Loved this Linda! Thanks ladies for sharing your amazing wisdom and for your heartfelt writing.

Wonderful listening to these three wise women! So inspiring! D's launch in NYC was AMAZING!! Thanks for the mention of my work on Mirror Meditation - we've done research showing that a regular practice of mindfully looking at oneself reduces stress and increases self-compassion- if your listeners are stressed or feeling critical of their appearance - hope they'll consider trying it!! Again congrats to Danielle and Dani are their inspiring new books!! It's so nice to hear your lovely voices. Big hug to your Linda!

I can never get enough of Danielle...literally designed my first tattoo all around my Core Desired feelings! And WHT? Stunning...loved being on the launch team. Linda, your interviews are so refreshing, real, and honest. Thank you!

I love your podcast! I hope to be on your show one day!

In this lively chat with a legend of contemporary literature (The War of Art, Gates of Fire, The Legend of Bagger Vance … ), Steven Pressfield shares details of his own hero's journey, and his best pro writing tips: the “Foolscap Method” for starting (and ending) a book, working with the “equal and opposite” energies of assistance and resistance,  and how to invoke the muse without pissing her off. Steven’s warrior code approach to the creative life has been the saving grace for writers and creatives around the world who endeavor to overcome the inevitable pull of self-sabotage. His classic style is captivating, making this one of our favorite interviews of the year. Join us as Steven illuminates the Odyssey of the creative journey like only he can.  For more inspiring interviews with best-selling authors, subscribe to the Beautiful Writers Podcast on iTunes. To get access to our thriving community of writers visit TheBeautifulWritersGroup.com.

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Steven Pressfield : Resistance and Invoking the Muse

Music icon Paul Williams shares a hilarious, heartfelt hour with longtime bestie, Linda Sivertsen (who moved into his mansion 26 years ago to care for his pups so he could go get sober) and this month’s guest host, bestselling memoirist and novelist Jillian Lauren. Paul, whose standards have been recorded by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, David Bowie, Tony Bennett, The Carpenters, Willie Nelson, REM, Diana Ross, The Dixie Chicks, and so many others—including Jillian’s rock star husband!—shares a secret-weapon creativity tool that led to winning the Oscar for “Evergreen” (with Barbara Streisand), an armful of Grammy’s, Golden Globes, and a recent New York Times bestseller. Oh, and an induction into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. There’s that.

Paul’s songs, “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays” “You and Me Against the World” and “The Rainbow Connection” from the Muppets, have been anthems for generations. (Ever watch The Love Boat? Yep; that theme song’s there, too!) Not bad for a guy who calls himself “orphaned trailer trash” and never had formal musical training—but instead scribbled down the songs playing in his head. We know you’ll be riveted hearing Paul's iconic voice as he sings the play-by-play details and lyrics of a Grammy-nominated song he downloaded in the park, AND Paul's advice for getting out of your own way to create the best work of your life (it’s so much easier than you think). If there’s anyone who can assure you you’re never, ever alone in this creative journey, it’s Pauli.

Get ready to be inspired, too, with how this tuned in, hilarious soul keeps getting MORE successful (and happier) with age. The creative heights he’s reached in the first half of his seventies are astounding, as is how he’s fighting for the digital rights for all writers. But career magic aside, it’s Paul's humanity—that thing that’s led him to help thousands of people one on one in recovery, and millions throughout the world via his lyrics—that’s truly contagious. Trust us: you're going to want to catch what this man's got, so snuggle in and listen up...

Paul Williams: Hitmaker for Generations

Author, Visionary, & Oprah SuperSoul100 leader, Danielle LaPorte, isn’t risk averse. No. She’s “risk erotic.” But that doesn’t mean she didn’t get a not-so-little unwelcome surprise after choosing to walk from a Big 5 publisher and go rogue to self-publish her latest book, WHITE HOT TRUTH: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another. Linda and bestselling author Dani Shapiro (9 books; currently on tour for HOURGLASS: Time, Memory, Marriage)chat with D about what taking big risks really looks like when the realities of funding your mission, your art in the world, test your “limits.” This is what Danielle calls the teeth of entrepreneurship.

Three writers. Two on book tour. All mothers with sons. On today’s episode, they get real and really vulnerable about:

Tradeoffs and damn hard parenting lessons learned (stuff you can’t take back and don’t ever want to regret); the fear of not looking pretty enough on stage; why confidence is not necessarily a writer’s friend; the courage it takes to step into a bigger arena (where the stakes keep getting higher), and how writing is like a lover who waits for you (who sometimes argues!).

