Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

In part 2 of my interview with Chelsey Goodan, author of Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls, we really break down the inner parts of writing, including how to be OK with the fact that people may misunderstand you. (If this sounds familiar, it’s because this week’s episodes are replays–I figured, since it’s back to school season re-airing an interview with an author who extols th...

This week I’m talking with Chelsey Goodan, keynote speaker, screenwriter, and author of Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls. As the mom of a 16-year-old girl, I just didn’t even think twice about inviting Chelsey on to Finding the Throughline. I literally read the title of her book and was like YES. This week’s episodes are replays–I’m airing them again now because my kids are ba...

By the end of this final installment of my interview with Kimothy Joy, author of “Extraordinary Wing Women: True Stories of Life-Altering, World-Changing Sisterhood,” “Focus Pocus: A 90-Day Guided Journal,” and “That's What She Said: Wise Words from Influential Women,” my cheeks were hurting from smiling. So many exciting ideas in here! We talked about: - Why Kimothy is absorbing everything she ca...

In this second part of my interview with Kimothy Joy, author of “Extraordinary Wing Women: True Stories of Life-Altering, World-Changing Sisterhood,” “Focus Pocus: A 90-Day Guided Journal,” and “That's What She Said: Wise Words from Influential Women,” I asked about the mindset side of writing and how Kimothy’s thoughts and beliefs impact her work and her life. (By the way, if you are ever needing...

This week I am talking with Kimothy Joy, the author of “Extraordinary Wing Women: True Stories of Life-Altering, World-Changing Sisterhood,” “Focus Pocus: A 90-Day Guided Journal,” and “That's What She Said: Wise Words from Influential Women.” A Denver-based artist and author who combines watercolor and hand lettering to create artwork that uplifts and inspires women worldwide, Kimothy has collabo...

In this final installment of my talk with Lisa See–bestselling author of so! many! beloved books, including “Lady Tan's Circle of Women” and “The Island of Sea Women’’--we find out what Lisa is currently working on bringing into existence and what she knows at this moment about where her personal through line is leading her next. Plus my final fast five questions. - How being at the Aspen Music Fe...

In the second part of my conversation with hugely successful and popular (and oh my God, did this really happen??) Lisa See, author of Lady Tan's Circle of Women, The Island of Sea Women, and more, we talked about the interior side of writing–things like dealing with your inner critic and dealing with the parts you would really rather not do, thank you very much, including: - The fascinating tidbi...

I'm talking with Lisa See, the New York Times bestselling author of so many beloved books, including Lady Tan's Circle of Women, The Island of Sea Women, Snow Flower and the Secret Ban, Shanghai Girls, and Dreams of Joy. Lisa's books often center the experience of women across time and cultures, particularly stories that have been lost, forgotten, or deliberately covered up. Lisa talked with me wh...

(Note, this episode is a replay that originally aired in February.) In this final installment of my talk with author and essayist Minda Honey, we cover: * The insights–on double consciousness, omniscience, and overlapping timelines–she got at a recent conference * How Andre 3000’s new flute album is cracking open possibilities in her mind * The concept of a braided essay, and how it’s like making...

In part 2 of my interview with essayist and author of the memoir "The Heartbreak Years," Minda Honey, we really break down the inner parts of writing, including how to stay focused on the impact your work is having when all some people want to do is complain. (Note, this episode is a replay that originally aired in February.) Other things we cover: * How an earlier school of personal essays border...

Minda Honey is the author of "The Heartbreak Years," a hilarious and intimate memoir of a Black woman finding who she is and who she wants to be, one bad date at a time. Minda's essays on politics and relationships have appeared in all kinds of amazing places, including Harper's Bazaar, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Teen Vogue, and Longreads. She is also the e...

In this final installment of my conversation with author and bookstore co-owner Lucas Mann, we talk about the books, writers, TV shows, music, and even dinners that are getting his wheels turning, including: The book he recently read with his book club that got him excited about writing in new ways and that he couldn’t stop talking about Why a long walk or bike ride can solve most problems The two...

This week I’m talking with Lucas Mann, author of multiple non-fiction books, including his latest, Attachments: Essays on Fatherhood and Other Performances, Captive Audience: On Love and Reality Television, Lord Fear: a Memoir, and Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere. In addition to writing books, Lucas has written essays that have appeared in a long list of top tier publications, includ...

