Author/playwright/former TV newsie Byron Lane talks origin stories, on-air anxiety, assisting Carrie Fisher, chasing the Northern Lights, indie films, best-selling novels, big love, and bigger reinventions. This one’s honest, funny, and full of heart. 💛
What you’ll hear
- 🚨 “I’m still just telling stories.” Why the news muscle never leaves
- 🏕️ Boy Scout tour → WWL legend. Byron’s “pharmacist moment”
- ⏰ Overnights + 8am classes. Grit that built a storyteller
- 😬 The cost of ‘live.’ On-air nerves, pressure, and knocking on doors at 2am
- 📡 Live shot disasters. Speakers blasting, trucks failing—lessons anyway
- ⭐ Pivot to Princess Leia. How Carrie Fisher changed everything
- 🌌 “Take your broken heart and make art.” Northern Lights with Carrie
- 🎬 Herpes Boy → Octavia Spencer + JVN cameo. News rules that power scripts
- 💍 Proposal in the acknowledgments. Yes, really—book as ring
- 🎭 Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist. Why the play still has another life
- 🌈 Big Gay Wedding. A mom’s “coming out,” Polite Society Ranch, and small-town love
- 🌴 Palm Springs life. Community, creativity, and signed books at Best Bookstore
Pull quotes
- “It’s not just before all that—I still feel like I’m just telling stories.”
- “Take your broken heart and make art.” —Carrie Fisher
- “News taught me to find the headline of a scene.”
- “I proposed to Steven… in the acknowledgments.”
About Byron 📚
- Author of A Star Is Bored and Big Gay Wedding
- Playwright of Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist
- Former local TV reporter/producer/writer; past assistant to Carrie Fisher
- Partner to author Steven Rowley (The Guncle, The Celebrants)
Mentioned
- Books: A Star Is Bored, Big Gay Wedding, The Guncle, The Celebrants, Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters
- Projects: Herpes Boy (indie), Last Will & Testicle (web series), Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist (play)
- Shop local: Best Bookstore in Palm Springs — ask for signed copies of Byron’s books ✍️
🎧 Listen • Share • Support
- ❤️ If this resonated, text it to one newsroom friend.
- ⭐ Rate & review the show—helps more people find these stories.
- 🛍️ Buy Byron’s books from your indie—if you’re in Palm Springs, request signed at checkout.
- 🌐 Go to our website for new episodes, essays, and behind-the-scenes.
- 👥 Know a great guest? Pitch me.
Let Life After News inspire your next chapter. Because leaving the news doesn’t mean the story’s over—it means a new one’s just beginning.
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