May 20, 2025 • 24 mins
Storytelling has the power to bridge divides in ways direct confrontation cannot. In this captivating conversation with author Corinne Cavanaugh, we explore how fiction creates safe spaces to navigate controversial topics and what it truly means to be an audacious woman.
Corinne shares the genesis of her debut novel "An Audacious Woman," describing it as "a mashup between modern-day Bridgerton and Sex and the City." The book revolves around Eleanor Beaufort, a wealthy matriarch who feels trapped by her family legacy despite inheriting a $70 million mansion. Through Eleanor's journey, readers glimpse moments of boldness that inspire reflection on their own abandoned audacity—those times before the weight of adult responsibility settled in.
What makes this conversation particularly compelling is Corinne's personal transformation. With a Harvard master's degree and successful marketing career, she made the bold choice to pursue fiction writing. Her methodical approach—creating a 5-7 AM writing routine before work and learning from established authors—offers a blueprint for anyone wondering how to pursue their passions alongside existing commitments. Her advice? "Be bold faster. If you've got this inkling, this one idea you've been meaning to do, don't wait."
Beyond literary pursuits, our discussion ventures into provocative territory as Corinne challenges the current culture of division. Drawing from her background studying democratization, she advocates for bringing difficult conversations back to the dinner table. "The public needs to be able to feel comfortable talking about these things," she explains, noting that her novel demonstrates how vulnerability and listening can lead to understanding.
Whether you're contemplating a major life change, seeking permission to prioritize yourself, or simply wanting an engaging read, Corinne's insights will leave you contemplating what audacity might look like in your own life. After all, as she reminds us: "We've got one ride. Might as well go and chase them."
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Episode Transcript
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Audra (00:00):
Welcome in everyone and thank you so much for joining me
again this week.
This week, you're in for atreat.
This is a first for me.
This week, my guest is CorinneCavanaugh, and she is a
marketing expert, entrepreneur,humanitarian and author.
She holds a master's degree ininternational relations from
(00:20):
Harvard, but her passion is toinspire empathy and
understanding throughstorytelling.
Her first book is An AudaciousWoman and it does just that.
It humanizes controversialtopics in an approachable, fun
and very real way.
I said it's first for me.
She is my very first fictionalauthor and I'm so excited to
(00:45):
talk to her and I was drawn toher because of the title of her
book.
It is my pleasure and my honorto introduce to you Corinne.
Corinne, thank you so much forbeing here and welcome to the
show.
Corinne (00:59):
Thank you, audra, it's my pleasure.
I really love what you're doingwith the show.
Audra (01:03):
Well, thank you for being here and thank you for
writing this absolutelywonderful book.
As I told you before we came on, I'm actually reading this book
and loving this book because itis entertaining, it is rich.
I am really emotionallyinvolved in the book with these
(01:23):
characters, really emotionallyinvolved in the book with these
characters, and you developed itin such a lovely way that
you've hooked me in.
You've made me part of it, andnot all authors are doing that
anymore.
Corinne (01:39):
Yeah, I think that's hard to do right.
We've got so much out there, somuch great content, that you
really have to hook people fast.
Audra (01:48):
You do.
You have to hook them fast, andnot everybody's willing to sit
and silence and invest inreading anymore because there's
just a lot of distractions.
It takes a lot to ask ofsomebody to say, hey, will you
sit quietly and be with me foran hour or two while I tell you
a story?
(02:08):
And you did a really good jobwith that.
And I'm curious, why is yourstorytelling geared towards
women?
Corinne (02:25):
They say, to write what you know.
And this is the experience I'vehad in my life and I think that
women are typically, you know,really the leaders of their
family, the leaders of theircommunity and the heartbeat of
the world.
And so I thought, okay, Ireally want to write this for
women, and some topics come upthat you know are maybe
(02:47):
hopefully validating for womenin their point of view to say,
OK, you know, you can do this,you can be more, you can be
audacious.
Audra (03:00):
You did that, just that, in this book, and I'm not going
to give the story away, becauseeverybody definitely needs to
read this book, because it is afun read and it is worth it is
worth sitting down and escapingfrom all of all the stresses
that are going on in your life.
But what I'd love to hear fromyou is this idea of an audacious
(03:26):
woman.
What is it to be an audaciouswoman?
What does that mean to you?
Corinne (03:34):
I think it means going outside of your comfort zone
intentionally and with a sort ofnot caring attitude.
And I'm not saying break thelaw, don't get me wrong.
I'm saying you really need todo things like wear what you
want.
You know, I can't tell you howmany meetings I have been.
(03:56):
In the morning I'm thinking,okay, should I wear this to the
meeting?
