Creative, Inspired, ALIVE

My guest today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY is Olivia Wolfgang-Smith, whose latest novel, Mutual Interest , has been described as a witty and joyful, queer Edith Wharton in gilded age New York. Today, we talk about: * the most important benefit of having writer friends or critique partners * finding the belief in yourself that you can write a full-length novel * the difference between publishing a...

Word-of-mouth, including through book clubs, is such an important way for readers to discover books, so I am very excited that my guest today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY is Mackenzie Newcomb, founder of the Bad B***h Book Club, which has 32,000 members. Today, we talk about: * what makes a great book club book? Aka what kind of books are more likely to be chosen for a book club? * readers' surpri...

My guest today is Kate Fagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of four non-fiction books and a brand new novel. She is also an Emmy Award-winning journalist who has worked at Sports Illustrated , ESPN, and more. Today, we talk about: * building a varied career with different kinds of writing, * making a name for herself in the traditionally male-dominated field of sports journalism, * her shif...

Hello, Protagonists! My guest today is Heather Demetrios, a critically acclaimed novelist and writing coach who specializes in guiding writers in finding their voice, bringing their ideas to their full written potential, mindfulness, mental health in creative practices, and more. Today, we talk about: * the differences between a writing coach and a freelance editor * mental health practices that s...

My guest today is Suzanne Young, New York Times author of over 20 novels , including The Program series. She's also written a novel with a rock star. But the dream I alluded to is that last year, Suzanne packed her bags, sold her house, and moved to Italy, where she now spends her days writing under the Italian sun and hosting writing retreats in gorgeous villas from Tuscany to Venice . Today, we...

Hello, Protagonists! My guest today is J.C. Cervantes, New York Times Bestselling author . Her books for children, young adults, and adults have been published in more than twelve countries and have appeared on national lists, including the American Booksellers Association New Voices, Barnes and Noble’s Best Young Reader Books, as well as Amazon’s, Apple’s, and Audible’s Best Books of the Month. T...

The podcast is on a short break for Thanksgiving, so today I have a piece I wrote that was originally published on Beyond with Jane Ratcliffe . We have a lot of new community members here at CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY, so I wanted to share a part of me that you might not know. Thank you for being here. 💛 ~evelyn This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...

My guest today is Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author and an icon in the historical fiction space. Today we talk about: * writing what you're drawn to and if/when marketability goes into that decision * The Hero's Journey vs The Heroine's Journey for character development and plotting * how to draw the line between fact and fiction when writing about real life people or historical events...

My guest today is Taran Matharu, New York Times bestselling author with over 3 million copies sold . Taran is also co-founder of a small publishing house , Portal Books. Today, we talk about: * how Taran got his start on Wattpad during NaNoWriMo, and then landed multiple book deals with traditional publishers, * advice for anyone participating in a novel writing challenge this month, * why he deci...

My guest today is Brian Weisfeld, co-author of four middle grade books—both fiction and non-fiction—as well as the founder of The Startup Squad Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to teaching kids about entrepreneurship. Today we talk about: * how a personal mission can drive your writing career * the differences in writing fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels * what Brian has learned through som...

My guest today is Cait Jacobs , who is My guest today is Cait Jacobs, who is THE Original Booktooker--yes, Cait literally created that massive TikTok phenomenon that has completely changed the publishing industry . Cait is also the author of a novel slated for next year, called Medievally Blonde . In this episode, we talk about: * what led Cait to post their first video on TikTok, and whether they...

My guest today is Maureen Lee Lenker, who is a Senior Writer at Entertainment Weekly and also the author of two novels, It Happened One Fight. She also has a podcast, Hollywood-ography. Today we take look at creativity on both sides, writing about books while writing books, and how she taps into her creative energy without burning out on either end. We also talk about: * what it's like to work at...

My guests today are Sara Raasch and Beth Revis , both New York Times bestselling authors and co-authors of the YA fantasy duology, Night of the Witch and The Fate of Magic . Today we talk about: * the process of writing a book together , from ideation to revision * diversifying your writing career, including publishing traditionally and through self-publishing at the same time * tips for what work...

