Uncorking A Story

Jane Healey isn’t just a successful author, she also has great taste in TV. During the course of this entertaining conversation, I uncorked her love for The Greatest American Hero, which took us on a fun tangent. Believe it or not, I was walking on air after that. Meet Jane Healey Jane is the author of The Secret Stealers and The Beantown Girls, a Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, running, cooking, and going to the beach. She joins me today to talk about her career and latest book Good Night from Paris. Key Topics: Giving herself permission to take the time to practice writing. Advice that you have to be bad at writing before you can become good. The importance of receiving quality feedback and knowing how to take it. How to find resources for becoming a better writer without spending lots of money.  Getting inspired for her 4th novel while writing her third. Luck and timing when it comes to publishing. Her advic

Like many people of my generation, I grew up watching Hogan’s Heroes in reruns. Also like many people of my generation, I was shocked that Bob Crane, Colonel Hogan himself, met such a violent end, likely a result of his extracurricular hobby of documenting every aspect of his life on camera—any by every aspect, I mean EVERY aspect. This guy was ahead of his time when it came to documenting (consensually) the most intimate moments in his life. When his official biographer, Carol Ford, contacted me about appearing on Uncorking a Story, I jumped at the chance. Meet Carol Ford Carol has worked in the publishing industry since 1997 and is the primary author of Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography. A portion of the profits from Bob Crane’s biography is donated to various charities in Bob’s memory, while the balance of author proceeds go toward furthering efforts on Bob Crane’s behalf.  Key Topics: Carol’s love of writing from an early age. The role encouragement played in paving the way for a career in publishi

Just like the classic Let it Be by The Beatles, author Lauren Destefano shares many words of wisdom for authors in today’s episode of Uncorking a Story. Meet Lauren DeStefano Lauren DeStefano lives in Connecticut, where she was born and raised. When she’s not writing thrillers, she’s listening to true crime podcasts and crocheting way too many blankets. She joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about her career and latest thriller, How I’ll Kill You.  Key Topics: 100 rejections until she found her agent. Why having one published novel under your belt doesn’t guarantee future success. The importance of authenticity when writing. How to navigate genre switching. The importance of having a support circle. Why offering support is so critical for authors. Why it is important to consider critical feedback, even if it is not what you want to hear. Why it is so important to trust your agent and consider that they may know your voice better than you do. Buy How I’ll Kill You Amazon: https://amzn.to/3YHWU

Susan and I have three things in common; we are authors, we have a great sense of humor, and we both root against Duke basketball regardless of who they are playing against (Sorry John Nardone and Brent McGoldrick but that buzzer beater by Laeettner against UConn in 1990 cemented my dislike of your alma mater).  Meet Susan Reinhardt Susan’s book Chimes from a Cracked Southern Belle won the Independent Publisher Book Award for “Best Regional Fiction,” and Tantor Media recently bought the audio rights. She joined me today to talk about her latest book, The Beautiful Misfits.  Key Topics: Disobeying her father and pursuing journalism over nursing. How to bounce between fiction, nonfiction, and back to fiction. How beauty can come from tragedy. What to do when your agent can’t sell your manuscript. The story behind her latest novel, The Beautiful Misfits. Buy The Beautiful Misfits Amazon: https://amzn.to/3EJCFwU Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9781646033041 Connect With Susan Website: https:

I’ve interviewed many authors who were signed to muti-book deals very early in their careers—typically two or three book deals. Today’s guest on Uncorking a Story, Audrey Carlan, must be an overachiever because her book deal was for twenty-seven. You read that right—nine times the size of a “good” book deal. Nine Times! Take that Mrs. Bueller.   Meet Audrey Carlan Audrey Carlan is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She writes wicked hot love stories that are designed to give the reader a romantic experience that's sexy, sweet, and so hot your e-reader might melt. She joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about her career and latest book, The Marriage Auction: Season One, Volumes One—Four. Key Topics: Finding success as a writer later in life. Building a following using Kindle Vella. What to do when signing a 27 book deal. The key to writing erotic romance novels. Why it is so important to read the genre you want to write in. Buy The Marriage Auction: Season O

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: 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. Why Tom has made it his mission to help other people avoid the traps of debt and build financial security. Why Tom believes real wealth isn’t just monetary, but having a purpose in life. Why Tom talks to his clie

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: How Charlotte handled the news of her husband’s death by suicide. Why she decided to tell her children the truth and the impact that has had on their relations

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: How growing up in southern Italy has influenced her personality & how her experience impacted her view of the world What it is like growing up in a patriarchal society, and how she drew on that for her writing process Why it is important to acknowledge that