Who's going to be there?
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
So much goes into our thoughtprocess.
What nail color do we have?
Wear what you want.
I think it's super important forwomen to listen to advice but
not feel like they have to takeit.
You know, it's possible thatyour own instincts and your own
(04:19):
intuition are the right way togo, and so that's one.
All of these tips, I think, arereally meaningful because women
, often we are giving and we'rein service of other people and
really, if you're taking care ofyourself first, everybody else
(04:41):
wins.
So put yourself first isanother one.
Everybody else wins.
So put yourself first isanother one.
It's so easy, right, we've gotthe airplane, put your mask on
first.
It makes sense.
But then, when it comes toeveryday life, it's so easy, you
know, to not put yourself first, and you know I'll just share,
if I may, like a quick way.
(05:02):
I do that.
I'm a mom of three and they'reall in school.
But you know, at the end of theday I decided you know what?
I don't want to be a hangry mom.
Ok, I want to eat.
So I actually eat before thekids come home, so that I can be
(05:22):
my best self, and they eatdinner at a later time, so that
I'm when I'm eating them dinner,I'm not.
You know, that's puttingyourself first.
It's a practical application,but I think women need to do
this in all sorts of ways,including in corporate America.
Audra (05:38):
So let me get this straight you aren't picking off
of your toddler's plates onwhat's left over.
Corinne (05:43):
You aren't picking off of your toddler's plates on
what's left over.
No, no, you make the food atsome time.
Just eat it, right, eat it andyou're going to have more energy
to give.
And the same thing in thecareer and the workplace.
I think you know you've gotthis whole other thing happening
in your life.
Well, that's demanding a lot ofyour time and attention, but in
(06:05):
that realm you can still putyourself.
First.
I'm in the age category whereI've had several friends come to
me and say hey, you know, I'mthinking about having a baby
next year and I'm really excitedabout it.
But my boss just came to me andsuggested I should take this
project or I should take thispromotion.
And they're coming to me as afriend and they say well, should
(06:30):
you know, do you really think Icould do that?
Like, should I step?
I don't know if I should takethis project and I'm thinking to
myself would your significantother take that project?
They're not growing a baby, butthey're having a baby.
Yes, they would, and youshouldn't step back just for
that.
You shouldn't.
You should really go for it.
Audra (06:48):
Because you can be both things at the same time, you can
be true.
Just because you're growing ahuman does not stop you from
being amazing and awesome atyour job.
Unless you're jumping out of anairplane, you can pretty much
do anything.
Corinne (07:05):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And you know it's not like it'snot going to be tough, but you
know we can do tough, that'sfine.
We can do that.
We can get through a nine-month, 10-month period of time where
we're feeling absolutelyhorrible and still rock our
career.
It is possible.
It's a period of time and Ithink women should just go for
it in all aspects of their life.
Audra (07:46):
You worked in corporate America yourself and then you
did this extreme pivot intobeing an author.
I mean, you had very technicalroles in your life and you
decided no, I'm going to chasethis passion of writing.
What finally made you feel soempowered to go and chase that
dream?
Corinne (08:07):
You know, I have to admit a couple of things.
I have the entrepreneurial bugright.
I've started a couple ofdifferent marketing firms, small
, small companies, but you know.
So when I went back tocorporate, I was doing the
corporate thing, but I had adream about the main character
in this book, eleanor EleanorBrofort, and she was so vivid.
When I woke up I thought, okay,if this could be a really good
book.
I kind of describe it as amashup between modern day
(08:30):
Bridgerton and Sex and the City.
You know, it's sort of thatkind of feeling and I thought
this could be really fun, thiscould be something I would love
to read.
But then I kind of you know,working full time, kids full
time, all that stuff and Ithought, okay, well, why am I
writing?
I could spend my time doinganything.
Let's find out my why.
(08:51):
And so then I drilled down into.
You know, I want to share withpeople these controversial gray
area topics in anon-confrontational way so they
can actually see differentpeople's points of view without,
you know, hashing it out attheir own dinner table.
It's a safe space.
Fiction is a safe space.
Audra (09:12):
Well, this main character that you describe, I
think that a lot of women canrelate.
She is this powerfulmatriarchal woman, but she's
lonely.
Corinne (09:28):
She's super lonely and she's felt stuck right.
We've all felt stuck from timeto time.
She's felt stuck her wholeentire life.
Now it's an affluent type ofstuck right and she inherited
this $70 million mansion butshe's been the property person,
the main caretaker of this homefrom 1900, her whole entire life
(09:53):
.
She can't get away from it.