My guest today is J. Courtney Sullivan , a New York Times bestselling author whose books have not only been Reese Witherspoon book picks twice , but have also been optioned by Reese's production company . Today we talk about: * how to know when an idea is "right" * doing research, and writing stories in layers * ignoring genre categories and instead, writing whatever you want * the most important...

My guest today is Alison Espach, author of The Wedding People , which was a Read with Jenna /Today Show book club pick. Alison is also a creative writing professor, and today we talk about: * making the decision to turn writing from hobby to career? * coming up with ideas and knowing when it's the right time to write it, or when to leave it be for a while * where Alison was when she found out that...

My guest today is Danielle Walker, New York Times bestselling cookbook author who shot to fame with her first book, Against All Grain. Danielle was a Forbes 30 under 30, and has appeared many times on The Today Show . She is also an advocate for those with autoimmune diseases like hers. She's written many cookbooks, and her latest is Make it Easy . Today we talk about: * building community as a wr...

My guest today is TJ Klune. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The House in the Cerulean Sea and its upcoming sequel, Somewhere Beyond the Sea . He is also a Lambda Literary Award winner and a queer advocate, who believes fiercely in writing the stories for his community that he didn't have growing up. Today we talk about: * what makes a breakout hit novel? * why he prefers writing sta...

My guest today is Sabaa Tahir, National Book Award winner, Printz Award winner , and New York Times Bestselling author . Today we talk about: * writing the stories unique to you * maintaining self-esteem and confidence as a writer * how the National Book Award and Printz Award have changed her career , and so much more ✍🏼 And don’t forget about our $1,000 Scholarships for Aspiring Writers (more i...

My guest today is Caroline Chambers , queen of a culinary media empire with her Substack What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking as the crown jewel with nearly 200k subscribers, as well as a popular podcast “So Into That” and an active social media presence ( her Instagram rivals her Substack, with well over 200k followers, so I stopped counting, haha.) Today we talk about: * building an aut...

My guest today is Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, and The Perfumist of Paris . The Henna Artist was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick and is currently in development at Netflix as a series. Today we talk about: * beginning a writing career later in life * what it's like to work with Reese Witherspoon and her book club team * Alka's i...

My guest today is the artist Sally Fama Cochrane, a classically trained painter whose gorgeous work was the inspiration for the paintings in my new novel, One Year Ago in Spain . In this episode, we delve deeper into how creative careers are the same yet different in the worlds of writing and fine art. We talk about: 🟨 our processes for making a book or painting from idea to finish, 🟨 balancing...

My guest today is Julie Soto , whose first novel, Forget Me Not , was a bona fide TikTok sensation last summer and became a USA Today Bestseller . Her latest novel, Not Another Love Song , just hit bookshelves everywhere. Today we talk about - Julie’s origins as a playwright, - how to take fan fiction (or work on places like Wattpad) and re-publish it as a book - the demands of social media on art...

My guest today is romantasy author Scarlett St. Clair, who has sold millions of copies of her books worldwide and is a #1 New York Times and international bestseller. We first met in France at le Festival du Livre de Paris (aka Paris Book Festival), where I got to witness firsthand the magnitude of her international fame. Today we talk about: * How she rose from a flop to become a global superstar...

My guest today is Jeannine Ouellette, author of the award-winning memoir The Part That Burns and founder of the incredibly popular Writing in the Dark , an online writing community that offers online creative writing intensives as well as literary salons. Today we talk about: * separating art from commerce * how paying attention to everyday life helps make creativity more easily accessible * build...

My guest today is Beth Spencer, a picture book author-illustrator, photographer, and founder of the staggeringly popular Introvert Drawing Club , an online community of 7,000 members she leads in ultra-relaxed drawing sessions. Today we talk about how Beth succeeded in building a bestselling Substack platform even though she didn’t know what she was doing when she started, how to find fulfillment...