on writing

Christine Lai grew up in Canada and lived in England for six years during graduate studies. She holds a PhD in English Literature from University College London. Landscapes was shortlisted for the inaugural Novel Prize. Christine currently lives in Vancouver.

We talk to Christine about Landscapes and our enduring relationship to art - even at the end of the world. 

Hosted by Phillip Russell and Ben Thorp

You can learn more about Christine Lai here.

Visit our website: Originstory.show

Follow us on Twitter @originstory_

Do you have feedback or questions for us? Email us theoriginstorypod@gmail.com

Cover art and website design by Melody Hirsch

Origin Story original score by Ryan Hopper

Is due out 10/24. Pre-sale soon...

In the title story, I don't think I knew how closely I was writing about my own struggles as a teen. What would have happened if someone had paid more attention or was a guiding light in my life? The trajectory of my life would have been very different. My thoughts and choices would have been different. And so would have the outcomes. I'm guessing it is the same for you. 

I also didn't realize the three pieces in the collection were about dreams: dreams that get stuck, dreams that fail, dreams that keep us up at night, and dreams we honor and fulfill. 

Stay tuned. This is my best book yet. 

The tall poppy syndrome is a human condition that has been present in every society since the beginning of time. It explains why we seek fairness and justify our actions by cutting others down.

Using both recent examples and case studies throughout history Dr. Doug Garland reveals the emotional damage and challenges that we, as well as all Tall Poppies, experience. It helps bring a new level of understanding to the rise in 'cancel culture' and cultural movements such as Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and even Anti-Vaxers! With over 600 citations, The Tall Poppy Syndrome is the most comprehensive book on the subject.

Why do some find joy in seeing the fall of others who have it better than us? Or who fall down stairs or get hit in the groin?

Ancient Greece called it cutting the tall wheat.

Rome called it cutting the Tall Poppy as does modern day Australia.

Holland's expression is the tallest tree catches all the wind.

Have you ever suffered from someone cutting you down when you stood tall?

Have you ever cut anyone down yourself who had moved forward?

Too big for your britches?

Read Doug's fascinating book detailing the subject: The Tall Poppy Syndrome

Find him at Douggarland.com

Ben Albert of BALBERTMARKETING.COM is all about amplifying your values to potential clients. He is an advocate for your vision, your values, your why. This is the new style of marketing. Marketing your authenticity.

He understands that marketing is about creating emotional relationship with your audience. He is also the founder of the Real Business Connection Network.

He creates a road map for your success based upon your values and goals. His goal is to share your gifts.

Author and co-founder of Banshee Press, Eimear Ryan (@eimear_ryan) on her 13-year journey to writing her award-nominated debut book, the importance of creative resilience and a behind-the-scenes look at Banshee Press & Banshee Literary Journal.

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ABOUT EIMEAR RYAN

Eimear Ryan is a co-founder of the literary journal Banshee and its publishing imprint, Banshee Press. She was shortlisted for the Newcomer of the Year Award at the Irish Book Awards for her first novel, Holding Her Breath and she was nominated for the Bookseller's Rising Star Award 2021 for her work with Banshee Press.

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RESOURCES:

• Banshee Press
• Eimear’s Website
• Socials
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Eimear’s Writing
  • Journalism
  • Short Stories & Essays
  • Holding Her Breath

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QUOTES

“In terms of common mistakes, throat clearing is my number one thing — a sense that the story hasn’t been redrafted enough by the writer. It is talking themselves into a story…A lot of these stories are really well written. They just haven’t been honed. When you’re a writer, you don’t realize that an editor is reading dozens and dozens of stories, so something really has to grab you from the first page for them to remember it and to fight for it.”

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For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com

For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com

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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON

Twitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalon

Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon

Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon

If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com

For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com

To fall or be brought down by temptation is not Christian, but human. We all fall at one time or another. Brian Kreeger was no different. But he felt he had failed God as well as his wife...

This is one not to miss as we dive deep into what happened and how he and his marriage recovered.

Brian Kreeger is an author, speaker, and nonprofit consultant. In 2012, he founded a faith-based free health clinic that served as a vehicle to share Christ's love through primary healthcare in an urban, poverty-stricken setting. After growing the organization significantly in four years, Brian experienced his own leadership fall due to the pressures of his work and his own human weakness.

Author of "The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders." He has served on numerous nonprofit boards and have been in numerous leadership positions. He spent 28 years managing grocery stores.

After about 20 years  he was called to open a Faith-Based Free Health Clinic in his city. After 4 years of successful operation, he started to struggle with leadership, loss of true identity and loneliness/isolation. He fell during that period out of his own human weakness.

Recognized through the questioning of a board member that besides human weakness, there are inherent parts of leadership that tempt us toward stumbling blocks that many succumb to. His book recognizes that those surrounding a leader, can see a fall coming.

His book and message empowers leaders, and those around them, to do something when they see it and encourages a proactive approach to prevent it.