They talk, too, about not having a Plan B; the GIFTS that come from saying no because of your values, health, or family priorities; what goes on Instagram and what doesn’t; how to find the spine of your book—the rhythm of things, and being in total effing denial about time. As you listen to Danielle say: “I’m so done with not having fun in getting where I want to go,” think about how that can be your new mantra. About how, via her example, you can walk and write lighter and brighter.

Write on. Welcome.

Danielle LaPorte: White Hot Truth-teller

The one and only Mr. Tom Hanks is here, and he’s caffeinated and ready to rock this podcast—with melodic typing accompaniment, no less. I couldn’t have chosen a better guest host than Danielle LaPorte to join me in perhaps our most enjoyable conversation yet. From the first seconds of Tom's hilarious/unorthodox entrance, we do our best to keep up with one of the world’s most creative minds. But as he soon learns, we ladies have several psychological tricks up our sleeve, and even get him to gut laugh a few times (go, D!).

The 17 fictional stories in Tom’s book, Uncommon Type: Some Stories (Knopf), are whimsical, satirical, surprising, funny, and deeply touching. The characters and worlds he creates stay with you. Change you. Cause you to see things, you’d never thought of before. 

According to Kirkus: “While these stories have the all-American sweetness, humor, and heart we associate with his screen roles, Hanks writes like a writer, not a movie star.” Steve Martin says: “It turns out that Tom Hanks is also a wise and hilarious writer with an endlessly surprising mind. Damn it.” Just what you’d hope to find from this Oscar-winning (2x) actor, screenwriter, director, producer, and musician Renaissance man who has previously published pieces in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker, but for whom this is his first collection of fiction. We can only hope it won’t be his last. 

Pull up a chair and sit a spell as we mix up our usual format a tad and experience the interviewing time of our lives. And P.S.—We just might get Tom to comment on our fantasy of he & Oprah running for office. 

God, I love this gig. I’m so happy you’re here. xx

Next month: I interview novelist Dean Koontz (500 million books sold) about his new thriller, The Whispering Room, from the NYT bestselling Jane Hawk series. The legendary screenwriter/story + dialogue coach, Robert McKee will be back, this time in the co-host chair. Subscribe here so you'll know the minute it posts. For more info, go to: www.beautifulwriterspodcast.com.

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Tom Hanks: Uncommon Type

(Note, our hosting has changed. For current episodes, go to beautifulwriterspodcast.com.) Listen in as author Linda Sivertsen (aka Book Mama) brings together the world’s most beloved bestselling authors for chats about writing, publishing, deal-making, spirituality, activism, and the art of romancing creativity. Now streaming on American Airlines, these up-close conversations are a fan favorite, downloaded millions of times, and frequently profiled on “Best Podcast” lists (i.e., The Motley Fool’s “10 Best Podcasts for Women”) while gracing the "Popular Podcasts, Books" (formerly Literature) page of iTunes/Apple Podcasts nearly every day since the show's launch in 2015.

Join Linda (herself an award-winning, bestselling author, writing coach, and ex-ghostwriter + magazine editor) and her celebrity co-hosts for deep, funny interviews w/ top authors on breakout success to staying power. Heart-centered encouragement, street-smart advice, and insider success (and failure!) stories for every writer and creative type. Biggest mistakes, best shortcuts, behind-the-scenes agent, press, and publishing stories help you gain the courage to get your book, blog, ballad, or biz birthed into the world. 

Guests include Jenny Lawson, Elizabeth Gilbert, Marie Forleo, Van Jones, Cheryl Strayed, Nia Vardalos, Terry McMillan, Joel Stein, Deepak Chopra, Tom Hanks, Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, Candice Bergen, Meg Wolitzer, Austin Channing Brown, Dean Koontz, Ann Patchett, Maria Shriver, Steven Pressfield, Anita Moorjani, Tosca Lee, Brené Brown, Lee Child, Anne Lamott, Rob Bell, Dani Shapiro, Gabby Bernstein, Martha Beck, Seth Godin, Danielle LaPorte, Marianne Williamson, Arianna Huffington, Mary Karr, Gretchen Rubin, #1 NYT Fantasy Authors Tomi Adeyemi & Sabaa Tahir, US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, and former WME super-agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. 

If you’ve ever wished you could sit down with your favorite writers over coffee to ask them how they do it, year after year, book after book, consider this your new, not-so-guilty pleasure. 

Take your dreams from idea to done with us. The Beautiful Writers Podcast. Where inspiration is constant, and swearing, optional (although highly appreciated). Find out more: https://www.beautifulwriterspodcast.com

Danielle LaPorte: White Hot Truth-teller

Beautiful Writers Podcast

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