It's our family legacy and soshe felt stuck, and so I think
it's a parallel that most womenfeel.
And so you're watching her andseeing points in her life,
little historical flashbacks ofwhere she just was bolder than
ever, and that is inspiring.
Audra (10:15):
Yeah, I like how you peppered that in, because, as
you're reading this book, youmake me feel and make me think
about times when I was bold,when I've had these times where
when I lived life withoutabandon, when I didn't feel the
weight of responsibility that Ifeel today, when I didn't have
(10:40):
to be reminded of you have to bethe adult in the room, and I
think a lot of women walkthrough life now, at this age,
where you've built this gildedcage because you were too busy
being responsible, trying todrive this career for yourself,
and you've built it.
(11:00):
You have built this amazingcareer.
You had something to prove toyourself and maybe to others,
and you've gotten to a pointwhere you're like, okay, now
I've built this.
Now what?
Corinne (11:12):
Right, it's like I've built this.
I could do anything.
Now what do I actually want todo, you know, and I think it's
fun writing a career inmarketing.
You're a short writer, anextremely short writer, right,
you're writing headlines andcatchphrases and social content
and website content Short-formwriting totally different.
(11:33):
I got to tell you so when Idecided to embark on this
journey, I did two importantthings.
First, I was inspired by JamesClear's book Atomic Habits and I
set up my morning routine sothat I would be writing from
five to 7am and then I would goto work.
(11:54):
So well, and then I would dothe wake up routine with all of
the kids, get them off and thengo to work.
So I was prioritizing the time.
But then the second thing I didis I learned from the greats.
I went on masterclass and Itook every class Margaret Atwood
had on there.
Every class, james Clear and Ibecame a student of writing
(12:17):
writing fiction, because it's adifferent ballgame and so they
really gave me the blueprints togo for it.
Audra (12:26):
I think that's really interesting, what you just said.
Really interesting Becausethere's lots of women out there
that are thinking I would liketo go for this or I'd like to go
for that, but I don't knowwhere to start.
And you created a blueprint ofwhere to go and you created a
(12:48):
habit, and then you startedlearning from the greats of
whatever it is that you wantedto go do so for those women that
feel stuck.
Start with a blueprint what abrilliant idea.
I never thought of that before.
Corinne (13:05):
Well, I mean, anytime you really get serious about
your goals, you do thatnaturally right.
Whatever, it is Okay.
How am I going to get there?
What strategies and tactics youcan use?
Whatever like what you want,but at the end of the day, your
time is what you have to giveand how you prioritize.
It is everything.
Audra (13:24):
But as women, that's easy for us to do when we're
trying to accomplish goals asfar as work is concerned,
financial goals, that kind ofthing but when we're chasing our
passions and dreams, I think weforget to do that.
Corinne (13:38):
Oh, we totally do, and the guilt takes over.
Oh, I should be doing thisother thing.
I should, should, should,should, should.
I had someone, a mentor of mine, many years ago.
She said to me oh go, shouldyourself.
You know, like don't, it's notgood for you.
Prioritize what you want andmake it happen, or don't and
drop it.
Try not to feel guilty.
(13:58):
It's a daily struggle, isn't it?
Audra (14:01):
Absolutely.
I'm going to ask a sillyquestion and I know the answer,
but I want you to say it outloud.
Do you regret for a secondwalking away from your cushy
corporate America job?
Corinne (14:14):
No, no, no, no, no, no.
And I still have friends thatare there and are stuck there
and you know, I've been invitedback to different roles and no,
I'm doing my thing right now andit's really lovely that that
atmosphere exists to go back toif I want to go back to it.
(14:36):
But you're never going toregret going for your dreams.
And it's just amazing what hashappened.
I mean, people are buying thebook, or the audio book too, and
they're coming to me and say,oh, my goodness, this character
I felt so akin to them and, oh,I saw this differently.
And character I felt so akin tothem and oh, I saw this
(14:57):
differently.
And my hope, too, with thecontroversial topics, is that,
you know, when it's Thanksgiving, you think, okay, well, aunt,
so-and-so, normally we mightuninvite her, but let's go ahead
and invite her to the table andbring her back in the fold,
because I think making thisbroad.
You know, as a society, it issuper important to have cordial
(15:18):
discourse on controversialtopics so that we can both have
empathy for each other and cometo sort of some sort of cultural
consensus that isn't driven bythe news cycle and media.
Audra (15:31):
What a bold statement to say, which is absolutely
contrary to what everybody elseis saying, is that if you're
divided, you should absolutelystay divided, but what you're
saying is.
No, that is absolutelyincorrect.
It's okay to think differently,just as long as you can come
(15:52):
together and discuss it in acivil way.
