Uncorking a Story

Uncorking a Story

By Michael CarlonComedySociety & CultureArtsBooks
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Uncorking a Story episodes

  • Building Wealth, with Tom Suvansri

    Many of us define wealth by what we can quantify in our bank accounts, but today’s guest on Uncorking a Story, Tom Suvansri, thinks that’s way too limiting. His story is a wakeup call for anyone who thinks wealth can be measured solely in dollars and cents.

    Meet Tom Suvansri

    Tom graduated from Penn State University with an MBA in Finance after earning his BA in Biology from the College of New Jersey. Prior to starting his firm Perennial pride, Tom spent 15 years in the Pharmaceuticals industry. He joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about his book Wealth Beyond the Numbers: A Simple by Powerful Financial and Life Plan for Living Your Best Life.


    Key Topics:

    1. How a check of his credit report led to Tom realizing his mother had been borrowing large sums of money in his name without his knowledge.
    2. Why Tom has made it his mission to help other people avoid the traps of debt and build financial security.
    3. Why Tom believes real wealth isn’t just monetary, but having a purpose in life.
    4. Why Tom talks to his clients about meaning prior to helping them with their finances.
    5. Key principles to leading a wealth filled life.



      6. Buy Wealth Beyond the Numbers: A Simple by Powerful Financial and Life Plan for Living Your Best Life on Tom’s Website


      Connect With Tom

      Website: https://perennialpride.com/

      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suthee.suvansri

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/perennialpride

      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialpride/


      Connect with Mike

      Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/

      Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g

      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/

      TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory

      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory

      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/


      If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.


      Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

      47 min
    6. Love Remembers, with Charlotte Maya

      Charlotte Maya’s life was turned upside down when she arrived home from a hike with her children to find a police officer and priest waiting at her home. They took her aside to tell her that her husband committed suicide and that’s where this story begins.


      Meet Charlotte Maya

      Charlotte writes about suicide loss, resilience, and hope on her blog, SushiTuesdays.com. Widowed at thirty-nine, when her children were six and eight, Charlotte’s writing explores the intersections of grief, parenting, and self-care—particularly within the context of suicide. Her work has been highlighted in Hippocampus Magazine and on The Mighty, and she has been featured on the A2A Alliance and the Your Next Chapter podcast with Angela Raspass. She joined me on Uncorking a Story to discuss her memoir Sushi Tuesdays: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Resilience


      Key Topics:


      1. How Charlotte handled the news of her husband’s death by suicide.
      2. Why she decided to tell her children the truth and the impact that has had on their relationship.
      3. Why it is so important to talk about suicide.
      4. The story behind the name Sushi Tuesdays
      5. How writing was part of Charlotte’s healing.



        6. Buy Sushi Tuesdays: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Resilience

        Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xXlEvg

        Bookshop.org: ​​https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9781637587270


        Connect With Charlotte

        Website: https://www.charlotte-maya.com/

        Email: [email protected]

        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sushituesdays/photos/?ref=page_internal

        Twitter: https://twitter.com/charlottemaya1

        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlottemayawriter/


        Connect with Mike

        Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/

        Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g

        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/

        TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory

        Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory

        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory

        LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/


        If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.


        Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

        43 min
      6. Tutto Bene, with Rose Patruno

        Rose Patruno grew up in a very patriarchal society where her brother enjoyed many more freedoms than she did. Over time, this impacted her mental and physical health and she had no choice but to leave her home in Puglia, Italy to find love and work in Paris. After finding both, her health turned around and she is Tutto Bene, or “All Good.”

        Meet Rose Patruno

        When still a teen, Rose decided to become a writer and at the age of twenty, she defied the path laid out by her patriarchal family and left her home in Puglia, Italy, leaving her family behind, to follow her own passions of art and literature to discover Paris. She recently me on Uncorking a Story to talk about the first book in her thrilling New Adult fantasy series, “The Hidden Heir”

        Key Topics:


        1. How growing up in southern Italy has influenced her personality & how her experience impacted her view of the world
        2. What it is like growing up in a patriarchal society, and how she drew on that for her writing process
        3. Why it is important to acknowledge that not all teenagers come from a family that wants the best for them, and how this story can show them how to strengthen their personality
        4. How she goes against the stereotypical alpha male tropes in her storytelling and offers alternate ideals of what a couple should be
        5. How writing fanfiction helped to find the strength to write her debut series



          6. Buy The Hidden Heir

          Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Y6LasG


          Connect With Rose

          Website: https://rosedpatruno.com/

          Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RPatrunoAuthor/

          Twitter: https://twitter.com/RosannaPatruno

          Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patruno_rose/


          Connect with Mike

          Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/

          Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g

          Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/

          TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory

          Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory

          Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory

          LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/


          If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.


          Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

          38 min
        6. Finding the Fun, with Lina Chern

          There is one thing that Lina Chern and I can wholeheartedly agree on and that’s the importance of having fun during the writing process. If what you are writing isn’t bringing you joy then, chances are, you aren’t going to want to see it through. It took Lina a long time to find the joy in writing her debut novel, but when she did things changed for the better!


          Meet Lina Chern

          Lina Chern is an author who has had her crime fiction published in Mystery Weekly, The Marlboro Review, The Bellingham Review, Rhino, The Collagist, Black Fox Literary Magazine, and The Coil. She is a Pitch Wars alum and joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about her debut novel, Play the Fool. 


          Key Topics:

          1. Why writing a novel isn’t always a linear process.
          2. The importance of getting some “wind in your sails” to keep your encouragement up.
          3. Why the support of a partner is critical for parents looking to write a novel.
          4. The role of fun in the writing process.
          5. Why new authors should not expect to be good right off the bat.
          6. How Lina manages writer’s block.



            7. Buy Play the Fool

            Amazon: https://amzn.to/3jNQ7sj

            Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9780593500668


            Connect With Lina

            Website: https://www.linachern.com/

            Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChernLina

            Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linachernwrites/

            LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lina-chern-162a4b8/

            Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16168786.Lina_Chern?from_search=true&from_srp=true


            Connect with Mike

            Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/

            Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g

            Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/

            TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory

            Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory

            Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory

            LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/


            If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.


            Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

            35 min
          7. Getting Curious, with Jill Santopolo

            Sometimes, beauty comes from tragedy, which is the backstory to Jill Santopolo’s debut novel The Light We Lost, which she penned after going through a traumatic breakup. Well, life has come full circle for Jill as her latest book, Stars in an Italian Sky, was inspired by something that happened while honeymooning with her husband in Italy. I love it when things work out the way they are meant to!


            Meet Jill Santopolo

            Jill Santopolo is the internationally best-selling author of Everything After, More Than Words and The Light We Lost, which was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick and has been optioned for film. Her books have been translated into more than 35 languages and have been named to the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Apple, and Indie Bound bestseller lists.

            Jill joined me recently to talk about her career and latest novel Stars in an Italian Sky. 


            Key Topics:


            1. How Jill was drawn to writing from a very young age.
            2. Moving from working as an editorial assistant to children’s writer to an author of adult fiction.
            3. The role curiosity plays in her work. 
            4. How writing has been therapeutic for Jill.
            5. Our mutual appreciation for Star Trek: The Next Generation



              6. Buy Stars in an Italian Sky

              Amazon: https://amzn.to/3J1kFR5

              Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9780593419175


              Connect With Jill

              Website: https://jillsantopolo.com/

              Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JillSantopoloAuthor

              Twitter: https://twitter.com/JillSantopolo

              Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillsantopolo/


              Connect with Mike

              Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/

              Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g

              Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/

              TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory

              Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory

              Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory

              LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/


              If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.


              Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

              37 min
            6. Give it All you Got! With Lyn Liao Butler

              Today’s guest on Uncorking a Story, Lyn Liao Butler, is the type of person who likes to have many irons in the fire. While working as a professional ballet and modern dancer in New York City, she ran her own gym. After retiring from dancing, she started a family, built an online business, and began writing novels. I got exhausted just thinking about all she does! One thing that stayed with me was Lyn’s advice to aspiring authors—to give it all you got. Your talent will get an agent’s interest, but your passion will sell your story. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. 


              Meet Lyn Liao Butler

              Lyn was born in Taiwan and moved to the States when she was seven. Before becoming an author, she was a professional ballet and modern dancer, and is still a personal trainer, fitness instructor, and yoga instructor. She joins me today on Uncorking a Story to talk about her novel Someone Else’s Life.


