She spent her career as an ICU nurse standing beside strangers in their final moments. And then the person in that bed was her mother.

Theresa Evans is the author of Choosing to Die — a deeply compassionate memoir about supporting her mother through medical assistance in dying. For three months she tended her mother's garden while navigating anticipatory grief, and that garden became the most powerful metaphor for everything they were all living through.

In this episode of Beyond the Draft, Theresa shares what anticipatory grief actually feels like, what a good death looks like, and what she most wants every caregiver and family walking this road right now to hear.

🎙️ Host: Imma | 📚 Guest: Theresa Evans — ICU Nurse · Author · Yoga Teacher · Somatic Educator | 🌐 theresaeevans.com

Beyond the Draft — Where the real story begins after the writing is done. Your words have power. Your story matters. Keep writing.

Jocelynn Flowers is the founder and CEO of J. Flowers Marketing, helping entrepreneurs scale without sacrificing connection or the heart behind their brand.

In this episode, Jocelynn shares the unexpected marketing lesson she learned outside of marketing itself, what human-first marketing looks like in a world of AI and automation, and a sign that someone might be optimizing for the wrong kind of success.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

1. Marketing lessons learned from early, unrelated jobs
2. What human-first marketing actually looks like
3. Where AI should and shouldn't be involved in a brand's voice
4. Signs you're chasing the wrong kind of growth

CONNECT WITH JOCELYNN FLOWERS:

Website: jflowersdigital.com

Free resource: jflowersdigital.com/30-day-social-media-prompts-299556

Sometimes the most beautiful words are born in the hardest seasons.

In this episode of Beyond the Draft, Imma welcomes poet and author Autumn Williams, whose bestselling, Kirkus-praised collection Clouds on the Ground and chapbook WAVES transform deeply personal experiences into powerful reflections on resilience, hope, motherhood, creativity, and life with chronic illness.

Autumn opens up about how chronic illness dramatically changed her life and how poetry became more than a creative outlet—it became a way to process loss, preserve hope, and find meaning in moments of stillness.

Together, they explore what happens when life doesn't follow the plan, how deeply personal stories can become universal, and why seasons that feel unproductive may still be nurturing something meaningful beneath the surface.

This is a conversation about finding beauty where you least expect it—and discovering that sometimes, hope arrives one page, one line, and one breath at a time.

Because difficult seasons don't always erase beauty. Sometimes, they reveal it.

What happens when a corporate marketing strategist and a children’s storyteller live in the same person?

In this episode of Beyond the Draft, Imma sits down with Annie Wyatt, an author, illustrator, marketing executive, and storyteller whose world beautifully blends data, AI, business, creativity, and imagination.

Annie shares how her work helping global technology companies build smarter marketing strategies connects surprisingly well with her passion for creating magical stories for children. She reflects on how her son helped her rediscover the power of seeing the world through curious eyes—and why adults should never stop exercising their imagination.

The conversation also explores AI and creativity, the importance of keeping the human touch in an increasingly digital world, and how to pursue creative passions even when life feels too busy.

From boardroom strategies to bedtime stories, Annie reminds us that logic and creativity don't have to compete—they can make each other better.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER:

1. Why great marketing is ultimately about storytelling
2. What children can teach adults about imagination
3. Where AI should—and shouldn't—replace human creativity
4. How to pursue your creative dreams alongside a demanding career
5. Why it's never too late to create something meaningful

🎧 Listen, share, and subscribe to Beyond the Draft for more conversations that uncover the stories, experiences, and lessons behind remarkable people.

What happens when you stop living according to everyone else's expectations and start listening to your own voice?

In this episode of Beyond the Draft, Imma sits down with Lynda Leonce, authenticity coach, author, mentor, and speaker.

Lynda shares her journey of questioning, healing, and reconnecting with the person she truly was beneath fear, limiting beliefs, and expectations.

They explore authenticity, self-discovery, people-pleasing, fear of disappointing others, and the courage it takes to make choices that actually reflect who you are.

Because sometimes becoming your best self isn't about becoming someone new.

It's about remembering who you've always been.

Dick Wybrow spent years in major-market radio and as a writer and producer for CNN before becoming a bestselling author of humorous science fiction and fantasy. He now lives and writes in New Zealand, helping aspiring writers get their books out of their heads and onto the page.

