Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

This week I am talking with journalist, essayist, and novelist, Joanne McNeil. Joanne's first novel Wrong Way came out in 2023. It's a sci-fi novel set in the near future that takes a look at the intersection of the gig economy and big tech and is both satirical and touching–it also made a lot of lists of the best books of 2023 and The New Yorker called it “a literary sneak attack on the very idea of 'the future.'” Joanne's first book, Lurking, is a nonfiction look at the history of the internet from a user's perspective. Joanne is also an important tech critic and has been writing professionally for 20 years.We covered:How posting on message boards in the early days of the Internet led Joanne, a kid from a working-class Massachusetts town, to pursue writingGetting strategic about your career, especially when you don’t come from the traditional path of Ivy League undergraduate degree and top tier MFAThe often slow but vital work of building a diverse communityHow residencies are like gift cards–and how to create your own residency if need beJoanne’s list of must-have supplies for a writing residency: bulletin board, push pins, Post-It notes, and a detailed list of what to get at Trader Joe’sAcknowledging the fact that one hour to yourself can serve as a residency when you need it toJoanne’s website: https://www.joannemcneil.com/For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final part of my interview with Hayley Krischer, journalist and author of the soon-to-be-released “Where Are You, Echo Blue?” we peek at what’s coming around the bend for her and I get her answers to my fast five questions.We talked about:The incredible allure of hot tubsHow re-watching “The Actor’s Studio with James Lipton” was a key part of her research process for “Where Are You, Echo Blue?”What she learned from studying actors about getting in to the psychology of her charactersThe Instagram influencer who’s helping Hayley understand her perimenopausal body and learning how to take care of herself (Health with Holland)Thinking ahead to when her youngest child is out of the houseA preview of both her YA novel that’s coming out in 2025 (think Charles Manson meets Goop meets teenage girls) and the adult novel she’s writing nextThe 620-page novel Hayley read in four days because she couldn’t put it downThe exact morning beverage (my second guest who swears by Peet’s Coffee Major Dickinson blend) the fuels Hayley, and the (dark) song that gets her fired up when she needs a kick in the pantsHayley on Instagram and Threads: @haylerkrischerHayley on TikTok: @hayleykrischerauthorHayley’s website: hayleykrischer.netHayley’s Substack:Hayley’s upcoming book (pre-order it now so that you have it for as much of the summer as possible, it’s gonna be the best juiciest beach read of the year): Where Are You, Echo Blue?For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AirDoctorPro. Use promo code KATE at airdoctorpro.com to save up to $300 off an air purifier and receive a free 3-year warranty (an $87 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I'm talking with Hayley Krischer, author of the upcoming “Where Are You, Echo Blue?”, which is poised to be the beach read of the summer, about the squishier side of creativity– including:The steps Hayley takes–and the tools she uses–to immerse herself in the world of her novels and inside her characters’ psychesWhat she does when she’s feeling stuckHow good it feels when you connect with someone who loved your work in the real worldThe YA author Hayley fan-girled all over when she realized he was also an audience member at a reading she was attendingHow writing and editing can feel “horrible,” “like torture”--and the parts that make Hayley feel like jumping for joyHow her inner critic loves to tell her she should be able to write a novel while also taking five-mile hikes every dayHow the months between when you’re done working on a manuscript and the book is published is a tough time, mentally–and how to navigate itThe self-care practices helping Hayley through (the journaling practice, the supplements, the breathing exercise that helps her sleep)Busting the myth that writers make a lot of money and how hard it is to make a bestseller listFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AirDoctorPro. Use promo code KATE at airdoctorpro.com to save up to $300 off an air purifier and receive a free 3-year warranty (an $87 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I am talking with journalist and novelist Haley Krischer. Haley's journalism has won awards and appeared in the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, and Elle, among other places. She has profiled celebrities like Tatum O'Neill and Celine Dion and Gabrielle Union, and she's reported on trends through a feminist lens. Haley's first two novels were for young adults: “Something Happened to Allie Greenleaf” and “The Falling Girls.” This summer, her first adult novel is coming out: “Where Are You, Echo Blue?” It's about a journalist's obsessive search for a missing Hollywood starlet. And I for one am so looking forward to packing that on my summer vacation.We covered:Which former child actor/celebrities Hayley obsessively researched for her upcoming book, “Where Are You, Echo Blue?”How she found herself working at the Boston Globe in college and found all the journalists “these grimy, sexy, fascinating people”The brilliant wisdom she tells her kids about power of just keeping going.The circular editorial career that led her to being an authorThe “pure insanity” that keeps her coming back to the pageThe writing program Hayley signed up for that took the story she’d been working on for 20 years and could never sell and helped her revise it into a form that sold to a major publisher in four days (her first YA novel, “Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf”The exact mechanical pencil she used to write her upcoming YA novel that’s coming out in 2025The author that inspired Hayley to write a novel in longhandWhy you should never trust yourself to remember that great idea and the myriad ways Hayley captures those ideas, wherever they may happenFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part three of my conversation with author of Building Boys, Jennifer Fink, we talk about the mind trip that is beginning to envision retirement.I have to point out that this is the third interview in a row where my guest mentions that they have a phrase written on a Post-It note hanging above their computer monitor. In addition to sharing what she’s written on her Post-It notes (plural–there are two), Jennifer shares some of her go to shows, snacks, and songs.The lure of leaving it all behind and becoming a flight attendant: “After raising teenagers, unruly passengers? Cinch”The Building Boys Book Club Jennifer is currently dreaming upWhat’s written on the Post-It note above her computer (there are two of them, actually)Finding ways to connect more directly with the people who value your skills and expertiseThinking about retirement, and having more regular access to scuba divingEnvisioning being able to work only on the things closest to your heart and having plenty of time for relationshipsThe Netflix show the world went crazy over a couple years ago that Jennifer just discoveredThe secret to making movie-theater-caliber popcornHer go-to Pandora stationWhy December 23rd is the best day of her year, hands downConnect with Jennifer:At her website: buildingboys.netAt her Substack (email newsletter): buildingboys.substack.comFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AirDoctorPro. Use promo code KATE at airdoctorpro.com to save up to $300 off an air purifier and receive a free 3-year warranty (an $87 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I'm talking with Jennifer 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:Finding the inspiration to write about controversial subjects in today’s age of nasty comments and trollingJennifer’s trick for keeping herself accountable and not avoiding writing about the hard stuffThe power of talking to other writersThe things her inner critic says, and how it gets louder when she’s doing the work that’s closest to her heartThe trick for getting things down on the page–and how that seeming blather transforms into ‘readable chapters’The beauties and drawbacks of living in a rural areaThe dichotomy of having a virtual job with a big network while living in a small, somewhat isolated townBecoming a cliche as you grow older: “I started aqua aerobics recently”Continuing to work when your body may have other plansThe caregiving sandwichDealing with the claustrophobia of being in a transitional period, or what Jennifer calls a hallwayHer list of three collective illusions Jennifer wishes we’d wake up fromFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AirDoctorPro. Use promo code KATE at airdoctorpro.com to save up to $300 off an air purifier and receive a free 3-year warranty (an $87 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I am talking with Jennifer Fink, an award winning freelance writer who covers parenting, education, and health for magazines and websites. started her career as a registered nurse, but shortly after her oldest son, and as you'll find out, she has four boys, pivoted to writing full time. Her most recent book is called Building Boys, Raising Great Guys in a World that Misunderstands Males. She is also the co host of the podcast “On Boys,” which covers, you guessed it, real talk about parenting, teaching, and reaching tomorrow's men. Although Jennifer's writing career is clearly going great, she does maintain her nursing license just in case.Jennifer’s start as a nurseHow taking her baby to story time at the public library ended up launching her writing careerThe book that showed her how to start freelance writingHow it started/how it’s going in terms of why she started writing about boys vs. why she does it nowA quick look into why boys are struggling latelyHow an unexpected divorce launched her writing business to the next level (“failure was not an option”)In praise of morning pages (a practice Jennifer learned in Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”)Her focus and productivity hacksWhy she gets outside every day–even during a Wisconsin winterA rumor about coffee with cream in it that Jennifer is choosing to ignoreFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AirDoctorPro. Use promo code KATE at airdoctorpro.com to save up to $300 off an air purifier and receive a free 3-year warranty (an $87 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final part of my interview with Antonia Angress, author of "Sirens & Muses," we peek at what’s coming around the bend for her and I get her answers to my fast five questions.We talked about:- The novels about motherhood Antonia is reading to prepare for when her baby is born- The pressure on young women authors to be likable, available, and approachable- The two writers Antonia looks to for inspiration on being successful while “resisting the machinations of publicity that can devour you”- Getting better at not squandering time, vacuuming the rugs- The Pulitzer finalist Antonia devoured in a couple of days- What it’s like when your husband becomes a Swiftie in his 30s, when you’ve been on board since your teensFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AirDoctorPro. Use promo code KATE at airdoctorpro.com to save up to $300 off an air purifier and receive a free 3-year warranty (an $87 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I'm talking with Antonia 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 part of the writing process that Antonia relishes- The specific point in the book-writing process where Antonia focuses on making her sentences pretty- How she only kept “a few paragraphs” from the first draft of her second novel (!!)- Adapting to the public speaking portion of being a writer- The thing her graduate school professor told her when she was halfway through writing her first novel and having a crisis of confidence- The two things that can happen after her inner critic has told her the stuff she’s writing is no good- How she views her first novel, looking back- The “toxic narrative” about how you have to suffer for your art- Continually working to be OK with resting (especially as an about-to-be mother)- Antonia’s plug for therapyFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AirDoctorPro. Use promo code KATE at airdoctorpro.com to save up to $300 off an air purifier and receive a free 3-year warranty (an $87 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I am talking to writer Antonia Angress. Antonia is the author of "Sirens & Muses," which starts off as a campus novel set at a New England art school, but then blooms into an exploration of the intersection of home and belonging versus individualism and seeking to stand out, set in the New York City art scene during the Occupy Wall Street era."Sirens & Muses" was named one of the best books of the year by Glamour Magazine and won the Minnesota Book Award, and Antonia was recently named one of the NEA's 2024 Creative Writing Fellows. I loved the book and I love that I get to ask Antonia my list of mildly invasive questions about why and how she does her particular creative work.We covered:- The advice she gives about the stuff you write that you end up deleting- The fact that publishing a book “really doesn’t change your life”- The importance of that feeling of being alone with your work- The daily writing goal that keeps Antonia going (spoiler: it’s very small)- How she manages her ‘internet junk food’ diet- The practice that gets her ready to write- What motivational phrase is on the Post-It note above her computerFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AirDoctorPro. Use promo code KATE at airdoctorpro.com to save up to $300 off an air purifier and receive a free 3-year warranty (an $87 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices