live/campforcreatives Listen to Radical Radiance on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radical-radiance/id1484726102?uo=4 Listen to Radical Radiance on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/55N56VtU6q33ztgJNw7oTX?si=29648982bc91475f Take the FREE Waiting Personality Quiz: https://www.tryinteract.com/share/quiz/676d5c2884dd1e00159563f6 Take the Why Are You Stuck in Your Calling? Quiz: https://www.tryinteract.com/share/quiz/657326e6544f610014b40b67 Books:You're Not Too Late: Trusting God's Timing in a Hurry-Up World: https://amzn.to/44omO3kDo the Thing: Gospel-Centered Goals, Gumption, and Grace for the Go-Getter Girl: https://amzn.to/43IaFpMBefore Dawn: Knowing God's Presence in the Dark Seasons of Life: https://amzn.to/4pdsZjv 

We kick off Pride in Bruce Month with guest Nico Stratus, a Toronto-based writer originally from Canada's Yukon. Niko describes growing up in a music- and book-filled home, later leaving construction work after coming out as trans, and building a writing career through online essays, including an early op-ed that prompted an attempted libel threat. Nico recounts discovering Bruce Springsteen later in life—initially misreading Born in the U.S.A.—and connecting deeply to Bruce's earnestness, storytelling, and songs like “Dancing in the Dark,” “Thunder Road,” “Drive All Night,” and Nebraska tracks. Nico discusses their book, The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman, a memoir-mixtape where “Dancing in the Dark” becomes a pivotal catalyst for coming out, and shares where to find their work online. Find out more about Niko here - https://www.nikostratis.com/ Amazon Link for The Dad Rock that Made me a Women - here https://a.co/d/0git0VZh 00:00 Pride in Bruce Intro 01:48 Meet Jesse and Nico 02:10 Tattoo and Cancer Talk 02:46 Nico Background Story 04:03 Music in the Yukon 09:35 Reading and Escape 11:13 Comics Marvel vs DC 13:56 Becoming a Writer 17:02 First Op-Ed and Lawsuit 18:01 Discovering Springsteen 20:56 Why Bruce Hit Home 22:58 Dancing in the Dark Deep Dive 27:10 Writing the Dad Rock Book 29:14 Mixtape Memoir Blueprint 30:55 Springsteen Awakening Moment 32:34 Impostor Syndrome and Belonging 35:57 Good Tired Dream Work 37:59 Never Seen Bruce Live 38:55 Songs That Shaped Me 42:49 Queer Icon Bruce Debate 44:58 Why Read the Book 49:56 Does Mary Get In 53:24 Where to Find Nico 55:08 Pride Month Signoff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades globally renowned spiritual teacher Elias Amidon has been keenly interested in the possibility of awakening to our most enlightened nature.This fascination has led him to live a deeply engaged life. Serving as Spiritual Director (Pir) of the Sufi Way,Working for many years in peace and environmental activism,Helping to cofound several schools including the Boulder Institute for Nature and the Human Spirit, and the graduate program in Environmental Leadership at Naropa University.And authoring a wide array of books that often invite reflection and inquiry into the very nature of reality. Today we'll explore some of his greatest insights into what it is that connects us all. A subject which he reflects on often,Writing the following in his book, Love's Drum: Sufi Views, Practices: "Whatever we call it, this-that-does-not-perish is what connects us with everything - each other, the trees, the mountains, the sky, the stars, and all beings who have ever appeared. We remain the unique beings we are, but we recognize we're not alone in our beingness, we are with the entirety. I think of this withness as love.” Elias's work invites us all to open to the possibility of awakening and experiencing the beauty all around us,As we make our way home, to Love. A journey of return that he calls our birthright. To learn more about Elias, his retreats, courses, books, and other offerings please visit sufiway.org.Did you find this episode inspiring? Here are other conversations from our mini-series on Love:On the Possibility of Meeting Hate with Love | Dr. Barbara TintOn Awakening, Belonging, and Love | Henry ShukmanOn Love, Storytelling, and Radical Curiosity | Baktash AhadiOn the Power of Love | Stephen G. PostEnjoying the show? Please rate it wherever you listen to your podcasts!Thanks for listening!Support the show

>> Get A Free Copy Of The Book (Big Idea To Bestseller): https://www.bigideatobestseller.com/free-book>> Book A Call With Our Team: https://write.bigideatobestseller.com/booking-page>> Step-By-Step Process To Becoming A Bestselling Author: https://write.bigideatobestseller.com/vsl-watch-pageIG: @jakekelferLinkedIn: @jakekelferWhat does it take to turn pain into purpose? In this episode, Tyler Ippolliti  shares the story behind Trial by Fire and how life's toughest challenges helped him discover his mission. Tune in for an honest conversation about growth, resilience, and stepping into who you're meant to become. Grab a copy of Trial by Fire to dive deeper into Tyler's journey. Listen now!Connect With Tyler:>>Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/tylerwayneippoliti/ >>Website:https://www.tylerwayneippoliti.com/ 

How do we help students build genuine writing skills when AI tools can easily do the work for them? In this episode, Brent & Ixchell share practical strategies, low-tech solutions, and clever ways to use AI as a scaffold rather than a shortcut, ensuring students still do the hard work of learning. Show Notes: www.DIESOL.org/139 

Today I am joined by Connie Porter! Connie is the author of the Addy series, a series of historical children's novels from American Girl.  Her first novel, All-Bright Court was named in 1991 as a Notable Book by the American Library Association, and by the New York Times as one of its "Best Books."  Her essays have appeared in Glamour and Seventeen, and her book reviews in The Boston Globe and New York Times. She is also the author of  Imani All Mine which was named an Honor Book by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, an Alex Award winner by the Young Adult Services Association of the American Library Association, as well as being chosen as one of the Best Books for Young Adults by the ALA.  Book List also picked it as one of Editors' Choice for Best Books For Young Adults.  In 2019, the Children's Literature Association named Imani All Mine the winner of the Phoenix Award. The Phoenix Award “is given to the author, or the estate of the author, of a book for children first published twenty years earlier that did not win a major award at the time of its publication but which, from the perspective of time, is deemed worthy of special attention. In this episode Connie and I talk about her career as a writer, how she got the opportunity to write the Addy series, what that process looked like, what she hopes readers take with them, and so much more! Connie's Instagram World Vision

Ivy Cassidy — national bestselling author of more than 40 novels — joins Samantha Tennant to talk about her most ambitious book yet: House of Spells and Secrets, a sweeping historical fantasy rooted in the real legend of Biddy Early, the last woman tried for witchcraft in Ireland. Ivy shares how she balanced research with storytelling, why she set the book in 1971, and what it finally felt like to write completely outside genre rules. Plus: Fresh Fiction Facts, pen name Easter eggs, and a tribute to a beloved voice in the book community, Piper J. Drake.

What makes a story feel truly mythic? Many writers assume mythic fiction comes from borrowing archetypes, retelling old myths, or layering symbolic imagery into a story. While there is immense value in studying mythology, fairy tales, folklore, and archetypal storytelling traditions, something important has been lost in many modern conversations about mythic fiction. The old myths aren't powerful merely because of their plot structure or symbolism. They are powerful because they emerged from their creator's living relationship with symbol, transformation, mystery, dream, and the deeper psyche. In this episode, I explore: •    Why so much modern "mythic storytelling" can feel strangely hollow  •    The difference between inherited myth and living myth  •    Why writers often approach archetypes from the outside in  •    How mythic resonance actually emerges in story  •    Why mythic storytelling matters during times of cultural transformation  •    How writers can reconnect to the symbolic imagination itself  What if the role of the writer is not simply to preserve mythology, but to participate in it? If you've ever wanted to write stories that feel more resonant, symbolic, emotionally alive, or spiritually meaningful, this episode explores the deeper source from which mythic fiction arises. 02:45 How Modern Writers Understand Mythic Fiction and Archetypal Storytelling 03:58 The Mythological and Folk Tale Lens for Mythic Fiction 04:32 The Anthropological & Psychological Lens for Mythic Fiction 05:10 Pop Culture & the Mythic Retelling 06:27 Studying Myth vs. Writing Mythic Fiction 09:03 Borrowing vs. Accessing Symbols 11:17 Inherited Myth vs. Living Myth 12:16 Mythic Fiction in Cultural Times of Transformation 13:43 Our Relationship to the Old Stories Grows Thin 14:55 Mythic Fiction Requires the Partnership of Intuition and Intellect 16:11 Mythic Fiction Reconnects Writers to the Deep Source of Story 18:38 The Need for New Myths in a Changing World 20:15 New Myths, Ancient Roots 21:15 Participating in Myth as Much as Preserving It 21:59 Reconnecting to Myth in Your Own Writing Process Read the transcript: https://helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/how-to-write-mythic-fiction LINKS & RESOURCES Want More? This conversation connects deeply to my class Alchemizing Plot, Character, & Theme: https://kmweilandstore.com/b/plot-character-theme-class In this masterclass, I explore how plot, character, and theme act as one cohesive symbolic structure capable of creating stories with emotional resonance, narrative momentum, and deeper thematic meaning. We'll talk about: •    Aligning inner and outer arcs  •    Creating stories that feel alive from the inside out  •    Integrating plot, character, and theme organically  •    Writing stories with greater depth and cohesion 