Corinne (15:56):
Absolutely, and it's required.
You know you'll mention thatfancy fancy pants degree I got.
You know.
I studied democracy anddemocratization and how
democracies are built and whythey fail, and there's a really
great book on this called howDemocracies Died nonfiction,
obviously well-researched.
(16:17):
And this is one of those keysalient points in the research,
which is the public needs to beable to feel comfortable talking
about these things.
Otherwise, you're repressingand you're polarizing and you're
getting further apart and itcreates all this nasty stuff
that really does tear down whatwe intend when we think about a
(16:40):
democracy.
Audra (16:41):
So, even though it might be uncomfortable, it might be a
little scary, go ahead andinvite in those uncomfortable
conversations, and nothing isbetter to soften an
uncomfortable conversation thanfood.
Corinne (16:56):
Absolutely.
The dinner table is where to doit right, Even if somebody
disagrees with you entirely.
You know they come together atdifferent settings to really
talk about this, and most of thecomfortable settings are at the
(17:20):
dinner table around food, andso they're giving their points
of view.
And you know, Eleanor, she asksthese characters to be
vulnerable at the dinner tableone time after something super
secret happens, and so they dothat and really it all comes out
.
So I think it's demonstratingHopefully it's demonstrating how
(17:41):
to have those conversations forpeople.
It's hard.
Audra (17:45):
I'm going to ask you how frightened were you when you
decided I'm going to put myemotions, my feelings, my
passions into writing and launchit out into the world.
Corinne (17:59):
Well, it's pretty scary .
It's a little scary you couldhide behind fiction.
They're fictional charactersand sometimes people say, well,
what character are you most like?
Well, I'm all the charactersSpoiler.
I'm a little bit of everycharacter, and so it is.
It is kind of frightening and Ithink you know, hanging my hat
(18:21):
on that after living thisserious corporate life was the
most frightening going public onLinkedIn and that sort of thing
, and so you know it just just.
I think people respect thatyou're living your most
authentic self whenever you do,and they and the star ratings on
Amazon, I mean it's allterrifying.
(18:57):
You know, if I get one that'snot five stars, I can't help but
think about it.
There's only been one, by theway, that was not five stars.
Audra (19:07):
They don't know what they're talking about that
non-five stars.
They have absolutely no ideawhat they're talking about.
That non five stars.
I have absolutely no idea whatthey're talking about.
My my one last question beforeI want to turn the mic over to
you, because I want to make surethat people know where they can
access you and the book.
If you had to do it all overagain, would you change anything
(19:32):
?
I?
Corinne (19:33):
would do it sooner.
Right, I wouldn't wait.
I think it's very easy to thinkabout all these things you have
going on in your life, but ifyou've got this inkling, this
one idea you've been meaning todo, don't wait.
Audra (19:49):
Just do it.
Corinne's telling you to bebold faster.
Corinne (19:54):
Be bold faster.
I mean, we spend all this timepleasing other people and you
know.
Just take a portion of thattime back and do what you need
to do to live your biggestdreams.
Audra (20:04):
And we've got one ride.
Might as well go and chase them.
Absolutely, absolutely.
So where can the audience reachyou?
You get access to these amazingbooks and where can they read
more about this amazing woman,eleanor?
Corinne (20:22):
okay.
Well, an audacious woman can befound on Amazon.
It's available on paperback,kindle and audiobook too, so
Audible and iTunes, and I wouldbe honored if you followed me on
Instagram.
It's Corinne Cava, soC-O-R-I-N-N-E-C-A-V-A is my
(20:43):
Instagram handle, so follow thejourney there and you'll get
some sneak peeks and informationabout book two, which is coming
out, because this is a seriesof three books which I am so
excited about because onceyou're hooked, you're hooked.
Oh yeah, I mean, in the firstbook you're rooting for a winner
, right?
You were telling me before weaired that you're rooting for
(21:06):
someone and, and well, someonewins.
And so what do they do?
And you get to see them liveout their dreams and ambitions
for the estate.
And then Eleanor frees herselfup, so you get to see her travel
the world in book three.
Audra (21:20):
Which is also pretty exciting to watch that happen
too, because I'm also rootingfor her and her love life,
exactly.
So this is another part of theshow that I enjoy where I get to
shut up because I want to giveyou an opportunity, that you get
to have an intimate momentdirectly with the audience, that
(21:42):
you can leave them a moment ofinspiration.
So the mic is yours.
Corinne (21:48):
Too often, low self-confidence or insecurity
has held us back, and everybodyknows this.
We're always looking for thatnext thing, but I want to
encourage the audience to turnto these fearless fiction female
protagonists to not only helpthem have a good time when
(22:10):
they're reading their book atnight or on the weekend, but
also to be inspired by theirtenacity and audacity, and I
hope that they find that andthat not only an escape, but
also a bit of inspiration.
Audra (22:26):
Thank you for that and I will make sure that all of your
links to your books, to yourwebsite, are all in the show
notes.
Thank you for spending thistime with me, thank you for your
characters and thank you foryour boldness, oh thank you,
audra.
Corinne (22:44):
You're bold too.
From one audacious woman toanother, you are doing this
podcast and it's reallywonderful, thanks.
Audra (22:52):
Well, thank you, and thank you for spending the time
with me today.
I really do appreciate it, andI want to thank all of you for
being with me again this week.
Take care of yourselves, takecare of each other, and we'll
see you again next time.
Welcome in everyone and thank you so much for joining me
again this week.
This week, you're in for atreat.
This is a first for me.
This week, my guest is CorinneCavanaugh, and she is a
marketing expert, entrepreneur,humanitarian and author.
She holds a master's degree ininternational relations from
(00:20):
Harvard, but her passion is toinspire empathy and
understanding throughstorytelling.
Her first book is An AudaciousWoman and it does just that.
It humanizes controversialtopics in an approachable, fun
and very real way.
I said it's first for me.
She is my very first fictionalauthor and I'm so excited to
(00:45):
talk to her and I was drawn toher because of the title of her
book.
It is my pleasure and my honorto introduce to you Corinne.
Corinne, thank you so much forbeing here and welcome to the
show.
Corinne (00:59):
Thank you, audra, it's my pleasure.
I really love what you're doingwith the show.
Audra (01:03):
Well, thank you for being here and thank you for
writing this absolutelywonderful book.
As I told you before we came on, I'm actually reading this book
and loving this book because itis entertaining, it is rich.
I am really emotionallyinvolved in the book with these
(01:23):
characters, really emotionallyinvolved in the book with these
characters, and you developed itin such a lovely way that
you've hooked me in.
You've made me part of it, andnot all authors are doing that
anymore.
Corinne (01:39):
Yeah, I think that's hard to do right.
We've got so much out there, somuch great content, that you
really have to hook people fast.
Audra (01:48):
You do.
You have to hook them fast, andnot everybody's willing to sit
and silence and invest inreading anymore because there's
just a lot of distractions.
It takes a lot to ask ofsomebody to say, hey, will you
sit quietly and be with me foran hour or two while I tell you
a story?
(02:08):
And you did a really good jobwith that.
And I'm curious, why is yourstorytelling geared towards
women?
Corinne (02:25):
They say, to write what you know.
And this is the experience I'vehad in my life and I think that
women are typically, you know,really the leaders of their
family, the leaders of theircommunity and the heartbeat of
the world.
And so I thought, okay, Ireally want to write this for
women, and some topics come upthat you know are maybe
(02:47):
hopefully validating for womenin their point of view to say,
OK, you know, you can do this,you can be more, you can be
audacious.
Audra (03:00):
You did that, just that, in this book, and I'm not going
to give the story away, becauseeverybody definitely needs to
read this book, because it is afun read and it is worth it is
worth sitting down and escapingfrom all of all the stresses
that are going on in your life.
But what I'd love to hear fromyou is this idea of an audacious
(03:26):
woman.
What is it to be an audaciouswoman?
What does that mean to you?
Corinne (03:34):
I think it means going outside of your comfort zone
intentionally and with a sort ofnot caring attitude.
And I'm not saying break thelaw, don't get me wrong.
I'm saying you really need todo things like wear what you
want.
You know, I can't tell you howmany meetings I have been.
(03:56):
In the morning I'm thinking,okay, should I wear this to the
meeting?
Who's going to be there?
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
So much goes into our thoughtprocess.
What nail color do we have?
Wear what you want.
I think it's super important forwomen to listen to advice but
not feel like they have to takeit.
You know, it's possible thatyour own instincts and your own
(04:19):
intuition are the right way togo, and so that's one.
All of these tips, I think, arereally meaningful because women
, often we are giving and we'rein service of other people and
really, if you're taking care ofyourself first, everybody else
(04:41):
wins.
So put yourself first isanother one.
Everybody else wins.
So put yourself first isanother one.
It's so easy, right, we've gotthe airplane, put your mask on
first.
It makes sense.
But then, when it comes toeveryday life, it's so easy, you
know, to not put yourself first, and you know I'll just share,
if I may, like a quick way.
(05:02):
I do that.
I'm a mom of three and they'reall in school.
