Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

In part two of my interview with award-winning author and (semi) fearless immersion reporter Lauren Kessler, who brand-new book "Everything Changes Everything" is getting great reviews for being an affective portrait of moving through the kinds of loss we all hope to avoid but few can avoid.
In today’s interview we dive into the interior side of writing–dealing with resistance, doubts, aging, and unhelpful beliefs.
We covered:
- The part of the writing process she always conducts while sitting on the floor
- A really great peek inside the book proposal process
- The one question her inner critic asks over and over again
- What her inner supporter tells her when she gets stuck in a loop of doubt
- Two very insightful reasons why she doesn’t share her age
- How she pushes back against the aging process
- Making a living as a mid-list writer (i.e., not a mega bestseller)
- The “woo woo” disciplines that appeal to her
Connect with Lauren at laurenkessler.com or laurenjkess.substack.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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My guest today is Lauren Kessler, a multi-award-winning author of eleven works of narrative nonfiction, three biographies, an oral history, and four books on writing and reporting.
A gutsy immersion journalist, Lauren has explored life inside a maximum-security prison, the grueling world of professional ballet, the anti-aging movement, and the hidden world of Alzheimer’s sufferers. Her brand new book, "Everything Changes Everything" is her most personal by far, detailing how she processed the loss of both her husband and her daughter by setting out alone to walk the Camino de Santiago across Spain.
We covered:
- How she landed on narrative nonfiction as her genre of choice, even though she had a degree in journalism
- The woman Lauren wrote her first feature story about, who died by suicide shortly after the story came out, and the effect that had on Lauren
- How writing feels in her body
- The work she’s had to do to accept that writing is a business as well as an art
- The part of the writing process that makes her brain sweat
- How she taught full time, wrote a deeply researched book every three years, and raised three kids–and how she’s been able to move away from working that hard, that consistently
- The breakthrough that helped her work smarter, not harder
- Her hack for making writing a little less sedentary
- A genius trick for making it easier to get your writing brain going in the morning
Connect with Lauren at laurenkessler.com or laurenjkess.substack.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 Elizabeth Gonzalez-James, screenwriter and bestselling author of the novels, “The Bullet Swallower” and “Mona at Sea,” as well as the chapbook, “Five Conversations About Peter Sellers.” Elizabeth was featured on the MSNBC documentary, “My Generation,” representing the millennials. And she has taught fiction writing at Grub Street, Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop, Story Studio and elsewhere.
In today's interview, we're diving into the mindset side of writing, dealing with resistance and doubts, the passage of time–all things that might make this episode sound like a bummer, but things we all face. So let's talk about how to work with them so that we can feel better about them.
We talked about:
- The many ways she avoids doing the actual writing
- The type of feedback that motivates her to get writing (sneak preview: it’s not the positive kind of feedback)
- Making the transition from debut author to “established writer”
- Acknowledging and working through her resistance to the act of writing
- Being a geriatric millennial
- How giving fewer Fs has eased her judgement of other people
- Unlearning the things she was taught as a kid from her immigrant dad about how you can never trust other people or ask for help
Connect with Elizabeth on Instagram @unefemmejames.
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 Crystal King, bestselling author of In the Garden of Monsters, Feast of Sorrow, The Chef's Secret, and the brand new The Happiness Collector. Crystal's writing is fueled by a love of history and a passion for the food, language, and culture of Italy. So if you're ever looking to take a mental escape to another culture, a delicious one and a fascinating one at that, definitely check out her books.
Today we get a peek at what's currently inspiring Crystal and I'll ask her my fast final five questions about what she's been reading, watching, listening to, drinking and eating lately.
We cover:
- Her new novel, which combines Nathaniel Hawthorne and the punk scene in Rome in the early 80s
- The book by an Italian author she wants everyone to read
- The authors who inspire her
- Why her husband doesn’t read her books until they’re published
- Why she’s applying for Italian citizenship
- Her very specific vision of where she’s headed that involves being in a room with 5,000 copies of her book
- Two novels by other authors coming out this spring we should all be on the lookout for
- The Italian singer-songwriter and rapper whose social media posts make her happy
Visit Crystal at crystalking.com or on Substack @crystalking.
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's guest is Elizabeth Gonzales James, screenwriter and bestselling author of the novels, “The Bullet Swallower” and “Mona at Sea,” as well as the chapbook, “Five Conversations About Peter Sellers.”
“The Bullet Swallower” is based on mostly true events from her own family lore, a magical realism Western that was named a best book of 2024 by NPR and Esquire.
“Mona at Sea,” is a darkly funny coming of age story set against the backdrop of the Great Recession that was inspired by her own experience of long-term unemployment.
And “Five Conversations About Peter Sellers” is the result of Elizabeth attempting to sit down and write a reported piece on how the actor Peter Sellers derailed the production of a 1960s movie, “Casino Royale.” That’s when the book spins into its own chaos as five different narrators share their point of view about what the original essay is really about.
We covered:
- How she went from MBA graduate prepping for a career in finance to an unemployed stay at home mom living in her in-law’s basement
- The one, unfleshed-out idea for a short story that set her on the writing path (with a nudge from the creator of The Perfect Push-up, a made for TV fitness product)
- How writing books is like dating
- A detailed accounting of the financials for each of her book–and how she knew “The Bullet Swallower” would be her “put-my-kids-through-college” book
- Making the jump from writing books to writing screenplays
- Why, sometimes, all the tips in the world can’t help you write more–and how to give yourself grace during those times
- Knowing when to push and be disciplined, and when to back off
- Her current productivity hack that involves handicrafts
Connect with Elizabeth on Instagram @unefemmejames.
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 Crystal King, author of the bestselling food-laden novels, “In the Garden of Monsters,” “The Chef’s Secret,” and “Feast of Sorrow.” Her newest novel, “The Happiness Collector,” is a contemporary fantasy novel about an American historian who lands a dream job in Rome--and may or may not be an unwitting pawn in battle of the gods.
In today’s interview we cover:
- How she comforts herself when impostor syndrome kicks in
- The inner critic narrative that’s unique to mystery writers (I hadn’t considered this one before)
- The uncanny experience of listening to the audiobook version of your book
- How a brush with breast cancer has changed her writing–and life–goals
- The gender norms she’s done with
- The tools she’s learned from reading the Stoics
Visit Crystal at crystalking.com or on Substack @crystalking.
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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My guest this week is Crystal King, author of the novels “In the Garden of Monsters”--a retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth–“Feast of Sorrow”--about an ancient Roman gourmand–”The Chef’s Secret”--about the pope’s private chef during the Renaissance--and the brand new “The Happiness Collector,” about a modern-day history professor who lands her dream job in Rome where it slowly becomes apparent that ancient forces are still very much in play.
Crystal is a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet and former co-editor of the (now defunct) online literary arts journal Plum Ruby Review. She has taught writing, creativity and social media at UMass Boston, Boston University, Mass College of Art, Harvard Extension School, and Grub Street.
In today’s episode, we cover:
- Why she’s obsessed with Italy
- Her master’s degree in the coolest subject I never realized was an area of study: critical and creative thinking
- The master’s thesis she was sure could be a book (until agents told her, no actually, it can’t)
- How teaching writing led to her writing her first novel
- The two ways to make it in publishing (and the path she’s chosen)
- Her one regret in life
- How her day job in marketing, social media, and AI helps her as a writer
- A frank talk about the financial side of being an author
- The cool ways she comes up with ideas
- How she writes a book in six months, with a full-time day job
- Her plug for writing every day
Visit Crystal at crystalking.com or on Substack @crystalking.
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 second part of my conversation with Lucas Mann, author of Attachments, Essays on Fatherhood and Other Performances and co-owner (with his wife, Ottavia) of the fabulous Riff Raff Bookstore and Bar in Providence, Rhode Island, we really got into the evolution of his thinking about what it means–and what it takes–to be a ‘successful’ writer, and what the even means.