              Key Topics:

              1. Her journey to getting published
              2. Bringing Taiwanese American characters into her books
              3. Food playing an important part of all her books
              4. How she accidentally wrote a thriller
              5. How Lyn took inspiration from her real life when writing Someone Else’s Life
              6. Lyn’s cure for writer’s block
              7. Why you should never read reviews even when tempted.



                8. Buy Someone Else’s life

                Amazon: https://amzn.to/418tE9Z

                Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9781662501081


                Connect With Lyn 

                Website: https://lynliaobutler.com/

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynliaobutlerauthor/

                Twitter: https://twitter.com/lynliaobutler

                Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynliaobutler/

                Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20805694.Lyn_Liao_Butler

                TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lynliaobutler


                Connect with Mike

                Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/

                Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g

                Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/

                TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory

                Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory

                LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/


                If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.


                Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

                32 min
              8. Letting Go, with Christopher Rice

                One of the expressions my father is very fond of saying is, “Everything happens for a reason.” He’s also fond of saying, “If a problem can be solved with money, it’s not really a problem,” which is easy to say when one has money, but I digress. Over time, I have come to realize that yes, everything does happen for a reason, and today’s guest, the prolific Christopher Rice, agrees with me (and dad). While he had dreams of becoming an actor, those plans changed when he went from being the star of his high school drama club to finding that Brown University’s drama department weren’t salivating at his acting talents. So, he turned to writing and the rest is history.


                Meet Christopher Rice

                Christopher is the recipient of the Lambda Literary Award and is the Amazon Charts and New York Times bestselling author of A Density of Souls; Bone Music, Blood Echo, and Blood Victory and Bram Stoker Award finalists The Heavens Rise and The Vines. He is an executive producer of The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches, the AMC television adaptations of the bestselling novels by his mother, Anne Rice. He joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about his career and latest novel Sapphire Storm, the third book in the Sapphire Cove series.


                Key Topics:


                1. How “failing” as an actor fueled his desire to become a writer.
                2. How he found that his desire to write about gay characters was both after and before his time.
                3. Writing his first published novel while at his mother’s bedside after she slipped into a diabetic coma.
                4. How Christopher tackled switching genres from fiction to romance.
                5. The importance of having a supportive network and a “go-to” person to help stay motivated as a writer.



                  6. Buy Sapphire Storm:

                  Amazon: https://amzn.to/3J5ORL0

                  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9781957568256


                  Connect With C. Travis Rice

                  Website: http://www.christopherricebooks.com/

                  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopher.rice.writer

                  Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisricewriter

                  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher.rice.writer/


                  Connect with Mike

                  Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/

                  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g

                  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/

                  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory

                  Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory

                  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory

                  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/


                  If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.


                  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

                  47 min
                6. Flashpoints, with Cheryl A. Head

                  The sparks that ignite story ideas are almost always rooted in experience, emotion, and curiosity. Today’s guest on Uncorking a Story, award winning author Cheryl A. Head, discusses how the murder of George Floyd served as the flashpoint for her latest novel, Time’s Undoing. Along the way she discusses how the murder of her own grandfather had her following her own curiosity back in time and inspired her to write a dual timeline story.


                  Meet Cheryl A Head

                  Cheryl A. Head is a writer, television producer, and broadcast executive. She is an Anthony Award nominee, a two-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, a three-time Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist, and winner of the Golden Crown Literary Society’s Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award. Her books are included in the Detroit Public Library’s African American Booklist and in the Special Collections of the Library of Michigan.  


                  Key Topics:

                  1. Why the murder of George Floyd was the flashpoint to starting Time’s Undoing.
                  2. How Cheryl tapped into her own family’s tragic mystery when writing this novel.
                  3. The challenges of writing dual timelines.
                  4. The importance of knowing your history.
                  5. Why write what you know isn’t always the best advice.



                    6. Buy Time’s Undoing: A Novel 

                    Amazon: https://amzn.to/3jOvrjJ

                    Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9780593471821


                    Connect With Cheryl

                    Personal Website: https://www.cherylhead.com/

                    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.head.104

                    Twitter: https://twitter.com/cheaddc?s=11&t=hoTffK7Tu163IR_DvTNzRg

                    Book Website: https://megstafford.com/who-will-accompany-you/

                    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheadwrites/?hl=en


                    Connect with Mike

                    Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/

                    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g

                    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/

                    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory

                    Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory

                    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory

                    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/


                    If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.


