Read And Write With Natasha

In this episode, I sat down with John DeDakis, a journalist with 45 years in the newsroom and 25 years at CNN, to get  honest about the upsides and downsides of artificial intelligence in writing, publishing, and education, and where he draws the line. 

John walked me through his pivot from journalism to mystery and suspense fiction, including what reporters have to unlearn when they move from “just the facts” to character emotion, interiority, and voice. We talked about persistence through rejection, why small independent publishers can be a great home, and how self-publishing changes the workload by making marketing and management your responsibility. 

If you want grounded advice on writing craft, author marketing, and the future of AI for writers, listen through and take notes.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

The Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,
publishing, and the business of books.

Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —
11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a
7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.

Subscribe here.

In this episode, I'm joined by Alisa Kriegel, a Manhattan psychologist with a thriving private practice and the author of From Sexless Marriage to Sex Goddess. 

Together, we unpack what researchers actually mean by “sexless marriage," why shame and lack of communication keep couples stuck, and how complicated the real causes can be. 

Alisa shares personal, unfiltered insights on sexual pain, birth control effects, learning your own body later in life, and the difference between friendship chemistry and sexual chemistry.

We also shift into the writing and publishing side: how Alisa drafted early pages in her iPhone Notes app on subway rides, why content editing mattered, and how she made careful choices around privacy, names, and not turning her ex into a villain. 

If you care about relationships, women’s pleasure, sex education for adults, couples therapy, or the craft of writing a memoir that tells the truth without causing unnecessary harm, there’s a lot here to sit with.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

The Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,
publishing, and the business of books.

Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —
11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a
7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.

Subscribe here.

Jessica Danel built a thriving preschool business, scaling from a home daycare to a 140-student facility. But when the 2008 recession hit at the same time her newborn faced serious medical challenges, she was forced to make difficult decisions that changed her life and business.

In this episode, Jessica shares the lessons she learned from growing, selling, and rebuilding—and how those experiences inspired her memoir, Bucket List from a Redneck Girl. We discuss her writing process, self-editing tools, hybrid publishing journey, audiobook creation, and practical book marketing strategies, including podcasting, short-form video, and AI-powered content creation.

Whether you're writing a memoir, building a business, or balancing both, this conversation is packed with hard-earned insights and actionable advice.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

The Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,
publishing, and the business of books.

Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —
11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a
7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.

Subscribe here.

Quitting a stable job to write full-time sounds bold, until you hear what it actually takes. 

Author Carla Vergot, a former special education teacher and the voice behind the Lily Barlow series, joins us to talk about the moment a planned sabbatical became a life pivot, including her husband's cancer diagnosis, which arrived just as she left teaching. She shares how writing became both an escape and a survival tool, and why that pressure pushed her stories to be lighter, funnier, and more hopeful.

We also get practical about building a sustainable author career: growing a Facebook reader group that feels like a community rather than a sales feed, booking bookstore signings, experimenting with TikTok, booking podcasts through PodMatch, and navigating publisher changes with Morgan James. 

If you care about the real writing life—doubt, momentum, and craft—this one's for you. 

Subscribe, share it with a writer friend, and leave a review.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

The Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,
publishing, and the business of books.

Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —
11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a
7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.

Subscribe here.

In this episode I sit down with author and speaker Douglas Schmidt to discuss his upcoming book, The Power of Self-Leadership: The Path to Unleash Your Talents, Strengths, and Superpowers.

We talk about the connection between learning and leadership, why habits matter more than motivation, and how small daily decisions can shape your future. Douglas shares insights from books like Atomic Habits and Learning How to Learn, explains the neuroscience behind procrastination, and reveals why he believes “learning is a superpower.”

We also dive into his publishing journey, building writing habits, using tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly, and the importance of surrounding yourself with mentors and lifelong learners.

If you’re a writer, reader, creator, or anyone trying to grow personally and professionally, this conversation is packed with practical insights and encouragement.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

The Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,
publishing, and the business of books.

Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —
11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a
7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.

Subscribe here.

A head-on crash took author Laura Van Wormer out of the writing life she knew and forced her to rebuild from scratch, including her voice. 

What she did, though, was that she didn’t just return to storytelling; she invented a new lane for herself through a serialized fiction podcast. 

Laura, a best-selling novelist and former Doubleday editor, joined me to explain how The Class of 74 became a narrative “soap opera” told week by week, complete with cliffhangers, research, and a listening experience that feels intensely personal.

Laura broke down how she grew her audience through word of mouth, why she created a Patreon community (the Detention Club), and what actually makes membership feel worth it: behind-the-scenes notes, period research, bonus media, ad-free listening, and live Q&A. 

Laura went on to explain how consolidation changed traditional publishing, why backlist rights are so valuable, and what that means for authors weighing self-publishing vs getting an agent. 

If you’re an author looking for book marketing ideas, audience growth strategies, or a clearer view of modern publishing, this conversation will give you both perspective and next steps. Subscribe, share this with a writer friend, and leave a review so more book lovers can find the show.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

The Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,
publishing, and the business of books.

Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —
11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a
7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.

Subscribe here.

Thirty-one children's books. Written in a creative sprint. Published within months.

When Kelly Anne Manuel tells that story, the most surprising part isn't the speed; it's the clarity of purpose behind it. 

