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-saverAnd, ironically, how devastated he gets by a bad reviewHow his inner critic loves to tell him, “If you were any good, you’d be successful by now,” and how he deals with thatHow making his debut at 46 motivates himTaking the twisty path instead of the straight path (if that even exists)to what he calls “the beautiful destiny”In other news, Mark is also the host of “The Thoughtful Bro” podcast where he interviews authors about their latest book. If you’re digging “Finding the Throughline,” you are also going to dig “The Thoughtful Bro,” so go check it out!Visit Mark at markcecilauthor.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 published in LitHub and Writer’s Digest and he’s taught classes on writing and publishing for Grub Street and the Writer’s Loft.Despite these accolades, Mark had a long, tough road to publishing and he’s learned some really valuable lessons along the way, which he generously shares in a very inspiring way.We covered:How Mark is inspired by trying to contribute to a mythology that is uniquely American, and what that meansThe six other manuscripts Mark wrote that didn’t end up getting published, and how he dealt with that long roadHow he knew he had stumbled on the right idea at lastThe genius thing he told himself that helped him keep going despite multiple rejectionsHow a very frustrating question from an editor launched him on an odyssey of learning the art of storytelling that ultimately led him to the idea of his debut novelWhy he seeks to write every damn day, despite how he’s feeling about himself and his workHow he’ll write anywhere, despite the external–and internal!, conditions he finds himself inHow sports, whether he’s playing, coaching, or watching, helps keep him mentally healthyVisit Mark at markcecilauthor.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 sure to check out our sponsor at airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off a new air purifier and get a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, which involves a sailing trip to China Her favorite books on writing and creativity Creating structure for herself now that her kids are out of the house Trying to figure out how to spend more time in her happy place, AKA Nantucket The show and the books that are keeping her up too late because they’re just so good Why she’s still listening to Disney soundtracks even though her kids are grown and flown For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 herselfThe part of writing her next book that is really freaking her out–and how she’s dealing with itHow her writing group is structured (I totally want to steal this)The absolute mind trip of becoming an empty nesterWhy she thinks the writing advice to “show don’t tell” is overrated and misinterpretedHow her Myers-Briggs personality plays out in her home life and work lifeFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 admitted this desire to herself–and her advisors–during her PhD dissertation is incredible!)We covered:The many contemporary novel manuscripts she wrote but could not sellHow combining something new (historical fiction) with something she knew well and loved (Nantucket) led to selling her book to a publisherHow she kept writing “Daughters of Nantucket” even after her agent broke up with herMaking time to write amidst teaching middle school, writing a PhD dissertation, and having three young kidsThe specifics of her morning routine and how she gets warmed up to writeHow she gets herself to leave the houseFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 first encountered years ago and having a completely new and different take on itHow discovering Sark’s books felt like a gift from the universeUsing Human Design as a tool to help you figure out what to do nextManifesting teaching a retreat at place like Kripalu, Omega, or EsalenThe shift she’s working that “makes life juicier”Why she’s feeling drawn to write more poetryLisa’s recipe for her all-time favorite teaHer favorite dish at her favorite restaurant that sounds so good it inspired us to make a dinner date to go get itVisit Lisa at listener.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 promoting her work, and how she works with that resistanceFinding the right balance between taking on work for clients to pay the bills and saving time and energy for your own workPractical ways to get out of the fear of not making or having enough moneyTipping your internal scale to be more weighted toward surrender, and less weight toward trying to control everythingHer ninja trick for dealing with difficult peopleHow she’s used Family Systems Constellation Work to work through blockages both in life and in her mindVisit Lisa at listener.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 books and secure five and six figure book deals.I was so happy and honored to write the foreword for Lisa's new book, which draws a lot on Lisa's in-depth studies and practice of qigong. And if you've been with me since the “How to Be a Better Person” days, you may remember Lisa when she came on as a guest and walked me through her “meet your muse” exercise, which helps you get in touch with your intuition and receive messages from your subconscious that can help you move forward in your creative work or get insight into anything you may be facing, where you could use a little guidance.And lest you think Lisa is all about the woo, she also, I just found out while researching her for this episode, has her bachelor's and master's degree from MIT.We covered:How getting sick put her on the path to becoming a writerHow writing down her dreams helps fuel her writingWorking with the difficulty of earning a living from your writingA peek inside the small village of people it takes to publish a bookThe easy but powerful qigong move Lisa teaches to get you loosened up and ready to writeA look at the tools, places, and times of day that help Lisa get her writing done.Visit Lisa at listener.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 that she’s on the verge of becoming a grandmotherA sneak peek at her next book, which is already in the works–as well as how she’s challenging herself in new ways with this projectThe great authors she learned the importance of descriptive settings fromThe screen play she wrote that got tabled by COVID and the writer’s strike, despite winning awardsThe music that gets her going when she needs a boostVisit Donna at donnarusso.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save up to 30% off an amazing indoor air filter, and get a free 3-year warranty (and $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices