Season 1, Ep 7 is here & I am super excited to share this tea time conversation with my baby sister, Laura, about all things opera and thank you SO MUCH to everyone who popped on to listen yesterday!

Laura chats about her journey from Sibling Sabotage Expert in small town South Dakota to International Opera Soprano. She gives us a glimpse into her love of unglamorous (and often lonely) work of singing, not just the act of performing and how she brings her roles to life. For Laura, opera isn’t simply a performance. It’s a vehicle for human connection and a doorway to experience new perspectives and open up difficult conversations in disarming ways. In a time that can feel so hopeless, she finds genuine hope in the one-on-one human connections her career affords her with people from around the globe.

One thing that stuck out for me from our conversation was how much of her wisdom and experience is applicable to artists across disciplines (and, honestly, human beings everywhere). Here are my biggest takeaways:

Being open to unexpected paths

Nothing about Laura’s journey has been what she expected. Opera constantly requires her to be outside of her natural comfort zone, living with irregular pay and logistics throughout the year (Were will I be living? How many jobs will I have? What if I get sick enough to miss a performance and lose my income?). As someone who strongly prefers predictability, she has had to learn how thrive within uncertainty. Her path has not been deciding which option to choose, but rather being willing to “walk through whatever door opens next.”

You must love the process, not just the end product

So little of this career is made up of the actual performance part that it would be extremely difficult to have an enjoyable, sustainable career in opera without loving the daily practice and preparation work itself. Laura spends months learning roles in foreign languages (German, Czech, Russian, Italian), memorizing music, and perfecting technique—all before the first rehearsal (or paycheck). Payment and validation might come from only five performances after a year of prep work done largely alone.

The necessity of prioritizing Future Self over Present Self

The process of creating art, including opera, takes years of what can feel like fruitless and unacknowledged work. Turns out, the Mountaintop of Mastery is a myth—you never really “arrive.” Laura has learned to find joy in the never-ending road of learning (and sometimes long stretches without external payoff) by taking the time to notice and celebrate small, daily victories and improvements. By tracking how she has grown over the years, she recognizes how her freedom to do increasingly challenging vocal work today came from yesterday’s commitment to the unsexy practice.

Sehnsucht and the transformative power of art

Laura loves the German concept of Sehnsucht—a bittersweet longing sparked by brief moments of transcendent beauty in music, nature, or art. She has seen how opera can open hearts, begin difficult conversations, and challenge us to look beyond what we can see in unique ways. Knowing this, she takes time to lovingly probe into the roles she plays to understand the “why” behind their actions, to offer hope, and to invite her audience to see things differently, too.

This world needs our art. Period.

🦄 Kristin

Laura’s Favorite Operas

Salome by Strauss

Where to find Laura👇

The Media Page of her professional website (scroll down for a whole bunch of clips of her lovingly portrayed women)

Her YouTube channel (for Salome with the head of John the Baptist)

Follow her on Instagram to see where’s she at in the world!

How about you? What did you take away from this chat?

Unicorn Hollow Podcast is a listener-supported series of Unicorn Hollow and it’s a true honor to share your time. If you’d like to see more of my writing, check out a Map of Unicorn Hollow, and then subscribe to make sure you never miss a post! For centuries, artists of all disciplines have been kept afloat and creating by patrons who looked at their work and said, “Yes! This matters! This needs to be in the world.” If you have that feeling, I’d be honored if you would be my patron by subscribing, liking, commenting, and sharing my work. And if you have the means, you can securely support me on Ko-Fi with a one-time or recurring donation. This is my career, so every bit of support goes directly to feed and clothe my small army of children. Thanks for being my unicorn!

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Hey y’all! Welcome to the Unicorn 🦄 Hollow Podcast + Friday Finds where I share slightly snarky stories and small things that give me hope as a writer, creator, and slightly messy human.

Happy almost end of January! I am coming to you from East Tennessee where we are currently getting a large amount of snow. On the podcast this week, I’m sharing one more practice that helps make space for growth during our creative winters everything looks dead.

Fair warning: It's painful. But it's probably the most important practice I've learned as a writer and as a human. I call it “Sharing your first draft. Publicly.” That's right. Letting the unfiltered, unrefined, raw version of your writing, art, and self out there. (EEEEK!)