Tesla's former President Jon McNeill reveals the five-step framework behind one of the world's fastest-growing companies— YOU'LL LEARN — 1) What most miss when designing processes2) How to identify outdated requirements that slow things down 3) Why automation should be your LAST step Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep1157 for clickable versions of the links below. — ABOUT JON — Jon McNeill is the CEO and Co-Founder of DVx Ventures. With a track record of founding and scaling companies, Jon has led teams that generated tens of thousands of jobs and delivered multi-billion dollar returns for investors.Previously, Jon served as President at Tesla, where revenue grew from $2B to $20B in under 30 months, and later as COO at Lyft, helping double revenue and take the company public. He currently sits on the boards of General Motors, Lululemon, Asurion, CrossFit, and Stash.• Book: The Algorithm: The Hypergrowth Formula that Transformed Tesla, Lululemon, General Motors and SpaceX• Website: DVX.ventures— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — • Book: Sam Walton: Made In America by Sam Walton• Book: The Goal: 40th Anniversary Edition: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu Goldratt• Book: Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara• Past episode: 810: How to Get Stuff Done inside Bureaucracies with Marina Nitze• Research paper: "Attention Is All You Need"— THANK YOU SPONSORS! — • Shopify. Sign up for your $1/month trial at Shopify.com/awesomepodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do you write when your heart is broken? How do you go back into the publishing business after years away, knowing it's a very different industry to the one you left? With Jami Albright. In the intro, InAudio is now distributing audiobooks to BookShop.org; The Feedback Loop that Makes Better Writers [Author Nation Podcast]; Bones of the Deep on Goodreads. This episode is sponsored by Publisher Rocket, which will help you get your book in front of more Amazon readers so you can spend less time marketing and more time writing. I use Publisher Rocket for researching book titles, categories, and keywords — for new books and for updating my backlist. Check it out at www.PublisherRocket.com This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Jami Albright is the bestselling author of the Brides on the Run romances and the co-host of the Wish I'd Known Then Podcast. Today we're talking about her new novel, The Summer That Changed Us. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How Jami started writing fiction at 47 and waited a year before publishing her first book Why she fictionalised her sister's terminal cancer story rather than writing a memoir The difference between writing as therapy and writing for the reader Reactivating an email newsletter after almost two years of silence Going wide with a standalone women's fiction novel after years in KU and rom-com Letting go of the frantic hustle of indie publishing and redefining what success looks like You can find Jami at JamiAlbright.com. Transcript of the interview with Jami Albright Jo: Jami Albright is the bestselling author of the Brides on the Run romances and the co-host of the Wish I'd Known Then Podcast. Today we're talking about her new novel, The Summer That Changed Us. So, welcome to the show, Jami. Jami: Thank you, Joanna. I've made it. This is my first time on The Creative Penn, so I can retire tomorrow. Jo: And we were saying before the show, I really thought you had been on the show before, because over the years we've connected a lot. We met over a decade ago, didn't we? At the Smarter Artist Summit. I was like, “I'm sure you've been on the show,” and you haven't. So, yes, welcome. Jami: Thank you. You've been on our show, though. We did an interview with you a few years ago. Jo: Yes. Well, anyway, for anyone who doesn't follow your show— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and publishing. Jami: Okay. So I am the co-host of the Wish I'd Known Then Podcast for Writers. Sara Rosett and I have been doing that podcast since January 2020. Little did we know what was coming, and it really saved me, just mentally, being able to talk to people every week. I never wrote a word of fiction until I was 47. I'd never really written anything. I have really bad grammar. I tell a lot of stories, and I would make up stories, but I'd never write them down because of the grammar thing. But my reading buddy had her birthday coming up in about three months, and I thought, “You know what? I'm going to write Jennifer a book for her birthday. She doesn't care if I have bad grammar.” I just thought it would be on brand. It was so hard. I wrote myself into a corner very fast. When I told her, she said, “Well, now you have to.” So I got Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies, I read that, and I started writing what is now Running from a Rock Star. But then my computer crashed and I lost it, and I was like, “Well, I'm not a writer.” So that was fine. Then I turned 50, and I told my family, “I think the only thing I regret is not finishing that book.” Of course they were like, “Well, you need to just do it again.” I was like, “No, I had 30,000 words.” A few weeks later my daughter came in and said, “Mom, I found this flash drive in my car. I think it has your book on it.” And it was 20,000 of the 30,000 words. So I was like, “Well, it's now or never.” So I joined Romance Writers of America and got involved in a critique group, and they absolutely kicked my butt for a good six months. I think every week they were surprised I came back, because it was so brutal. I knew I didn't know anything, and they taught me to write. Six months after I joined that first critique group, I won my first contest with the first 10 pages of that book. Then I just continued on. Three years later, I published Rock Star. I was going to publish it two years later, but I went to the Smarter Artist Summit, where I met you. I was advised by Julia Cant and Sean Platt and some other people to wait—preferably to have more books written. I had the second book written when the first one came out, but it still needed to be edited. So I waited a year, learned this business, and sold plasma to pay for my edits because I was poor. It was the best decision I ever made. Going to that conference, first of all, was the best $500 I've ever spent, and waiting that year really helped me learn this business. When I published the book, I had an email list of 1,200 people before the book ever came out. None of those things would have been set up had I published right after the Smarter Artist Summit, which is what I'd thought I would do, in the summer. So waiting gave me time to get everything set up so that when I published that book, it really took off from day one. I had 1,200 people on that newsletter list who wanted that book, because I had done a preview promo. Instead of putting out the whole book, I think I put out four chapters, and then people signed up. I don't know that that works anymore. Jo: I was going to say that. We should say to people, what was that, around 2016? Jami: 2017. Things have changed. Jo: Yes, things have changed, and I think this is so important. I had a question about this, and what they were implying was things that, like you said, we learned a decade ago. Things have changed. We'll come back to how you're doing it now, but just in terms of finishing off how you got started—those books did really well, didn't they? You had a couple of years there. How many books did you do? How did that go? Because you did have real success. Jami: Yes. From 2017 until really the beginning of 2021, if you look at my sales graph and my income, it just increased, increased, increased. 2019 was my very best year, but 2020 was only slightly lower as far as book sales and income. I only put out a book a year after the second book. The second book came out about six months after the first one, and after that it was about every nine months to a year that I put a book out. Everyone said you can't make money doing that, but I did. I think those books are very tropey. They're very hooky. That helped. I also think the timing of those books was really good. Rom-com was really coming up, and my rom-com is pretty wacky, but it's also really emotional too. If I get any critiques about them it's usually that “this book was way more emotional than I expected, and I was looking for something a little lighter.” They're just really wacky. They're rom-coms. Wacky circumstances. Small town, so there's all these small-town people. I just think it was a good time to release those. Those were good years. I miss those years. Jo: It's a good lesson, because it's not always up and to the right, is it? We're going to come back and revisit that. So then the pandemic hit, and on a more personal level, over the last few years, you've had a deeply difficult time that has led to The Summer That Changed Us, your latest book. So talk a bit about what's happened, why this book, and also why fictionalise it rather than write a memoir? I had that question. Jami: Okay. So 2021, my income was dropping, but it was still okay. I was still making more than enough that—thank God I don't have to make all the money in our household—but there was a level that I wanted to. At the end of 2021, my sister, who was the fourth of five sisters, had lived with cancer—non-smoker's lung cancer—for 10 years. She had the kind that, if you had a certain mutation, there were medications that worked amazingly well. Until they didn't, and then they put you on another class of that medication. So for 10 years, that's what she did. She missed work maybe three times in 10 years. People who met her never knew she had cancer unless they knew us. She just never acted like she had cancer. We would have to say, “Remember, you have cancer.” At the end of 2021, they ran out of that class of drugs. There were some being tested, but none had been approved. When she was diagnosed, she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. You don't survive very long having stage four lung cancer with no medication. So I saw the writing on the wall pretty much at the end of 2021, but of course I was very hopeful that they could do something. By May of 2022, it was clear things were not going well. In July of 2022, she got a six-to-twelve-week diagnosis. She just went in one day thinking she was about to get radiation, not knowing anything, and they were like, “No, we can't do radiation, and you should get your affairs in order because you have six to twelve weeks to live.” Jo: Oh. Jami: People who've been through it know this feeling. It's like being hit by a wrecking ball. It just knocks everything off your axis. Your whole world implodes into this one moment, this person that you love. I live four hours away from my family. They all still live in the same small town. I was in Dallas at my daughter's at the time, and they live about 30 miles outside of Dallas. So I went to my mom's, and I stayed there. I was there for almost six months, if you count the time I was back and forth, because she was not doing great but she was still okay. She had always rallied and come back. But once she got the diagnosis, I stayed. She would go home, but she would come back to my mom's during the day, because her husband worked. She was a teacher, so she was off during the summer. I was just there, and we all just took care of her. When she decided to go on hospice, she wanted to be at my mom's. She didn't want to be at home—they lived out in the country. She wanted to be at my mom's, so we set her up in the living room. We're redneck country people. We bring our crazy people in, our sick people, just out for everybody to see. She was just in the middle of the living room in her hospital bed, and the world just revolved around that hospital bed. Once that happened, once I knew at the end of 2021 that things were not going to go well—I really did not believe she would die. But she died a month after she went on hospice in October of 2022. That whole year, I was useless. I could not write. I couldn't think of anything to write. I write funny. How do you write funny when your heart's broken? I couldn't do it. After she died, I knew it would take a while. I knew it would maybe even be a year. But as the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years, I haven't written—except for her obituary—I've not written a word since she died until I started writing this book a year ago. I started it on April 19th. Jo: I mean, the stories of grief—there seems to be no way of escaping whatever it ends up being. You didn't choose your response. Your deep grief was just there, and you couldn't write. I feel like sometimes people just try and force it. It sounds like that's what you needed, and you have done that. So what then gave you the impetus to finally write—and to choose fiction? Jami: I didn't write memoir. I did think about doing a memoir, but I don't read memoir, and I don't know how to write it. I was already behind the eight ball, trying to write a book at all because it had been forever. I don't need to learn how to write something completely different. Plus, it just felt too close to write the memoir. I had been in Mexico City with my daughter, who has an event planning company, and we were there scouting locations for one of her events. Janet Margot lives in Mexico City, so I reached out, and we had dinner. We were talking, and she had had two big losses about the same time that my sister passed away. So we were talking about how difficult it is afterwards, just getting your head back into a space of being creative at all. She said, “You really should write this book. You should tell this story. It hits everything: middle-aged women dealing with middle-age things. You've got your parents that you were dealing with, and then your sister. You should write this story.” I said, “No, thank you. I lived it. I don't want to write it.” But it just wouldn't go away. I couldn't figure out how I would tell it. Whose point of view? I couldn't do it from the dying sister's point of view because I didn't think I could be authentic. I was afraid to tell it from multiple POVs because the book has a lot of characters in it. My family is gigantic—my immediate family, my sisters, husbands, nieces and nephews, my kids, my mom and dad—there are 35 of us. Almost all of those are in and out of my mom's house all the time. So I knew I couldn't do multiple point of view. One day, I was driving home to my mom's house, and it just hit me. The whole story laid out in front of me, and that's what I did. The first draft was pretty much just a retelling of what happened to us. I added some fictional elements, but I just wanted to get the story out. It was hard. I started Adderall on April 19th of 2025—I know that, because that's the day I started this book. I do call this the book that Adderall wrote, because I could sit and focus for three or four hours, which I'd never really been able to do. I would come to Starbucks and I would sit and write this book, and I would cry sitting in Starbucks, like a crazy person. People would walk by and slide a napkin onto the table and just keep walking, because I'm sitting there crying like crazy. I was so superstitious, and things were working so well, that I was afraid not to come and write at Starbucks. Staying at home, I think, would have been really hard. I would maybe have sunk into a depression had I done this at home. So I just wrote the whole book at Starbucks. After I wrote the first draft, I went back in and made it more fictional. But a lot of the book—especially her stuff—is a lot of what happened. She was just crazy. I tell a story in the book that, this is the absolute truth, this happened. She was in college, and she had convinced my younger sister to go to a honky-tonk club because they were having a Miss Honky-Tonk contest. Before she could get up on stage to compete as Miss Honky-Tonk, she got in a fight with some girl, and the girl hit her in the head with a bottle and split her head open. She was bleeding. My youngest sister was like, “We've got to go to the ER.” And she just refused, because there was a $300 cash prize for winning, and she needed it to make rent. So she borrowed a towel from the bartender, wrapped it around her head, competed with that bloody towel on her head, and won that stupid contest. That story in and of itself was my sister. Everything about her is in that story. So a lot of the stories in there happened to her in one way or another. What happens to June in the book happened to my sister. Jo: This is interesting, because the same thing memoir writers face is something perhaps you face: how much of the writing is therapy and how much is for the reader? You said you sat there crying. Absolutely, writing for therapy is very important—but when you come to edit, there might be things that your therapy side of you is like, “That's so important to me.” How do you kill your darlings when you're editing your sister's life? Jami: That was hard. I had to take out a lot of what was in the first draft, mostly the stories. Once she came home on hospice, it was just a steady stream of people coming in, and everybody had a story about her. What I found in editing was that Hope, the main character, was mostly a spectator in those scenes instead of being actively part of them. So I had to take those out, because they didn't serve the purpose of the book. I committed early on to: while I wanted to tell the story, I did not want it to be self-indulgent. I did not want it to be a therapy session that I sold to people as a story. Because of that, I think that really helped. I really did think about that as I was revising. I sent it to a developmental editor, and I don't know how great she was, but she gave me some really good advice about a couple of things. One was, “There's just not enough conflict in this book. You say that Hope and the father have this really contentious relationship, yet we don't see it. There's a little bit of it here and there, but you're not really digging into that.” It's hard, because while the rest of the world doesn't know, my family knows that this is a lot of our story. I just had to let that go and not worry about what my family thought. They had all given me permission. I'd sort of said, “I want to do this. Are you guys okay with that?” I talked to her husband, and everybody was okay with me doing it. But I couldn't worry about what they were going to think. I would repeat to myself: if they want to tell this story, they can write their own book. I'm writing what I saw and telling a fictionalised story that will hopefully honour her, but also help other people feel like they're being seen, and also be entertaining. If you're going to write a book, it needs to be somewhat entertaining. Jo: I don't think you can help yourself. You're funny. Jami: Yes. The book is really funny. I tell people that and they're like, “Hmm, really?” And I'm like, “It is really funny.” But it's also really sad. Jo: Well, I think that's the truth—to defend myself. There is a lot of humour in grief. There is death and dying, and it's a human condition. Jami: It is a human condition, yep. Jo: There's comedy in all of the human condition. That's just the way it is, right? I heard you mention on an interview, I can't remember where it was, that you feel very connected to this book, and you're worried that people judging it or giving it a bad review might feel like an insult to your sister. How are you dealing with these kinds of fears about how to separate ourselves from our books? Jami: I've been in therapy—like, literal therapy—for that, because I felt like that would be hard. So far, I've only gotten a few reviews back. They've all been good reviews. I haven't had anyone say they hate it. I just have had to separate myself. It's not personal. Reviews are never personal. People not liking your book is never personal. That's just a mindset. I've had to change my mind about that. Knowing that's a pitfall I could fall into, I really keep it top of mind. My family knows that's an issue, so they know they have to pull me out of that hole if I drop in. So that's really how I've handled it so far. We'll see. Jo: Maybe it's time as well. You're almost back to the “book is your baby” situation. As the years pass, the book almost becomes separate, doesn't it? How you feel about your first bride book is probably like, “It's not even me anymore.” Jami: Right. I learned early that your book isn't really your baby. Once you publish it, it's your product. So that has never been very hard for me. I still hate bad reviews, and I take them personally like everybody else does, if I let myself. But ultimately, this is a book that I'm putting out for entertainment. Yes, it's very personal. Yes, it means a lot to me. But if people don't like it, it isn't because they don't like my dead sister. They just don't like my writing. Jo: It's tough, but it's good to talk about, because this is something many people feel. My memoir Pilgrimage—it's not the same at all—but I was just so scared of judgment. The fear of judgment. What people would think of me. That's kind of different, but— It's this question of how it'll land. The reality is, not many people read these books anyway. Jami: Well, I have worried about how it would land, but mostly I worry about how it would land with the people I love. My mom read it last week. I was there while she was reading it. That was no fun. She laughed, but it was devastating to her. She's like, “It's great, and I hate it.” Because it is so raw and real to her still—well, to all of us. That's where I worry, how it's going to land with them. But again, I've had to let that go. I had to let it go during the writing, because if I worried about that, then I would not have told an honest story. That was another thing—I didn't want it to be self-indulgent, and I wanted it to be honest. As honest as I could make it, even to the point of making people uncomfortable. There's a line. Once you cross it, there's no getting you back after that. So I walked that line really carefully, because I did want it to be honest about how I felt, how other people I know who've been through something like this feel. Also, just relationships. Because when you're in a big family like my sisters and I—we adore each other, but we can also go toe-to-toe real fast. It can get ugly, because we know each other really well. We're also a little bit redneck, so we don't pull any punches. Your sisters are always the most honest people in your life. I wanted that to be true in this book too—both sides of that story. Jo: Let's circle back to the business stuff and some of the things we talked about, because obviously this has been a really difficult time. There was no way to deal with it in any other way, but your business has changed. You had these great few years, good sales, and then you had other priorities. So how are you rebooting the business? Lots of people end up taking a few years out for whatever reason. How are you rebooting the business to try and sell some books? Jami: To be honest, I have the remnants of a business. I have tried over the last four years to run some ads to get the Bride's books going, but here's something that's very interesting, and if somebody can tell me why this happened, I would love to hear it. These books that have sold so many books—I mean, so many books—I could not give them away. It didn't matter what I did. I changed covers, I changed blurbs, I put them on sale, I took them off sale, I ran ads. Ads wouldn't really move the needle. I know that at a certain point, when you haven't published and your books get pushed down in the algorithm, that is an uphill battle. But it was almost like, one day they just fell off, and once they started falling, I could not get them back. I just couldn't. So that I didn't make myself crazy—because also during this time, I was just trying to keep my head above water—when I would deal with my books or go into my dashboard, I would feel horrible. I was already feeling horrible, so I didn't need to feel more horrible. So I just sort of let them go after a certain point. I've now started running some Facebook ads. I have one Facebook ad that's working really well, knock on wood, right now for my first Bride's book. The problem is, this book and my Bride's books are different. The voice and the tone are the same, but they're really different in a lot of ways. They're the same in a lot of ways. This book doesn't have any sex; the other books don't have anybody dying. But some of the things are really similar. So I may have some crossover. For whatever reason, this ad is working. My book one is ranked better than it's been ranked in forever—really good. I'm not spending a ton of money to do it. So I don't know what changed. I don't know if I'll ever know. I've revised my newsletter, and that's worked well. I still have around a 35 to 40% open rate on a newsletter that I didn't send out for almost two years. I was sending it out, but then I kind of stopped, and then I started again. Jo: I was going to ask you about that, because I often get people emailing me. They're like, “I have a really old newsletter from several years ago. I haven't emailed them for years.” So what did you say in that first email? Like, “Hey, I'm back”? Jami: I mean, I'm just like, “Remember me?” It really was kind of like that. Just, “I'm back. You guys know life has happened. I'm sure you understand. If you're still here, thank you so much. I have been writing. I have this book that I think some of you will really love.” That's really how it was. From the first email, even that first email had a higher open rate. I think it was close to 45%. I had not sent out a newsletter in two years literally. Jo: People were like, “What happened?” Jami: They're like, “Oh, she didn't die. That was her sister, not her.” But I've just been really fortunate. They've been really encouraging. Every time I send one out, I get really encouraging emails back. So I've sent out about the book. The majority of my readers are KU readers because my books are in KU. But this book is going wide. One of the things I'm doing because I have been a little concerned about… Janet Margot does a lot of Amazon ads stuff and she knows a lot about Amazon. We've talked a lot about whether I should use my real name, my pen name, or come up with another name. Should I worry about my readers buying the book and messing up my Also Boughts? All of those things, because my readers are romance readers. Some of them read women's fiction, but for the most part, they're romance readers. I've decided to stick with Jami Albright and not worry about it. There are just things you can't control, so I've had to hold everything with a really open hand with this book. I am offering the book on my website. I'm selling it at $7.99—I chose a high price point, because I just feel like, to sit with the other books that I want it to sit with, I need that price point. So I'm offering it on my website, starting at the end of this week, for $5. If they're KU readers and they don't buy books, but they want the book, they can get it for $5 on my website, which I think is reasonable. Jo: Mm. Absolutely. Jami: If that's too much for them, I understand and I get it. Time, things are hard right now, and if they can't do that, it's going to be in libraries, so they can request it at their library. But right now that's the plan. Hopefully that helps with the Also Boughts a little bit too. Even though, again, I just can't worry about those things. As a gift to my readers, I want to do this for them as well—give them a discount. Jo: And obviously this is a standalone, right? This is not— Jami: Yes, it is. Jo: Again, a bit like memoir, all the book marketing we talk about in fiction is “write a series.” It's much easier. So it is difficult to market a standalone in general. And this is something that happened, so it is a standalone situation. So do you feel like you're back in terms of writing? Have you got plans for more books, or is this a business for you going forward? Do you feel like you want to re-enter this whole world? Jami: I do. I have an idea for a book similar to this one—not in the same kind of genre, I mean, of women's fiction, kind of midlife fiction stuff. I have an idea. I had nothing for months and months and months, and a couple of months ago, this idea kind of came to me. I was like, “Oh, that's not bad.” So I'm mulling it over—I do a lot of mulling—and that's the next book I think I will write. I don't know that I'll write rom-coms again. Not because I don't love them. I do, and I love my rom-coms. But I'm just different. You do not go through something like this and come out on the other side the same. I don't know that I could carry an entire rom-com through without it being even more emotional than mine are now. So for right now, I'm going to write another one of these kinds of books where it's got a lot of emotion, family dynamic, tension and dynamics. Jo: That's great. I do feel like once you've written the book that was waiting—your sister's book—then more things arrive, and it's great to hear that that is arriving for you. And of course, we change. One of the nice things about writing for the long term and building more of a name brand is that you change, and your readers either follow you or they don't, but it's your life. So I think that's a good reason to have one pen name. I obviously have two, but my fiction pen name I've written all kinds of genres under. Why else would we keep doing this? I don't want to write the same book over and over again. Jami: Right. Believe me, I've had to eat a lot of crow over the last four years, and it's tasty with ketchup. I have decided that a lot of the stuff I said is true: about you write in one genre, you give the people exactly what they want, and you give it to them over and over again. I believe all of that. I still believe those things. It's just that I don't know that I'm capable of doing that right now. Also, I'm older. I am about doing the things that bring me joy and are not a drudgery. I want to say this, because I miss the success. I miss who I thought I was during that time. I miss the recognition. I'll freely admit it. I miss being the person doing the thing that everybody said couldn't be done. “You can't make money with one book a year.” Well, watch me. And I did. I miss that. What I don't miss, and I've had to be really, really honest with myself, which has been difficult—I don't miss the anxiety that came with that. There was a lot of franticness. I think that if you are in a lot of groups, you see that franticness. I've had to step back, like I've had to step back, and then go back into these groups, you hear authors and see authors, and there's just this frantic sense that we're losing everything, and we have to hold on so tight to everything. I was like that. I checked my ads constantly. I checked my dashboard constantly. My mom used to say, “This should be fun.” I'm like, “Mom, it's a business. It's not fun.” But I recognise that I loved that so much that I held onto it so tight. I don't want to go back to that. I don't have the energy for that. Since this all happened, I've gained four more grandchildren than I had. I have six grandchildren now. I want to spend time with them. I want to spend time with my adult children. I want to spend time with my mom and dad. So I can't be frantic about my sales—are they going up, are they dropping?—and give emotionally to the people I love in my life. If the last four years have taught me anything, it is that the one thing you can never get back is time. You can never get it back, and that is so important to me right now. With this book—and one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you when we were talking about when I would do it—I wanted to do it before it came out, because I've already won. Writing this book, writing a book that honours the bravest person I've ever known and doing the second-hardest thing that I've ever had to do, is the win. That's the win. Whatever happens with this book afterwards is just what happens with this book afterwards. It doesn't change who I am, and you told me that when we were in Vegas two years ago. That conversation really changed a lot for me, because you said, “You are a successful author.” I was still trying to come up with a plan to be a successful author again, and you were like, “You are a successful author. You've had success. That makes you a successful author. You don't have to chase that.” That changed so much of my thinking. If I could leave listeners with anything, it is that we need to recognise the things we can't control and just deal with the things we can control. That's kind of how my sister lived. She could not control her cancer, but she could control how she responded to it and how she went forward. I think a lot of times, when bad things happen, we want to make sense of them. We want a reason for them. And a lot of times there's just no reason. There's no reason my sister died. There's no reason she left two kids and a husband devastated and a family that just has a giant hole in it. There's no reason for that. What defines us is not figuring out why that happened. It's what we do with that going forward. I think that's important for me to remember when I start getting caught up in all the franticness of this business. Jo: Yes. Or not, as the case may be. You can just let the book be what it is. And I do feel like these deeper books, they're more slow burn. You wrote books that ran, ran like the bride. Now we're not running like the bride. Jami: I'm tired. I don't run unless a wild animal's chasing me. Jo: Exactly. Look, we're out of time, but just tell people, if they haven't listened, a bit about your podcast, Wish I'd Known Then with Sara Rosett. Tell people what they can find over on that podcast and why you're still doing it. You've been doing it throughout the whole time. While not writing, you've still been podcasting. Jami: It absolutely saved my life. It's kept me in this business. While I haven't been publishing, I still know what's going on. I know about direct sales, I know about what's happening behind the scenes, with Facebook ads. I've kept in touch with those things because of our podcast. It's an interview podcast like yours, but we talk to people about what they wish they'd known about indie publishing. Most people have some certain thing that they've been working on or doing, and we talk to them a little bit about that too. We ask the same questions every week to every guest, and it's so interesting how different the answers are, and yet how similar they are. I think that helps when you're going through it and you're like, “God, I must be the only one feeling this way.” But you tune into a podcast, and you hear week after week, “Oh, no, there are other people feeling the same way I'm feeling, or struggling with the same things I'm struggling with.” Hopefully we give people things to shoot for and to aspire to. We have some amazing guests. They've all been really gracious and really honest. I don't know if it's the questions, or just because Sara and I are our style, but they're really honest with us when they answer the questions. Jo: It's a great show. I recommend it a lot. Jami: Thank you. Jo: Where can people find you and your books online? Jami: You can find me at JamiAlbright.com—that's J-A-M-I-Albright.com. I'm on all the socials as Jami Albright Author. My books are on Amazon right now, but this book is actually now on all the retailers. So that's where you can find me. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Jami. That was great. Jami: It was an honour. Thank you so much.The post Writing Through Grief And Rebooting an Indie Author Business With Jami Albright first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Hey Team! As many of you know, I have a passion for writing, and so I'm excited that today we are diving deep into that world and why it often feels like an uphill battle when you have an ADHD brain. I'm talking with Susanne Schotanus, an expert ADHD coach who holds the unique distinction of being the world's first dedicated ADHD writing coach, as well as the founder of the annual Basecamp to Brilliance writing summit. Susanne brings a wealth of clinical and practical insight from her years spent coaching everyone from burnt-out university professors to memoirists struggling to organize decades of research. In our conversation today, we discuss why standard linear approaches to writing clash so intensely with our multi-dimensional thinking styles. Susanne explains the mechanics of the "messy middle" in long-term projects, how our constant craving for novelty can derail a draft after just two weeks, and why we might want to reconsider our view of consistency. We also explore practical ways to gamify your workflow and create structural frameworks that adapt to your brain rather than forcing your brain to adapt to them. And while this episode's core focus is on writing, I think there is a lot to get out of this when considering any kind of long-term pursuit. Susanne's Website - https://passionatewritercoaching.com/ Free Guide - https://passionatewritercoaching.com/hackingyouradhd/  If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/299 YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD This Episode's Top Tips Waiting until you magically feel motivated to start a task is a losing game because our brains require action to generate momentum. To trick your brain into gear, lower the barrier to entry by making the first step absurdly small. Writing a single sentence or fixing a minor typo requires almost zero initial effort, but that tiny completion can give your brain the dopamine boost it needs to transition into work mode. Your note-taking and organizational systems are here to serve you, not the other way around. Using a brand new productivity tool for two glorious weeks and then completely losing interest isn't a personal failure; it's just the natural lifespan of a novelty-driven dopamine source. With this in mind, keep your architectures simple, make sure your data is easily exportable, and make it easy if you need to switch tools in the future. ADHD brains run on an system driven by interest, novelty, challenge, urgency, and passion. Most of us default to novelty (which leaves us with a mountain of half-finished projects) or panic-induced urgency (which runs us straight into burnout). To break the cycle and handle long-form projects, start intentionally leaning into the underutilized levers of challenge, gamification, and genuine playfulness.  

At a certain point your body will full on stop you after sending signals over and over. This episode is about burnout, hormonal health, pelvic pain, and what happens when your body finally stops negotiating with you. We talk about vaginismus, nervous system disregulation, chronic stress, and learning how to pursue pain free sex and healing without abandoning yourself in the process. Want to join my Divine Ease Pelvic Floor Retreat Oct 15-19? https://divineeaseretreat.com/miamiWe're accepting new remote clients who are looking to overcome vaginismus, pelvic pain, and pelvic floor dysfunction! Book a free clarity call with me through the link below.https://www.vaginarehabdoctor.com/heal-painful-sex-telehealth/Follow me on Instagram @vaginarehabdoctorFollow me on YouTube https://youtube.com/@vaginarehabdoctor?si=19BnPuV8ykIRTbUDFollow me on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vaginarehabdoctor?_r=1&_t=ZT-93XJyKkkU1HLeave a 5 star review if you are learning from and loving this podcast! Email us with any questions about working with us: support@vaginarehabdoctor.comProduced by Light On Creative Productions 

This week we welcome writer/director/producer Madison Young on the show to talk about her first feature By the Roots, which she wrote based on her memoir that she wrote in 2016. Madison talks about how she developed the story into a script and raised the money to make the film. After that I talk a bit about re-writing my script Ricky and the Ooze, enjoy! Don't forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we explore why teams sometimes struggle to execute without leadership involvement and why leaders may be too quick to blame execution itself. Often, the real challenge lies in unclear ownership, limited resources, competing priorities, or a lack of clear direction. We share a client example where repeated status checks and deadline pressure failed to solve the issue because responsibility had never been clearly defined. Along the way, we break down three essential delegation questions every leader should ask: What does success look like? When will it be completed? And will this person take ownership of the task through obstacles until it is finished? We also highlight how documenting expectations strengthens accountability, minimizes rework and repeated questions, and reduces the need for leaders to step in later. Episode Highlights & Time Stamps 0:07 Execution Starts Here 2:20 Name the Real Problem 3:20 Three Delegation Questions 4:40 Make Ownership Visible 5:57 Build Leaders, Not Dependents

Anybody know any great last-minute vow-writers?

On this episode of What Are You Good At (a THINK Business & Sales series)… Jeff Gunsberg and I sat down with Henry King, author of Autonomous: Why the Fittest Businesses Embrace AI for Strategies and Digital Labor, for one of the most eye-opening AI conversations we've had on the show. Henry has spent years inside Accenture, Salesforce, and the consulting world — giving him a rare lens on how fast business is changing and what leaders must prepare for next. We talked about: Why the last 3–6 months of AI adoption have moved faster than the last few years. Why most people are still using ChatGPT like Google, and what that's costing them. Why the companies that win will be the ones bold enough to rethink everything: org charts, workflows, roles, and the relationship between humans and machines. And Henry breaks down exactly why we're about to see AI as digital colleagues, not just productivity tools. Top 3 Takeaways 1. Generative AI is not the finish line, it's the warm-up. The real disruption is agentic AI that performs work, makes decisions, and becomes part of the workforce. 2. The human advantage is shifting. We win with curiosity, imagination, empathy, and better questions, not effort or years of experience. 3. Leaders must design for movement, not stability. The dust isn't settling. The organizations that thrive will be the ones built for flexibility, experimentation, and constant reinvention. --- Henry King Innovation Strategist and Advisor | Co-author of best-selling books BOUNDLESS and AUTONOMOUS | ex-Salesforce, Deloitte Consulting, Accenture Leader in Innovation, Transformation and Technology. 30+ years experience helping companies meet their growth and transformation goals, both in the US and internationally, with expertise in i) Innovation Strategy and Management, ii) Digital Transformation, iii) Information Technology Leadership, Strategy, and Full Lifecycle Management iv)Thought Leadership, Writing and Teaching Co-author of the best selling book ""Boundless: A New Mindset for Unlimited Business Success"". Co-author of the upcoming book ""Autonomous: Why the Fittest Businesses Embrace AI-First Strategies and Digital Labor"". Specialties: Innovation Strategy, digital Transformation, Concept Development and Implementation, Customer Experience Optimization and Innovation, Capabilities Development, Organizing for Innovation, Innovation Management, Chief Information Officer, IT Strategy, Systems Development Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: @jdwoskin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.dwoskin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejondwoskinexperience Website: https://jondwoskin.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondwoskin Email: jon@jondwoskin.com Get Jon's Book: The Think Big Movement: Grow your business big. Very Big! Connect with Jeff Gunsberg:Website: https://title-connect.com Connect with Henry King:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-king-88ba109/ *E - explicit language may be used in this podcast.  

Political advisor Ed Coper on the cold-blooded machine that is feeding angry people angry content online to make them even angrier, and what we can do about it.Ed Coper is a political advisor and communications consultant who has worked for the Australian Labor Party, and for progressive lobby groups.Over the past few years, he has noticed what everyone else has - people on both sides of the divide becoming increasingly vocal and angry about their politics online.While there's no shortage of things to get outraged about in today's world, no matter where you lie on the political spectrum, Ed argues our rage is being monetised cold-bloodedly by social media platforms.This digital, online machine has planted us in what he calls the era of 'angertainment', where an entire outrage industry is harvesting our worst impulses with algorithms that deliberately trigger the caveman switch in our brains that keeps us alert for potential threats.But there is an antidote.Ed says we need to understand this machine in order to build guardrails that preserve democracy, heal divisions and protect future generations from the "angry clowns" who currently rule the attention economy.Angertainment is published in Simon and Schuster.This episode of Conversations explores politics, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, divisive society, social cohesion, left versus right, attention spans, war, Trump, Putin, Gaza, Israel, Ukraine, elections, World War 3, the future, chronically online, rage bait, internet trolls, keyboard warriors, content farming, bots, Russia, Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Get Up, populism, political ideology, transgender issues, attention economy, MAGA, the woke left, polarised society, family violence, violence against women, misogyny, entertainment industry, Hollywood, nihilism, conservatives, progressives.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Send me a DM here (it doesn't let me respond), OR email me: imagineabetterworld2020@gmail.comToday I'm so honored to have back on the show once again: Non-binary, queer and polyfragmented cult torture, mind control, and incest survivor, overcomer and whistleblower living with Dissociative Identity Disorder, award winning published - and passionate - writer and author - writing the books they needed as a struggling teen and couldn't find, content creator, artist and visionary, entrepreneur, educator, and the brightest and most colorful light in this dark world: Cheryl Rainfield. A little bit about Cheryl if you missed their last episode or need a recap, as well as what you can expect to hear about in today's episode: Born in Toronto and raised in what appeared to be an ordinary middle-class family, Cheryl endured horrors few can fathom: intergenerational organized cult torture involving ritual abuse, mind control, trafficking, incest, and calculated programming designed to shatter body, mind, and soul. From birth—likely even in utero—the cults (interconnected KKK, Nazi, satanic, and Christian factions stretching back generations) subjected them to extreme torture, sexual violence, and psychological warfare in everyday places like church basements, forests, warehouses, and private homes. Yet even as a child, Cheryl found cracks in the darkness. Writing and art became their first lifelines, silent workarounds that allowed truth to slip past threats and programming. In their early teens, parts of their system began sharing memories, starting with incest. A school story written by one part reached a believing teacher, prompting police and child protective services involvement—a fragile first step toward light. But safety was not immediate. Cult-involved parents deployed a sabotaging therapist, and torture intensified. But Cheryl's system refused silence. At 15, they chose their own therapist—an extraordinary cult torture survivor with DID—who instantly recognized the switching and offered profound validation. Cheryl lives with polyfragmented DID: thousands of fragments forming complex hubs, subgroups, and inner worlds, some self-created for protection, others deliberately crafted by the cult. Escape was not one dramatic moment but a marathon of courage—layer by layer, memory by memory, through inner cooperation, unraveling programming, and building co-consciousness. It took most of their life, but they reached safety, proving freedom is possible no matter how long the road.Through it all, writing and art served as a sanctuary and superpower. Cheryl began pouring pain onto pages as soon as they could hold a pencil. In their late 20s and early 30s, they became the author they needed as a struggling teen—the one they couldn't find. Their award-winning books, including Scars (with Cheryl's own scarred arm on the cover), Stained, Hunted, and Visions, draw deeply from trauma and healing while delivering powerful literary fiction. Beyond the page, Cheryl's impact radiates through social media, articles, raw videos, podcasts, and art that illuminates cult torture, polyfragmented DID, mind control, and the path to wholeness.On Cheryl's last episode we did together, we explored their testimony in depth - I would highly encourage you to watch that episode before or after this one to be truly inspired by what Cheryl has lived through and overcome. On today's episode, we will be diving deeper into topics pertaining to Dissociative Identities - self and cult created, Dissociative Identity Disorder, cult abuse and torture, recovery, healing, creativity through art - and so much more. Cheryl is not only a survivor—they are a miracle in motion, a revolution of hope, and the brightest and most colorful light this world has ever seen. Their story is far from over. And because they chose to rise, countless others now know they can too. The future is brighter because Cheryl is here—and together, with hearts open and voices united, we are lighting up the world.Some Signs and Symptoms of Cult Torture and How To Help:-https://www.cherylrainfield.com/some-signs-and-symptoms-of-cult-torture-and-how-to-help/Articles on cult torture and programming:-https://www.cherylrainfield.com/articles-cult-abuse/Resources on cult torture and DID -https://www.cherylrainfield.com/links-healing/Books on cult torture/RAMCOA:-Becoming Yourself by Alison Miller-Healing The Unimaginable by Alison Miller-Demystifying Mind Control & Ritual Abuse -Safe Passage to Healing by Chrystine Oksana. It's out of print but you can still buy copies.Websites on cult torture: -Survivorship.org-ra-info.org -ritualabuse.us-endritualabuse.org-https://grassroots-ra-mc-collective.org/CONNECT WITH CHERYL:TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@cherylrainfieldIG: https://www.instagram.com/cherylrainfieldFB: https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.rainfield/YT: https://www.youtube.com/@Cheryl.Rainfield                                             Substack: https://substack.com/@cherylrainfieldSupport the show