Specifically, we talked about:

The hardest part of writing for Lucas–namely, discipline–and why writing an article feels so much harder than writing a book

How his inner critic is obsessed with making sure he sounds smart, and not like he’s just writing about feelings–and how it’s always wrong

How getting older has helped him be less precious about his writing

How being a competitive, jock-y kid fed into his writing path

How teaching creative writing (which he does at U. Mass Dartmouth) has changed since he was an MFA student at the University of Iowa

Releasing the idea that the only way to be good at something is to be maniacally devoted to it

Why he loves the Enneagram

Visit Lucas at www.lucasmann.com.

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value).

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Welcome back to the final installment of my interview with Welcome back to part two of my interview with Susannah Cahalan, author of the books “Brain on Fire,” “The Great Pretender,” and most recently “The Acid Queen.” Susannah is also a mental health advocate, speaker, and founder of the Sob Sisters, a networking group for women who write nonfiction.
We covered:
- A peek at her next book, which is about belief, and how and why we come to believe what we do
- Shifting out of research mode and into writing mode–and when it makes the most sense to do so
- The ritual she used to help her leave her last project behind and embark on something new
- Her very groovy vision of the future that involves gardening, herbalism, and possibly becoming a different person altogether as she has a black thumb
- The 1970s horror movie she recently re-watched that stands the test of time
- The beauty of warm, frothy milk
- The Radiohead album she listens to while writing
- The time of day when she feels most excited
- A love letter to pasta that has been prepared by men
Visit Susannah on Instagram @susannahcahalan or at susannhacahalan.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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