Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read

EPISODE 726 - Eleanor Vincent - Disconnected, Portrait of a Neurodiverse Marriage

Author and memoirist Eleanor Vincent joins Dave from her home in the San Francisco Bay Area, reflecting on a life shaped by place, creativity, grief, and late-life love. She traces her journey from snowy Midwestern roots to California, where a long career in journalism taught her the discipline of daily writing and the power of working alongside other writers. That early newsroom experience became the foundation for her later work as a creative writer and memoirist, and she now champions community and “hive energy” as essential antidotes to the loneliness of writing.

Eleanor describes how a childhood steeped in books, theater, and nightly reading aloud opened the door to literature and showed her that a life in the arts was possible. Stories became both inspiration and survival tool in an emotionally unstable home, teaching her early on that reading and writing could be forms of healing, escape, and hope. That understanding would prove crucial decades later when tragedy struck.

Her first memoir, Swimming with Maya, grew out of the devastating loss of her nineteen-year-old daughter after a horse-riding accident. Rather than simply recording events, she spent a decade shaping her grief into a crafted narrative that others could enter, emphasizing that memoir is an art, not just catharsis. Writing was only one strand of her healing; therapy, spiritual practice, movement, friendship, and time all played vital roles. The book ultimately became both a tribute to Maya’s life and a testament to organ donation, showing how her daughter’s death helped save and transform other lives.

Eleanor’s new memoir, Disconnected, reflects a more seasoned writer grappling with a very different kind of heartbreak: a late-life marriage to an undiagnosed autistic partner and the unraveling of that relationship during the pressure cooker of Covid lockdown. She explains how neurodiverse couples often live inside what therapists call the “double empathy problem,” where both partners are trying hard yet neither feels safe or understood. Shutdowns, masking, and associated traits like alexithymia and demand avoidance created a tragic dance of miscommunication that conventional couples therapy could not repair. Ultimately, Eleanor chose to leave the marriage, drawing on hard-won resources and support that many partners in similar situations lack.

Throughout the conversation, she returns to her core motivation as a writer: to transform difficult experience into page-turning stories that genuinely help people. Whether writing about child loss, organ donation, or neurodiverse relationships, she aims to give readers language, context, and companionship for situations that can feel isolating and impossible.

Key takeaway: Memoir becomes most powerful when it combines emotional truth with craft, transforming raw pain into a story that offers understanding, companionship, and practical hope to others walking through their own seasons of loss, love, and change.

https://www.eleanorvincent.com/

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EPISODE 725 - Veronica Iniguez - Captain and Me at Sea! Sometimes, the greatest mysteries are hidden in plain sight

About the author
Veronica Iniguez is a debut author, born in the vibrant heart of Mexico and now embracing the desert magic of Arizona. She is a proud mother of six wonderful children. As an educator, she is passionate about inspiring young minds through learning and discovery. When she’s not homeschooling her little ones, she’s helping other children learn to read and develop a lifelong love of books. This book reflects her passion for storytelling, creativity, and helping children thrive.

Book - Captain and Me at Sea! - Captain and Me at Sea! is an adventurous picture book chronicling Captain, a brave pirate, and a feathered companion, Me. Captain and Me are on a mission to navigate the sea to seek a mystery! During their journey, they get themselves into a tangled mess, encounter a scary storm, and then find themselves exhausted. Despite the obstacles, Captain and Me complete their mission, realizing the mystery was their own shadow all along! Captain and Me at Sea! is a story that reminds us that sometimes, the greatest mysteries are hidden in plain sight, waiting to be discovered with open hearts and curious minds.

https://www.inispress.com/

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EPISODE 724 - Ellen Meeropol - Literary Late Bloomer and Author with a Love for Island Life

Ellen Meeropol is the author of six novels (Sometimes an Island, The Lost Women of Azalea Court, Her Sister's Tattoo, Kinship of Clover, On Hurricane Island, and House Arrest) and the guest editor for the anthology, Dreams for a Broken World. Her work has been honored by the Sarton Women's Prize, The Women's National Book Association, and the Massachusetts Center for the Book.

A literary late bloomer, Ellen Meeropol began seriously writing fiction in her fifties, but her first publications came much earlier. At age twelve, her essay, "I am a Square Dance Orphan," was published in a national square dance magazine and she wrote a monthly feature column for her high school newspaper in the Washington, D.C. area. Ellen studied art at Earlham College and the University of Michigan.

After working as a day care teacher and a women's reproductive health counselor, Ellen became a registered nurse and then a nurse practitioner, working at a children's hospital in western Massachusetts for 24 years. During that time, she authored and co-authored two dozen articles and book chapters about pediatric issues and latex allergy. She was honored for excellence in nursing journalism by the nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau and received the Ruth A. Smith Writing Award for excellence in writing in the profession of nursing. In 2005 Ellen was given the Chair's Excellence Award from the Spina Bifida Association of America for her advocacy around latex allergy and spina bifida.

In 2000, after decades of reading voraciously and thinking that "someday" she would write, Ellen started writing fiction and studying craft, earning an MFA from the Stonecoast Program at the University of Southern Maine. In 2005, determined to spend more time with the characters demanding her full attention, she left her nurse practitioner career.

https://www.ellenmeeropol.com/

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EPISODE 723 - Terri Lewis - From Ballet to Authorship - Words That Dance, That Fly

In this author conversation, Terri Lewis shares how dance, history, and family have been woven through every stage of her life and writing. Now speaking from Florida while her Colorado garden sleeps under snow, she reflects on the two passions she held in high school: ballet and writing. Knowing a dance career had a limited window, she chose ballet first, becoming a professional dancer and choreographer, then gradually transitioned into writing while honing her craft, learning how to truly tell a story and build a novel.

Terri describes the importance of literary community and feedback, encouraging new authors to join critique groups, attend workshops and conferences, and bravely share their work even when it feels vulnerable. She emphasizes kindness and reciprocity in the writing world, urging writers to really listen when asking others about their work rather than talking only about themselves. For her, repeated feedback is a signal: if two people say the same thing, pay attention; if three do, you have a problem to fix. She also shares how one early mentor’s simple note affirming that she could write a publishable novel became a treasured encouragement that she still keeps.

Her love of history and research runs through her novels. Her first book, inspired by a medieval woman abducted by King John and later reunited with her original fiancé, grew out of her fascination with the everyday lives of people in the Middle Ages rather than just kings and battles. Her second novel began with a candy box of family artifacts: letters, photos, and documents about her grandfather’s World War One service, shell shock, and the long fight her grandmother waged to secure his pension. That story, told through both grandparents’ perspectives, deepened her understanding of their courage, especially her grandmother’s strength in an era when women’s choices were tightly constrained.

Terri’s latest ballet-centered novel draws directly on her own experience as a dancer. It follows two friends and rivals in a 1970s ballet company whose pregnancies unfold on opposite sides of Roe v. Wade, exploring how legal, bodily, and artistic choices shape their careers, relationships, and identities. She aims to show the behind-the-scenes reality of dance: exhausting rehearsals, painful lighting calls, and the emotional strain beneath the glamour, while also portraying the different strengths of her two dancers and how their friendship is tested over time.

Throughout the conversation, Terri returns to the idea that mastery in any art takes about ten years, and that you never truly arrive. She is still revising a novel she began a decade ago, recognizing how much she has grown as a writer and how each revision makes the work stronger. She encourages listeners to capture their own family histories with simple tools like audio recorders at gatherings, preserving stories that might otherwise be lost.

Key takeaway: Terri’s journey shows that creativity is a lifelong practice of persistence, community, and curiosity, where every experience, whether on stage or in the archives of a candy box, can become meaningful story material if you keep showing up and doing the work.

https://terrilewis1.com/

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EPISODE 722 - Andrey Medina - Screenwriter and Author - Sci-Fi storyteller who's fascinated by the questions that don't have easy answers

In this episode, Dave sits down with author and screenwriter Andrey Medina to explore how imagination, movement, and instability as a child sparked a lifelong inner world that eventually led him to science fiction. Andrey explains that he was not so much “called” to authorship as he was found by science fiction itself, discovering in it a way to imagine alternatives to reality. Influences like Tolkien and Asimov did more than shape his taste; they fundamentally shaped how he thinks about worlds, systems, and psychohistory-level questions of how reality can be simulated and reimagined.

Andrey shares honest, practical advice for aspiring writers: finish something. Even a three to five page story matters, because reaching the end delivers pride and a deeper sense of catharsis as both writer and reader of your own work. He describes how completing a story can move you to tears or leave you breathless, and why that emotional climax is the best encouragement to keep going. From there, the second crucial step is to show your work to someone. Even if the reader does not fully connect, the simple fact that they speak your character’s name out loud proves that someone else now carries a piece of your imagination in their mind. He also talks about setting himself a week-long challenge during Covid to write a short story every day, emphasizing that even “crappy” stories hold fragments of gold worth revisiting later.

The conversation turns to craft and career. Andrey talks about mining small but powerful ideas from imperfect drafts, like a story of a boy who believes he is a robot and a father forced to deconstruct life into tiny, teachable truths. He discusses writing both for himself and for readers, consciously merging the stories he loves with clear commercial awareness, particularly in his young adult speculative dystopian thrillers. Drawing on his screenwriting background, he explains how thinking in scenes, locations, conflict, and emotional reaction shapes his novels, and how good dialogue functions as action rooted in motivation and emotional baggage.

Andrey introduces his series, beginning with The Conduit Trials, featuring Ren, a sixteen year old rebel in a totalitarian regime whose botched mission leads to a death sentence and a shocking offer to become a fighter pilot for the very system she opposes. He teases themes of moral ambiguity, propaganda, and critical thinking in a world where nothing is fully right or fully wrong, and shares how recent chaotic global events helped fuel the emotional “lava” behind the story. He wants readers to be fully immersed in Ren’s world while constantly asking themselves, “What would I do in her place?”

He also explains how listeners can currently read The Conduit Trials as a free ARC through BookSprout, join his mailing list via a link at the end of the book, and stay updated on future installments and launches.

Key takeaway: Finish something, no matter how small, and let it be seen. Completion gives you emotional proof that you are a storyteller, and every shared story, even an imperfect one, plants your imagined world in another person’s mind.

https://www.facebook.com/andreymedina84

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EPISODE 721 - Janet Kintner - A Judge's Tale - A Trailblazer Fights For Her Place on the Bench

In this episode of Living the Next Chapter, host Dave sits down with Janet Kintner, a retired judge, attorney, and newly published author whose journey from the courtroom to the writer’s desk reveals a life committed to justice, courage, and reflection. Speaking from her homes in San Diego and Victoria, Canada, Janet offers a look into her groundbreaking career as one of the youngest female judges in California and the personal transformation that came with writing her memoir.

Janet opens up about her early motivation to pursue law in a system historically dominated by men. Facing bias, skepticism, and immense pressure, she navigated the courtroom with determination, earning a reputation for sharp intellect, integrity, and fairness. Her experiences as both advocate and judge shaped her understanding of justice as empathy balanced with objectivity. She shares that maintaining emotional distance was a necessity in law—essential for fair judgment but challenging when faced with tragedy. Writing her memoir forced her to reconnect with those long-suppressed emotions, creating both healing and honesty in her storytelling.

The process of writing, Janet admits, was as demanding as any legal trial. From juggling hundreds of drafts to conducting years of research, she learned to stay organized and rely on professional editors who matched her style. Classes in memoir writing also helped her transition from legal precision to emotional clarity, teaching her to articulate feeling rather than just fact. Her advice to new authors is practical: take writing classes, choose your editor wisely, and date every document to track progress.

Janet reflects on her groundbreaking appointment to the bench at age thirty-one—then the youngest judge in California—and the isolation that often comes with being a pioneer. Over time, she found solidarity with younger judges entering the system, helping to reshape a once insular profession. Through her career, she remained guided by fairness, objectivity, and a commitment to giving every voice—especially women—a chance to be heard.

As she discusses her memoir, Janet shares that she wrote not only for her generation of women but for younger readers who can learn from the struggles of the past. Her humor, warmth, and optimism shine throughout her story, softening even the hardest experiences. She’s proud of weaving strength with vulnerability, showing that compassion is never a weakness in leadership.

Looking ahead, Janet hints at her next project: a work of fiction that lets her explore imagination and “say all the things I wish I’d said.” With clear joy, she notes that writing has become an uplifting addiction—another chapter in a life defined by purpose and perseverance.

Key takeaway:
True legacy is not built on authority alone but on integrity, empathy, and resilience. Janet Kintner’s journey reminds us that even after years of reasoned judgment, rediscovering emotion and sharing our stories can be the most liberating act of all.

https://www.janetkintner.com/

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Episode 720 - Hollis Jo McCollum - Epic Dark Fantasy with Inspired Romantic Subplots

In this lively author episode, Dave is joined by dark fantasy writer and podcaster Hollis Jo McCollum for an unscripted, improv flavored conversation about creativity, connection and the realities of podcasting as an author. Hollis broadcasts from Suwanee, in the north metro Atlanta area, where she loves the local community, walking trails and especially the vibrant Korean cafes and markets that have become part of her daily rhythm. Her podcast is called “I Do What I Want!” which she describes as both a catchphrase and a mindset; she is not belligerent, but proudly stubborn about creating on her own terms, using improv skills instead of heavy editing and embracing a live, unedited format on YouTube and Spotify so listeners see the authentic process, cats and all.

