Writer-creator, puzzle addict and enthusiastic connector Susan Terkel has a natural curiosity about people and their stories. She has a marvelous way of finding commonalities with strangers, usually within 30 seconds of meeting them. 

Kate saw this play out recently at PodPopuli, a recording studio in Hudson, Ohio, just before Susan's recording session. Then, a couple of weeks later, Kate had her own Susan Terkel moment at another studio 19 miles away in Akron.  

When an engineer at Akron's Area 67 Recording Studio heard that Kate lives in Hudson, he said, "I know a famous author there. Susan Terkel." Turns out he lived in Hudson for a while himself and hung out with one of Susan and her husband Larry's sons. 

Small world, isn't it? Susan comes to this realization on a very regular basis and, yet, every single time she's surprised and delighted. It's magical, she says, and she never takes that magic for granted. 

In this wide-ranging conversation, Susan covers a lot of topics including:

- Being a worrier (she's a Jewish mother, after all)
- Comparing life to a puzzle
- Meditating every day
- Writing (plus advice for would-be writers)
- Knitting, sewing and "upcyling"
- Doing for others
- Making friends with people of all ages
- Laughing
- Sharing her secrets to a successful marriage

Listen, learn and laugh.