In this third installment of my interview with poet and slam champion Justice Ameer, we talked about: The book that has opened a new vein of creativity for Justice Working to create more time for restoration, fellowship and connection to nature Writing about the trans feminine experience by using a zombie motif The anime series xe has been watching for 10 years, the beverage that fuels xyr’s writi...

In this second part of my interview with poet and slam champion, Justice Ameer, We talk about the mindset side of writing, including: The factoid about moths that inspired a recent poem Building up the revision muscle How not to get bored with your primary theme or subject matter Dealing with the admin side of writing as someone with ADHD When your inner critic tells you “this is boring “ Dealing...

This week I am talking with Justice Ameer, whom. Boston public radio station WBUR called “one of the most recognized trans poets of color on the local and national poetry scene.” Justice is a Feminine Empowerment Movement Slam Champion, and two -time Providence Grand Slam Champion,l. Justice describes xyr work as a practice in becoming unapologetic and unafraid, and has been published in Glass Poe...

In this final installment of my interview with Octavia Randolph, author of the hugely popular Circle of Ceridwen saga, a meticulously researched series of 11 books set in 9th century England and scandinavia, we get a sneak peek in her 12th book in the saga,and what she knows at this moment about where her personal throughline is leading her next. She shared: - The absolutely incredible sounding re...

This is the second part of my interview with Octavia Randolph, author of the hugely popular Circle of Ceridwen saga, a meticulously researched series of 11 books set in 9th century England and scandinavia. Octavia joined me from her home on Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden that played a prominent role in Viking history and in several of her books. Today we covered the t...

This week I’m talking with Octavia Randoplh, a prolific and wildly successful author of historical novels and essays. She’s best known for her Circle of Ceridwen saga, a meticulously researched series of 11–soon to be 12–books set in 9th century England and scandinavia. Octavia now makes her home on Gotland, a small island off the coast of Sweden in the Baltic Sea where some of her novels are set...

In this final part of my interview with Hayley Krischer, journalist and author of the just-released “Where Are You, Echo Blue?”--the juiciest beach read of the year about a missing Hollywood starlet on the cusp of Y2K and the obsessed journalist determined to find here--we peek at what’s coming around the bend for her and I get her answers to my fast five questions. ** This week's episodes are a r...

In this episode I'm talking with Hayley Krischer--author of the upcoming “Where Are You, Echo Blue?”, which dropped yesterday, July 16th, and is poised to be the beach read of the summer--about the squishier side of creativity, including: ** This week's episodes are a replay. ** - The steps Hayley takes–and the tools she uses–to immerse herself in the world of her novels and inside her characters’...

This week I am talking with journalist and novelist Hayley Krischer whose brand new novel drops this week, "Where Are You, Echo Blue?," which is about a journalist's obsessive search for Hollywood's hottest starlet who goes missing on the eve of Y2K. Hayley has profiled celebrities like Tatum O'Neill, Celine Dion, and Gabrielle Union for places like The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine,...

Welcome back to the Finding the Throughline interview with Mark Cecil, author of BUNYAN AND HENRY, OR, THE BEAUTIFUL DESTINY, a re-telling of the folk tales of Paul Bunyan and John Henry that Publisher’s Weekly called “a fun romp with substance.” Mark is also the host of the Thoughtful Bro podcast where he interviews authors in what he calls “Like Inside the Actor’s Studio, but for storytellers.”...

In this second part of my interview with Mark Cecil, author of BUNYAN AND HENRY, OR, THE BEAUTIFUL DESTINY we cover the squishier side of writing–the thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs that influence the work, including: Why he considers getting feedback to be like open heart surgery–absolutely vital, yet painful–and ultimately, a time-saver And, ironically, how devastated he gets by a bad review Ho...

This week I’m talking with author and journalist Mark Cecil. Mark’s debut novel BUNYAN AND HENRY, OR, THE BEAUTIFUL DESTINY, a retelling of the folk tales of Paul Bunyan and John Henry, has just come out. (The book was named one of the most anticipated books of 2024 from Goodreads, while Publishers Weekly called it “boisterous and a fun romp with plenty of substance.”) Mark’s articles have been pu...