Throughout the conversation, Hollis traces how improv, drama club and “yes, and” thinking shaped her confidence and on mic presence, and she and Dave dig into the importance of being fully present in conversations. That leads to a thoughtful tangent on how phones and constant screen time are eroding social skills and problem solving in younger generations, illustrated by a story about a Gen Z teen who is anxious about a simple interaction asking for napkins and by Hollis’s partner’s candid street photography full of “nose to phone” subjects. Both hosts advocate for being more present, talking to actual humans, and deliberately stepping outside comfort zones as a path to growth, creativity and better podcasting.

Hollis then shares the origin of “I Do What I Want!” which began as a single planned episode about the Dungeons and Dragons campaign that inspired her novel “To Save a World,” recorded with her best friend of over thirty years. Unsure how to start, she actually hired a production company to help her set up her mic, hosting and Spotify presence, and discovered she loved the format enough to keep going, mostly solo, with occasional author friends as relaxed guests. That experience taught her how critical scheduling is: she originally aimed for longer, twice monthly episodes but quickly learned that with a full time job, writing, marketing and life responsibilities, she needed a realistic rhythm. Now she anchors the show to one live episode on the last Sunday of each month, built on a simple half page outline with a few milestones, trusting that the format and voice will naturally evolve over time rather than being over planned from the start.

The episode also touches on her voice acting work, where she leans into character voices like the insidious villain Simoom, and on her strong feelings about listeners speeding up audiobooks and performance heavy podcasts. For Hollis, pacing, pauses and breathing are integral to emotional impact, so compressing audio feels like stripping respect from the performer and story, even though she concedes some people prioritize efficiency. As the conversation closes, Hollis talks about why podcasting remains worthwhile even though she is not chasing huge download numbers; it gives readers and potential fans a way to discover her personality, ask questions and connect outside crowded conventions. 

https://www.hollisjomccollumauthor.com/

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EPISODE 719 - Alfred Muller - supernatural, occult fiction and traditional fantasy

Alfred Muller shares a personal, long-form reflection on writing, feedback, and growth as an author, framed by his Tennessee roots and a deep love of the craft. The episode weaves practical advice with candid stories—from embracing constructive criticism to the discipline of finishing a manuscript—into a portrait of how dedication, routine, and audience awareness shape a writer’s progress.

In this conversation, Muller emphasizes that criticism should be treated as a tool, not a personal attack. He recalls how classroom feedback helped him rework scenes for better dialogue flow and realism, underscoring the value of real-time critique when you can ask clarifying questions and observe responses. He also highlights the importance of understanding your audience and adjusting language and references to fit their world, which can prevent disconnects between narrator, character, and reader.

The discussion moves into the practical side of developing as a writer. Muller advises new writers to seek feedback in educational settings where instructors and peers can provide strategic, actionable notes. He reflects on the transformation that comes from revising with a cold, analytical eye after a delay, rather than reacting impulsively to criticism. The episode also touches the difference between drafting and publishing: the opportunity to solicit questions and explanations evaporates once a work is released to the public.

On craft and character, Muller discusses the process of building authentic dialogue and motivation. He describes how personal interests—like hockey—can flavor a character’s voice and choices, and how conveying believable speech requires attention to what the audience knows or cares about. The narrative delves into world-building choices, such as naming conventions and religious or mythological elements, to anchor supernatural or fantastical elements in human-scale concerns and emotions.

The episode closes with a candid look at publishing milestones, ongoing projects, and the ongoing balance between daily life and creative work. Muller shares the practicality of maintaining writing momentum during busy periods, using prompts and micro-writing exercises to push through blocks. He reminds listeners that finishing a draft is the gateway to meaningful revision, and that reading widely remains essential to sustain growth and keep perspective in a changing literary landscape.

