The Secret Library Podcast

*This podcast is made possible through the generous support of Book Alchemy’s paid membership. To support the show, please consider becoming at member at secretlibrarypodcast.com

From Chef to Sleuth

In this delicious episode, my guest is Orlando Murrin, a former high-profile food writer who transitioned into the world of mystery writing. After sharing his foundation in food writing, Orlando reveals the pivotal moment when a friend's ...

*This podcast is made possible through the generous support of Book Alchemy’s paid membership. To support the show, please consider becoming at member at secretlibrarypodcast.com

Diving into the Cold

In this episode of the Secret Library Podcast, I speak with Anna Brones from the middle of her current book writing adventure. Anna shares her experiences working on her forthcoming book about cold water practices and communities, inspir...

*This podcast is made possible through the generous support of Book Alchemy’s paid membership. To support the show, please consider upgrading your subscription at secretlibrarypodcast.com

Self-Discovery Through Fiction

In this episode, Emma Gannon and I explore the nuances of writing fiction versus non-fiction, the significance of intergenerational friendships, and the representation of women in literature, particularly through the l...

*This podcast is made possible through the generous support of Book Alchemy’s paid membership. To support the show, please consider upgrading your subscription at secretlibrarypodcast.com

The Scientific Method Meets Writing

In this conversation, Anne-Laure Le Cunff and I discuss the principles behind her book, Tiny Experiments, exploring how small, manageable experiments can transform the writing process. We explore the importance of...

*This podcast is made possible by the generous support of Book Alchemy’s paid membership. To support the show, please consider upgrading your subscription.

The Pound Project

In this episode, I speak with JP Watson, a writer from Birmingham, UK, and the founder of The Pound Project. This initiative has published and sold thousands of books worldwide. JP shares how his frustration with the publishing industry's limitations led him to c...

*This podcast is made possible by the generous support of Book Alchemy’s paid membership. To support the show, please consider upgrading your subscription.

Ready to Read Yourself Happy?

In this engaging conversation, Daisy and I explore the profound impact of reading on personal well-being, the joy of rediscovering old favorites, and the importance of embracing diverse reading preferences. We discuss the comfort found in rereading be...

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

* Write as many days as you like

* No falling behind and no guilt

Writing can be fun!

If you’d like to play around with me...

*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’re not alone. Sonal Champsee is back on the Secret Library podcast to share her day job tales from software enginee...

*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 of Ghosts this spring*.* Throughout our conversation, Jacqueline shares how she knew the series was ready to wrap an...

*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 and train our nervous system and how we respond to stressful situations. Sonya Brewer, psychotherapist, trauma spec...

*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 episode of the Secret Library as she shares her experiences of working with a large traditional publisher, then tr...

*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 Column, which appeared weekly for a decade in the New York Times. Carl has many other qualifications, but I wanted to in...

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 studied with Billy to help me get the word out about courses and books at Book Alchemy and the Secret Library. I wanted t...

*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 experiences as writers who are also Enneagram 4s and how Erika uses the Enneagram in her work. We also spend a lot of tim...

*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 excited to dig deeper with Heidi Fiedler in today’s episode of the Secret Library. Heidi is a writer and editor who has...

Summary

This 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. Through partnerships with various organizations, he amplifies the voices of countless writers who may not have had the...

Summary

My 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 this show, and has generously brought the art of money into all of our conversations. In this episode, we look at mone...

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 the upturns benefit us last. Let’s get ahead of this conversation, moving toward prevention and flexibility. I hav...

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 each topic in such a way that it will be valid for a long time, I wanted to create a library of interviews and convers...