Creative, Inspired, ALIVE

Hello, Protagonists!

My guest today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY is Téa Obreht, winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction, National Book Award Finalist, and international bestseller of The Tiger's Wife and other novels. Her latest book, The Morningside, is out in paperback now.

Today, we talk about:

* how being an immigrant influences her storytelling,

* writing in English while sometimes translating in her head from her first language,

* how she wove in a Serbian folktale into a novel about climate disaster

* why Téa dislikes writing in first person,

* her advice for writers on spending time on social media,

* where she discovers her next reads,

* and so much more.

🟨 Want more writing advice and community?

Join more than 20,000 writers at CreativeInspiredHappy.com :

- ask questions of upcoming podcast guests,

- behind-the-scenes publishing insights,

- creativity mini-challenges,

- Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers,

- and more.

Podcast booking inquiries:

[email protected]

Want more of Téa?

You can find Téa on Instagram and her website, and The Morningside and her other novels are available wherever books are sold!

Téa was born in Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia, and grew up in Cyprus and Egypt before eventually immigrating to the United States. Her debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife, won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction, and was a 2011 National Book Award finalist and an international bestseller. She was the recipient of the Rona Jaffe fellowship from the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, and a 2016 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She was a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, and was named by The New Yorker as one of the twenty best American fiction writers under forty.

Hello, Protagonists!

My guest today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY is author Gretchen Schreiber. She is also the Manager of Books at Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. Gretchen's latest novel, All the Stars Align, is out now!

Today, we talk about:

* how Gretchen landed the dream job at Hello Sunshine,

* reading for Reese's taste versus reading for her own

* what Gretchen has learned about the publishing industry from her work at Hello Sunshine

* advice for authors when working with their publishers

* writing about disability from personal experience

* and so much more.

🟨 Want more writing advice and community?

Join 24,000 writers at CreativeInspiredHappy.com :

- Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers,

- author interviews

- behind-the-scenes of writing life,

- creativity mini-challenges,

- and more.

Podcast booking inquiries:

[email protected]

🎤 Got questions for future podcast guests?

I ask for podcast Qs on our community chat (available via web browser or Substack app.) Pop in every so often to check for open calls for questions for upcoming guests!

Want more of Gretchen?

You can find Gretchen on her website, Instagram, and TikTok, and All the Stars Align is available now at your favorite bookstore or online retailer!

Hello, Protagonists!

My guest today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY is a Emma Pattee, a climate journalist, playwright, and author of novel Tilt.

Today, we talk about:

* tapping into a character's vulnerability and using your personal experiences to deepen your work,

* using "writing containers" (like setting the story in one day) to structure your novel

* writer's block--what it really is and how to break through it

* the most surprising part of her journey as a debut author,

* and so much more.

🟨 Want more writing advice and community?

Join more than 20,000 writers at CreativeInspiredHappy.com :

- ask questions of upcoming podcast guests,

- behind-the-scenes publishing insights,

- creativity mini-challenges,

- Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers,

- and more.

Podcast booking inquiries:

[email protected]

Want more of Emma?

You can find Emma on Instagram and Substack, and Tilt is available now at your favorite bookstore or online retailer!

My guests today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY are Jennifer Acker and Emily Everett, the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor of literary magazine The Common. Jennifer and Emily are also both accomplished novelists.

Today, we talk about:

* what an editor at a literary magazine does

* how they find submissions and how they choose what to publish at The Common

* what makes a great writing mentor

* the differences in writing short fiction and non-fiction vs longer-form books

* advice for aspiring writers on how to decide what to write and the shape of your career

* advice for authors on the eve of their book's publication

* and so much more.

🟨 Want more writing advice and community?

Join 24,000 writers at CreativeInspiredHappy.com :

- ask questions of upcoming podcast guests,

- behind-the-scenes publishing insights,

- creativity mini-challenges,

- Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers,

- and more.

Podcast booking inquiries:

[email protected]

Want more of Emily, Jennifer, and The Common?

Check out The Common or submit your writing for consideration.

Emily Everett’s new novel, All That Life Can Afford, is available in bookstores or your favorite online retailer. You can also follow her on Instagram.

Jennifer Acker’s novel, The Limits of the World, is also available in bookstores or your favorite online retailer.

My guest today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY is Eowyn Ivey, Pulitzer Prize finalist and UK National Book Award winner for her novel, The Snow Child. Her latest book, Black Woods Blue Sky, is out now.

Today, we talk about:

* how her experience as a bookseller and a journalist helped when she began to tackle writing a novel,

* whether the Pulitzer nomination put pressure on her for her next book,

* transforming painful personal experience into beautiful, impactful fiction

* accepting rejection as part of the process of being a writer,

* and so much more.

🎤 Got questions for future podcast guests?

I ask for podcast Qs on our community chat (available via web browser or Substack app.) Pop in every so often to check for open calls for questions for upcoming guests!

🟨 Want more writing advice and community?

Join 24,000 writers at CreativeInspiredHappy.com :

- Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers,

- author interviews

- behind-the-scenes of writing life,

- creativity mini-challenges,

- and more.