But you know, at the end of theday I decided you know what?
I don't want to be a hangry mom.
Ok, I want to eat.
So I actually eat before thekids come home, so that I can be
(05:22):
my best self, and they eatdinner at a later time, so that
I'm when I'm eating them dinner,I'm not.
You know, that's puttingyourself first.
It's a practical application,but I think women need to do
this in all sorts of ways,including in corporate America.
Audra (05:38):
So let me get this straight you aren't picking off
of your toddler's plates onwhat's left over.
Corinne (05:43):
You aren't picking off of your toddler's plates on
what's left over.
No, no, you make the food atsome time.
Just eat it, right, eat it andyou're going to have more energy
to give.
And the same thing in thecareer and the workplace.
I think you know you've gotthis whole other thing happening
in your life.
Well, that's demanding a lot ofyour time and attention, but in
(06:05):
that realm you can still putyourself.
First.
I'm in the age category whereI've had several friends come to
me and say hey, you know, I'mthinking about having a baby
next year and I'm really excitedabout it.
But my boss just came to me andsuggested I should take this
project or I should take thispromotion.
And they're coming to me as afriend and they say well, should
(06:30):
you know, do you really think Icould do that?
Like, should I step?
I don't know if I should takethis project and I'm thinking to
myself would your significantother take that project?
They're not growing a baby, butthey're having a baby.
Yes, they would, and youshouldn't step back just for
that.
You shouldn't.
You should really go for it.
Audra (06:48):
Because you can be both things at the same time, you can
be true.
Just because you're growing ahuman does not stop you from
being amazing and awesome atyour job.
Unless you're jumping out of anairplane, you can pretty much
do anything.
Corinne (07:05):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And you know it's not like it'snot going to be tough, but you
know we can do tough, that'sfine.
We can do that.
We can get through a nine-month, 10-month period of time where
we're feeling absolutelyhorrible and still rock our
career.
It is possible.
It's a period of time and Ithink women should just go for
it in all aspects of their life.
Audra (07:46):
You worked in corporate America yourself and then you
did this extreme pivot intobeing an author.
I mean, you had very technicalroles in your life and you
decided no, I'm going to chasethis passion of writing.
What finally made you feel soempowered to go and chase that
dream?
Corinne (08:07):
You know, I have to admit a couple of things.
I have the entrepreneurial bugright.
I've started a couple ofdifferent marketing firms, small
, small companies, but you know.
So when I went back tocorporate, I was doing the
corporate thing, but I had adream about the main character
in this book, eleanor EleanorBrofort, and she was so vivid.
When I woke up I thought, okay,if this could be a really good
book.
I kind of describe it as amashup between modern day
(08:30):
Bridgerton and Sex and the City.
You know, it's sort of thatkind of feeling and I thought
this could be really fun, thiscould be something I would love
to read.
But then I kind of you know,working full time, kids full
time, all that stuff and Ithought, okay, well, why am I
writing?
I could spend my time doinganything.
Let's find out my why.
(08:51):
And so then I drilled down into.
You know, I want to share withpeople these controversial gray
area topics in anon-confrontational way so they
can actually see differentpeople's points of view without,
you know, hashing it out attheir own dinner table.
It's a safe space.
Fiction is a safe space.
Audra (09:12):
Well, this main character that you describe, I
think that a lot of women canrelate.
She is this powerfulmatriarchal woman, but she's
lonely.
Corinne (09:28):
She's super lonely and she's felt stuck right.
We've all felt stuck from timeto time.
She's felt stuck her wholeentire life.
Now it's an affluent type ofstuck right and she inherited
this $70 million mansion butshe's been the property person,
the main caretaker of this homefrom 1900, her whole entire life
(09:53):
.
She can't get away from it.
It's our family legacy and soshe felt stuck, and so I think
it's a parallel that most womenfeel.
And so you're watching her andseeing points in her life,
little historical flashbacks ofwhere she just was bolder than
ever, and that is inspiring.
Audra (10:15):
Yeah, I like how you peppered that in, because, as
you're reading this book, youmake me feel and make me think
about times when I was bold,when I've had these times where
when I lived life withoutabandon, when I didn't feel the
weight of responsibility that Ifeel today, when I didn't have
(10:40):
to be reminded of you have to bethe adult in the room, and I
think a lot of women walkthrough life now, at this age,
where you've built this gildedcage because you were too busy
being responsible, trying todrive this career for yourself,
and you've built it.
(11:00):
You have built this amazingcareer.
You had something to prove toyourself and maybe to others,
and you've gotten to a pointwhere you're like, okay, now
I've built this.
Now what?
