Dr. Kushin is the author of the coming-of-age novel Beware the Smart Kids. An award-winning professor, author, and scholar at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, he’s also the author of Teach Social Media: A Plan for Creating a Course Your Students Will Love, and writes Social Media Syllabus, a popular blog and resource tool for social media educators. He is a senior fellow in the Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications, where he also serves on the board of advisors, and is passionate about creating a more civil and kinder world. For more about Dr. Kushin, visit his website and follow him on Instagram. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about the link between happiness and creativity.

Just a few thoughts on why we need to take time just to breathe for creativity’s sake.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!   Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube  

Just a few thoughts on why we need to feed our creative confidence with positive memories. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!   Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube  

Elisabeth Sharp McKetta is an award-winning author, teacher, and speaker who  teaches writing for Harvard and Oxford. She is the author of thirteen books, including the novels Ark and She Never Told Me About the Ocean, the memoir-in-essays Awake with Asashoryu, and the guidebook Edit Your Life—which was inspired by her 2019 TEDxBoise talk. She co-edited the anthology What Doesn’t Kill Her: Women’s Stories of Resilience, which Gloria Steinem described as stories that “will help each of us to trust and tell our own.” Elisabeth’s work with myth and memoir, the focus of her doctorate, has been spotlighted in Harvard Magazine. For more about Elisabeth, visit her website and follow her on Instagram. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about how to adapt myths and fairy tales to reclaim your own life story.

Just a few thoughts on why we need to find our writing tribe. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!   Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube

  Jeanne Blasberg is an award-winning and bestselling author and essayist. Her first two novels, The Nine (released in 2019) and Eden (released in 2017), were both award winners, and the third in that trilogy, Daughter of a Promise, was just released this past April. A Smith College graduate, Jeanne was named a Southampton Writer’s Conference BookEnds Fellow in April 2021. She is both a teacher of writing and a lifetime learner and co-chairs the board of the Boston Book Festival and serves on the Executive Committee of GrubStreet, one of the country’s preeminent creative writing centers. Jeanne also reviews contemporary fiction for the New York Journal of Books. When not in New England, she splits her time between Park City, UT, and growing organic vegetables in Verona, WI. For more about Jeanne, visit her website and follow her on Facebook, Substack and Instagram. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about the intersection of her life stage and her occupation as a farmer with her life as a writer.

Just a few thoughts on how midlife can be our most creative stage—if we are open to it. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!   Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube

Just a few thoughts on how I realized that I needed to "unpack" my brain from one book project before I started another. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!   Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube    

 Delia Ephron is a bestselling author, screenwriter, essayist, and playwright. Her novels include the New York Times bestseller Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life that came out in 2022, Siracusa, and The Lion Is In, several essay collections, and books for children and young adults. Her movie credits include You've Got Mail, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, This is My Life, Michael, and Hanging Up. Her play, "Love, Loss, and What I Wore," written with her sister Nora Ephron (based on the book by Ilene Beckerman), ran for two years off Broadway and has been performed internationally. For more about Delia, visit her website and follow her on X and Instagram. In this conversation, we’ll discuss the intersection of life and the creative process: how one can affect, influence and impact the other. ----more---- Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube  

Just a few thoughts on why we shouldn’t confuse “I’ve never done it” with “I can’t do it.” Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!   Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube    

   Jonathan Lewis writes microfiction travelogues which he shares freely at his website. Each 500-word story follows an international traveler as he explores the world and tries to better understand his place in it. Now retired, Jonathan has had an eclectic career: California State Senate legislative staffer; art gallery owner; founder/CEO of a global social enterprise financing small businesses owned by low-income women; real estate developer; visiting professor at NYU and UC Berkeley. He has written one nonfiction book on social entrepreneurship. Jonathan is also an assemblage artist working with recycled materials. For more about Jonathan, visit his website or follow him on Threads and Instagram. In this conversation, we’ll discuss how travel can inspire creativity. ----more---- Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube

Just a few thoughts on why we shouldn’t confuse creative dormancy with creative death. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!   Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube

A native Chicagoan, Charlene Wexler has been a teacher, wife, dental office manager, mother and grandmother. In retirement, her lifelong passion for writing has led her to create several essays and novels. Her books include Murder on Skid Row, Milk and Oranges, Lori and Elephants In The Room. Charlene’s newest book, Farewell To South Shore was released in 2024, and her next one, We Won't Go Back, is scheduled for 2025. For more about Charlene, visit her website and follow her on X/Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about creative transitions in the writing journey.

