Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

Latest Episodes:

[Minda Honey, practical matters]: Answering the call to write + the right beverages are everything Ep 1119 Aug 12, 2024

Show notes

Minda Honey is the author of "The Heartbreak Years," a hilarious and intimate memoir of a Black woman finding who she is and who she wants to be, one bad date at a time.

Minda's essays on politics and relationships have appeared in all kinds of amazing places, including Harper's Bazaar, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Teen Vogue, and Longreads. She is also the editor of Black Joy at Reckon, an online outlet where she also helms a newsletter that has nearly 60,000 subscribers.

Honestly there were SO MANY quotes I wanted to pull from this interview–just go ahead and press play right now.

(Note, this episode is a replay that originally aired in February.)

But here’s the synopsis:

* How Minda–the daughter of a postal worker and a computer programmer–did the “get good grades, get a scholarship, join corporate America” thing and realized, it wasn’t for her

* Squaring all the “Davids and Jonathans”--the typical authors taught in MFA programs–with the Tonis and Zoras Minda revered

* The financial move that helped Minda launch her freelance career

* The many daily parts of life that count as ‘writing’

* Why you NEED to find your writing community

* Minda’s recipe for sitting down to write: Lofi music + a trio of beverages and four hours blocked off

* The satisfying clickety clack of a specific type of keyboard

* Why Minda was doing our interview from Mexico (it involves “skipping winter”, but there’s a lot more to it than that)

* Giving up drinking and moving away from home

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[Lucas Mann, what’s coming up]: Which reality TV show he gladly gives up sleep to watch + book recommendations galore Ep 1118 Aug 09, 2024

Show notes

In this final installment of my conversation with author and bookstore co-owner Lucas Mann, we talk about the books, writers, TV shows, music, and even dinners that are getting his wheels turning, including:

The book he recently read with his book club that got him excited about writing in new ways and that he couldn’t stop talking about

Why a long walk or bike ride can solve most problems

The two writers whose work and ways of being inspire him

The reality TV show he would forego sleep for weeks at a time if he could

The dad music he has embraced, the morning beverage he drinks until he feels ill, the recent book that kept him awake, and his favorite sushi restaurant

Visit Lucas at www.lucasmann.com.

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[Lucas Mann, practical matters]: Weaving in a new strand to the braid of your writing career + getting over the idea that writing is a solitary profession Ep 1116 Aug 05, 2024

Show notes

This week I’m talking with Lucas Mann, author of multiple non-fiction books, including his latest, Attachments: Essays on Fatherhood and Other Performances, Captive Audience: On Love and Reality Television, Lord Fear: a Memoir, and Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere. In addition to writing books, Lucas has written essays that have appeared in a long list of top tier publications, including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, The Rumpus, and Buzzfeed.

Lucas teaches creative writing at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and he and his wife, Ottavia, own Riff Raff Bookstore and Bar in Providence, Rhode Island, an amazing hub of community for folks who love to write and or love to read and or both.

In this episode we talked about the nuts and bolts of how he got to where he is today and how he gets his work done, including:

The realities of running a bookstore alongside having your own writing career

A peek into the author talk/event planning side of the book business

Weaving in a new strand to the braid of your writing career

Getting over the idea that writing is a solitary profession

The value of a hyperlocal writing community, and how to tap into one

The emotional intricacies of writing memoir and how to navigate them

Why he walks across town to write

Visit Lucas at www.lucasmann.com.

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[Justice Ameer: What’s coming up]: What zombies have to do with the trans feminine experience + why an iced chai latte might be the perfect beverage Ep 1115 Aug 02, 2024

Show notes

In this third installment of my interview with poet and slam champion Justice Ameer, we talked about:

The book that has opened a new vein of creativity for Justice

Working to create more time for restoration, fellowship and connection to nature

Writing about the trans feminine experience by using a zombie motif

The anime series xe has been watching for 10 years, the beverage that fuels xyr’s writing, the lunch dish xe would eat everyday

Visit Justice at justiceameerpoetry.com

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[Justice Ameer, inner stuff]: How being a mega-fan of whatever nerdy thing you love makes you a better writer + when your inner critic tells you you’re boring Ep 1114 Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

In this second part of my interview with poet and slam champion, Justice Ameer, We talk about the mindset side of writing, including:

The factoid about moths that inspired a recent poem

Building up the revision muscle

How not to get bored with your primary theme or subject matter

Dealing with the admin side of writing as someone with ADHD

When your inner critic tells you “this is boring “

Dealing with the internal question “are you even a writer?“

Why experimenting with ideas that will likely never see the light of day is vital

How being a fan of Pokémon, video games, and vampire movies provide Justice with inspiration

Visit Justice at justiceameerpoetry.com

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[Justice Ameer, practical matters]: how to find your writing community + developing consistency as an artist—especially woth ADHD Ep 1113 Jul 29, 2024

Show notes

This week I am talking with Justice Ameer, whom. Boston public radio station WBUR called “one of the most recognized trans poets of color on the local and national poetry scene.”

Justice is a Feminine Empowerment Movement Slam Champion, and two -time Providence Grand Slam Champion,l. Justice describes xyr work as a practice in becoming unapologetic and unafraid, and has been published in Glass Poetry Press, Poetry Magazine, and the Breakbeat Poets, Volume 2, Black Girl Magic Anthology.

We covered:

How poetry is like therapy.

