Sometimes living creatively in this world feels like living a double life—one where you have to deal with life’s normal responsibilities and then make the switch in your brain to the REAL you —the creative you.

And when you figure out how to do that and embrace your purpose, life just gets so much better. My guest today is such a great example of this—and she is someone who will make your nervous system just take a breath.

Anastasia Lindsey is a self-taught poet. Her work explores the ways in which relationships shape us in specific and universal ways. She is a writer, author, photographer, creative, healer, and poet. Her book, O C E A N has received much recognition across the U.S. Anastasia's work explores grief, loss, love, trauma, healing, self-empowerment, transformation, and much more.

We talk about poetry, vulnerability, creativity, and how writing heals you - which is a theme of this podcast simply because it’s so true.

I loved spending time with her—her vibe is just incredible.

We cover:

• Practices that help tap into the creative process

• How to approach writing poetry so it’s not overwhelming or scary

• Making writing in any genre fun

• How to make creativity your gravity center so you can keep coming back to it

And so much more.

You can find out more about Anastasia here: https://summersolacehealing.com/

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and

publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

Women taking their power back is definitely a theme these days—and my guest today is an OG at this, both in her own life and creating strong, independent female characters.

Kay Oliver worked as a writer in Hollywood and then moved into novels in order to retain creative control over her work. She’s got some fascinating stories about what

Hollywood is really like - hint, it’s maybe not as great as we all like to imagine it is - and also what that transition to novel writing was like.

Kay holds degrees in Radio/TV/Film from California State University, Fullerton, and an MBA in Business. With over 3 decades in entertainment, spanning studios and TV stations, she produced, wrote and directed films. Defying gender biases and the notion that female-centric stories lack marketability in Hollywood, she took the leap and became an author, championing women's resilience in her novels.

Her experience and advice is applicable to all of us—and a reminder to make sure we’re power keeping our own lives.

We talk about:

• How an illness led to her decision to seek creative control over her work
• What it’s like writing for some of the greats in Hollywood
• Whether fiction or screenwriting is “easier” to write
• How to keep the ideas flowing

And so much more.

You can find more about Kay at https://kayaoliver.com/

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

You all know I love talking to journalists, right?

As a former journalist, I know that we never really give it up. It’s who we are, something that’s in our blood. It feels like a society of sorts, which is so juicy.

My guest today, Peter Sacks, has a long, impressive career as a journalist and nonfiction author, and now he’s writing fiction - as we do. His first novel, Libertyland, is a political thriller that is as much cultural commentary as it is action packed - and I just love talking to journalists who’ve seen so much of the world and then turn those experiences into fiction.

Peter has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize, including one for his book, Tearing Down the Gates, an examination of the role that social class plays in American education and society.

It also won Book of the Year from the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Peter has worked as a newspaper journalist on both coasts, as an economist, and as a college instructor in English and Journalism. His essays have appeared in many national publications, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Nation. He’s been a keynote speaker at colleges and universities around the United States.

Libertyland is his first fiction novel.

We talk about:

• Journalism as a calling - and life training

• Exploring bigger societal themes through fiction writing

• Taking on capitalism in his thriller

• Using fiction to expose what’s happening in the real world, in real time

And so much more.

You can check out Libertyland here: https://www.amazon.com/Libertyland-Peter-Sacks/dp/1922329576/

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and

publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

You may know that in my “other” life I’m a marketing and communications leader. I’ve been working in this field for nearly two decades after leaving journalism. And there’s nothing I love more than when my author world and my corporate world collide and I find a novelist.

That’s the case with today’s guest. In my latest role as a consultant for a healthcare system, I have been working with a fierce leader in this field. Gina Calder is now the first Black female regional president at Hartford Healthcare, overseeing the system’s central region.

She is a tireless advocate for equity in healthcare and an unrelenting champion for women of color. Her leadership style is both generous and badass.

And she’s turned that advocacy into a book of affirmations called She Looks Like Me!, aimed at young girls to, in her own words, “help them have their own vocabulary and language to describe how spectacular and remarkable they are and and are becoming.”

So I had to have her on the show to talk about her second career as an author and how her desire to lift up young women and girls intersects with the work she’s doing for the healthcare industry.

We talk about:

• Her mother’s influence on her confidence and creativity

• Why she focused on affirmations in her book and what she hopes young girls will take away

• Why it’s so important for young girls to see themselves reflected back to them in today’s leaders

• How she made the time to get the book written and published with such a demanding career

And so much more.

You can get in touch with Gina on IG @thexenexec

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and

publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

Have you ever imagined a writing life where you jet off to different countries at the drop of a hat, depending on how you were feeling that day, writing whenever you wanted from wherever you wanted? Kind of sounds like a dream, right?