Just a few thoughts on why we can’t let our creativity be eclipsed by others or our own self-doubt. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!   Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube

Stephani Halleen Atkins, who writes under the name of s.c.halleen, describes herself as a recovering nonprofit founder, current grant writer, and the aspiring creator of a new form of reading: the SummerSnow multimedia serial story, which reads like an ebook but interweaves audio, image and film throughout the narrative. In addition, she has written a novel, edited tv spec scripts, hosted a radio show, and presented a TEDx talk entitled “World in Uproar: How Stories, Not Facts, Will Save the Day.” For more about Stephanie, visit her website and follow her on Instagram and Threads In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about taking your own advice and making time to write your own stories.

Just a few thoughts on why we have to believe that our creativity, like a garden bed, can produce results. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!   Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube

Just a few thoughts on why we shouldn’t let milestone birthdays stop us in our creative tracks. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!   Follow me on social media: Goodreads  *  X/Twitter  *  Facebook  * TikTok * Instagram *  LinkedIn  *  Pinterest  *  Medium  Check out my YouTube channels:   Books by Nancy Christie on YouTube  *  Midlife Moxie Novel Series™ on YouTube

As an amateur genealogist and family historian, Eric Walker was impelled to write his debut novel Lost Souls Recovered when he discovered the richness of family stories through research of historical documents and those stories told to him by relatives. As he read historical documents and talked to relatives, he envisioned a way to bring to life in fiction form many of his ancestors who lived a hardscrabble life and who worked to overcome hardship. Eric believes the written word can unlock doors as well as the imagination and unite our spirits through our visions. A lawyer who lives in Ohio, Eric is working on a second novel involving land loss in the early post-Reconstruction era. For more about Eric, visit his author page and follow him on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook at @Sennachietyme. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about the importance, and the value, of understanding the past—our own and that of others.

Just a few thoughts on why we need to do “different” to have “different.” Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Michael Bourne is the author of Blithedale Canyon (Regal House, 2022). He is a long-time contributing editor at Poets & Writers Magazine and he has written for the New York Times, the Globe & Mail, The Economist, Literary Hub, and Salon. His fiction has appeared in more than a dozen literary magazines including, most recently, december, The Southampton Review, and Tin House. Blithedale Canyon is his first novel. He grew up in Northern California and now lives in Vancouver, Canada, with his wife and son. For more about Michael, visit his website and follow him on Instagram (michaelrbourne) and Twitter/X (@bournewriter). In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about the reality of transitioning from being a published short story writer to a published novelist—both the creative aspect and the business side of it.

Just a few thoughts on the importance of being willing to make revisions: in writing and in life. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Molly Giles is the award-winning author of six story collections and two novels. Rough Translations won The Flannery O’Connor Prize the Boston Globe Award, and the Bay Area Book Reviewers’ Award. Other notable accolades have been awarded from the Small Press Best Fiction Award for Creek Walk, which also earned a Commonwealth Silver Medal Award for Fiction, and was a New York Times Notable Book. Bothered won the Split Oak Press Flash Fiction Award; and All The Wrong Places won the Spokane Prize for Fiction. Molly’s work has also earned The O. Henry Award and the Pushcart Prize, and she has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Marin Arts Council, and the Arkansas Arts Council. Wife With Knife was the Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize. Her latest book, the novel The Home For Unwed Husbands was released in August 2023, and published in the U.S. by Leapfrog Press and by Can of Worms Enterprises in the U.K. For more about Molly, visit her website and follow her on Facebook. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about longevity as an author: how to keep the creative spark alive and strong.    

Just a few thoughts on why we need to take regular breaks to refresh and renew our creative spirit.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Gillian Felix has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil, and as of this writing, she is the author of 10 books. She enjoys creating characters that could be your next-door neighbor, but would you want them as your neighbor is another story. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Miss Felix moved to the United States in 1998. She has been involved in the entertainment industry for over ten years. She is trained in the Meisner and Stanislavski technique of acting, which she credits as an asset to her character development and writing. Miss Felix is also an entrepreneur and advocate for children's and women's rights. Her company, Karma Centric Solutions builds SEO compliant websites for small business and provides marketing from a karma centric perspective. For more about Gillian, visit her Plain Talk Book Marketing website and her Karma Centric Solutions website. You can also follow her on LinkedIn, Instagram (GillianFelix23 and PlainTalkBookMarketing), Goodreads, and on Facebook (Family Portrait Novels and Plain Talk Book Marketing). You can find her book, Adriana, A Banovic Series Book 1 here and information about her Family Portrait Novels here. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about how to find our way back to writing after an unplanned (and unwelcome) hiatus.