Corinne (11:12):
Right, it's like I've built this.
I could do anything.
Now what do I actually want todo, you know, and I think it's
fun writing a career inmarketing.
You're a short writer, anextremely short writer, right,
you're writing headlines andcatchphrases and social content
and website content Short-formwriting totally different.
(11:33):
I got to tell you so when Idecided to embark on this
journey, I did two importantthings.
First, I was inspired by JamesClear's book Atomic Habits and I
set up my morning routine sothat I would be writing from
five to 7am and then I would goto work.
(11:54):
So well, and then I would dothe wake up routine with all of
the kids, get them off and thengo to work.
So I was prioritizing the time.
But then the second thing I didis I learned from the greats.
I went on masterclass and Itook every class Margaret Atwood
had on there.
Every class, james Clear and Ibecame a student of writing
(12:17):
writing fiction, because it's adifferent ballgame and so they
really gave me the blueprints togo for it.
Audra (12:26):
I think that's really interesting, what you just said.
Really interesting Becausethere's lots of women out there
that are thinking I would liketo go for this or I'd like to go
for that, but I don't knowwhere to start.
And you created a blueprint ofwhere to go and you created a
(12:48):
habit, and then you startedlearning from the greats of
whatever it is that you wantedto go do so for those women that
feel stuck.
Start with a blueprint what abrilliant idea.
I never thought of that before.
Corinne (13:05):
Well, I mean, anytime you really get serious about
your goals, you do thatnaturally right.
Whatever, it is Okay.
How am I going to get there?
What strategies and tactics youcan use?
Whatever like what you want,but at the end of the day, your
time is what you have to giveand how you prioritize.
It is everything.
Audra (13:24):
But as women, that's easy for us to do when we're
trying to accomplish goals asfar as work is concerned,
financial goals, that kind ofthing but when we're chasing our
passions and dreams, I think weforget to do that.
Corinne (13:38):
Oh, we totally do, and the guilt takes over.
Oh, I should be doing thisother thing.
I should, should, should,should, should.
I had someone, a mentor of mine, many years ago.
She said to me oh go, shouldyourself.
You know, like don't, it's notgood for you.
Prioritize what you want andmake it happen, or don't and
drop it.
Try not to feel guilty.
(13:58):
It's a daily struggle, isn't it?
Audra (14:01):
Absolutely.
I'm going to ask a sillyquestion and I know the answer,
but I want you to say it outloud.
Do you regret for a secondwalking away from your cushy
corporate America job?
Corinne (14:14):
No, no, no, no, no, no.
And I still have friends thatare there and are stuck there
and you know, I've been invitedback to different roles and no,
I'm doing my thing right now andit's really lovely that that
atmosphere exists to go back toif I want to go back to it.
(14:36):
But you're never going toregret going for your dreams.
And it's just amazing what hashappened.
I mean, people are buying thebook, or the audio book too, and
they're coming to me and say,oh, my goodness, this character
I felt so akin to them and, oh,I saw this differently.
And character I felt so akin tothem and oh, I saw this
(14:57):
differently.
And my hope, too, with thecontroversial topics, is that,
you know, when it's Thanksgiving, you think, okay, well, aunt,
so-and-so, normally we mightuninvite her, but let's go ahead
and invite her to the table andbring her back in the fold,
because I think making thisbroad.
You know, as a society, it issuper important to have cordial
(15:18):
discourse on controversialtopics so that we can both have
empathy for each other and cometo sort of some sort of cultural
consensus that isn't driven bythe news cycle and media.
Audra (15:31):
What a bold statement to say, which is absolutely
contrary to what everybody elseis saying, is that if you're
divided, you should absolutelystay divided, but what you're
saying is.
No, that is absolutelyincorrect.
It's okay to think differently,just as long as you can come
(15:52):
together and discuss it in acivil way.
Corinne (15:56):
Absolutely, and it's required.
You know you'll mention thatfancy fancy pants degree I got.
You know.
I studied democracy anddemocratization and how
democracies are built and whythey fail, and there's a really
great book on this called howDemocracies Died nonfiction,
obviously well-researched.
(16:17):
And this is one of those keysalient points in the research,
which is the public needs to beable to feel comfortable talking
about these things.
Otherwise, you're repressingand you're polarizing and you're
getting further apart and itcreates all this nasty stuff
that really does tear down whatwe intend when we think about a
(16:40):
democracy.
Audra (16:41):
So, even though it might be uncomfortable, it might be a
little scary, go ahead andinvite in those uncomfortable
conversations, and nothing isbetter to soften an
uncomfortable conversation thanfood.
Corinne (16:56):
Absolutely.
