By Kirsten McNeill
The podcast currently has 71 episodes available.
Worthy Writers! I've got a solo episode for you today where I read story excerpts from THREE different authors:
Author 1: Catherine Larkin
Catherine Larkin is the author and illustrator of the Wizards of the Apocalypse series. Growing up in Washington state, she spent her free time voraciously reading and drawing characters to go with her short stories.
Catherine’s passion for creative writing is inspired by the love of fantasy, horror, and history. She started writing the first book in the series during her junior year of high school. When she’s not writing, she is drawing a few of her favorite characters, taking commissions, traveling, playing piano, and visiting with friends.
Her snippet is about the three main heroes of the story investigating a break in to the king's castle.
Website: https://www.x-zombie.com/about
Author 2: Heather Lucinda
Heather Lucinda lives in Newmarket, Ontario. She’s the author of three thriller\drama novels all of which are on amazon. She’s a collector of oddities and taxidermy. You can find her primarily spending free time at the cottage enjoying a drink and a good novel on the dock, normally beside her dog Eddie, or watching a good horror movie.
This excerpt is from her second novel CONFESSIONS. The synopsis is:
Izzy Calleta never knew her real father; he disappeared before she was born and her older half-sister and her mother claim he vanished one day fifteen years ago, never to be seen or heard from again.
Izzy has always been close to her sister Theo and Theo’s best friends and they’ve always felt like a family. But as Izzy gets older and starts questioning the ties that bind her family and their friends together, it becomes clear that everyone knows something she doesn’t...
As questions are answered and the lies part to reveal the truth, Izzy starts to ask herself: is it sometimes better not knowing who you are and where you come from?
Instagram: @heather.lucinda_author
Author 3: Cecilia Agetun
Cecilia Agetun writes YA fantasy. Growing up she was an avid reader of Fantasy and always enjoyed creating stories in her head and writing them down. However, due to her dyslexia, she never thought she had the skillset to write and publish her own books, but the lock downs provided her with a perfect opportunity to expand her writing skills, and overcome her insecurity. After all you’ll never know how far you can go until you try.
So she set her sights on writing a series about love, friendship, and self acceptance, inspired by magic and Norse mythology. Her first book Forgotten Memories published in September 2022. Magical Bond, the second book, published February 2024 – She’s currently working on book three, and book four, which will be the last book in the series.
Her excerpt is from Chapter 1 of Forgotten Memories, the first book in Freya’s Legacy series. Jax is a crow demon that has the ability to turn into a crow. He was abandoned at birth and taken in and cared for by Freya, who taught him the importance of Love and Friendship.
Instagram: @ceciliaagetun
Journal Prompts:
How would you handle fighting a zombie?
Write about a time where you had a challenging argument with a loved one. How did you handle it versus how you WISH you handled it?
If you could be any animal, what would you be and with what powers/abilities?
Never forget that you are worthy!
Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach
Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge
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Worthy Writers! I've got a solo episode for you today where I read story excerpts from THREE different authors:
Author 1: C.H. Carter
C.H. Carter is a fantasy author with a lifelong love of the genre in all its forms. In middle school, she wrote a fan letter to Tamora Pierce and received the most encouraging reply! That experience cemented her desire to become an author. (She also still holds out the hope they can meet in person one day!)
When not writing, you can find her working on a number of rotating projects (Crochet, anyone?) and obsessing over her two rescue dogs.
Her excerpt is from her debut novel, To Kiss the Sea. It's the first full chapter from Ally's POV. It gives an insight into what her childhood was like and the events leading up to the traumatic moment that triggered her incredible fear of water.
Website: chcarterwrites.com
Author 2: Elizabeth Suggs
Elizabeth Suggs is the co-owner of the indie publisher Collective Tales Publishing, owner of Editing Mee, and is the author of a growing number of award-winning published stories, one of which was part of an Amazon Bestseller collection. She is also a book reviewer (EditingMee.com), popular bookstagramer, and cosplayer (@ElizabethSuggsAuthor) on Instagram. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s traveling the world.
Her piece was inspired by the exclusion Covid and a new move brought to her life. It also sheds light on her relationship with her family, specifically her mother and how Elizabeth couldn’t cope without her around.
Author 3: B. Joyce
B. Joyce, author of the Moon Beetles series, is a Canadian independent fantasy author. She writes to connect readers to deep emotions and themes such as mental health, self discovery, intuition, and authenticity, with a backdrop of high fantasy world building.
To create her fantasy world, she uses her experience with biology and psychology to create an environment that sucks you into new magical possibilities and forces you to care about the characters. In her free time she can mostly be found playing video games, reading, wandering in the woods, or creating for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Her excerpt is from Soul Tether, the second book in her three part Moon Beetles series. Eliote doesn't have any essence abilities (magical abilities) like most people in the world of Illyson. However, she is able to see and feel auras from other people. She's been training at a Guardian academy for the past year, but as she's learned about herself, she's starting to think it's time for something new, something that fits her own skills.