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

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: How Jill was drawn to writing from a very young age. Moving from working as an editorial assistant to children’s writer to an

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: Her journey to getting published Bringing Taiwanese American characters into her books Food

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 Mayfa

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: Why the murder of George Floyd was the flashpoint to starting Time’s Undoing. How Cheryl tapped into her own family’s

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

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: How William transitioned from being an Assistant DA to writing full time. How telling a story to jurors is not dissimilar to telling a story t

Long-time listeners know that I’m the proud father of triplets and anyone who has seen me perform stand-up knows that I lean on my experiences raising them heavily when I perform. Well, today’s guest on Uncorking a Story, Cort Casady is also a father of triplets and joined me to talk about his latest book Not Your Father's America: An Adventure Raising Triplets in a Country Being Changed by Greed. Meet Cort Casady Cort is a TV writer-producer, songwriter, playwright, and author. He has won two Emmy Awards and three NAACP Image Awards for his work as a writer-producer in television. He began his TV writing career by creating the story and characters for a five-installment movie mini-series called Kenny Rogers as The Gambler. He went on to help format and launch the long-running talent competition, Star Search with Ed McMahon, the forerunner of American Idol. His credits include numerous other series, awards shows, and specials. For the past 19 years, he has been supervising producer of the American Film Instit

Some may believe that an author’s superpower is in the ability to string the right words together, in the right order, and use correct punctuation. While all of that is important, I believe that their real superpower is in their ability to experience an everyday event and feel compelled to reflect, write about it, and share it with others. Today’s guest on Uncorking a Story, Meg Stafford, has been doing that for a quarter of a century and joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about her career and latest book Who Will Accompany You? My Mother-Daughter Journeys Far From Home and Close to the Heart. Meet Meg Stafford Meg Stafford is a writer who loves exploration of all kinds, and this time she takes us along for the ride. For 25 years she has been observing how small, remarkable moments enrich our lives in her monthly newspaper column, "A Moment's Notice." As a social worker in private practice, she's been helping others negotiate the terrain of relationships and connections for over 35 years. Her 2011 memoir

As a small business owner, I’m always interested in how I can get better at sales, which is why I was so excited to speak with today’s guest, Anthony Iannarino. We had a fun conversation about how a daily blog turned into a book, his writing journey, and our mutual love of 80’s hard rock and heavy metal. Meet Anthony Iannarino Anthony spent twenty years selling and leading a sales force in the highly-commoditized industry of staffing before becoming a writer and publishing daily at thesalesblog.com. During his time in sales, he recognized the strongest differentiation for a salesperson is their ability to create value for their prospective client within the sales conversation. Anthony spends much of his time drinking coffee, writing, speaking, facilitating workshops, and helping sales organizations transform their outdated, legacy approach with a modern, value-creating approach that buyers appreciate, and one that leads to revenue growth. He joined me on Uncorking a Story to discuss his career and latest book

Today’s episode will leave you questioning whether or not the events that my guest Vincent (Vinnie) Tolman discusses actually happened. I’m okay with that (and so is he). When his publicist reached out with the opportunity to interview someone who was clinically dead for over 45 minutes and in a coma for three days after his heart re-started, I jumped at the chance as I thought it would be a fascinating story to uncork. Whether believe in an afterlife or not I ask you to consider the insights that Vinnie brought had after rejoining the land of the living over twenty years ago and ponder whether or not what he has to say may make your life more complete and whole. Meet Vincent Tolman Vincent Todd Tolman was born in Arlington, Texas, and died over 20 years ago, on January 18th, 2003. Since coming back, he has traveled around the world, living in both Cambodia and Thailand. He has worked as a home builder, computer technician and producer for the television and film industry. He loves animals, meditating, and sp

Today’s guest on Uncorking a Story, Donna Loughlin, and I were both involved in the early days of the 90s dot.com bubble, in similar roles. I was working to understand what consumers wanted in digital technologies and she was tasked with uncorking stories from the tech leaders of the day. We take a walk down memory lane, and so much more, in this episode of Uncorking a Story. Meet Donna Loughlin Donna Loughlin is known for her work with futurists and innovators as the founder of LMGPR. She has launched more than 500 companies, taking them from stealth to market leaders since forming her agency in 2002. Donna is also the host of BeforeItHappened, a leading narrative podcast featuring visionaries and the moments, events, and realizations that inspired them to change our lives for the better. She excels in the realm of storytelling, and uses those skills to propel new companies into the mainstream.  Key Topics: How Donna's curiosity for peoples’ stories was cultivated from a young age The different story ang