He holds nonprofit leadership and board consulting certificates from Duke University and Boardsource and is working with the Christian Leadership Alliance.

Find him at www.briankreeger.com

Today we get back to basics: writing. Today's guest and I speak about traditional and indie markets and how to best navigate each.

Dave is a novelist who has straddled the fence with both indie and traditional publishing.

He is the the author of Fool's Luck and the Jim Mitchell series of novels (Chasing Deception, Undue Pressure and Running), Dave Milbrandt fell in love with writing in junior high and has been a storyteller ever since. A former staff writer for a daily newspaper, the Southern California native spent five years in journalism and public relations before becoming a teacher. In addition to working at several area colleges, Dave has taught high school English and Social Studies classes since 2005. Dave and his wife, who is also a writer, have been married since 1997.

You can also find him at:

davemilbrandt.com

Emily McGill is a spiritual seeker, tarot reader, storytelling strategist, and a deep believer in the power of community.  After nearly a decade and a half working in entertainment in New York City as a Broadway and entertainment publicist and communications consultant, her path of self-exploration led to healing and evolution - and reading tarot cards professionally. 

Invited to read tarot for virtual Burning Man 2021 and Brooklyn's dry speakeasy Club Curious, Emily has also been featured by The Tamron Hall Show, the NY Post, and Thrive Global.  She writes Playbill’s Broadway Horoscopes, and currently in development is her own deck, The Broadway Tarot, (which I think is brilliant).

Emily’s passions are unlocking the magic in others, amplifying marginalized voices, offering platforms for open dialogue, and creating meaningful experiences while cultivating community.  She is the co-founder of S.N.O.B. (Sunday Night on Broadway), a popup Broadway industry dance party, a founding member of PR collective Spiral5, and a co-author of S5’s signature course The Career Rebel’s Guide to Modern PR. 

With 20 Broadway credits, Emily has represented the Tony Award-winning productions of A Raisin in the Sun starring Denzel Washington, Memphis, Billy Elliot, and Disney's The Lion King, plus Disney's Aladdin, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock and CATS, George Takei’s Allegiance, This Is Our Youth, Rock of Ages, Ghost, Elf, and First Date. Since her theatrical start, she’s expanded out to other forms of entertainment, including music, film/TV/streaming, and worked with companies large and small (from Disney, HBO, and Amazon Studios, to boutique talent agencies, internet startups, non-profits, and string quartets. Plus male strippers. Yes, male strippers).

Find her at  Emily McGill on Instagram

In this Aviatrix Writers’ Room discussion with award-winning journalist and NYT best-selling author, Keith O’Brien, he talks about writing and research for both historical biography and contemporary immersive narrative non-fiction, his writing life, and offers advice for aspiring and working writers.

Find Keith at his website www.keithob.com.

Sign up for the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter and stay up to date on Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates and times, book news and author events, and writers' workshops and events. 

Thanks so much for listening!

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Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker

 DP Knudten is the creator and host of the NONFICTION BRAND podcast.

Is there honesty in branding? Should there be? Yes, as per DP Knudten, authenticity makes all the difference.

 As a 30-year veteran of advertising and branding, he's pretty much seen it all.

His nonfiction philosophy is outlined in his latest book "NONFICTION BRAND—Discover, craft and communicate the 'completely true / completely you' brand you already are."

DP’s worked on some of the biggest brands in the business including Coca-Cola®, The Athlete’s Foot®, and ClosetMaid®

Find out more at nonfictionbrand.com and get a free gift.

When Emily was 13, her mother was diagnosed with advanced stage Ovarian Cancer. Shortly after, her mother began writing the novel, Bird of Paradise.

For years her mother had lost herself in a world of creation, never letting anyone read what she'd written. Sadly, in December of 2012, after years of recurrences, setbacks, surgeries, and rounds of chemotherapy, she passed away at the age of 63 . Bird of Paradise was left unfinished.

Shortly after her passing, Emily found a letter from her, with a copy of the unfinished manuscript and one request - that she finish the story for her.

Find Emily at Emilyjohnsonwrites.net

How often are we in a situation where agreeing seems like the better move? But by doing so, we betray ourselves. Is agreeing to fit in what we all want? Then we'll all want and be and think the same things.

JES (John Elizabeth Stintz)i is a non-binary and trans writer, educator, and visual artist who grew up on a cattle farm in northwestern Ontario. Their work has been awarded the 2019 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers, and The Malahat Review’s 2019 Long Poem Prize. Their writing has appeared in Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, Fiddlehead, The Malahat Review, Best Canadian Poetry, and many others. JES is the author of the novels My Volcano and Vanishing Monuments, as well as the poetry collection Junebat. They live with their wife in the United States.

We talked with them about how they captured the feeling of doomscrolling in a novel form, and how they found ways to ground the absurd in the deeply human. 

Hosted by Phillip Russell and Ben Thorp

You can follow JES here. 

