88 Cups of Tea

Hey Storytellers! Could you take a minute of your time to help me leave an honest rating and review by clicking here? Thank you so much for your help in increasing my podcast's ranking so that more listeners can find out about the show and add value to their storytelling careers and goals! 

This episode is proudly sponsored by SCRIVENER. Click on the link for your special 20% off discount code that's available specially for our storyteller tribe!

“No matter how bad it gets, how many couches you’re surfing on, no matter how far away your goal seems- you can’t stop working.”

Katie Wech received her MFA in Screenwriting from the USC School of Cinema-Television and began her career in television as an assistant on the first season of Fox’s PRISON BREAK. A year later, she sold her first feature script to Jerry Weintraub for WARNER BROTHERS. In 2011, her black-list nominated feature script PROM was released by Disney. Since then, she has written and produced many hours of cable and network television, including the CW’s SECRET CIRCLE, ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND, and CBS’s VEGAS. She is currently a producer on the hit TNT series, RIZZOLI & ISLES.

Hey Storytellers! Could you take a minute of your time to help me leave an honest rating and review by clicking here? Thank you so much for your help in increasing my podcast's ranking so that more listeners can find out about the show and add value to their storytelling careers and goals! 

This episode is proudly sponsored by SCRIVENER. Click on the link for your special 20% off discount code that's available specially for our storyteller tribe!

Hello from ASIA! I just landed in Taiwan and settled in a hotel with all my podcasting equipment laid out.  Be sure to listen to today's episode to find out why I'm in Asia and to hear the names of the 3 lucky winners of the giveaway contest from Tyler Knott Gregson's episode. To check out photos of my trip around Asia, follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook and you can also check out #88CupsOfAsia!

I'm so thrilled to have Tess Gerritsen on 88 CUPS OF TEA! For my listeners who’ve been a part of my storyteller tribe since day one, you guys may recognize this episode. Thanks to you, this is one of the show's most popular and well received interviews. I hope you’ll be re-inspired by Tess’ journey and her actionable tips and advice for writers and storytellers.

There’s also been a jump in new listeners so a very warm welcome to 88 CUPS OF TEA and thank you for joining our storyteller tribe. I’m really excited for you to hear Tess' interview as it's one of my favorite chats, which is also one of the favorites of our storyteller tribe.

What better way to celebrate 88 CUPS OF TEA's huge milestone of reaching 20 episodes than by re-playing one of the most popular episodes that epitomizes what our show is about.

I've been a huge fan of Tess' work since reading her very first thriller novel HARVEST, her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. She has written 26 novels with over 30 million copies sold worldwide. Tess is also widely known for creating the RIZZOLI & ISLES book series that inspired the hit TNT television series. Our chat left me on an absolute high with adrenaline and Tess shares a ton of actionable tips and advice. I'm so excited for you to apply her knowledge towards your own writing careers!

This episode is proudly brought to you by SCRIVENER.

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"I always start (my novels) with what I call the-punch-in-the-gut, which is an idea that has a really powerful emotional resonance for me. I always start with 'Oh my God, and what happens next?'" 

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Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D.

While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction. In 1987, her first novel was published. Call After Midnight, a romantic thriller, was followed by eight more romantic suspense novels. She also wrote a screenplay, "Adrift," which aired as a 1993 CBS Movie of the Week starring Kate Jackson.

Tess's first medical thriller, Harvest, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Her 26 novels include Gravity, The Surgeon, Vanish, The Bone Garden, The Silent Girl, Die Again, and Playing with Fire (Oct 2015). Translated into 40 languages, her books have been #1 bestsellers abroad and top-three bestsellers in the US. More than 30 million copies have been sold around the world.

She received the Nero Wolfe Award (for Vanish) and the Rita Award (for The Surgeon) and was a finalist for the Edgar award (for Vanish.)

Her series of novels featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit TNT television series "Rizzoli & Isles," starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander.

Critics around the world have praised her novels as "Pulse-pounding fun" (Philadelphia Inquirer), and "Scary and brilliant" (Toronto Globe and Mail). Publishers Weekly has dubbed her "the medical suspense queen."

Now retired from medicine, she writes full time. She lives in Maine.