Her mission is to give kids a steady stream of comfort, confidence, and language that feels fun to live in.

In this episode, I sit down with Kelly Anne Manuel, a children's book author whose modern nursery rhymes often arrive uninvited. 

She "hears" them while walking the dog, drifting off to sleep, or moving through a hard moment. We dig into how she flips familiar phrases to help children see the world differently, and how her stories stretch from playful early learning to bigger themes like endings, loss, and personal boundaries.

If you care about early childhood development, literacy, or positive self-talk, you'll hear how entertainment and emotional support can share the same page.

What we cover:

• The creative process behind writing 31 books in a single sprint
• Why she chose hybrid publishing with Balboa Press over traditional or self-publishing routes
• How to write synopses that actually land with parents, teachers, and librarians
• Building an author platform through audiobooks, digital libraries, video read-alouds, and focused PR
• Quieting the inner critic long enough to create
• Why momentum often comes from saying yes to the next right opportunity

Kelly shares what's worked, what's still unfolding, and the mindset that keeps her writing.

Who this episode is for:

Children's book authors, writers weighing self-publishing vs. hybrid publishing, and anyone trying to silence their inner critic long enough to put words on the page. You'll walk away with practical ideas — and a mindset reset.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

The Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,
publishing, and the business of books.

Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —
11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a
7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.

Subscribe here.

He started writing at 16 during lockdown, finishing a massive first draft he’ll never publish, but instead of stopping there, he kept going. That persistence turned into real momentum for Harrison Stockland, a rising crime-thriller author known for his “twisted originality” and willingness to embrace the gritty choices that traditional gatekeepers often want softened. 

His debut novel, Watch It Burn, sets the tone for the kind of dark, character-driven stories he’s building his career on. In this episode, we talk candidly about protecting your voice as you grow as a writer—and why “the deal has to be right” if you ever sign with a publishing house. 

We also get practical about self-publishing and Amazon KDP: querying agents, turning down an offer, hiring an editor and cover designer, and even learning to format a book in Microsoft Word. Harrison shares how he approaches Amazon ads, explaining why his goal is often reach and breaking even rather than immediate profit, and how a short course plus consistent experimentation can outperform expensive monthly retainers with ad agencies.

Marketing isn’t just a buzzword here. We dig into what actually moved the needle: building genuine relationships, hosting local bookstore events and signings, growing an email list, and using an author website with email automations to nudge readers toward preorders and reviews.

We also talk craft and research, how nonfiction like Mindhunter and conversations with detectives and legal professionals can elevate crime fiction, making it feel authentic without copying real cases.

If you care about writing discipline, creative control, and modern publishing strategy, this episode is packed with insights.

Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha, share this with a writer friend, and don’t forget to leave a review—it helps more book lovers discover the show.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

The Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,
publishing, and the business of books.

Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —
11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a
7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.

Subscribe here.

You've probably been told to "just let it go." Dr. Angela Longo says that's the wrong instruction and offers an alternative: replace it. I'm joined by Dr. Longo, a UC Berkeley–trained biochemist with decades of experience spanning stress biochemistry, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, and holistic healing — and the author of Relationshifting: Tools for Living Quantum Resplendence. 

We dig into what she means by quantum waves and why she treats them as information you can update through what you believe, feel, say, and do. She shares the personal moment that changed her path, then explains how her tools aim to shift patterns behind stress, worry, pain, and the stories we repeat about ourselves.

We also get practical. Dr. Longo walks us through how she helps someone uncover their life purpose using their own proud moments and language, then shows how "Bath Wave" works as an embodied practice that uses the five senses to face a pattern and install a replacement in the present tense. Along the way, we explore relationships as mirrors — a concept at the heart of Relationshifting — along with "entinglement" as her plain-language spin on entanglement, and why connection can matter more than chasing happiness. We even talk about manifestation and the law of attraction, and why she believes you manifest what you live, not what you want.

If you're curious about quantum healing, mind-body wellness, purpose-driven living, and simple tools you can actually try, listen through to the guided exercise near the end. 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

The Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,
publishing, and the business of books.

Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —
11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a
7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.

Subscribe here.

He calls himself Virus the Poet, and the name is the point: take something with a negative meaning and flip it into art that spreads in a better way. 

I sat down with Viral Gore to talk about what it looks like to build a modern poetry career that lives both online and on real stages, with real people, and real stakes.

We got into why poetry became his most natural channel for expression, how spoken word connects to music and rap lyrics, and why he keeps most poems short to match today’s attention span. 

We also talked about the platforms shaping discovery right now, including TikTok poetry, Instagram poets, and BookTok, plus the quiet trend I keep hearing about: Gen Z feeling phone fatigue and drifting back to physical books and bookstores.

Then we went behind the scenes on the business of being a working poet: pitching venues, booking speaking engagements, teaching workshops, applying for grants, negotiating performance fees, and expanding beyond book sales with merchandise. 

Virus also shared his creative workflow for catching ideas fast using iPhone voice notes, the Notes app, and drafts on his computer, along with his belief that relatability is the thread that helps readers feel less alone. 

We wrapped with what’s next for him, including Volume Two, more poetic visuals, and continued experimenting across audio platforms.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

The Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,
publishing, and the business of books.

Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —
11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a
7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.

Subscribe here.