Podcast booking inquiries:

[email protected]

Want more of Eowyn?

You can find Eowyn on her website, Facebook, Instagram, X, and Bluesky. Her books are available at your favorite bookstore or online retailer.

My guest today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY is Erin Crosby Eckstine, whose debut novel, JUNIE, is this month's Good Morning America book pick.

Today, we talk about:

* using family stories as inspiration for a novel

* deciding when to insert real history and when to make it flexible in historical fiction

* what happens behind the scenes on the set of Good Morning America for author interviews,

* how writers can prepare for media appearances and publicity events,

and so much more.

I hope you enjoy the show!

🟨 Want more writing advice and community?

Join 25,000 writers at CreativeInspiredHappy.com :

- Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers,

- author interviews

- behind-the-scenes of writing life,

- creativity mini-challenges,

- and more.

Podcast booking inquiries:

[email protected]

Want more of Erin?

You can find Erin on Instagram, Bluesky, and her website, and her books at your favorite bookstore or online retailer!

My guests today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY are three massively popular creators in the book space on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Bindery: Jaysen Headley (a.k.a. Ezeekat), Zoranne Host, and Marines (Mari) Alvarez.

Today, we talk about:

* how they discover books and how they choose which books they promote on their social media channels

* weathering the changes that platforms like TikTok and others are undergoing

* what it's like being a full-time or part-time creator

* Bindery: a new way (beyond traditional publishing and self-publishing) for writers to connect with creators and publish books

* what Zoranne, Jaysen, and Mari are looking to publish (the kinds of books/authors they want to work with)

* how writers can submit their manuscripts to Bindery and the creators

* book trend predictions for 2025 and 2026, and so much more.

I hope you enjoy the show!

🟨 Want more writing advice and community?

Join 24,000 writers at CreativeInspiredHappy.com :

- Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers,

- author interviews

- behind-the-scenes of writing life,

- creativity mini-challenges,

- and more.

Podcast booking inquiries:

[email protected]

Want more of Zoranne, Jaysen, and Mari?

You can find these amazing creators here:

Zoranne: TikTok, Instagram, Bindery (Fantasy and Frens)

Jaysen: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Bindery (Ezeekat Press)

Marines (Mari): TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Bindery (Mareas)

My guest today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY is Margarita Montimore, bestselling author of Oona Out of Order, which was a Good Morning America book club pick. Her latest novel, The Dollhouse Academy, is out now!

Today, we talk about:

* pep talks for yourself to get through the ups and downs of publishing

* how many rejections she weathered before landing a book deal

* dealing with professional jealousy of other writers (especially if they are friends!)

* writing tricky narrative structures (like multiple POVs or timelines)

* and so much more.

I hope you enjoy the show!

🟨 Want more writing advice and community?

Join 25,000 writers at CreativeInspiredHappy.com :

- Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers,

- author interviews

- behind-the-scenes of writing life,

- creativity mini-challenges,

- and more.

Podcast booking inquiries:

[email protected]

Want more of Margarita?

You can find Margarita on her website, Instagram, and Bluesky, and her books at your favorite bookstore or online retailer!

My guest today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY is Olivia Wolfgang-Smith, whose latest novel, Mutual Interest, has been described as a witty and joyful, queer Edith Wharton in gilded age New York.

Today, we talk about:

* the most important benefit of having writer friends or critique partners

* finding the belief in yourself that you can write a full-length novel

* the difference between publishing a debut novel versus a sophomore novel, including whether it was easier to write a book the second time around

* why she chose to hire a freelance publicist, and so much more.

I hope you enjoy the show!

🟨 Want more writing advice and community?

Join more than 25,000 writers at CreativeInspiredHappy.com :

- Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers,

- author interviews

- behind-the-scenes of writing life,

- creativity mini-challenges,

- and more.

Podcast booking inquiries:

[email protected]

Want more of Olivia?

You can find Olivia on Instagram—including her tour info—and you can pick up a copy of her new novel, Mutual Interest, anywhere books are sold!

Word-of-mouth, including through book clubs, is such an important way for readers to discover books, so I am very excited that my guest today on CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY is Mackenzie Newcomb, founder of the Bad B***h Book Club, which has 32,000 members.

Today, we talk about:

* what makes a great book club book? Aka what kind of books are more likely to be chosen for a book club?

* readers' surprising pet peeves about characters

* what makes an unlikeable character, likeable

* how authors can best connect with book club readers

* what makes a great book club meeting,

and so much more.

🟨 Full video version of this interview is available free at CreativeInspiredHappy.com, along with Scholarships for Aspiring Writers, a Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers, behind-the-scenes insights into a bestselling authors' life, mini-creativity challenges, and more.

Podcast booking inquiries:

[email protected]

Want more of the Mackenzie or the Bad B***h Book Club?

You can find the main Bad B***h Book Club website here, or become a Patreon member to get extra community features like voting on their book club picks.

And for book reviews and recs, you can find Mackenzie at Mack in Style.