Segment One is the audio from my live video talking about my practice of sitting down and spend a few minutes writing a bit of poetry (which is my least developed skill and most terrifying genre!) right into substack notes and then just pushing send. (I KNOW!)

The second segment is a Sippy Cup Gang story I originally posted in the fall exploring what happens when we put the first draft version of ourselves out there - messy, unshowered, and inevitably carrying shame.

Spoiler: This really isn’t about sharing our first draft. It’s about building courage. And courage is something I find myself needing more and more these days.

So, here’s to conquering our shame and building courage together!

🦄 Kristin

The Unicorn Hollow Podcast is a listener-supported series of Unicorn Hollow. I’m so glad you’re here! It’s a true honor to share your time. If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe. If you have a moment to linger, a rating or review helps more of us messy folk meander into Unicorn Hollow. If you’d like to see more of my writing, hop over to Substack and check out a Map of Unicorn Hollow, and then subscribe to make sure you never miss a post!

For centuries (long before algorithms, likes, & subscriptions), artists have been kept afloat and creating by patrons who looked at their work and said, “Yes! This matters! This needs to be in the world.” If Unicorn Hollow gives you that feeling, I’d be honored if you would be my patron. You can do that by subscribing, liking, commenting, and sharing Unicorn Hollow with fellow hope-seekers. And if you have the means, you can safely and securely support me financially on Ko-Fi. This is my career, so every bit of support goes directly to feed and clothe my small army of children and pets while I build this slightly irreverent refuge where we can show up as our full, messy selves. Thanks for being my unicorn!

Today, I’m bringing you a little bit of humor. Because humor, too, can be hope. Sometimes, I think it’s the first hope-practice to go when things feel dark.

A quick reminder that you can listen to this right on Substack or wherever you get your podcasts.

For the next few weeks, while I’m getting all my systems in place, my writing themes solidified, and technology “figured out,” and my latest manuscript revisions finished, I’ll be doing a little less writing here. But I thought it would be a perfect time to go back through my archive of stories, introduce them to our new faces, and get them into my podcasts. So for those of you who have been around here awhile, these will be familiar.

Today, I’m giving you two Tales from the Sippy Cup Gang.

This is a collection of stories to provide hope (and laughs) for anyone who spends time around small children. The stories are crafted from my hazy memories, a thousand monotonously chaotic days, and modified names & details to protect delicate teenage egos. The beautiful thing about these stories is that I can revisit them over and over again, and the joy I find in them grows along with my distance from the actual event!

Today’s stories will focus on the never-ending search for quiet and rest that comes alongside the ever-present reality of bodily functions. I hope they bring you what you need.

🦄 Kristin

P.S. You can check out the original posts here 👇

How about you? I’d love to hear your unfortunate tales of interrupted rest due to ever encroaching bodily functions of small humans and fur babies!

The Unicorn Hollow Podcast is a listener-supported series of Unicorn Hollow. I’m so glad you’re here! It’s a true honor to share your time. If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe. If you have a moment to linger, a rating or review helps more of us messy folk meander into Unicorn Hollow. If you’d like to see more of my writing, hop over to Substack and check out a Map of Unicorn Hollow, and then subscribe to make sure you never miss a post!

If Unicorn Hollow feels like home to you, I’d love your help in building this (occasionally snark-adjacent) little nook of hope where we get to show up as our full, messy selves. You can do this by subscribing, liking, commenting, or sharing Unicorn Hollow with other hope-seekers. I would love to hear from you! You can also safely and securely leave me a tip on Ko-Fi. Everything goes directly to support my 4 kids and 9 pets as I grow this cozy space of hope! Thanks for being my unicorn!

Season 1, Ep 4 is here & this week, I chatted live with David McIlroy. Despite The Dratted Internet’s best attempts to destroy my connection, we prevailed and had a fantastic conversation. We talk about David’s journey from struggling to make ends meet as a freelance writer expounding the many astonishing qualities of mattresses to building a successful writing career with over 33,000 subscribers and four published novels!

David shares how he pulls ideas for the settings of his novels from Irish mythology, Northern Ireland’s majestic landscape, and mundane circumstances. He shares his practical advice for navigating times when we feel creatively stagnant: establishing sacred writing routines, stepping away from the screen, giving yourself permission to chuck entire chapters that just aren’t working (even when that feels like chopping off your hand!), and encouraging your characters to make all the bad choices you’d never make yourself! We also tackle a bit of building engagement and audience online and end with where David is finding hope right now.

