Today's episode is a little different. It's just me, going deep on something I've never fully unpacked before: what it's actually been like to write my first novel.

I take you back to 2023, when I tried to sell a nonfiction book about the science of curiosity—and how both publishers I was in talks with pulled out of the auction the morning it was supposed to happen. I thought that was the end of my book-writing chapter.

It wasn't.

Fast forward to January of this year, one conversation with Michael turned into an idea for a psychological thriller (think Gone Girl meets Severance), and within three hours of posting a single Instagram video announcing it, a literary agency reached out wanting to represent me, before I'd written more than two pages! I get into why that happened, what it says about the power of a platform in 2026, and the very unglamorous reality of book proposals, 43 chapter summaries, and my own "fatal flaw" as a writer (spoiler: I can't write a messy first draft to save my life).

But this episode isn't really about publishing logistics. It's about the strange split between the person you think you know from my videos—grounded, married, happy—and the darker, stranger stories I've always needed somewhere to put.

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Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmevEcbh5h5FEX0pazPEtN86t7eb2OgX

To apply to be a guest on the show, visit luciefink.com/apply and send us your story.

I also want to extend a special thank you to East Love for the show's theme song, Rolling Stone.

Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealstuffpod

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/luciebfink

Website: https://luciefink.com/

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Executive Producer: Cloud10

Produced by Dear Media.

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