 With host retail coach Wendy Batten   https://wendybatten.com/podcast-intro/   Episode Overview In this episode, I sit down with my friend Deanne Fitzpatrick of Deanne Fitzpatrick Rug Hooking Studio for an honest and raw conversation about AI, authenticity, and what it means to run a meaningful business. We talk about the parts of AI that feel helpful, the parts that feel icky, and why trust and real connection matter more than ever for small business owners. As business owners who have both embraced technology over the years, neither Deanne nor I are anti-AI. But we are cautious and curious about how it's changing what feels like pretty much everything. We share our thoughts on where AI has the ability to support small business owners. We also chat about where we draw the line with AI when it comes to content, creativity, and showing up for our audiences. This conversation is really about staying grounded in what makes our businesses valuable in the first place: real people, real relationships, and building a community through connection. Our Key Topics Authenticity and trust are becoming more important as AI-generated content grows What feels helpful versus "icky" when it comes to AI use in business Meaningful community building matters more than polished marketing How shop owners can use AI technology without losing their voice What happens when businesses prioritize efficiency over real connection Why in-person shopping and human experiences are becoming more valuable How creating your own work helps deepen creativity and personal growth   Key Takeaways For Shop Owners Around AI and Connection Real connection is becoming a competitive advantage. As more content becomes automated and polished, people are craving businesses that feel human, trustworthy, and personal. Showing up as yourself matters. Technology CAN support your business without replacing your voice. We talk about using AI for organization, editing, or idea generation while still keeping the creative and relational parts of the business deeply personal and human-led. Your community wants authentic connection, not perfection. Small imperfections, real conversations, and honest communication help build trust. Customers and communities are looking for businesses that feel genuine and grounded. Creativity and communication should still feel meaningful. Writing your own newsletter, recording your own podcast, or having real conversations may take more time, but those experiences also help you grow as a business owner and human. Simplicity still matters. In a world focused on speed and efficiency, there is real value in slowing down, creating intentionally, and building a business around connection, beauty, and joy. "I think when we show up as we are and we offer our ideas and our creativity and our energy as we are…it's a worthwhile offering." -Deanne Fitzpatrick I hope this conversation gives you space to reflect on how you use AI, how you want to show up in your business, and what kind of connection you want to create with your community. Resources Mentioned and Related Podcasts: Episode 167: Protecting Your Passion in Business with Deanne Fitzpatrick   Summer School Workshop Placeholder    Let's hang out in a private coaching session!   Follow along and chat with me on Instagram and join my love list.  Deanne, in Her Own Words  "I hook nearly every day. I cannot stop myself. I like the feel of wool slipping through my fingers. My goal is to live simply, and make hooked rugs that are unmistakably art. Rug hooking is full of possibilities. It has changed my life, and been a powerful force in changing the lives of the people I have met through it. I have learned that art, craft and handmade can totally change the way you view the world and how you feel about it. My style of rug hooking, with its meditative qualities, and its freedom from rules adds beauty to our world and is therapeutic on its own. It is joyful, powerful and transformative. It is not about being perfect, it is about creating beauty everyday. I have a retail studio in Amherst Nova Scotia where I work with an amazing group of talented people. We create classes, kits, patterns and supplies available online. I have written eight books about creativity and rug hooking, and exhibited widely in public and private galleries."   Visit Deanne in her studio or online at www.hookingrugs.com.   Check out her Instagram, including the story she shares about being duped by AI, here.    About your host, Wendy Batten In case we haven't met…I'm Wendy Batten. I've been a small business owner, coach, and mentor for over 25 years. I help thoughtful, established entrepreneurs step into their role as CEO and build businesses that are profitable, meaningful, and supportive of the lives they want to live. My work blends real-world strategy with a life-first philosophy, shaped by lived experience, not theory. I've been there! Through honest conversations and practical insight, I invite you into bigger thinking about leadership, possibility, and how to build both business and life on purpose. For more support from Wendy Hang out and connect with Wendy on IG All of Wendy's current programs and services for shop owners can be found HERE. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the Creative Shop Talk Podcast and get the tools, inspiration, and strategies you need to thrive as an independent retailer.Click here to subscribe to iTunes!  Loved the episode? Leave a quick review on iTunes- your reviews help other retailers find my podcast, and they're also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. So grateful for you! Thank you!

What happens when a dream refuses to let go?In this inspiring episode of Conversations with Rich Bennett, Rich sits down with award-winning author Sam Polakoff, a retired business executive who spent decades building a successful company while quietly holding onto a lifelong dream of becoming a novelist.That dream eventually became reality.Sam shares the fascinating story behind his first novel, Hiatus, inspired by recurring dreams about his grandfather, and discusses how curiosity led him to write Shaman, a thought-provoking thriller exploring reincarnation, Akashic Records, and spiritual healing. The conversation also dives deep into his acclaimed historical fiction series, The Diary of Essie Lassiter, set during the American Revolution.In this episode, you'll learn:• How Sam pursued a dream after nearly 40 years • The challenges and rewards of self-publishing • Why research is critical when writing historical fiction • How business principles can help authors succeed • The importance of staying curious and embracing lifelong learningLearn more about Sam and his books: sampolakoff.com If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow readers, writers, and dreamers.Send us Fan MailCelebrate the Magic of Words in Bel Air, Maryland!https://bookfairatbelair.org/WHFC 91.1 FMIt's all about community. WHFC 91.1 FM, Harford Community College Radio, is the college radio staDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showRate & Review on Apple Podcasts Follow the Conversations with Rich Bennett podcast on Social Media:Facebook – Conversations with Rich Bennett Facebook Group (Join the conversation) – Conversations with Rich Bennett podcast group | FacebookTwitter – Conversations with Rich Bennett Instagram – @conversationswithrichbennettTikTok – CWRB (@conversationsrichbennett) | TikTokSponsors, Affiliates, and ways we pay the bills:Hosted on BuzzsproutSquadCastSubscribe by Email

This week on The Write Place Podcast, I'm joined by actress, podcaster and author Sonya Walger.Many listeners will know Sonya from her roles in Lost, For All Mankind, FlashForward, The Catch and many more, but she is also the author of the acclaimed debut novel Lion and her latest book, Wifehouse.In our conversation, Sonya talks about the idea behind Wifehouse, a novel about a woman who leaves her family, and why she wanted to explore that story without judgement. We discuss marriage, motherhood, identity, multiple points of view, and the difficult creative challenge of writing a character readers may not approve of but can still understand. We also talk about Sonya's move from acting into fiction, how years of inhabiting other characters have shaped her as a novelist, and why she finds writing so liberating after a career spent waiting for permission to play a part.Along the way, Sonya shares her thoughts on rejection, creative fear, handwriting first drafts, journalling, writing on planes, and why reading is one of the most important ways we practise empathy.And of course, we cover the usual Write Place favourites, including the Book That Saved Your Life, where Sonya chooses The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James and Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates.A thoughtful, generous and wide-ranging conversation about writing, performance, creativity and the need to keep feeding the artist in you.LinksSonya's website: https://sonya-walger.com/ Sonya on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonyawalgerofficial/ Bookish with Sonya Walger: https://bookishwithsonyawalger.com/ Buy Wifehouse: https://www.waterstones.com/book/wifehouse/sonya-walger/9781786586384 My book, Real Writers Never Quit: https://mybook.to/realwritersneverquit Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrkelly2u/

Carmela Dutra is a writer from the Bay Area who loves food trucks, family, and cozy mysteries. Her debut, A Murder Most Fowl, has been praised by Kirkus Reviews for its “serious set of crimes leavened by plenty of amusing moments,” by Criminal Element for the “juicy reasoning behind the sabotage that was almost as shocking as the murder itself,” and described as “the perfect escapist read, brimming with banter and an extra helping of fun” by New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams. She has also been featured in CrimeReads Magazine.A lover of humor, quirky characters, and all things geeky, Carmela spends her days sketching, sipping far too much coffee, and over-cuddling her allergy-inducing cats and dog. She lives with her husband and two dinosaur-obsessed sons, drawing inspiration from rainy afternoons, bustling farmers' markets, and the unexpected moments that make life memorable. Carmela's Website: CarmelaDutra.comThe blog post about querying we spoke about: https://carmeladutra.com/blog/f/an-authors-guide-to-querying-getting-startedhttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2330108/carmela-dutra/Sign up for her newsletter: https://carmeladutra.com/newsletterhttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarmelahttps://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarmelaDutra/Support the showFollow Moms Who Create:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/momswhocreatepodcast/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/momswhocreatepodcastMonthly Meeting Book Club - https://www.facebook.com/groups/momswhocreatebookclubWebsite - https://www.momswhocreate.com/

A warm welcome to another Middle Earth sleep story, where you are the main character. This track incorporates soft, soothing music, detailed sound effects and a perfect sleepy atmosphere towards the end. You start your adventure journeying back to The Shire, where upon arrival you have a dinner scheduled with old Bilbo Baggins. As you venture home, however, you notice a storm brewing, and move as quickly as you can to find shelter in The House Under The Hill, where a warm fire waits for you, where fresh hot food will be brought straight to your lap, and where a magical sleep will envelop you. *With the rise of AI generated content, I feel it appropriate to reassure you that I am a human creator, with a deep love of storytelling, meditation and sleep. I work on my own to bring you as many varied tracks as possible, and I hope you continue to enjoy my creations!* If you would like to enjoy ad-free content, exclusive sleep stories, live readings and more, then you can join our wonderful Patreon community here: https://www.patreon.com/sleepycatmeditations Writing, Voiceover & Edits property of © Sleepy Cat Meditations (est. 2020). All rights reserved. Music by Liborio Conti & Enlightened Audio (All Licenses & Permission granted)

Quitting a stable job to write full-time sounds bold, until you hear what it actually takes. Author Carla Vergot, a former special education teacher and the voice behind the Lily Barlow series, joins us to talk about the moment a planned sabbatical became a life pivot, including her husband's cancer diagnosis, which arrived just as she left teaching. She shares how writing became both an escape and a survival tool, and why that pressure pushed her stories to be lighter, funnier, and more hopeful.We also get practical about building a sustainable author career: growing a Facebook reader group that feels like a community rather than a sales feed, booking bookstore signings, experimenting with TikTok, booking podcasts through PodMatch, and navigating publisher changes with Morgan James. If you care about the real writing life—doubt, momentum, and craft—this one's for you. Subscribe, share it with a writer friend, and leave a review.Send us Fan MailSupport the show

Everyone has a story to tell and our next guest is no exception. Stacy Ennis is a best-selling author, coach, and speaker on a mission to help leaders clarify their ideas and harness their unique story to make an impact. Stacy has written or ghostwritten 17 books, coached dozens of authors, and impacted thousands of people through her work. She has lived on four continents and has made Portugal her home where she lives with her young family and continues to her writing and work as a writing coach. She chats to Dylan about, amongst other things, how she chose Portugal, some of the challenges she's experienced and why she loves living here. FOLLOW OUR GUESTStacy on LinkedinStacy on InstagramStacy's websiteABOUT PORTUGAL THE SIMPLE LIFE PODCAST:   "Portugal - The simple life”, an insider's perspective to Portugal.  We already know about Portugal's fantastic weather, food and people. In this podcast, we go deeper to meet the people who make this country so wonderful.Dylan, who has made his life in Portugal, shares an insider's perspective on what makes Portugal the unique, beautiful and fantastic country it is. Join him and his guests weekly as they shed light on the incredible people, culture, history and lifestyle that make Portugal so appealing. A country where everyone feels like they belong.    Don't forget to subscribe to our Podcast to receive more stories about living and moving to Portugal!   SPONSOR:Portugal Realty, a Leisure Launch group company, sponsors this episode. 

What's the episode about?In this episode, hear Professor Sandra Ruiz on poetry, writing, form, Brown Study, Ricanness, anticoloniality, grief-work, walking and being with the dead, and minoritarian aestheticsWho is Sandra?Sandra Ruiz is the author of Ricanness: Enduring Time in Anticolonial Performance; Left Turns in Brown Study; and Tears for Tears: Aesthetics in Grief Minor. Ruizis the co-author with Hypatia Vourloumis of Formless Formation: Vignettes for the End of this World and The Alleys: Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition Was In andco-editor with Shane Vogel & Uri McMillan of the NYU Press book series Minoritarian Aesthetics. When not writing and editing, Ruiz curates and produces through the Minor Aesthetics Lab. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sandra Ruiz is the Sue Divan Professor of Performance Studies in the Department of Theatre.The special issue on gendered death in visual culture mentioned in the introduction is here.How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists?To cite this episode, you can use the following citation:Ruiz, S. (2026) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 June 2026. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.32529204What next?Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Got a question? Get in touch.