LinkTree: B Joyce
Journal Prompts:
What would you do in Ally's situation?
Write a journal entry reflecting on a time when you felt isolated and how you handled the situation.
What is your favourite element of fantasy?
Never forget that you are worthy!
Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach | Book Editor | Artisan
Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge
Explore Worthy Writers Editing
Podcast Guest Application
Music Credit
"Kris Ashley is a dynamic coach, author, speaker, podcast host, and television host with a passion for personal development. She has spent over two decades immersed in the research and teachings she shares.
With both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in creative writing, and a flair for transformative storytelling, she first made her mark in the tech industry as a copywriter before moving into digital marketing. She quickly worked her way up to head of marketing, where she led teams to break new ground with bold campaigns.
Her leadership journey then took a turn towards wellness, overseeing west coast operations and a team of eighty as a Director for a major yoga company. She also ran workshops and led yoga teacher training, discovering her love of serving others in the process.”
-Excerpt from Kris’ About Page – View Full Bio Here
Kris’ book is a spiritual personal development book. It was endorsed by 3 experts from the film The Secret, Anita Moorjani, John Gray (who wrote Men Are From Mars Women Are From Venus), and many others who are in the spiritual and personal development space.
On today’s episode, Kris shares all about her book Change Your Mind to Change Your Reality. It was a decades long process in building a life that she HAD to turn into a book, and once the writing began everything flowed.
She talks about creating a manifestation memoir, and other strategies for strong manifestation, as well as how to change your thoughts to build a beautiful life for yourself. Break away from what’s blocking you by listening in to this episode!
Connect with Kris on her website, Instagram, and her podcast, and don’t forget to buy her book!
“Imagine looking at the events of your past and the circumstances of your present moment from a completely new perspective. How would this new mindset alter the course of your life?” -Kris Ashley
Journal Prompts:
What meaning does life hold for you?
What strategies help you keep a positive mindset on your writing journey?
How do your current writing and mindset habits reflect the person you're meant to be?
Never forget that you are worthy!
Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach | Book Editor | Artisan
Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge
Explore Worthy Writers Editing
Podcast Guest Application
Music Credit
Heart-centered entrepreneur, Abigail Gazda has transformed her passion for education into a full-time career as an author, publisher, and life coach.
Abigail is the CEO of Hearts Unleashed, a full-service transformation company committed to empowering people to operate with full freedom, power, and self expression in every area of life.
As the Founder of Hearts Unleashed House Publishing, she helps authors share their mission and message with the world.
She is a Clarity Coach and supports souls speaking up about their silent struggle and unleashing the authentic leader within. She also empowers heart-centered leaders to create a life of fulfillment, impact, and legacy.
As the Host of the Hearts Unleashed Podcast, she is committed to turning dreamers into doers and helping raise the frequency of humanity with the development of Emotional Intelligence.
As a best-selling author, she personally thrives the most in life while writing, educating, and spending time outdoors. Born and raised a proud Indiana Hoosier, Abigail enjoys traveling the world to speak, work with clients, and adventure.
Today we connect with Abigail to learn about her business Hearts Unleashed, her writing experiences with over 6 books, and advice on facing fears in your writer journey.
Though she had writing experience from an early age, she didn’t claim the title of writer until later in life. As a heart-centered leader, she has learned many lessons about who she is and how to create a sustainable business that helps others unleash their greatness and embrace their authenticity.
When working with writers, she helps them manage their expectations of success while still embracing the full extent of their passion, ambition, and excitement. Abigail shares her thoughts on how worth it the writing experience is and what it means to be open to failure.
Share your voice, because “we cannot find each other when we’re all hushed up.” Connect with your creative self to ensure you’re in alignment and integrity with the true YOU.
Abigail says kindness to yourself is the “healing we need to have the courage we want.”
Connect with her on her websites (Abigail Gazda + Hearts Unleashed), Instagram, and check out the episode we did on her podcast: Finding the Courage to Publish
Journal Prompts:
How are you unleashing your writer heart?
What are you passionate about that you'd rather keep to yourself and what are you open to sharing?
What fears are holding you back from being your most authentic writer self?
Never forget that you are worthy!
Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach | Book Editor | Artisan
Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge
Explore Worthy Writers Editing
Podcast Guest Application
Music Credit
Heather LaFond is an emerging thought leader on empowering women to stop playing small, kill limiting beliefs, and start leading kickass lives.
After overcoming an addiction to alcohol, challenges with emotional eating & losing 100 pounds, she awakened to her calling: elevating other women. Heather built a coaching biz from scratch to pass-on what helped her transform so other ladies can stop struggling alone.