Visit our website: Originstory.show

Follow us on Twitter @originstory_

Do you have feedback or questions for us? Email us theoriginstorypod@gmail.com

Cover art and website design by Melody Hirsch

Origin Story original score by Ryan Hopper 

Annie has read almost 6000 books in the last 6 years. Yes, 6000 books! She loves her job as competition judge and it shows in how darn happy she is. She even read one of mine which was pretty interesting. 

If you are writer and want to learn more from this industry insider, take a listen. 

You can find her at winningwriters.com

How many times have you wanted to walk away? Rejection? Doubts? There is something more powerful than both of those to help you keep walking the path. I hope this helps.

Check out my books and podcast at douglasrobbinsauthor.com

In this episode, Jake talks about the process of how you can write a best-selling book in a hour a day. He shares the 2 most important pieces of knowledge that you need before getting started; your INTENTION for writing the book and the motivation for WHY NOW. Once you have the answers to these 2 questions then you are ready to begin the process. 

Jake Kelfer is a lifestyle entrepreneur, life elevator, and coach to ambitious entrepreneurs and freedom seekers helping people write and launch bestselling books. He is a 3x bestselling author, a high-energy motivational speaker, investor, and the founder of the Professional Basketball Combine which has helped 70+ NBA draft prospects turn their dreams of playing pro basketball into their reality. He and his work have been featured on Forbes, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and many other major media outlets.

Follow Jake on Instagram

Jakes Website

Follow Candace on Instagram

Candace Dunaway is the Host of the All Things Relatable podcast. Candace practices daily gratitude and believes that this practice is the key to living a joyful life. Candace sees the world through an optimistic lens and looks for the silver linings, even in the most difficult of times. She believes that life is a collection of simple moments of joy that compound to create a happy life.

Follow Candace on Instagram

Use coupon code candace10 to receive 10% off your set of Now by Solu Meditation Speakers

Get your meditation speakers here

Marissa chats with Claire Winn about her debut sci-fi novel - CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT - as well as some rules for worldbuilding, including guidance into how deep your knowledge of the world should go and how much to reveal to the reader in order to create an immersive experience; seeking out knowledgeable resources to assist with things you don't fully understand, such as advanced technology or brain science; figuring out your story's obstacles first and your plot second, so that you can lay out the story in an order that makes sense and keeps the action moving; using video games to inspire everything from battle scenes to worldbuilding to evoking a certain mood from scene to scene; and what to do with those "revise and resubmit" requests from agents, along with some words of comfort if that book still doesn't sell. (Spoiler: It's not the end of your writing journey!)

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

Charlotte Wood is one of Australia’s finest, most original writers. She is the author of six novels; a collection of interviews called The Writers’ Room; Love & Hunger; and The Luminous Solution, about creativity and resilience. Charlotte’s most recent novel The Weekend is funny, tender and often uncomfortable, and won the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year. The Natural Way of Things was a bestseller and published internationally. It received various awards including the Stella Prize, and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for fiction. Charlotte also has two podcast series, The Writers’ Room and Eat like the Animals. 

The Luminous Solution is wise and filled with energy and inspiration - it isn’t just for writers and artists but for anyone wanting to enrich their inner life. As Ailsa Piper describes, it is a ‘magnificent book of consolation, inspiration, completely individual observation, scholarship, honesty, wisdom and wonder. Every page contains food for the mind and spirit.’ 

We often feel alone, but can you feel alone on a team with a like minded purpose? Can you be depressed and isolated while receiving high fives? Aren't we all looking for a team and like minded people in this world with a similar purpose? 

It's easy to feel isolated and small, but can you be when connected to a broader truth? Isn't that where purpose is found?

Christian De La Huerta is a sought-after spiritual teacher, personal transformation coach and leading voice in the breathwork community. He has traveled the world offering inspiring and transformational retreats combining psychological and spiritual teachings with lasting and life-changing effects. An award-winning, critically acclaimed author, he has spoken at numerous universities and conferences and on the TedX stage. His new book, Awakening the Soul of Power, was described by multiple Grammy Award–winner Gloria Estefan as “a balm for the soul of anyone searching for truth and answers to life’s difficult questions.” 

He grew up in Cuba during the Castro takeover and had to flee the country with his family.

From shy, introverted child filled with self-doubt to internationally renowned speaker.

His new book, Awakening the Soul of Power, has strong messages about authentic self-expression and personal empowerment. For anyone who has struggled with issues around relationships, self-doubt, or a sense of purpose. The book explores how we step into power in a different way that's not about hierarchy, control, fear, force or domination.

The book's message can help you transform your relationship to power so you can stop selling out your personal power to fears and pain and can free yourselves from self-sabotaging behaviors. 

It can also help you heal toxic relationship patterns and negotiate power struggles more effectively. On a macro scale, issues of power and the abuse of power have been integral to our society. Globally, power is up for all of us to look at—and choose: What kind of leadership do we want? What kind of world?

More information about his work can be found at www.SoulfulPower.com.