In this episode, Dick shares what radio, television, and fiction each taught him about holding an audience's attention, why humor reveals truth better than a serious approach ever could, and the first step to finally starting the book you've been carrying around for years.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

Lessons from radio, TV, and fiction on holding an audience

Why humor is a powerful storytelling tool

Breaking the paralysis of "someday I'll write my book"

His new novel, The Facilite Con

CONNECT WITH DICK WYBROW:

Website & book link: https://geni.us/TFCbookPodcasts

Amy Lou Jenkins is an award-winning, best-selling author of four books, including Every Natural Fact. For years she mistook compliance for kindness and silence for respect, until nature taught her a different story.

In this episode, Amy Lou shares the moment in the woods that helped her realize her voice was never "too much," where the cultural scripts that silence people, especially women, actually come from, and what it looks like to finally stop apologizing for who you are.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

1. The nature experience that changed how she saw her own voice
2. Where silencing "cultural scripts" come from
3. Pushing back against commercialism's message that something is wrong with you
4. Her upcoming book, The Alchemy of Sass

CONNECT WITH AMY LOU JENKINS:

Website: amyloujenkins.com/belong/

Corwin "CJ Moneyway" Johnson is a media entrepreneur, bestselling author, and host of The CJ Moneyway Show, ranked among the top 39 entrepreneurship podcasts in the United States. He's the author of Both Eyes Open and Both Eyes Shut, with his upcoming release, Faith Through Trials, exploring faith, discernment, and resilience through life's hardest seasons. Beyond his podcast, CJ is building Moneyway Media, a platform rooted in one philosophy: Legacy Over Likes, Brick by Brick.

In this episode, CJ shares the pivotal moment that shaped his journey into resilience and purpose, how faith has guided him through his toughest seasons, and the biggest lesson he's learned from interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs, authors, and thought leaders. He also opens up about what's behind his upcoming book, Faith Through Trials, and what he'd tell someone in the middle of a difficult season searching for hope.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

- The pivotal moment that shaped CJ's resilience and purpose

- How faith has guided him through adversity

- Lessons from Both Eyes Open and Both Eyes Shut

- What inspired Planting Seeds with CJ

- The biggest lesson learned from interviewing hundreds of guests

- A glimpse into his upcoming book, Faith Through Trials

- Staying grounded while building a growing media platform

CONNECT WITH CJ MONEYWAY:

Website: cjmoneyway.com

Podcast: The CJ Moneyway Show

YouTube: youtube.com/@themoneywayshow8493

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/corwin-johnson-3b7b51aa

Megan Lynch is the author of the upcoming psychological thriller HYMN FOR THE FORSAKEN, an American Gothic story about a girl's fight to protect her land, family, and identity when the tech giants move in. After surviving cancer and years of writing without finding the wide readership she believed her work deserved, Megan decided this would finally be the year her book reaches a bestseller list.

In this episode, Megan opens up about what it means to write about the wealth gap through the eyes of a "have-not," why surviving cancer changed how she thinks about pursuing her dreams, and her passionate stance on human-written storytelling in an age of AI-generated content. She also shares her writing process, how she pushes through writer's block, and what she hopes readers take away from HYMN FOR THE FORSAKEN.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

- Writing a psychological thriller about the wealth gap in America

- How surviving cancer changed her relationship with her dreams

- Why human-written storytelling matters more than ever in the age of AI

- Her writing process and how she overcomes writer's block

- What she hopes readers take away from HYMN FOR THE FORSAKEN

- Being a good literary community member

CONNECT WITH MEGAN LYNCH:

Website: www.authormeganlynch.com

Instagram & Threads: @meganlynchbooks

Pablo Yanez spent over a decade as a photographer before founding BeYourCover, an AI-powered tool that helps self-published authors create professional, print-ready book covers in minutes, no designer required. As a book cover photographer, he kept seeing the same problem: authors pouring months into their manuscripts, only to get stopped cold by a cover that felt too expensive or too hard to get right on their own.

In this episode, Pablo shares how his years behind a camera trained his eye for what actually makes a cover work, what's genuinely broken about how self-published authors get their covers made, and where he draws the line on what AI can and can't replace when it comes to human design instinct. He also opens up about the biggest mistakes indie authors make with their covers, and where he sees AI creative tools headed next.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

- From street photographer to AI founder

- What's actually broken about the self-publishing cover process

- Where AI helps, and where the human eye still matters

- Responding to authors skeptical or uneasy about AI in publishing

- What separates a cover that sells from one that flops

- The biggest mistake indie authors make with their covers

- Where AI creative tools are headed next

CONNECT WITH PABLO YANEZ:

Website: beyourcover.com