Key takeaway for listeners: constructive feedback, thoughtfully received and applied, accelerates growth; finish what you start to unlock productive revision, and anchor fiction in relatable human concerns to keep characters and worlds compelling.

https://alfredmuller44.wixsite.com/alfred-muller-books

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EPISODE 718 - V. Maia - Cultural clashes and ordinary moments become intertwined with extraordinary dreams and the destiny of the universe

V. Maia is a Brazilian academic researcher, IT professional, and passionate storyteller. With a Ph.D. in cloud computing privacy and over two decades of experience in the information technology sector, his expertise ranges from data security to cybersecurity.

But V. Maia’s interests extend far beyond the digital realm. A lifelong fascination with astrophysics and science fiction fuels his imagination and shapes his perspective on life. His global travels, from his roots in Brazil to academic and professional pursuits around the world, have sparked deep reflection on cultural differences and the human experience.

In his debut novel, “Under Full Moons: A Tale of Parenting in Paris… and the Fate of the Universe,” V. Maia weaves a unique narrative that blends the mundane realities of parenting with the extraordinary possibilities of lucid dreaming and cosmic events.

When he’s not writing or exploring the mysteries of the universe, V. Maia can be found in his Brasilia home, cooking up delicious meals with his family.

Book: Under Full Moons
Vinícius takes on the challenge of moving from Brasilia to Paris with his family, where his wife will complete a master's degree. He will be responsible for looking after the children and the house. However, along with the cultural conflicts and the intense new family routine in France, Vinícius soon begins to have paranormal encounters, first in his dreams and then in waking life. These beings that contact Vinícius are desperate: they need his help to prevent the universe from being torn apart via a real-life cosmological and cataclysmic phenomenon called the Big Rip, in a faraway future. Although the entities are advanced and can travel through vast swathes of time, they are unable to prevent their own extinction. As Vinícius pieces together the puzzle presented to him, he learns that it all depends on his ability to harness lucid dreams. Unless Vinícius has these dreams, he will be powerless to alter the fabric of spacetime. The fate of the universe hangs in the balance.

https://vmaiaauthor.com/

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EPISODE 717 - Hal Glatzer - Accidental Detectives, Friends With Benefits and How Music Influences Writing

Hal Glatzer is a novelist who blends mystery with a rich musical background, sharing insights about his creative journey, his fiction’s settings, and the people who populate his work. The interview unfolds in three main threads: the mysteries Glatzer writes, the music he performs, and the biography that informs his storytelling.

Glatzer’s literary path begins in youth with classical training in violin and clarinet, moving through the folk revival and bluegrass, and finally embracing the Great American Songbook. This musical fluency informs his approach to dialogue and rhythm in fiction, where characters banter and move storylines forward through speech. His long-running Katy Green novels anchor his literary voice in historical-recovery and performance, while his current project centers on Herman and Teddy, an older couple who navigate an affair while solving murders. They are “accidental detectives” in a cozy mystery setting, chosen to explore grown-up themes with wit, warmth, and intellectual curiosity.

Grand Lake City, Glatzer’s fictional setting, serves as a crafted backdrop that mirrors real Rust Belt towns gradually reviving their economies. The two primary protagonists—Herman, a late sixties retired magazine editor, and Teddy, a middle sixties former high school math teacher—live a “friendship with benefits” relationship. Their dynamic blends sharp banter, contrasting personalities, and complementary lives, which continually challenge and propel the mysteries they stumble into. The series follows this duo across three novels so far: The Nest, The Office Wife, and The Two Birds, with plans for future installments and possibly revisiting the Katie Green character from his earlier work.

A central theme is how music—whether live performance or the memory of songs—deeply embeds itself in people’s brains and sustains memory, emotion, and identity. Glatzer describes performing for nursing homes and veterans as a powerful reminder that music often outlives other faculties, a belief that resonates with how he builds mood and atmosphere in his stories. He also explains that his storytelling relies on the tension between characters and situations: even a cozy mystery benefits from obstacles that threaten personal relationships and force protagonists to confront difficult choices.

For readers, the appeal lies in dialog-rich, character-driven mysteries where adults face real-life complexities, including marriage, friendship, and moral dilemmas, while the plot unfurls through witty dialogue and engaging puzzles. Glatzer emphasizes that his ideal reader is an adult who appreciates a well-crafted whodunit with authentic relationships and no graphic sexuality, while acknowledging that his work may test readers’ comfort with adultery within a carefully controlled narrative.

Key takeaway: Hal Glatzer’s mysteries thrive on character chemistry and dialogue as the engine of plot, pairing cozy, accessible puzzles with mature, nuanced relationships that keep readers thinking—and listening—for the next twist.

https://halglatzer.com/

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