The dinner table is where to doit right, Even if somebody
disagrees with you entirely.
You know they come together atdifferent settings to really
talk about this, and most of thecomfortable settings are at the
(17:20):
dinner table around food, andso they're giving their points
of view.
And you know, Eleanor, she asksthese characters to be
vulnerable at the dinner tableone time after something super
secret happens, and so they dothat and really it all comes out
.
So I think it's demonstratingHopefully it's demonstrating how
(17:41):
to have those conversations forpeople.
It's hard.
Audra (17:45):
I'm going to ask you how frightened were you when you
decided I'm going to put myemotions, my feelings, my
passions into writing and launchit out into the world.
Corinne (17:59):
Well, it's pretty scary .
It's a little scary you couldhide behind fiction.
They're fictional charactersand sometimes people say, well,
what character are you most like?
Well, I'm all the charactersSpoiler.
I'm a little bit of everycharacter, and so it is.
It is kind of frightening and Ithink you know, hanging my hat
(18:21):
on that after living thisserious corporate life was the
most frightening going public onLinkedIn and that sort of thing
, and so you know it just just.
I think people respect thatyou're living your most
authentic self whenever you do,and they and the star ratings on
Amazon, I mean it's allterrifying.
(18:57):
You know, if I get one that'snot five stars, I can't help but
think about it.
There's only been one, by theway, that was not five stars.
Audra (19:07):
They don't know what they're talking about that
non-five stars.
They have absolutely no ideawhat they're talking about.
That non five stars.
I have absolutely no idea whatthey're talking about.
My my one last question beforeI want to turn the mic over to
you, because I want to make surethat people know where they can
access you and the book.
If you had to do it all overagain, would you change anything
(19:32):
?
I?
Corinne (19:33):
would do it sooner.
Right, I wouldn't wait.
I think it's very easy to thinkabout all these things you have
going on in your life, but ifyou've got this inkling, this
one idea you've been meaning todo, don't wait.
Audra (19:49):
Just do it.
Corinne's telling you to bebold faster.
Corinne (19:54):
Be bold faster.
I mean, we spend all this timepleasing other people and you
know.
Just take a portion of thattime back and do what you need
to do to live your biggestdreams.
Audra (20:04):
And we've got one ride.
Might as well go and chase them.
Absolutely, absolutely.
So where can the audience reachyou?
You get access to these amazingbooks and where can they read
more about this amazing woman,eleanor?
Corinne (20:22):
okay.
Well, an audacious woman can befound on Amazon.
It's available on paperback,kindle and audiobook too, so
Audible and iTunes, and I wouldbe honored if you followed me on
Instagram.
It's Corinne Cava, soC-O-R-I-N-N-E-C-A-V-A is my
(20:43):
Instagram handle, so follow thejourney there and you'll get
some sneak peeks and informationabout book two, which is coming
out, because this is a seriesof three books which I am so
excited about because onceyou're hooked, you're hooked.
Oh yeah, I mean, in the firstbook you're rooting for a winner
, right?
You were telling me before weaired that you're rooting for
(21:06):
someone and, and well, someonewins.
And so what do they do?
And you get to see them liveout their dreams and ambitions
for the estate.
And then Eleanor frees herselfup, so you get to see her travel
the world in book three.
Audra (21:20):
Which is also pretty exciting to watch that happen
too, because I'm also rootingfor her and her love life,
exactly.
So this is another part of theshow that I enjoy where I get to
shut up because I want to giveyou an opportunity, that you get
to have an intimate momentdirectly with the audience, that
(21:42):
you can leave them a moment ofinspiration.
So the mic is yours.
Corinne (21:48):
Too often, low self-confidence or insecurity
has held us back, and everybodyknows this.
We're always looking for thatnext thing, but I want to
encourage the audience to turnto these fearless fiction female
protagonists to not only helpthem have a good time when
(22:10):
they're reading their book atnight or on the weekend, but
also to be inspired by theirtenacity and audacity, and I
hope that they find that andthat not only an escape, but
also a bit of inspiration.
Audra (22:26):
Thank you for that and I will make sure that all of your
links to your books, to yourwebsite, are all in the show
notes.
Thank you for spending thistime with me, thank you for your
characters and thank you foryour boldness, oh thank you,
audra.
Corinne (22:44):
You're bold too.
From one audacious woman toanother, you are doing this
podcast and it's reallywonderful, thanks.
Audra (22:52):
Well, thank you, and thank you for spending the time
with me today.
I really do appreciate it, andI want to thank all of you for
being with me again this week.
Take care of yourselves, takecare of each other, and we'll
see you again next time.
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