Heather’s straight-talk style delivering real advice has attracted speaking gigs from podcast appearances to events globally. Her vision is no joke - ignite worldwide change by encouraging women through motivational messages that provoke action.
‘Cuz when we help gals maximize their potential? Society transforms. Period.
Her mission is to empower girls and women to stop settling, find their voice and change the freakin’ world.
You in?
In this episode, Heather LaFond shares her experiences writing her first book Rise & Roar: Unleash Your Inner Power. She had no idea what she wanted to write at first, but working with a publishing coach helped her understand her ideal reader and kept her accountable through the process.
There are ebbs and flows to creativity and surrendering to the process is key. Trust yourself and the ideas that are flowing through you. It will all work out in the end!
Heather loves to shake people up and push them towards a positive transformation. Writing her book helped her embrace who she is and to see what’s possible on her creative journey. She hopes when you’re reading Rise & Roar, you will have a similar experience.
Find her book on Amazon, and connect with her on Instagram and Facebook!
Journal Prompts:
What are your biggest strengths as a writer?
What is the powerful impact you have on your readers?
What does Rise & Roar mean to you?
Never forget that you are worthy!
Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach | Book Editor | Artisan
Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge
Explore Worthy Writers Editing
Podcast Guest Application
Music Credit
Caitlyn Mentzel is a full-time regulatory specialist in the food industry, and entrepreneur. She runs a marketing business with her husband of over 5 years. She also cohosts The Intentional Podcast with her friend about leading intentional lives to become more fulfilled. Her coffee journal is available for purchase to review coffee shop experiences, and More Than Conquering: A Season of Surrender is releasing in Fall 2024!
Learn about her writing experiences through the pandemic, and being told she couldn’t write well (despite having to do chemistry papers in college).
Through blogging, journalling, and her connection to God, she has found her way to writing her novel More Than Conquering: A Season of Surrender. She hopes this book helps women who feel stuck and struggle with new stages of their lives.
This book includes stories from Caitlyn’s life transitioning from high school to college to the working world. Once she let go of control and surrendered her life to God, everything throughout this journey become so much easier.
There’s plenty of vulnerability involved in sharing your personal story, but the right readers will find some relatable piece to it, and it’s so satisfying to realize you are not alone. Caitlyn thinks that even if her book helps one person, that would be really cool.
She shares how it took four years to put the book together, and the grace and patience she learned along the way. If you want to write about your life, listen to Caitlyn’s episode to uncover her advice for getting more comfortable writing and sharing publicly.
Connect with Caitlyn on Instagram, listen to her podcast, and check out her old blog!
Journal Prompts:
What moments in your life would you want to write about?
How does it feel to share your writing publicly?
What lessons do you hope readers take away after reading your personal story?
Never forget that you are worthy!
Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach | Book Editor | Artisan
Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge
Explore Worthy Writers Editing
Podcast Guest Application
Music Credit
Chris Williams is the owner and founder of Shine Wellness LLC. A 7 figure woman owned company dedicated to empowering women coaches + wellness professionals to create soul-led and heart-centered 6-figure businesses, without the hustle and sales tactics that feel so out of alignment for many women.
She is known for cultivating community, connections, and collaborations that inspire and create WIN-WINS for everyone. As part of her Soulful Abundance System®, she weaves the abundance mindset and soul-fueled strategy along with a simple system to create 10K months and beyond, without trading your well-being or integrity for success.
She teaches you to:
On today’s episode, we explore how to make an impact with inspired action.
If you’re a writer looking for more book sales or a book coach building a business, listen in!
Chris is all about finding your passion and learning how to set up your business in a way that feels aligned. She shares how to connect with the right people, as your books and services won’t be the best match for everyone.
Also, she shares her experience writing and editing her book about the Soulful Abundance System®, which will release in Fall 2024. When her book is out there, she will discover more clients who are the best fit for her coaching services.
Overall, it’s important to be in the right energy to create abundance of money, time, experiences, and more. Listen in to discover Chris’s inspiring advice on building your holistic business.
Connect with Chris in her Facebook group Holistic Business Abundance: For Women with a Vision for a Multi 6-Fig. Biz, or on her Website!
Journal Prompts:
Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? What are your goals for your book business?
How do you align yourself with the right energy to go through your day?
What is the impact you make/want to make on your audience?
Never forget that you are worthy!
Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach | Book Editor | Artisan
Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge
Explore Worthy Writers Editing
Podcast Guest Application
Music Credit
Gina Sachs is a stay at home mama who felt that she was losing herself to her roles at home so she set out to find something of her own, separate from wife and mom. She created tinyacts.co and started with 4 decks of adult kindness cards. Her kids started making their own kindness cards at school with friends so what was once an identity away from her kids came full circle.
She ended up making a kids version of the kindness cards and a children’s book to go along with it. She is self-published using PrintNinja (the same company that printed her cards!) and found an incredible illustrator from an Instagram search. This was a divine connection!
Wife, Mother, Children’s Book Author, Business Owner, Lover of Good People, Kind Acts, and F-Bombs.
On today’s episode, we learn how Gina created tinyacts.co and her kindness cards, which led to writing kid’s books. Her creativity helps her heal, and she hopes her creations do the same for fellow moms.
It’s easy for self-criticism to come into the process, but Gina shares an abundance of wisdom to work through those struggles. As a substitute teacher, she not only impacts her own kids, but the ones she teaches in her classroom.
Gina has learned valuable lessons through her experiences self-publishing, and just when she thinks she’s hit a challenge that will stop her from moving forward, she keeps going.
She knows it’s a point of growing and learning.
Follow her journey and embrace the joy of creativity with us!
Connect with Gina on Instagram, Facebook, and her website, all under the name tinyacts.co - Check out the kindness cards on her website, and receive 15% off your order when you use the code WORTHY
Journal Prompts:
How do you show kindness to yourself when you're facing a challenge?
What's the greatest lesson you've learned on your writing journey?
What's your favourite way to reflect back on your accomplishments?
Never forget that you are worthy!
Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach | Book Editor | Artisan
Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge
Explore Worthy Writers Editing
Podcast Guest Application
Music Credit
Laura Westman is an ontological coach and multifaceted creative who cares deeply about creative joy.
She is the author of How to Be Creative in the Age of Digital Noise, a singer/songwriter, co-host of West of Wonderland Podcast, and the host of The Creativity Broadcast on YouTube.
Laura loves being moved by art, but also being inspired by the effort behind the art. Her life is led by her core values of appreciation and joy.
On today’s episode, we discuss creative flow and the power writers have. When you’re a writer, often there are other creative activities you love to enjoy too!
Laura share her process of writing stories, creating music, and choosing to be open to let the ideas flow. When she’s working on one project, she finds herself receiving ideas for other projects. The ideas also come during mundane tasks where her mind isn’t stressing about being creative.
Listening to music helps free her mind as forcing herself to create doesn’t usually work. Sometimes, it’s good to push yourself to be productive. More often than not, it’s more important to have fun and avoid the self-editing.
Feeling the weight of perfectionism can be tough, especially when you’re getting ready to share your work publicly. But keep going anyway! Laura believes bad art is better than good art, but art is so subjective. What’s more important is that you practice creating instead of worrying about what’s “good” or not.
Always remember to celebrate yourself. You are deserving of recognition and spending time being in the moment with your creativity.
We hope you enjoy this episode! Get the Uncover Your Creative Magic Treasure Map on her Website and connect on Instagram.
Journal Prompts:
What are your favourite creative activities?
How do those activities bring you joy?
What is your process for creating?
Never forget that you are worthy!
Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach | Book Editor | Artisan
Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge
Explore Worthy Writers Editing
Podcast Guest Application
Music Credit
Sylvia is a pragmatic nature lover, a mum of two genuinely hilarious young men, an unapologetic capitalist, a competitive fisherman (as in, “I must catch more fish than my husband!”), a skilled knitter, and maker of a tremendous chocolate pecan tart.
She was born in 1975 in Alert Bay and grew up on northern Vancouver Island. After high school, at the age of seventeen she left home, then graduated in 1994 with Honours from BCIT with a Diploma in Building Technology. She now lives in Fanny Bay, writing projects that bring her a ridiculous amount of joy.
On today’s episode, we explore the technology Sylvia uses to help her writing journey. She admires the bravery it takes to be a creative writer as well.
Sylvia loves to learn and take a hands-on approach to life. When she tried NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time, it sparked her joy for the craft.
Some of her favourite resources include the Save the Cat 15-story-beat structure and Scrivener. She shares how this program helps her develop her stories and create a better visual experience as she puts the story elements together.
We also discuss her favourite podcasts that teach writers about technology and writing strategies, as well as using A.I. as a prompt in her process.
The conversation ends off with Sylvia sharing her in-person book reading experiences and the vulnerability it takes to share your work. She leaves us with the reminder to celebrate your journey every step of the way!
Connect with Sylvia on her website to signup to her monthly newsletter, find an excerpt from her novel, True Moxie, and discover her Facebook and Instagram pages.
Journal Prompts:
What resources (books, technology, people, etc.) help you on your writing journey?
What is your favourite thing about being a brave writer?
How do you connect with your local community to share your stories?
Never forget that you are worthy!
Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach | Book Editor | Artisan
Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge
Explore Worthy Writers Editing
Podcast Guest Application
Music Credit
The podcast currently has 71 episodes available.