I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did. And bonus, you get to skip the technical challenges! You can listen to this on Substack or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you’d rather watch the chat (frozen internet and all), you can catch that here 👇

David McIlroy is the creator of How to Write for a Living and helps writers develop brands, strategies, and systems that transform their words into life-changing income. He’s a full-time solopreneur, coach, and author of fantasy and horror. He lives in Northern Ireland with his wife Christine and his dogs, Lupin and Ghost. He’s active on Substack, YouTube, Podcasts, and possibly even in a bookstore near you!

The Unicorn Hollow Podcast is a listener-supported series of Unicorn Hollow. I’m so glad you’re here! It’s a true honor to share your time. If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe. If you have a moment to linger, a rating or review helps more of us messy folk meander into Unicorn Hollow. If you’d like to see more of my writing, hop over to Substack and check out a Map of Unicorn Hollow, and then subscribe to make sure you never miss a post!

If Unicorn Hollow feels like home to you, I’d love your help in building this (occasionally snark-adjacent) little nook of hope where we get to show up as our full, messy selves. You can do this by subscribing, liking, commenting, or sharing Unicorn Hollow with other hope-seekers. I would love to hear from you! You can also safely and securely leave me a tip on Ko-Fi. Everything goes directly to support my 4 kids and 9 pets as I grow this cozy space of hope! Thanks for being my unicorn!

Season 1, Ep 3 is here & honesty time. Today’s podcast is going to start out dark. But for anyone who pays attention to news in the United States, that probably won’t be a surprise.

My husband grew up in the Minneapolis suburbs. I spent the better part of a decade living and working in and around Minneapolis. For my entire 25-year public health career, I was honored to have some of the most dedicated, kind, and brilliant coworkers and non-profit partners—most of whom are refugees, asylees, and immigrants. These last two weeks have been shattering and have left us feeling helpless as we have had friends-who-are-family sending dystopian updates from Minneapolis.

But when I realized what I had planned weeks ago to re-share this week for my podcast, it felt beyond serendipitous.

Last June, I posted Shifting Perspectives, which was the inspiration for this week’s Friday Finds Substack Live. 👇

In it I ask:

What if we all took just a moment out of every day to pause, physically shift our bodies, and force ourselves to see the world from a different perspective?

What might we notice from putting ourselves into an unfamiliar location? A place that makes us feel a little uncomfortable? A little vulnerable?

Unlike adults, kids have an incredible ability to see beyond what something is to what something could be. I just wonder what actions, opportunities, and solutions are right there, just out of reach, because we are too comfortable in our own perspective.

I have found that this is not only a good practice for helping to generate writing prompts, but it is also a fantastic way to open myself up to hope. The world suddenly seems much bigger, ideas more plentiful, and the way forward more multifaceted when I can literally see that not everyone experiences the world in the same way I do.

So today’s podcast has two parts. The first is an excerpt of my reflection on shifting perspectives hanging out with my ducks. The second is my reflection from this past summer, speaking particularly with those of us in positions of power.

May they both give you new ideas, encouragement, and most importantly, hope.

The Unicorn Hollow Podcast is a listener-supported series of Unicorn Hollow. I’m so glad you’re here! It’s a true honor to share your time. If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe. If you have a moment to linger, a rating or review helps more of us messy folk meander into Unicorn Hollow. If you’d like to see more of my writing, hop over to Substack and check out a Map of Unicorn Hollow, and then subscribe to make sure you never miss a post!

If Unicorn Hollow feels like home to you, I’d love your help in building this (occasionally snark-adjacent) little nook of hope where we get to show up as our full, messy selves. You can do this by subscribing, liking, commenting, or sharing Unicorn Hollow with other hope-seekers. I would love to hear from you! You can also safely and securely leave me a tip on Ko-Fi. Everything goes directly to support my 4 kids and 9 pets as I grow this cozy space of hope! Thanks for being my unicorn!

Season 1, episode 2 is here!

Hey there, my fellow wanderers!

It’s only Tuesday, and boy, does everything look dead! This week has already felt heavy for me all around: the world, parenting, partnering, friends, & family. And, just to add that little sprinkle of annoyance on the heaviness: the dogs were just bathed last week and already smell like they found some delightfully putrid cologne to roll in.