Well, it doesn't have to be. My guest today is actually doing just that. And she’s going to tell you exactly how she did it.

Amy Suto began her career as a Hollywood TV writer before she decided during the pandemic to quit the industry, hit the road and become a digital nomad and freelance writer. Among other endeavors, she ghostwrites memoirs, which has become her niche. She documented the rise of her career in her nonfiction book, Six Figure Freelance Writer, A Holistic Guide on Finding Freedom in Freelance.

Amy has also just released her first crime fiction novel, Nomad Detective Volume 1 following Detective Violet Chase who—unsurprisingly—is a digital nomad solving crimes.

I just love when people find the courage to live their dream, go do the things that they want to do, build a career around writing that most of us were told was simply that—a dream. Amy is living proof that it can be done.

We talked about:

• The reality of Hollywood writer rooms

• How she started and built her freelance career

• What ghostwriting memoirs looks like

• How to think about marketing and promo in this new digital age

And so much more.

If you’re dreaming of more freedom—and more money—in your writing life, this episode is for

you.

You can find all things Amy here.

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

Last week in the first part of my conversation with Elisabeth McKetta, we talked about the 3Cs of writing: Creativity, craft and connection. Today, we’re continuing the conversation with a deeper dive into the “connection” pillar.

Writers need other writers. Period. We spend a lot of time alone, and when we have the chance to interact with our peers, or with publishing experts or teachers or other creative people, we need to jump on that.

In this episode, we’re discussing the multiple ways to think about connecting with other people in the field, what it looks like and how to open yourself up for greater connection.

And since it’s the two of us, we can’t resist a rabbit hole or two…like how chaos impacts—or enhances—writing, why kids need more creativity in their life, and how to give ourselves and those around us permission to be creative and how to set boundaries so we can actually do the things.

Elisabeth is a storyteller, a poet, the author of 13 books across multiple genres, and a teacher for the Harvard Extension School Writing Program and Oxford University’s Diploma in Creative Writing.

If you missed part one, go back and listen first.

And if you’re looking for some creative friends to hang out and have tea with for an hour, well, you’ve found us.

You can find Elisabeth here: https://elisabethsharpmcketta.com/

Episode 79: Genre-bending, mom assassins and edge-of-your-seat suspense - a conversation with Elle Cosimano, author of the Finlay Donovan series

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes

Writing multiple projects at once! The three Cs of writing! Having fun with writing! Staying on the bus!

Creative rabbit holes abound in this episode—and that’s why it’s so damn good. One of my favorite things about talking with other writers is that creative brains can be so non-linear, especially when the conversation is so juicy.

I had the best conversation with my guest today. Elisabeth McKetta is a storyteller, a poet, the author of 13 books across multiple genres, and a teacher for the Harvard Extension School Writing Program and Oxford University’s Diploma in Creative Writing.

We had so much to discuss and we just jumped right in. From making writing more fun to life editing, we’re going to A LOT of places.

This conversation covered so much that we had to split it into two parts. In this episode, we cover:

• The 3 Cs of creativity and how to think about each one individually

• How to think about fun and creativity

• Another take on voice - what it means and how to develop it

• Editing your life to evoke more creativity

And so much more.

If you just want to geek out on all things creativity, come hang out with us this week. This conversation is magical.

You can find Elisabeth here: https://elisabethsharpmcketta.com/

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and

publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

Does fear play a starring role in your everyday life? Are you constantly crippled wondering if you should try something, start something, do something different because you’re afraid it could go wrong - or maybe that it could go right?

Yeah, same. Fear has been a constant passenger of mine in so many areas of my life. I’ve tried to banish it, ignore it, outthink it, and finally befriend it. None of it really worked for me. It keeps popping up, over and over, like that friend you have outgrown but can’t seem to shake.

My guest on the podcast today has been there too. And he was so determined to get past it that he wrote a whole book on it. Charlie Barclay is the author of [re]build - Moving Past Fear to Find Purpose, a motivational speaker and coach who has had a LOT of practice combating fear.

His book dives into the realities of how fear can cause us to miss our life, and gives us actionable steps to start moving forward, one baby step at a time.

I loved chatting with him about this topic - he’s funny, authentic and totally open about his own struggles.

We talk about:

• His own fears about writing and how he overcame them

• How to look at fear so it’s not so, well, scary

• The cost of quitting

• How to start taking action in your own life so it feels doable

And so much more.

If you’ve got something you’ve been wanting to do but have been paralyzed on how to start, this episode is for you.

You can find Charlie and his book here: https://www.charliebarclay.com/

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!