It’s almost my favorite time of year: Novel Possible time!For the past two years, I’ve run a challenge every November with a few simple guidelines:* Mission Prompts arrive every day* You can choose to accept the mission and write it, or not* The Mission Prompt self-destructs after we reach midnight around the world* Wr... more
*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.So many of us take soul-sucking jobs for a living, while we promise ourselves that we’ll write at night or on the weekends… but years go by and we haven’t made progress, and instead feel defeated and depressed. If you’re in this camp, know that you’... more
*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.I can’t think of anyone more fitting for our penultimate episode of the season than Jacqueline Winspear, a Secret Library veteran and author of 20+ books. Her series, Maisie Dobbs, ends this spring after two decades with the release of The Comfort o... more
*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.Approaching the topic of money can be hard because it not only brings up feelings of stress, overwhelm, scarcity, and more — but it also can have a massive effect on our nervous system. The good news, though? We can use different techniques to heal ... more
*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.There’s historical fiction, then there’s pre-historical fiction. Judith Lindbergh’s newest book is based in the 5th century BC and she’s masterful at not only researching but connecting the past to her readers today. I’m thrilled to have her on this... more
*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.My guest this week is Carl Richards, who is the author of the One Page Financial Plan: A simple way to be smart about your money, and the Behavior Gap: Simple ways to stop doing dumb things with money. He was also the creator of the Sketch Guy Colum... more
My guest this week is Billy Broas. He is the author, along with Tiago Forte, of the forthcoming Simple Marketing for Smart People. Before you panicabout the word marketing, hear me out. Billy's created systems to help creative and nerdy people understand marketing, like those of us who write and love books. I’ve studie... more
*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.Summary:Today’s episode of the Secret Library is such a treat – we are joined by Erika Rasure, an internationally recognized leader, educator, and researcher in holistic financial wellness. Throughout the episode, we chat about our respective experi... more
*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.Summary:What if book franchises were as extensive as movie franchises? Would you buy a perfume or a sweater that was curated specifically for your favorite book? Finding new ways to make money as a writer is a theme throughout season 10 and I’m exci... more
SummaryThis week on the Secret Library podcast, my guest is Kern Carter. Kern Carter, based in Toronto, Canada, is an author, educator, and mentor celebrated for his captivating storytelling. With three books published and two more on the horizon for 2024, Kern has garnered critical acclaim and a devoted following. Thr... more
SummaryMy first guest this season is Bari Tessler, author of The Art of Money, The Art of Money Workbook, and the creator of the year long Art of Money School. She has been my money mentor since I met her over 20 years ago. I knew she had to be our first guest for this season because she was the first guest ever on thi... more
Welcome back to the Secret Library podcast! In season 10, we are switching up the show in more ways than one, the first of which is starting with a solo episode.This time around, we are looking at money. The world has been shaky for the past several years and economic shifts really hurt those on the fringes first while... more
This is the final episode of season ninth season of the Secret Library. In this episode, there's no guest, it's just you and me to take a final look at this very important topic, which is publishing now, which is constantly changing. Over the past eight years of hosting the show, it's always been my goal to address eac... more
We’ve got a repeat guest this week on the podcast to give us such a fun update! AL Berggren was on the show in season six to share about her self-publishing journey, and this week she’s back to let us know where her book, Secret Crying Minds, stands! She’s been working with BooksOffice to get her novel adapted to film,... more
We’ve had a lot of amazing authors on the show to date, but something we haven’t highlighted as much are the authors of children’s books. So with that, I’m so excited to have Jo Loring-Fisher on the show today to give us a bit of insight on the publishing process of a children’s book and how it differs from other genre... more
It’s always such a treat to read a novel that has a main character who is a writer, but writing a main character who is a writer is a whole different thing. Huma Qureshi, author of Playing Games, is on the Secret Library today and she’s sharing her journey of finally writing the book that she knew she was always meant ... more
I’m delighted to have Craig Mod, book producer and author, on the show today. In our conversation, he shares how he created his own press after receiving rejection after rejection. We also get to hear about his creative process which is a real treat because Craig’s books are really like no other, they are a work of art... more
What a rare moment to have the perspective of literary agent and author on the podcast. Jennifer Herrera is on the Secret Library today and she’s sharing the current state of the publishing industry — most notably, how you can write to make sure you’re a sure thing in this risk-adverse environment. So much to learn fro... more
This might be one of the most vulnerable episodes of the Secret Library I’ve shared so far. Joanna Penn joins and shares why she’s chosen to publish on Kickstarter rather than going the traditional route. We also do a bit of a live coaching session as we talk through the shadow over all, but also my shadow about publis... more
Sometimes it feels like authors are psychic, right? The books they write are published in the exactly right historical moment which makes their work immediately timeless. This is certainly the case for Kerri Maher and her most recent book, All You Have to Do Is Call, which focuses on the true story of Chicago’s Jane Co... more
Halloween will be here before we know it, and to get into the spirit I’m excited to share this episode with Laura Sims, author of Looker and her newest book, How Can I Help You, which explores the darker side of humanity — all happening within a library which is a delight. Laura masters the art of rotating POV and dial... more
Welcome to the newest season of The Secret Library! We have an amazing line up in store for you these next few weeks that I can’t wait for you to hear. To start us off, Steven Rowley joins us to talk about his experience writing his latest book, The Celebrants. The biggest theme we touch upon is the bittersweet feeling... more
And here we are — the final episode of season eight. I'm surprised that we're here already. We've had so many exciting conversations during the season, and here we are with my final episode, where it's just me and you talking about the gifts of writing and how they've played out. For me. I was thinking about enchantmen... more
Continuing the conversation about wonder, we‘re dipping back into the SLP archives for a couple of favorite episodes you might have missed, or that deserve a relisten with wonder in mind. Enjoy--At about 40, there is a new level of clarity about the urgency of being creative. I was delighted to speak with Kusi Okamura,... more
Continuing the conversation about wonder, we‘re dipping back into the SLP archives for a couple of favorite episodes you might have missed, or that deserve a relisten with wonder in mind. Enjoy--I'm so grateful to welcome Greta Solomon back to the show. With her bright approach to life and incredible insight into the w... more