But last night, as I was (finally) clicking the last items off my to-do list, I got a reminder of what past-me wanted future-me to remember:

There are nine different actions that I have chosen to cultivate in myself. I focus on one action per week until I get through all nine and then they start over again. This week, as I was feeling the weight of it all, past-me gave me a little hug with a slight elbow jab, as if to say, “Yeah. Life gets heavy. But that is when you get to choose what you put back into it.”

Because isn’t that a big part of what art can do? Bring us hope that there is goodness and beauty, even when everything is hard and heavy and sad?

Since I have figured out podcasting, I will be adding in my backlog of past stories alongside new ones. And it seemed perfectly timed that the story I was set to release this week was my very first one: My Unicorn Hollow Origin Story: Believing in Unicorns Would Be Easier. In a time when Everything Looks Dead!, it’s a reminder to myself that the small things, the smallest lives, the smallest actions do matter, even in the face of enormous darkness.

If you’ve been here for any amount of time, you have already seen this (but I did add the fancy theme song to the beginning and ending to the podcast version!). But I hope maybe it can bring something new and hopeful to you this time around. And for those who are new here (hey there! I’m so excited you’ve joined us!), I hope it brings you some encouragement as well.

🦄 Kristin

What is something that is bringing you hope today? Oddly enough, for me this week, it’s teenagers. (I know, right?!) They sure make me want to scream and pull my hair out and throw things. But then they go and do things like reach out to peers who are hurting, offer an unsolicited word of encouragement to a sibling, or make dinner…

As I’m slowly getting into a rhythm with posting again after the holidays, I’m working my way back up to 2 new posts each week, each with a companion podcast episode. For this month, I may only get to one original post each week as I work on putting my backlog of stories up onto my podcast. So I hope any of you who are new here will get to enjoy these oldies-but-goodies!

You can also listen at: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, and Pocket Casts. It may take some time to update to these locations, so check back if you don’t see it! If there’s a different podcasting site you use, let me know and I’ll see what I can do!

The Unicorn Hollow Podcast is a listener-supported series of Unicorn Hollow. I’m so glad you’re here! It’s a true honor to share your time. If you’d like to see more of my writing, hop over and check out the rest of what’s available in the Hollow and subscribe to get it all!

If Unicorn Hollow speaks to you, I’d love your help in building this (occasionally snark-adjacent) little nook of hope where we all get to show up as our full, messy selves. You can do this by subscribing, liking, commenting, or sharing Unicorn Hollow with other hope-seekers. You can also safely and securely support me financially by buying me a coffee (or a tea!). Everything goes directly to support my family as I build up Unicorn Hollow. Thanks for being my unicorn!

Welcome to my very first foray into podcasting! This is the audio from my Substack Live from earlier today PLUS my shiny, new theme song!

I not only managed to figure out audio editing, but I also figured out how to put my podcast episodes on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube like a real-life adult!

Unicorn Hollow’s January Theme:

But Everything Looks Dead!

This month, I’ll be focusing on the hard lessons of winter (both literal and metaphorical), where we do things over and over, and just have to trust that something is happening, even when that feels like a big, fat lie.

This week, I’m talking about Intentional Interruption—taking a couple of minutes to stop the brain churning and force myself to do something that is different from the status quo.

Whether I’m stuck on a character plot point, trying to get a theme to wrap up neatly, summarizing a grant request, trying to not pull out my hair as I step on another shockingly-sharp Lego, or resisting the urge to not strangle a haughtily sarcastic teenager, this practice has an outsized impact on my problem solving abilities that still shocks me every time.

Over the last decade+ of intentionally interrupting my status quo, I have found that my brain almost immediately is able to look at the issue I’m stuck on in a new light, just from making myself move.

How about you? Have you tried this? What small practice or idea have you found that helps you get unstuck? I’d love to hear!

Friday Finds is a reader supported series of Unicorn Hollow. I’m so glad you’re here! It’s a true honor to share your time. If you’d like to see more of my writing, hop over and check out the rest of what’s available in the Hollow and subscribe to get it all!

If Unicorn Hollow speaks to you, I’d love your help in building this (occasionally snark-adjacent) little nook of hope where we all get to show up as our full, messy selves. You can do this by subscribing, liking, commenting, or sharing Unicorn Hollow with other hope-seekers. You can also safely and securely support me financially by clicking the link below. Everything goes directly to support my family as I build up Unicorn Hollow. Thanks for being my unicorn!