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"If I see (my first draft) on screen, I want to edit it. It stops me cold. I use unlined typing paper. I can't have lines on it because I feel like it inhibits my creativity. 25 books, and it's been pen and paper."

This episode is proudly sponsored by SCRIVENER. Click on the link for your special 20% off discount code that's available specially for our storyteller tribe!

Hey Storytellers! I’m so excited to share today’s episode with you. We have our very first poet on the show, Tyler Knott Gregson. He’s one of the most down-to-earth, grounded human beings that I’ve had the honor of chatting with. We get into the philosophy of life, surviving and thriving as an artist, and expressing our authenticity. We also had a fascinating discussion about social media and how it played a huge role in Tyler’s success as a poet and author.

We’re also having a special give-away for this episode! Tweet or post an image of a quote from Tyler’s episode that resonated with you and three lucky listeners will win his newest book “All the Words Are Yours: Haiku on Love”! Make sure to include #88CupsTKG so we can find your quotes! The deadline for this giveaway contest is Tuesday, October 20th at 6pm PST/9pm EST.

“The little moments, for me, have always been the big moments.”

“Don’t ever stop fighting for that thing that you love.”

“If you’re hurting, hurt. If you’re happy, be happy.”

Tyler Knott Gregson is a poet, author, professional photographer, and artist who lives in the mountains of Helena, Montana along with his two golden retrievers, Calvin and Hobbes. With wide-eyed fascination and a Whitman-esque appreciation of nature, and life, he began writing at a young age. Love, the dynamics of emotion and physical connections are common themes in his poems. When he’s not writing, Tyler Knott owns and operates his photography company, Treehouse Photography, with his talented partner Sarah Linden. They photograph weddings all over the world, and just like his writing, believe in capturing the silent moments, the hidden glances…Big things made small, small things made big.

To check out the books and movies Tyler talked about in his episode, be sure to check out his shownotes page at 88cupsoftea.com/podcast/tylerknottgregson

This episode is proudly sponsored by SCRIVENER.

Hey Storytellers! We have award-winning and bestselling author Jean Kwok on the show today.

For the very first time on our show, we’ll be having a special give-away for this episode! Pay special attention to Jean’s interview and tweet your favorite quotefrom her episode and we’ll be gifting a copy of Jean’s newest book MAMBO IN CHINATOWN to two lucky listeners! Make sure to hashtag #88CupsJK so I can find your quotes! The deadline for this giveaway contest is Wednesday, October 14th at 10am PST/1pm EST. And the 2 lucky winners will be announced that same day.

This is a very special episode for me (listen to the episode’s introduction to find out why) and I’m beyond thrilled to share Jean’s interview with you!

“We are not competing with each other; we are all trying to speak some kind of fundamental human truth.”-Jean Kwok

“Fix it on the page, don’t fix it in your head”-Jean Kwok

From the bestselling author of Girl in Translation, a novel about a young woman torn between her family duties in Chinatown and her escape into the world of ballroom dancing.

Twenty-two-year-old Charlie Wong grew up in New York’s Chinatown, the older daughter of a Beijing ballerina and a noodle maker. Though an ABC (American-born Chinese), Charlie’s entire world has been limited to this small area. Now grown, she lives in the same tiny apartment with her widower father and her eleven-year-old sister, and works— miserably—as a dishwasher.

But when she lands a job as a receptionist at a ballroom dance studio, Charlie gains access to a world she hardly knew existed, and everything she once took to be certain turns upside down. Gradually, at the dance studio, awkward Charlie’s natural talents begin to emerge. With them, her perspective, expectations, and sense of self are transformed—something she must take great pains to hide from her father and his suspicion of all things western. As Charlie blossoms, though, her sister becomes chronically ill. When Pa insists on treating his ailing child exclusively with eastern practices to no avail, Charlie is forced to try to reconcile her two selves and her two worlds— eastern and western, old world and new—to rescue her little sister without sacrificing her newfound confidence and identity.