Every genre has a shadow canon — the writers who don't make the syllabus, don't sell out on Amazon, and rarely get the Netflix series. In science fiction, that shadow canon is where some of the most intellectually adventurous, politically serious and formally daring work of the twentieth century was done. Having opened the series with the big names — Wells, Verne, Poe, the Mount Rushmore of the genre — John and Ezri jump forward to the late 1960s and 1970s and turn to five authors most listeners won't know: Kate Wilhelm, Joanna Russ, John Sladek, John Brunner and Christopher Priest. Feminist SF, satirical SF, dystopian SF set in a Britain going to the dogs. The thread that connects them is "prescience", a word that keeps coming up. Were these writers really predicting the future – or just paying close enough attention to the present? In this episode: Why 1969 makes such a strange hinge point — Apollo 11 and the realisation of Goddard's cherry-tree dream, set against the assassinations of 1968, Vietnam, Prague, Altamont, and the first wave of environmental science Kingsley Amis, New Maps of Hell, and the New Wave: Moorcock's New Worlds, Ballard's "inner space", and SF's discovery that it could not avoid politics Kate Wilhelm — Hugo, Nebula and Locus winner for Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, a co-founder of the Clarion Writers' Workshop who is now better known as a mystery writer Joanna Russ — The Female Man, written in 1970 but unpublished until 1975, and How to Suppress Women's Writing; a Westinghouse Science Talent Search finalist who chose literature as her weapon John Sladek — the satirist whose robot in Tik-Tok has had its "asimov circuits" go on the blink, and whose hoax book on a thirteenth sign of the zodiac proved people will believe anything stated with enough confidence John Brunner — the "Club of Rome Quartet", the novel that coined "worm" for self-replicating code, and Stand on Zanzibar, set in 2010 and unsettlingly familiar by the time we got there Christopher Priest — Fugue for a Darkening Island and A Dream of Wessex, the racial framing Priest himself later grappled with, and The Prestige (with David Bowie as Tesla) The big question under all of it: what is the difference between prescience and prediction — and is it significant that "prescience" contains the word "science"? Links and resources: Website: techimaginarium.co.uk Instagram: @tech.imaginarium Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnHelmerConsulting Music by Nick Dwyer recording as Flintet. The Tech Imaginarium is a Learning Hack podcast, produced and hosted by John Helmer and written by John Helmer and Ezri Carlebach.

Olivia Rodrigo sat down with Joe and Jon for her first in-depth conversation about her new album, “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love,” out June 12. She discussed the many ways her creative process intersects with the extracurricular noise of pop superstardom, whether its managing relationship drama; being targeted for the way she dresses, accusations of pilfering songwriting gestures from Taylor Swift, her onetime idol, or her willingness to speak up about political and social causes in a way many of her peers won't. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk www.LearningLeader.com New Book -- The Price of Becoming www.LearningLeader.com/Becoming Austin Kleon is the NYT bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going. He's a writer who draws, a former librarian, and one of the most original thinkers on creativity working today. His new book is Don't Call It Art: 10 Ways to Create Like a Kid Again. This is brought to you by Insight Global. If you need to hire one person, hire a team of people, or transform your business through Talent or Technical Services, Insight Global's team of 30,000 people around the world has the hustle and grit to deliver. Key Learnings   Stay light. Bill Murray told ballplayers that if you stay light, loose, and relaxed, you can play at the highest level. Same with acting, writing, anything. Austin keeps a photo of Bill in his studio as a reminder. Play is the work. A lot of Austin's best work requires a sense of play. It's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Go to the analog desk first. Austin has a digital desk and an analog desk. Nothing electronic is allowed at the analog desk. He starts there with nothing and sees what comes. Most people never give themselves the time, space, and materials to make something of what's swirling inside them.  People want to watch someone who is activated. "People will pay every night to show up and see somebody believe in themselves." (Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth) The market for something to believe in is infinite. (Hugh MacLeod) The world is full of people just doing their thing. They're hungry to see someone on fire for something. The writer's job: take what everyone is thinking and put it into words. "You gave me the words" is the highest compliment a reader can give. Effortless is earned. People say the Friday newsletter looks easy. Austin's reply: Do it every Friday for 13 years, then call me. A place to put things makes you notice more. Thoreau took morning walks knowing he'd write later, so he paid closer attention. Carry a camera, and you start seeing shots everywhere. Live for the living, not for the writing. There's a tension between living your life and documenting it. Don't lose yourself to the feed. Your attention is the most valuable thing you have. Everyone wants to take it. The real challenge of modern life is making sure you're the one who decides where it goes. The best teachers are perpetual students. You realize what you know and don't know only when you try to teach it. Toggle between knowing and not knowing. The moment you think you know what you're doing, the work gets stale. You start running on routine instead of need. To be an amateur is to be a lover. The French root means "lover of." An amateur does it out of love, not material reward. Every great CEO should be put in a room with a four-year-old. They'd both learn something. Kids knock the pompous certainty right out of you. "I don't know. How do you think we should figure it out?" Austin's kids taught him it's less important to know everything than to know how to find out. The leader isn't the one who speaks while everyone listens. The leader listens, asks questions, stays curious, and wonders how everyone is doing. Look for who's having fun, not who's successful. Fun is underrated. Serious people have a serious time. Do it with lightness and it's contagious. "A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play." (Lawrence Pearsall Jacks) He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he's doing and leaves others to decide whether he's working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both. Ask "What does the universe want to show me today?" A useful fiction. Tell yourself the world is trying to send you messages and suddenly you see a hundred of them. Have the toy before you know what you'll do with it. Austin buys typewriters, then asks what to make. Get the bicycle first. In six months you'll know what kind you actually want. Steal an idea someone only did once and turn it into a whole thing. Austin saw a single typewriter interview, made it a series, and has done more than 20. Put the human hand in the work. Austin decided 20 years ago to make it obvious a human made his stuff. In the age of AI, it stands out more than ever. People want the imperfection. Writing is thinking. People think you gather your ideas then write them down. The act of writing is the act of figuring out what you actually think. That's the hard part. Differentiate yourself by reading a book outside your field. Swim a little further out than everyone else and you find new water. Focus on what you can control. A writer controls only what's between the covers. Did you do a good job? Were you clear? Were you helpful? The rest isn't up to you. Austin's champagne moment a year from now: his kids flourishing. The older he gets, the less the books mean and the more his family does. Reflection Questions Where is your analog desk? Do you have a space with no screens where you go to make something of what's swirling inside you? Are you activated? When people watch you work, do they see someone on fire for it, or someone just going through the motions? What's one idea from outside your field you could steal this week? Where could you swim a little further out and find new water? More Learning #676: Jesse Cole - Built for the Fans, Obsession & Excellence#687: Jim Collins - What to Make of a Life#241: Austin Kleon - How to Steal Like an Artist   Podcast Chapters   00:00 The Price of Becoming - Pre-Order Now!  01:33 Meet Austin Kleon  02:53 The Bill Murray Photo: Stay Light  05:42 The Analog Desk: Where the Real Work Starts  08:51 People Want to Watch Someone Activated  15:22 Why "It Looks Easy" Is the Whole Point  16:28 The Newsletter as a Forcing Function to Notice  20:46 Who Owns Your Attention?  24:39 How Austin's Kids Became His Teachers  29:06 Why the Best Creators Stay Amateurs  31:33 Curiosity Is the Real Leadership Skill  34:09 What Does the Universe Want to Show Me Today?  35:02 Look for Who's Having Fun, Not Who's Successful  38:30 Do You Love to Write, or Love to Have Written?  41:00 The Typewriter Interviews: Stealing an Idea Done Once  47:18 The Interplay of Analog and Digital  49:02 AI and Why the Human Hand Wins  51:23 The Champagne Question: Family Flourishing  55:47 Walk-Ins Welcome  58:06 EOPC

Subscribe to Greg Fitzsimmons: https://bit.ly/subGregFitz Greg Fitzsimmons and Mike Gibbons are back with another Sunday Papers. Mike finally finishes Stoner and has some thoughts, Greg gets emotional over a Jeff Buckley documentary, and the guys dive into mountain lion encounters, Tom Jones family lore, Trump's proposed dollar bill, alligators with permanent erections, a dog that somehow fired a shotgun, the upcoming UFC event at the White House, and much more. Plus: Boston stories, Disney Bucks, celebrity gossip, ethical dilemmas, Terry Fox, Stonewall, George Foreman memories, and a fresh batch of Onion headlines and listener-submitted funnies. Sponsor Links Quo Try Quo for free plus 20% off your first six months: https://quo.com/papers This show is produced by Gotham Production Studios and part of the Gotham Network. https://www.gothamproductionstudios.com/studios/ Follow Greg Fitzsimmons: Facebook: https://facebook.com/FitzdogRadio Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregfitzsimmons Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregfitzshow Official Website: http://gregfitzsimmons.com Tour Dates: https://bit.ly/GregFitzTour Merch: https://bit.ly/GregFitzMerch “Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons” Book: https://amzn.to/2Z2bB82 “Life on Stage” Comedy Special: https://bit.ly/GregFitzSpecial Listen to Greg Fitzsimmons: Fitzdog Radio: https://bit.ly/FitzdogRadio Sunday Papers: http://bit.ly/SundayPapersPod Childish: http://childishpod.com Watch more Greg Fitzsimmons: Latest Uploads: https://bit.ly/latestGregFitz Fitzdog Radio: https://bit.ly/radioGregFitz Sunday Papers: https://bit.ly/sundayGregFitz Stand Up Comedy: https://bit.ly/comedyGregFitz Popular Videos: https://bit.ly/popGregFitz About Greg Fitzsimmons: Mixing an incisive wit with scathing sarcasm, Greg Fitzsimmons is an accomplished stand-up, an Emmy Award winning writer, and a host on TV, radio and his own podcasts. Greg is host of the popular “FitzDog Radio” podcast (https://bit.ly/FitzdogRadio), as well as “Sunday Papers” with co-host Mike Gibbons (http://bit.ly/SundayPapersPod) and “Childish” with co-host Alison Rosen (http://childishpod.com). A regular with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel, Greg also frequents “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “Lights Out with David Spade,” and has made more than 50 visits to “The Howard Stern Show.” Howard gave Greg his own show on Sirius/XM which lasted more than 10 years. Greg's one-hour standup special, “Life On Stage,” was named a Top 10 Comedy Release by LA Weekly. The special premiered on Comedy Central and is now available on Amazon Prime, as a DVD, or a download (https://bit.ly/GregFitzSpecial). Greg's 2011 book, Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons (https://amzn.to/2Z2bB82), climbed the best-seller charts and garnered outstanding reviews from NPR and Vanity Fair. Greg appeared in the Netflix series “Santa Clarita Diet,” the Emmy-winning FX series “Louie,” spent five years as a panelist on VH1's “Best Week Ever,” was a reoccurring panelist on “Chelsea Lately,” and starred in two half-hour stand-up specials on Comedy Central. Greg wrote and appeared on the Judd Apatow HBO series “Crashing.” Writing credits include HBO's “Lucky Louie,” “Cedric the Entertainer Presents,” “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher,” “The Man Show” and many others. On his mantle beside the four Daytime Emmys he won as a writer and producer on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” sit “The Jury Award for Best Comedian” from The HBO Comedy Arts Festival and a Cable Ace Award for hosting the MTV game show "Idiot Savants." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy blue moon, everyone!   Yes, it is indeed the second full moon of the month which brings us a second May chapter of 3 Books.   This one features an author I've been hoping to have on our show for years.    Join me in welcoming the Booker Prize–winning novelist, deeply philosophical storyteller, and one of Canada's most distinctive literary voices ... Mr. Yann Martel!    Yann is best known for 'Life of Pi', the global phenomenon that won The Booker Prize in 2002, sold over 15 million copies worldwide, and was later adapted into an Academy Award–winning film.   Born in Salamanca, Spain in 1963, Yann spent his childhood in Spain, Portugal, Alaska, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada.    Yann's work is deeply shaped by a pulsing curiosity, philosophy, and research. He journeyed through India while developing 'Life of Pi', visited Holocaust memorial sites while writing 'Beatrice and Virgil', and even launched a "guerilla book club" called '101 Letters to a Prime Minister', where he mailed books to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper every two weeks for four years.    Yann's newest novel, 'Son of Nobody', is a (new!) ancient retelling of the Trojan War told through the modern lens of a Canadian researcher who discovers this poem while exploring themes of homesickness, regret, ambition, love, and grief.   Tune in as we discuss Yann's writing routines, the importance of stories, AI in the world of publishing, racism in Australia, art as a co-creation between writer and reader, the beauty of the prairies, and of course, Yann Martel's most formative books...    Let's flip the page to Chapter 161 now...

Host Jesse Jackson welcomes Los Angeles–based musician and music teacher Jake Cassman, who shares his path from growing up in Berkeley on classic rock and '90s alternative to discovering Bruce Springsteen later through a 2008 Obama rally performance, long bus rides through New Jersey, and years playing dueling pianos. Jake discusses teaching recording and songwriting at The Geffen Academy, the realities of freelancing (busking, weddings, improv), and how COVID ended live work and pushed him into a USC master's program that led to greater stability and new opportunities, including producing for the podcast Switched on Pop. He explains why he shifted from the Drunken Logic moniker to releasing music under his own name, introduces his album Idling High, performs “We All Look the Same,” and talks songwriting, storytelling, and favorite Springsteen albums, ending with the classic Thunder Road question. https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/PAN6239596108.mp3 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 02:00 Teaching Music in LA 03:00 TeachRock and Music Education 04:27 Writing and Community Programs 05:35 Growing Up With Rock 07:32 Finding Bruce Springsteen 09:14 Early Music Obsession 10:31 Dueling Pianos Stories 12:31 Requests and Deep Cuts 15:10 Freelance Music Career 17:38 Rebranding as Jake Kassman 19:17 Pandemic Shock and Pivot 22:41 Freelancing and Saying Yes 25:52 Better Paying Gigs 26:32 Idling High Origins 28:15 We All Look the Same 33:33 Storytelling Gets Universal 36:19 Bruce Road Trip Deep Dive 39:28 Next Creative Steps 40:40 Pop Podcast Tangent 44:00 Thunder Road Debate 47:53 Where To Find Jake 49:34 Final Wrap And Thanks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailThe name of this podcast is Cops and Writers. My guest on the show today, J Todd Scott, definitely fits that bill. The conclusion of this interview will air next Sunday!Todd spent 30 years as a special agent for the DEA, being assigned to multiple locations across the United States and the world. During his time as a special agent, he took part in investigations leading to tons of seized illegal drugs and millions of dollars in illegal drug proceeds. He was a part of the first group of agents to be assigned to Haiti for a long-term mission, where he escaped certain death multiple times by the skin of his teeth. Todd has always had a passion for stories and writing, and pursued this when he retired from federal service. He's authored six critically acclaimed crime and thriller novels. He's also a film/TV producer and screenwriter. His work includes the Lawmen: Bass Reeves series, and he is a producer and writer for the spinoff to the massively popular Yellowstone series, Dutton Ranch.I loved talking with Todd. He has lived and is living a life that books and movies are made of; now he's telling the stories.  In today's episode, we discuss:·      Growing up in rural Kentucky. ·      Having no relatives or friends in law enforcement, and joining the DEA.·      Why did he choose the DEA?·      Thinking his career with the DEA would be like the Miami Vice television series.·      His first day on the job as a special agent assigned to the Los Angeles field office.·      The multiple work locations where he worked as a DEA agent.  ·      Training local law enforcement and running active investigations in Haiti.·      Dealing with corruption within the Hattian Police Department.·      Being caught in a street mob in Haiti and barely making it out alive.·      What is the biggest threat to the United States? What is the role of illegal drugs? All of this and more on today's episode of the Cops and Writers podcast.Head on over to Todd's website to learn more about him and his work.Check out my newest book! Police Stories: The Rookie Years - True Crime, Chaos & Life as a Big City Cop!Head on over to my website! What's the craziest thing you saw when you were a cop?My first week on the job, a guy running at me with a butcher knife. He'd just killed his brother over the last hot dog.That's chapter 1. There are 33 more.Police Stories: The Rookie Years just launched - available on Amazon. Search 'Police Stories Patrick O'Donnell' or click thSupport the show

Send us Fan MailAuthor and educator Lori Carlson-Hijuelos stops by to talk about her new memoir, A Writing Marriage, the impacts of grief on her life and writing, and how she is focusing on a new period of "reconstruction" in this special episode of Writing and Editing.▬Learn more about Lori's journey here:https://lorimariecarlson.com/bio.htmlGrab your copy of A Writing Marriage:https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Writing-Marriage https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Marriage

Welcome to Episode 303 of the Spun Today Podcast—your home for honest conversations about writing, creativity, and the journeys that shape us. I'm your host, Tony Ortiz, and today we're releasing a truly special episode to honor World MS Day. In this heartfelt conversation, I sit down with my wife, Zoila Ortiz, to share her powerful story of living with multiple sclerosis. We dive deep into her first symptoms, the uncertainty of diagnosis, and the emotional and physical challenges that come with MS. Zoila walks us through her search for information, the importance—and dangers—of online self-diagnosis, and the strength found in community. Through candid discussion, Zoila offers an inside look at adapting to adversity, the rollercoaster of medications (Glatiramer by injection (Copaxone) and Fingolimod (Gilenya) to the current day infusion Rituximab which is a monoclonal antibody). We touched on clinical trials, and the vital role of support systems. She talks openly about how MS can impact confidence, independence, and daily routines—but also about how determination and a strong mindset can turn even the most daunting obstacles into new paths forward. We dig into the importance of raising awareness, supporting one another, and using our platforms to connect and inspire. Tune in for a conversation about resilience, empathy, and the healing power of storytelling—and learn how you, too, can advocate for others and yourself.   The Spun Today Podcast is a Podcast that is anchored in Writing, but unlimited in scope.  Give it a whirl.      Twitter: https://twitter.com/spuntoday  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spuntoday/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spuntoday   Website: http://www.spuntoday.com/home  Newsletter: http://www.spuntoday.com/subscribe    Links referenced in this episode:      Follow Zoila: @melodyrosa2083   What is Multiple Sclerosis video from ASAP Science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Naecv3h868c   To donate for MS research or partake in activities like Bike MS, Walk MS, or just to learn more, check out the National MS Society: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/     Jpmetz YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@jpmetz     Get your Podcast Started Today! https://signup.libsyn.com/?promo_code=SPUN (Use Promo code SPUN and get up to 2-months of free service!)   Check out all the Spun Today Merch, and other ways to help support this show! https://www.spuntoday.com/support     Check out my Books Make Way for You – Tips for getting out of your own way ÁBRЕТЕ CAMINO: CONSEJOS PARA DEJAR DE SER TU PROPIO OBSTÁCULO (Spanish Edition) FRACTAL – A Time Travel Tale Melted Cold – A Collection of Short Stories   http://www.spuntoday.com/books/ (e-Book, Paperback and Hardcover are now available)   Fill out my Spun Today Questionnaire if you're passionate about your craft.  I'll share your insight and motivation on the Podcast: http://www.spuntoday.com/questionnaire/     Shop on Amazon using this link, to support the Podcast: https://amzn.to/4km592l      Shop on iTunes using this link, to support the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTop?genreId=38&id=27820&popId=42&uo=10   Shop at the Spun Today store for Mugs, Notebooks, T-Shirts and more: https://spuntoday-shop.fourthwall.com/   Music: https://www.purple-planet.com   Outro Background Music: https://www.bensound.com   Spun Today Logo by: https://www.naveendhanalak.com/   Sound effects are credited to: http://www.freesfx.co.uk   Listen on: ApplePodcasts | Spotify | Pocket Casts | YouTube | Website