Just a few thoughts on why our focus as authors should be on building relationships, not just on selling books. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Mary Ann Marazzi is an Egyptologist with a doctoral degree in Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology/Egyptology, who has 27 years of experience working at archaeological sites in the US, Italy, and Egypt. She has taught art history and world cultures at colleges and universities, edits academic journals and has written numerous articles for educational publications and children’s magazines. For more about Mary Ann, visit her LinkedIn page. In today’s conversation, we’ll talk about her work as an Egyptologist and how it is about discovery: what is found, what isn’t found (which is a discovery in and of itself), who those people were and how they lived. And the correlation between that and fiction writing, which is about uncovering the truth about the characters and the surprises that can result from unexpected “finds.”

Just a few thoughts on why we need to put our money (and time) where our mouth is when it comes to our writing career.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Just a few thoughts on why it’s important to pay attention when Opportunity knocks and then decide how to handle the summons.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Over her fifty-year career, New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard has published hundreds of essays as well as twenty books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the memoir At Home in the World and the novels To Die For and Labor Day, both adapted for film. Maynard’s newest novel, The Bird Hotel, was published May 2023. How the Light Gets In, the sequel to her novel, Count the Ways-- named an Amazon Best Book in 2021—will be published in spring, 2024. Maynard is a fellow of Macdowell and Yaddo. Every winter for over two decades, she has led the Lake Atitlan Memoir workshop, Write by the Lake, in Guatemala. For more about Joyce, visit her website and follow her on Instagram @therealjoycemaynard. In today’s conversation, we discussed the impact on us, as women and as writers, when the landscape of our lives shifts and our home—both literally and metaphorically—is no longer familiar to us, and how that affects our ability to write.

Just a few thoughts on why it’s important to learn to “enjoy the ride” when writing.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Cecelia Tichi is the author of the “Val and Roddy DeVere Gilded Series,” mystery crime novels that pulse with turn-of-the-century American life…and death. An award-winning author and Professor of English and American Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt University, her nonfiction and fiction books have focused on the decades of America's industrial titans, the "Queens" of Society and the U.S. Gilded Age. She enjoys membership and posting in Facebook’s The Gilded Age Society. For more about Cecelia, visit her website and her Wikipedia page and follow her on Facebook. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about why she set her novels in the Gilded Age time period and what inspired her to create the Val DeVere character.  

Just a few thoughts on why writers need a personal manifesto to keep them on track.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Deborah Kalb is the author of the forthcoming adult novel Off to Join the Circus (available on Bookshop, Barnes & Noble and Amazon) as well as three novels for kids: Thomas Jefferson and the Return of the Magic Hat, John Adams and the Magic Bobblehead, and George Washington and the Magic Hat. Together with her father, Marvin Kalb, she co-authored Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama and she also has published other books on politics and government as well as working as a journalist for more than two decades covering Congress and politics. Deborah’s book blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, which she started in 2012, features hundreds of interviews she has conducted with a wide variety of authors. For more about Deborah, visit her website and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Goodreads and Instagram. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about stepping out of the safe zone: the challenges and benefits of exploring a new genre.

Just a few thoughts on why writers must be willing to explore new genres with their writing.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Carissa Turpin is the author of the novel, Doomsday Dani. Carissa grew up in a small Eastern Kentucky town where she fell in love with storytelling in all its forms. She began teaching high school English in 2008 near her hometown, where she remained for ten years, before relocating to Phoenix, Arizona where she made the switch to teaching middle school. In 2021, Carissa left Arizona and returned to Kentucky to continue teaching middle schoolers. She lives in Louisville with her miniature schnauzer puppy named after Leonardo DiCaprio and one too many books. For more about Carissa, visit her website and follow her on Twitter and Instagram. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about how she explored the challenges of the pre-teen and adolescent years through fiction.