“Sweet and lovely, filled with old-world tradition, Chinese superstition, and the complicated dance of forbidden love.”—JAMIE FORD, NYTBESTSELLING AUTHOR OF HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET

Jean Kwok is the New York Times and international bestselling author of the award-winning novels Girl in Translation and Mambo in Chinatown. Her work has been published in 17 countries and taught in universities, colleges and high schools across the world. She has been selected for many honors including theAmerican Library Association Alex Award, the Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award, and Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers. Jean’s writing has been featured in Time, The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, The Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, People, Real Simple and O, The Oprah Magazine, among others.

Jean immigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn when she was five and worked in a Chinatown clothing factory for much of her childhood while living in an unheated, roach-infested apartment. In between her undergraduate degree at Harvard and MFA in fiction at Columbia, she worked for three years as a professional ballroom dancer. Jean lives in the Netherlands with her husband, two boys and three cats, and is working on her next novel. A Dutch television documentary with English subtitles was filmed about Jean and her work.

Head over to Jean's show notes page here!

Hey Storytellers! We have director-writer Morgan Krantz on the show today. His directorial feature film debut BABYSITTER world premiered at SXSW. Morgan shares his experiences making his first feature film and dives deep into the financials of it, including how he secured his film’s investors. Morgan also takes us behind-the-scenes in creating his wildly successful web series NEUROTICA, his passion project that landed him representation with WME as a writer and director, and shares how the web series got picked up for distribution. This is a super special episode for filmmakers and especially for first-time directors-writers!

Morgan Krantz is an actor, writer and director born and raised in LA. His feature directorial debut, BABYSITTER, premiered at SXSW 2015 where Morgan was named one of 12 breakout talents at by IndieWIRE magazine citing his “gentle, unassuming style that taps into its troubled protagonist’s point of view… proof of Krantz’s promise behind the camera.”

Morgan’s comedic web-series, Neurotica, which he co-created and stars in, was a viral sensation online and boasts several million views. The show was sold to Endemol Beyond and they are currently financing a 2nd season in association with acclaimed TV producers Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky (The Office, Hello Ladies).

As an actor, Morgan has appeared in countless TV shows including Girls, Doll & Em, House of Lies, The League and countless more. Most recently, he booked a series regular role on the CBS sitcom pilot The Half of It and co-starred in the independent feature film Shut Up and Drive, which had it’s world premiere at TriBeCa 2015.

Say "Hi" to Morgan on twitter, facebook, or instagram!

Be sure to visit Morgan's shownotes page at 88cupsoftea.com/podcast/morgankrantz

Hello Hello Storytellers!

A super quick episode today, keeping you in the loop about a few changes and updates to the show!

Thanks so much for leaving me an honest rating and review on my iTunes page! 

This episode is proudly sponsored by SCRIVENER. Click on the link for your special 20% off discount code that's available specially for our storyteller tribe!

Hey Storytellers! I’m over-the-moon excited to share today’s episode featuring Jan Ellison, author of debut novel A SMALL INDISCRETION. Jan’s warmth and generosity is infectious and inspiring. Jan’s episode is an absolute must for all writers and artists!

“Ellison is a tantalizing storyteller, dropping delicious hints of foreshadowing and shifting back and forth in time…moving her story forward with cinematic verve.” — USA Today

At nineteen, Annie Black abandons California for a London winter of drinking to oblivion and looking for love in the wrong places. Twenty years later, she is a happily married mother of three living in San Francisco. Then one morning, a photograph arrives in her mailbox, and an old obsession is awakened.

After a return trip to London, Annie’s marriage falters, her store floods, and her son, Robbie, takes a night-time ride that nearly costs him his life. Now Annie must fight to save her family by untangling the mysteries of that reckless winter in Europe that drew an invisible map of her future.

With the brilliant pacing and emotional precision that won Jan Ellison an O. Henry Prize for her first published story, A Small Indiscretion announces a major new voice in suspense fiction as it unfolds a story of denial, obsession, love, forgiveness—and one woman’s reckoning with her own fateful mistakes.

“Every day I didn’t write, a little part of me just felt like it had died.”-Jan Ellison

“I trust the writer I am and know that my voice is my voice.”-Jan Ellison

Jan Ellison is a novelist, essayist and short-story writer. Her first book, A Small Indiscretion, (Random House 2015) was both an Oprah Editor’s Pick and a San Francisco Chronicle Book Club Pick. Jan’s essays and stories have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Narrative Magazine and elsewhere, and she received an O. Henry Prize for her first short story to appear in print. She is a graduate of Stanford and San Francisco State’s MFA program. She grew up in L.A. and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband of twenty years and their four children.

