Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

Since this week is both the podcast’s half-birthday and the Fourth of July week--which means you’re more likely to be at a BBQ or the beach and not listening to podcasts--I thought I’d switch things up this week and do one episode where I do a little review of what I've learned and what has stuck with me after the 24 conversations with writers I’ve had thus far. Thank you for listening! And be sur...

In this final installment of interview with “Daughters of Nantucket” author Julie Gerstenblatt, we get a peek at her next novel and the very clever, and fun-sounding, way she’s dealing with the nerves that are cropping up as she writes about something she has very little firsthand experience with. We talked about: All the places she’s researching maritime history as she works on her next book, whi...

In this second part of my interview with Julie Gerstenblat, author of “The Daughters of Nantucket,” I talk with Julie about the mindset side of writing. We talked about: How she’s convinced herself that her daily word count goal is much easier than it actually is (this is a cool Jedi mind trick) and the pep talks she gives herself The part of writing her next book that is really freaking her out–a...

This week I am talking with Julie Gerstenblatt, whose debut novel, “Daughters of Nantucket,” came out last year and was included in several most anticipated lists for 2023. Prior to writing novels, Julie was a middle school English teacher and earned her PhD so that she could teach at the college level, but she ended up leaving teaching because she wanted to be a novelist. (Her story of how she ad...

In this final installment of my conversation with award-winning book coach (who has helped dozens and dozens and dozens of experts get five- and six-figure book deals) and author of the brand-new book “Breathe. Write. Breathe.” Lisa Tener, we get a look at what’s coming up for her, and she answers my fast five final questions. Wa talked about: The trippy experience of re-reading something you firs...

In this second part of my interview with Lisa Tener–award-winning book coach and author of the brand-new “Breath. Write. Breathe.”--we get into the squishier parts of writing. Warning, this part of our conversation is super juicy! Not in a sexy way, but in a “wow I’m really thinking differently about stuff that’s been plaguing me forever” kind of way. You’ll learn: Her least favorite part about pr...

This week I am talking with award-winning book coach and award-winning author–of the books The Joy of Writing Journal and the brand-new Breathe. Write. Breathe.--Lisa Tener. Lisa served on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School’s continuing education course on writing and publishing books for over a dozen years. And she has helped hundreds of experts and thought leaders write and publish their...

In this third and final installment of my interview with Donna Russo, author of “Vincent's Women, the Untold Story of the Loves of Vincent Van Gogh,” as well as 10 other award-winning and internationally bestselling historical novels, we get a peek at what’s coming up next for her and she answers my fast five questions about what she’s stayed up too late reading and watching. How she’s feeling now...

In this second part of my conversation with Donna Russo, author of “Vincent's Women: the Untold Story of the Loves of Vincent van Gogh, as well as 10 other award winning and internationally best selling historical novels, we explore the thoughts, ideas, and attitudes that influence her work. We talked about: Why the time period just before your book comes out is the most nerve-wracking, “like walk...

Up this week is Donna Russo, an internationally best-selling author of 11 multiple award winning historical novels, including “Gilded Dreams” and “Gilded Summers”, a trio of books about Leonardo da Vinci, including “Portrait of a Conspiracy,” “The Competition,” and “The Flames of Florence.” Her newest book, “Vincent’s Women” is just out, and tells the story of everyone's favorite tortured artist t...

In part three of my interview with Marlon Weems, author of the prize-winning essay "How Starting an Investment Business Almost Landed Me in Federal Prison" and founder of The Journeyman Substack, where he covers American culture and anti-Black racism, we get a peek at where his throughline is leading him next. I had to leave out the meandering and enlightening and fun conversation we had about the...

In this second part of my interview with Marlon Weems, founder of The Journeyman newsletter on Substack, where he covers American culture, anti-Black racism, and growing up Black in the Deep South, we talk about the mindset side of writing, including: - The best place to look for your closing paragraph - How having to make cold calls for a living is excellent training for dealing with (read: ignor...

This week I am talking with Marlon Weems, a former Wall Street trader who started his career in finance in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he founded the first Black-owned asset management firm and the first Black-owned venture capital firm in the state. Since leaving the industry in 2012, Marlon has transitioned to writing. His essay, "How Starting an Investment Firm Almost Landed Me in Federal Pris...

In this final part of my interview with Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts, we get a look at what's coming up for her--and how that might not involve being in the public eye at all after 11 years of being 'the tip of the spear' as a common sense gun law advocate. I also ask her what's she's reading, watching, listening to, drinking in her morning cup, and what she'd have for dinner tonight i...

In the second part of my interview with Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, author of "Fight Like a Mother, and host of the Substack newsletter "Playing with Fire" (where she addresses overlooked topics head on, such as ADHD in women and girls and the benefits of hormone therapy for relief of menopause symptoms), we get into the mindset side of writing. We covered: - Reckoning with the e...

This week I am talking with badass advocate, author, Substacker, and "summoner of women's audacity," Shannon Watts. Shannon is the founder of Moms Demand Action, the grassroots movement for common sense gun reform that grew to include more than 10 million members who have helped pass over 500 gun safety laws across the country. She's also the author of "Fight Like a Mother", and her opinion pieces...

In the final part of my interview with maritime history author Eric Jay Dolin, we get a tantalizing look at his next book, which he's working on now, about a shipwreck in the Pacific that involves a clash of East and West. We also covered: - Why his kids hate going to museums with him - Using a desire to travel as motivation for selling more books - The PBS show Eric considers comfort viewing - Wh...

In the second part of my conversation with Eric Jay Dolin, (author of "Left for Dead," a true story about a captain of a sealing ship who was marooned on the Falkland Islands for 18 months in the early 1800s), we talk about the squishier side of writing, including dealing with your inner critic, getting through the parts of sharing your work that you'd really rather avoid, and managing your own ex...

Calling all lovers of true tales about the sea! This week I'm talking with Eric J. Dolin, bestselling author of numerous books that explore some aspect of American history, generally as it relates to the sea. His latest book is "Left for Dead: Shipwreck, Treachery, and Survival at the Edge of the World." Eric has a really interesting through line that started with him studying to be a marine biolo...

In this final section of my conversation with "Lessons from the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth," Kate Schapira, we cover: - Finding ways to bring her work to groups that are already gathering for another reason (hint: need to a professional development speaker or workshop leader to talk on working with climate anxiety?) - Using the concept of cross-pollenization as a guiding principle - The writ...

In this second part of my conversation with Kate Schapira, author of "Lessons from the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth," we cover the squishier parts of writing, including: - The process of deciding just how vulnerable to be in your writing - The emotional difference between writing poetry and writing prescriptive non-fiction - How her inner critic is a salty SOB - How a writing group holds you a...

This week I'm talking with Kate Schapira, author of "Lessons from the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth," which takes readers through the practical skills and emotional shifts needed to navigate our way to a more livable future. Kate is also the author of six books of poetry, and her prose has appeared in The Rumpus, The Toast, and other places. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, where she teac...

In part three of my conversation with multiple New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of "A Very Inconvenient Scandal" and "The Deep End of the Ocean," among many other titles, we talk about how having writer friends is so important, even if you "jealous them", the vision of the future that's fueling her to keep writing, and the recent books that made her swoon. - The writers...

In this second part of my interview with the brilliant and hilarious Jacquelyn Mitchard, we talk about the squishier side of creativity–the thoughts, ideas, and attitudes that affect your work, even if you're not fully conscious of it, including: - The specific reader Jacquelyn imagines as she writes - Why she's devoted to social media, and why she thinks of it like having a hamster - How some of...

This week I am thrilled to be talking with Jacquelyn Mitchard, the New York Times bestselling author of 23 novels for adults and teenagers. Her newest novel is "A Very Inconvenient Scandal," and her first novel, "The Deep End of the Ocean" was the first selection of the Oprah Winfrey book club and has sold more than 3 million copies and been translated into 34 languages. We covered: - How losing h...