Just a few thoughts on why we must stop believing that our age defines our possibilities. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Just a few thoughts on why we need to take the time to acknowledge our achievements and savor our successes. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Peter Berk is the son of noted writer Howard Berk, whose credits included Columbo, Mission: Impossible and several novels and features. Peter has co-written several screenplays with his father, and on his own has written a recently-optioned sci-fi/time travel TV pilot, seven scripts and five novels in the TimeLock series, the first of which was published in late 2022 and is available here. He also co-authored a non-fiction book with actor Dick Van Patten that was published some 15 years ago. Peter lives in Southern California and is the proud father of two sons and one grandson, with another grandson and a granddaughter on the way the first half of 2023. You can learn more about Peter and his novel here, or follow him on Facebook and Instagram.  In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about the experience of collaborating with his father on creative projects, and the challenges and advantages of turning a screenplay into a book.

Just a few thoughts on why we need to show our writing self some love on a consistent basis. Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Tyler James Russell is the author of When Fire Splits the Sky (2022), a novel, and To Drown a Man (2020), a poetry collection, both from Unsolicited Press. His writing has been nominated for the Rhysling and Best of the Net, and has appeared or is forthcoming in Asimov’s Science Fiction, F(r)iction, Janus Literary, and the NonBinary Review, among others. Tyler works as an educator and lives in Pennsylvania with his wife Cat and their children. You can find him at Tylerjamesrussell.com, on Twitter at @TJamesRussell, or on Instagram @_TJamesRussell. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about how art shapes his life, and how his life experiences shape his art.

Just a few thoughts on why we need to match our goals and plans to our definition of writing success.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!  

Ramona Reeves’ interlinked story collection, It Falls Gently All Around and Other Stories (University of Pittsburgh Press), won the 2022 Drue Heinz Literature Prize and is set in Mobile, Alabama, where she grew up. She has been awarded an AROHO fellowship, a residency at Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, a scholarship from Community of Writers, and the Nancy D. Hargrove Editors’ Prize. Ramona also has served as an associate fiction editor for Kallisto Gaia Press. Her stories and essays have appeared in The Southampton Review, Bayou Magazine, Pembroke, Superstition Review, Texas Highways and others. For more about Ramona, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram. In today’s conversation, we’ll discuss the challenges and joys that are part of writing short stories.

Just a few thoughts on what three gifts we should give ourselves to foster our creative life.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Just a few thoughts on why our most important goal as writers should be to connect with our readers.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

  Erica Bauermeister is the best-selling author of four novels, including The School of Essential Ingredients and the 2020 Reese’s Book Club pick The Scent Keeper. She has also written a memoir entitled House Lessons: Renovating a Life and is the co-author of two readers’ guides to books: 500 Great Books by Women and Let’s Hear It For the Girls. Erica’s fifth novel, No Two Persons, will be published in May 2023. Her books are available on Bookshop and other bookstores. She lives with her husband in Port Townsend, WA. For more about Erica, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about how a place can affect a writer’s sense of identity as well as the choices of what actions or non-actions the writer takes within that space.

Just a few thoughts on how an insignificant object from our past can become a guidepost for our writing life   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!

Chante Thomas is a twenty-eight-year veteran fifth-grade teacher in Shaker Heights, Ohio and has been writing children’s stories over the span of her career. In 2017, she decided it was time to bring her stories to life and published her first book, Where I’m From, sharing the geographic story of five diverse children with roots in the United States, Africa, and Asia. Her second book, Go To School Tommy is about the power of a smile, and her third book, Sean and the Book Cures, told from a kid’s perspective, takes readers through the unforgettable year Covid-19 disrupted lives. Chante is currently finishing her fourth book, Sean and the Great Sacrifice, Can You Spare a Kidney?— a story about love and organ donation. Chante is the mother of two sons and is a caregiver to her 88-year-old mother. Her desire is to inspire youth to not only read but to also encourage them to create, build and write their own stories yielding from their own personal adventures. For more about Chante, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram. In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking about the role of books in helping children and adults better understand themselves, other people, and life events.

Just a few thoughts on the importance of developing a mission statement to guide you through your writing life.   Did you enjoy this excerpt from my writing newsletter? Sign up for The Writing Life with Nancy Christie, and receive a free writing-related tip sheet as a bonus!