Be sure to check out Jan's shownotes page here. 

Mackenzie (ELLA PURNELL), a troubled but daring teenage girl, is sent to live with her uncle in Juneau, Alaska. She longs for her struggling, absent mother, but as her mom’s phone calls become less frequent and her uncle’s care is not what it seems, she must flee. Her only thoughts are to escape her uncle’s grasp and contact her mother somehow, but as she plunges deeper into the Alaskan interior she is suddenly helplessly alone. A chance connection with a loner backpacker, Rene Bartlett (BRUCE GREENWOOD), proves to be her only lifeline. As Mackenzie shadows Bartlett across the last frontier, she thwarts his efforts to cut her loose until Bart has no choice but to help her survive in the wilderness. Against the backdrop of a spectacular Alaska landscape, they discover the redemptive power of friendship. Mackenzie and Bartlett prove to be the unlikely salve for each other’s scars, until the damage Mackenzie carries with her threatens to destroy her newfound sanctuary. Returning to civilization, Mackenzie is once again at risk of capture by her uncle (BRIAN GERAGHTY) as he hounds with manipulative calls and messages. When Bartlett finally discovers her alarming secret, he must make a bold choice to take real responsibility for Mackenzie and help her escape her traumatic past and return home.

Frank Hall Green is a film producer, writer and director. His directorial debut feature WILDLIKE is produced by Christine Vachon/Killer Films, Tandem Pictures and Joseph Stephans. It was filmed on 35mm in Alaska and stars Ella Purnell, Bruce Greenwood, Brian Geraghty, Nolan Gerard Funk and Ann Dowd. He is currently producing the adaptation of BOY21 by Matthew Quick (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK) to be directed by Lasse Hallstrom (WHATS EATING GILBERT GRAPE, CIDER HOUSE RULES) and REMITTANCE, the sophomoric feature of writing/directing team Joel Fendelman and Patrick Daly (DAVID). Recently, he produced GHETTO KLOWN on HBO, the award-winning one-man show of John Leguizamo. He was a producer onALLEGIANCE starring Aiden Quinn, Bow Wow, Seth Gabel and Pablo Schreiber, and 1-900-TONIGHT starring John Turturro based on the film by Theo Van Gogh, among others. Frank cut his teeth producing far too many short films and has an MBA from NYU’s Tisch School of Film & Television. Before NYU’s graduate film program, Frank worked in Venture Capital and emerging technology. He is also an alumnus of NYU’s Gallatin School, an avid backpacker and a member of MENSA.

Be sure to visit Frank's shownotes page by clicking here!

“One of the main things was trying to write everyday and trying to plow through.” -Kate Barker-Froyland

Kate is a Brooklyn-based writer/director. Her first feature film SONG ONE (starring Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn, and Mary Steenburgen) premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Over the past several years, she has directed short films and videos and was selected for the IFP/Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Visions program. Her short film, MATCH, screened at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art as part of their New Directors/New Films series and was a semi-finalist for the Student Academy Awards. After directing the ‘making-of’ Merchant-Ivory’s The White Countess in Shanghai, she was the assistant to director David Frankel on The Devil Wears Prada. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Kate received her MFA degree in directing from Columbia University in 2011.

This episode is proudly sponsored by SCRIVENER.

Hey Storytellers! I would appreciate it so much if you could leave an honest rating and review on my iTunes page.  Your rating & review is a HUGE help in increasing the ranking of my show which helps to spread the word about the podcast so that more listeners can tune in and benefit from the interviews.  You can click on this link to be taken directly to the rating&review page (don't forget to sign into your iTunes account when prompted). Thank you so much in advance for your time and your help! 

I’m so excited to share today’s episode featuring writer Linda Formichelli. She goes over and beyond to share tips and advice for listeners who want to earn an income as a freelance writer. Linda has so much enthusiasm and her positive go-getter energy is absolutely contagious– you’ll walk away feeling like you chugged an espresso and ready to conquer the freelance-writing world.