Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

This week my guest is Phil Eil, an author and freelance journalist based in his hometown–and mind–Providence, RI.
Phil’s first book, “Prescription for Pain: How a Once Promising Doctor Became the ‘Pill Mill Killer’”, came out in 2024 and was hailed a riveting true-crime page-turner by the Columbus Dispatch. He’s currently working on a new book about the history of the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, RI, a maximum-security prison that was hailed as an economic lifeline for Rhode Island’s poorest–and geographically smallest–city and is now being used to house people detained by ICE and causing quite a stir in the local community.
Phil was the news editor and staff writer at the alt-weekly, the Providence Phoenix, until the paper closed in 2014. Since then, he's contributed to VICE, the Atlantic, Men’s Health, The Nation, Boston Magazine, and Huffington Post, and is a regular contributor to vital local independent news outlets including UpriseRI and the Rhode Island Current.
We covered:
-How his first clue that he wanted to be a journalist was that he loved writing papers in college (not something most people love)
- The continuing education class he took that clicked his career path into place
- How meaning and passion can make up for lack of profit
- The news story he just broke
- How he uses speaking to supplement his income
- The link between AI and the spread of disinformation (a subject he speaks about)
- A look at the financial realities of being a journalist in 2026
- Why he doesn’t get down when reporting on bleak topics
- The prescription medication that was a game changer for him
Connect with Phil at philipeil.com, or on Instagram @philip.eil or Bluesky @phileil.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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Welcome back to part three of my interview with Lori Gold, author of the brand new novel “Kiss, Marry, Kill,” about three women who play a spin on the classic sleepover game and wake up the next day in an alternate universe, and “Romantic Friction,” an NPR Book of the Day that satirizes publishing and AI and explores female ambition and friendship.
Lori is also the author of Love, Theodosia, Sources Say, Screen Queens, and the Becoming Jinn series, which she published under the name Lori Goldstein.
In today’s episode, we’re going to get a peek at where Lori’s throughline may be leading her next, as well as what she’s been reading, watching, listening to, and fantasizing about eating lately, including:
- How she comes up with book ideas that have a hooky premise
- How reading all of Liane Moriarty’s book was an education (as well as a joyride)
- Keeping writing fresh by taking on new storytelling challenges
- Re-organizing her time so she can do a deep dive on completing the draft of her next book
- The Netflix rom com that’s giving her life
Connect with Lori on Instagram @lorigoldsteinbooks or at her website, lorigoldsteinbooks.com.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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Welcome back to part two of my interview with Lori Gold, whose brand new novel is “Kiss, Marry, Kill,” a book about three friends who are sent into alternate universes after playing the classic sleepover game during a company trip.
Today, we’re getting into the psychology and mindset side of writing–the thoughts, ideas, and beliefs that play such a big part of this very interior profession.
We covered:
- Why “Kiss, Marry, Kill” took two years to revise
- How she determines when she’s done enough book promotion
- What she tells herself when the doubts start coming
- How getting older has changed what she writes about
- Infusing a fictional story with your real-life feelings
- Feeling your gravitational pull tilt away from ambition as you enter your 50s
- Why “write what you know” isn’t true
- A plug for the power of planning
Connect with Lori on Instagram @lorigoldsteinbooks or at her website, lorigoldsteinbooks.com.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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This week my guest is Lori Gold, author of the just-released “Kiss, Marry, Kill” about three women who play a spin on the classic sleepover game and wake up the next day in an alternate universe, and last year’s winning breakthrough, “Romantic Friction” – a comedic look at a rivalry between two writers seasoned with a dash of AI that was an NPR Book of the Day.
Her other books, published under the name Lori Goldstein, include the adult historical novel, “Love, Theodosia”, a Romeo & Juliet for Hamilton fans, and four novels for young adults: “Sources Say,” “Screen Queens,” and the “Becoming Jinn” series.
Lori is also a creative writing instructor and founder of Think Write, which holds creative writing classes and writing retreats.
We covered:
- Making the leap to fiction from journalism
- The first manuscript she ever wrote that was 800 pages long
- The writing class that changed everything
- How the right encouragement at the right time–plus stubbornness–can fuel you
- The importance of having a cheerleader
- Why her husband was the only person who knew she was trying to write a book
- Her belief that no writing is wasted–even the complete manuscripts that don’t get picked up by a publisher
- Protecting your writing time amidst the side hustles
- Realizing when you need to get back to a more writing-centric routine
- The different tools she uses for different parts of the writing process
Connect with Lori on Instagram @lorigoldsteinbooks or at her website, lorigoldsteinbooks.com.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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Welcome back to the final installment of my interview with John Glynn, author of the brand new novel “The Lost Book of Lancelot,” a queer retelling of the legend of Camelot–think Heated Rivalry set in King Arthur’s court.
John is also the author of “Out East: Memoir of a Montauk Summer” that oprah.com called "A moving account of the particular sort of loneliness that descends when you know you're unhappy but don't quite know why."
In addition to being an author and freelance writer, John is the editorial director of Hanover Square Press, an imprint of HarperCollins.
In today’s episode we’re talking about where John’s throughline may be leading him next and we’ll also talk about some lighter, yet still vitally important topics, like what he’s been watching, reading, listening to, and fantasizing about eating lately.
We covered:
- Toying with two different ideas on what book to work on next
- The memoir he reads a few pages of before he sits down to write
- How he’s navigating this really busy time of promoting a new book while also working full-time
- Why he drinks iced coffee year round
- The brand new memoir he stayed up too late to finish
Connect with John on Instagram at @glynner85.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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Welcome to part two of my interview with John Glynn, a novelist, memoirist, and the editorial director of Hanover Square Press, an imprint of HarperCollins. His brand new novel (out May 12!) is “The Lost Book of Lancelot,” a queer retelling of the legend of Camelot that Publisher’s Weekly called “a fresh, fun take on a classic” that’s “entertaining, vivid, and immersive.”
Today we’re talking about the inner stuff involved in writing and the literary arts–the doubts, the beliefs, and personal development that writing both requires and delivers.
We covered:
- A peek into the process of how publishers sell and market books
- And a peek into why many would-be authors get a “no” from publishers
- Why feeling insecure and vulnerable are signs you’re on the right track
- The two times the inner critic is the loudest–and how he approaches it
- Feeling nostalgic for earlier times in his life when writing felt more urgent because it was a lifeline
- What RuPaul gets wrong about relationships
- The psychic parties his aunt used to throw (a genius idea that I totally want to steal!)
Connect with John on Instagram at @glynner85.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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This week my guest is John Glynn, author of the brand new novel (out May 12) “The Lost Book of Lancelot,” a queer retelling of the legend of Camelot that’s a great fit for fans of Heated Rivalry and for anyone interested in the legends surrounding the quest for the Holy Grail. Plus, dragons!
John’s nonfiction debut “Out East: Memoir of a Montauk Summer” was named a best book by Time, Entertainment Weekly, and Cosmopolitan. His writing has appeared in People, Oprah Daily and The Daily Beast.
In addition to being an author and freelance writer, John is the editorial director of Hanover Square Press, an imprint of HarperCollins. As an editor, his authors have won the Booker Prize, the Pulitzer, the National Book Award, Grammys, and an Olympic gold medal.
We covered:
- Formative memories of being read to by his mom when he was little
- His early start in publishing as an intern and editorial assistant, and the glamour of going to work everyday in Rockefeller Center for a kid from Western Massachusetts (even though he was photocopying and answering phones)
- The two novels he wrote that didn’t get published
- How working as an editor on other people’s books and writing his own books inform each other
- How he makes time to write while working a fulltime job
- The 13th century French folk tale that sparked the idea for “The Lost Book of Lancelot”
- How he started writing the book “just for fun” and “just for me”
- The one spot that provides the best chances of him getting some good writing done
Connect with John on Instagram at @glynner85.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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In this final installment of my interview with author and writing teacher Christopher Castellani, talked about how to stay connected to your creativity during turbulent times and then we got into some fun talk about the authors, books, morning beverages, and songs he’s currently loving.
- What he learned about Tennessee Williams while researching a novel that continues to inspire him
- Making his first forays into writing for television
- How he’s getting less snooty with age and more excited to try new, more commercial creative endeavors/genres
- The classic he recently read for the first time that knocked his socks off
- The breakfast ritual he is absolutely devoted to
- The Celine Dion song he loves that was originally written for Meatloaf!
- Why he loves Monday mornings
Connect with Christopher (and check if he’s doing an event near you!) at christophercastellani.com.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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In part two of my interview with author and writing teacher Christopher Castellani, we talked about all the quirky psychology that goes into creating, including:
- Why his books tend to get longer and longer the more he revises
- The painful process of falling out of love with a book you’re writing
- Sometimes it’s the timing of a project and not the quality of the idea that makes or breaks it
- Bouncing around between various works in progress
- The longest list of things his inner critic says of anyone I’ve ever talked to
- Scheduling when he’ll feel sorry for himself as a way to quiet those negative thoughts
- Finding the weird bits of your psychology to motivate yourself (Christopher’s is getting excited about working on two projects at the same time because then he gets to feel like he’s cheating whenever he stops working on one and starts working on the other)
- A really thoughtful reason why “show don’t tell” is overdone
- Why he had four separate legal pads for his last project, and how he used them to tap into his characters’ subconsciouses (and ultimately, his own)
- How he tricks himself into working
Connect with Christopher (and check if he’s doing an event near you!) at christophercastellani.com.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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This week I’m delighted to be talking with five-time novelist Christopher Castellani. Christopher’s newest book is “Last Seen,” which combines suspense, true crime, and magical realism to take the reader on a journey through the psyches and preoccupations of young men coming of age in twenty-first-century America.
Christopher’s first novel, “A Kiss from Maddalena,” chronicled the Italian-American immigrant experience and won the Massachusetts Book Award; its follow-up, “The Saint of Lost Things,” was a BookSense Notable Book; and the final novel in the trilogy, “All This Talk of Love,” was a New York Times Editors’ Choice.
His novel “Leading Men,” about the playwright Tennessee Williams and his longtime partner Frank Merlo, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and is being developed into a movie for Searchlight Pictures.
We covered:
- What happened in fifth grade that made him decide to be a writer
- Why he decided not to pursue the more stable path of becoming a writing professor
- How being an author is a little like being a one man band
- How he uses his books to make money–and it’s not by selling more copies
- The habit he started during the pandemic that he still does, and that has totally changed his relationship to reading
- The nerdy 80s magazine he’s still a subscriber to
Connect with Christopher (and check if he’s doing an event near you!) at christophercastellani.com.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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