                    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

                    34 min
                  6. Finding the Love Within, with Vanessa David

                    If you are like me, when you hear the term lunch lady you immediately think of Adam Sandler and Chris Farley, but today’s guest on Uncorking a Story, Vanessa David, smashes that stereotype. But this episode really isn’t about lunch ladies—it’s the story of a woman who overcame struggles and heartache to find the love within.

                    Meet Vanessa David

                    Vanessa David graduated from Western Connecticut State University with a BA in Theatre in 1995 and spent over 20 years working in the theater as an actor, playwright and stage manager. Her acting credits include Ron Destro and Yoko Ono’s Hiroshima at Theatre for the New City in New York, A Cup of Coffee at Yale Repertory Theatre directed by Joe Grifasi, and As You Like It with Shakespeare on the Sound directed by Ezra Barnes. 

                    Vanessa’s plays have been performed across the country and several are published by Smith and Kraus. Having a theater career means having survival jobs, and Vanessa worked as a frozen yogurt slinger, sandwich artist, cake decorator, and eventually typecast herself as a server. Later in life she went back to school at Norwalk Community College and earned a Culinary Arts Certificate. When she got a job with the Darien School Lunch Program her culinary and theater skills came together for seven joy-filled years, and then it all came apart. The only thing she could do after that was write a book. Vanessa lives in Connecticut with her husband, Dave, and their dog, Apollo. 


                    Key Topics:

                    1. How her mother’s insistence that she become famous impacted Vanessa from a young age.
                    2. Vanessa’s history in the theater, including all the ups and downs.
                    3. Why Vanessa turned to writing plays.
                    4. How an interaction with a lunch lady in middle school impacted her decision to earn a Culinary Arts Certificate.
                    5. How she reinvented what a lunch lady is and the important role she played in the lives of students.
                    6. Why she wrote a memoir about her time as a lunch teacher and how it helped her heal some childhood wounds.



                      7. Connect With Vanessa David

                      Website: https://www.thelunchteacher.com/

                      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelunchteacher/

                      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanessadavidplaywright


                      Connect with Mike

                      Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/

                      Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g

                      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/

                      TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory

                      Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory

                      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory

                      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/


                      If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.


                      Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

                      37 min
                    7. The Story of the Case, with William Landay

                      We can add today’s guest, William Landay, to the growing list of former lawyers turned authors who have come on Uncorking a Story to promote their work. While digging into this dynamic with William, it became clear to me why so many lawyers, especially trial attorneys, have a knack for writing—as he put it, you are trying to tell the story of the case and hope that you move your readers (i.e. jurors) one way or the other.

                       

                      Meet William Landay

                      William is the author of Defending Jacob, which won the Strand Critics Award for best novel; The Strangler, listed as a best crime novel of the year by the Los Angeles Times, The Daily Telegraph, and others; and Mission Flats, winner of the Dagger Award for best first crime novel. A former assistant district attorney, he lives in Boston and joined me to talk about his latest novel, All that is Mine I Carry With Me.


                      Key Topics:

                      1. How William transitioned from being an Assistant DA to writing full time.
                      2. How telling a story to jurors is not dissimilar to telling a story to readers.
                      3. Lessons he learned from his readers that impacted his storytelling.
                      4. His approach to writing his latest book, All that is Mine I Carry with Me.
                      5. Why he would tell his younger self to view his sensitivity as a strength, rather than a weakness.



                        6. Buy All That is Mine I Carry With Me

                        Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Isozkg

                        Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9780345531841


                        Connect With William

                        Website: https://www.williamlanday.com/

                        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/williamlanday

                        Twitter: https://twitter.com/williamlanday

                        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamlanday/


                        Connect with Mike

                        Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/

                        Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g

                        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/

                        TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory

                        Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory

                        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory

                        LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/


                        If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.


                        Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

                        45 min

                      About Uncorking a Story

                      From the publisher's feed

                      Listen in to Uncorking a Story, where we pop the cork on hidden narratives and delve deep into the brilliant minds of your favorite authors. Get ready to unlock the magic behind your favorite books,…