How xe writes to imagine a better world and process what’s upsetting about this world

Tips for finding a riding community—-both in person and online.

How to use that community to get useful feedback

The value of having a day per week blocked off for writing

Finding a consistent artist practice with ADHD.

How to decide on what to work on when you do sit down to write

Letting an idea take you where it’s meant to go

Visit Justice at justiceameerpoetry.com

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[Octavia Randolph: What’s coming up]: Why Taylor Swift is a model for her + a glimpse of a big shift that’s brewing Ep 1112 Jul 26, 2024

Show notes

In this final installment of my interview with Octavia Randolph, author of the hugely popular Circle of Ceridwen saga, a meticulously researched series of 11 books set in 9th century England and scandinavia, we get a sneak peek in her 12th book in the saga,and what she knows at this moment about where her personal throughline is leading her next.

She shared:

- The absolutely incredible sounding retreat she hosted for readers last year in Gotland, where she now lives and where many of her novels are set

- The ninth century style feast–wherever everyone was in period costume–that was the cherry on top of that retreat

- Why she looks to Taylor Swift as a creative role model

- The big shift she can sense is coming, although she can’t say more, but she did mentioned “a possibility of a television series” – and what she’s doing to stay grounded as it continues to unfold

- The Henry James novel she re-reads each summer

- How three cups of coffee is the perfect number of cups of coffee

- The lunch she has had nearly every day for nearly 40 years

Visit Octavia at octavia.net, or on the Circle of Ceridwen Saga private Facebook group.

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[Octavia Randolph, inner stuff]: Dealing with professional envy + an absolute master class on building a community of readers Ep 1111 Jul 24, 2024

Show notes

This is the second part of my interview with Octavia Randolph, author of the hugely popular Circle of Ceridwen saga, a meticulously researched series of 11 books set in 9th century England and scandinavia. Octavia joined me from her home on Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden that played a prominent role in Viking history and in several of her books.

Today we covered the thoughts, ideas, and attitudes that affect your work, even if you’re not fully conscious of it.

- How identifying with your characters is great, until you need to write scenes where they face hardship

- Octavia gives a gosh-darn masterclass on building a community of readers NOT TO BE MISSED

- The testy letter she received from a reader and how she responded

- The critical importance of defining success for yourself, and not by looking at what other people have achieved

- How writing her books has made her a better person

- How she uses runes to stay connected to her characters and consider possibilities in her own life

Visit Octavia at octavia.net, or on the Circle of Ceridwen Saga private Facebook group.

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[Octavia Randolph, practical matters]: An amazing writing process that starts outside at 6 am + Independent publishing vs. self-publishing Ep 1110 Jul 22, 2024

Show notes

This week I’m talking with Octavia Randoplh, a prolific and wildly successful author of historical novels and essays. She’s best known for her Circle of Ceridwen saga, a meticulously researched series of 11–soon to be 12–books set in 9th century England and scandinavia.

Octavia now makes her home on Gotland, a small island off the coast of Sweden in the Baltic Sea where some of her novels are set and which was an important way station for the Vikings as the traveled East and West from Scandinavia.

She is also a devoted needleworker and mosaic artist, and an unabashed cat person.

We covered:

- Why ‘Viking’ isn’t really the right word to describe the people from Scandinavia who explored far and wide a millennia and a half ago

- How a fascination with physical artifacts from England’s early history put her on the path to be a historical fiction author

- How she found her way to massive publishing success despite having great agents and getting only rejections from traditional publishing houses

- The difference between self-publishing and independent publishing–and a peek inside the cast of folks who make it possible for Octavia to edit and publish her books

- How a daily morning walk forms the basis of how she gets her writing done–that, and talking to herself as she writes

Visit Octavia at octavia.net, or on the Circle of Ceridwen Saga private Facebook group.

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[Hayley Krischer: What’s coming up]: What she’s recently learned about understanding her character’s psyches + the incredible allure of hot tubs Ep 1109 Jul 19, 2024

Show notes

In this final part of my interview with Hayley Krischer, journalist and author of the just-released “Where Are You, Echo Blue?”--the juiciest beach read of the year about a missing Hollywood starlet on the cusp of Y2K and the obsessed journalist determined to find here--we peek at what’s coming around the bend for her and I get her answers to my fast five questions.

** This week's episodes are a replay. **

We talked about:

- The incredible allure of hot tubs

- How re-watching “The Actor’s Studio with James Lipton” was a key part of her research process for “Where Are You, Echo Blue?”

- What she learned from studying actors about getting in to the psychology of her characters

- The Instagram influencer who’s helping Hayley understand her perimenopausal body and learning how to take care of herself

- Thinking ahead to when her youngest child is out of the house

- A preview of both her YA novel that’s coming out in 2025 (think Charles Manson meets Goop meets teenage girls) and the adult novel she’s writing next

- The 620-page novel Hayley read in four days because she couldn’t put it down

- The exact morning beverage that fuels Hayley, and the (dark) song that gets her fired up when she needs a kick in the pants

Follow Hayley on Instagram and Threads @haylerkrischer

Follow Hayley on TikTok @hayleykrischerauthor

Hayley’s website: hayleykrischer.net

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Big thanks to our sponsor, AirDoctorPro. Use promo code KATE at airdoctorpro.com to save up to $300 off an air purifier and receive a free 3-year warranty (an $87 value).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected