The Make Meaning Podcast
by Lynne Golodner
Writers figure out what they believe and make sense of the world by putting words on the page.How authors, writers and those in publishing go from idea to book-length story to published with a sought-after audience is the focus of this podcast!Make Meaning Podcast host Lynne Golodner is a former journalist, multi-title author, award-winning marketing strategist who knows just how to ask the right questions to yield rich, inspiring responses. She shares her own writing process and creative pursuits in lively conversations with stunning writers of great books, compelling stories, and life-changing articles.
Episodes
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Episode 165 - Brenda Meller - Capturing a Piece of the Publishing Pie
Brenda Meller is an entrepreneur, author and social media coach who helps people maximize their presence on LinkedIn. She is the author of Social Media Pie: How to enjoy a bigger slice of the LinkedIn Pie and host of the Enthusiastically Self-Employed podcast. In the latest episode of the Make...
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Episode 164 - Patrick Hicks - Writing Hard Stories Beautifully
Patrick Hicks is an Irish Catholic writer from Minnesota who has a deep fascination with the Holocaust. He has written three Holocaust novels and has conducted extensive research on the subject, visiting twelve different concentration camps and speaking with survivors. Patrick is also a professor...
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Episode 163 - Qin Sun Stubis - Writing Inspired by Long-Held Family Lore
Qin Sun Stubis is a Chinese-American author of the book Once Our Lives: A Memoir of Shanghai, Teahouses, and Three Generations of Family, which tells the story of four generations of Chinese women in Shanghai, China during the Great Famine, navigating war and revolution. In the latest episode of...
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Episode 162 - Elizabeth Conte - Doing Well as an Indie Author
Elizabeth Conte is an author with a passion for bringing 19th-century literature to the 21st-century reader. She is the author of Finding Jane, a time travel historical novel, and Chosen Mistress, a scintillating story set in Victorian England. Elizabeth is the founder of Jane Writes Press, a...
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Episode 161 - Ana Veciana-Suarez - Historical Literary Fiction
Ana Veciana-Suarez is a journalist and author. She has written for various publications and has published several books, including her latest novel, Dulcinea, which was inspired by her reading of Don Quixote in high school. Known for her meticulous research and attention to detail, Anna spent…
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Episode 160 - Jonathan Whitelaw - Cozy Crime & Escaping into Writing
Jonathan Whitelaw is a Scottish author and journalist now living in Canada who wrote his first novel at the age of 17. He's since published several books in the cozy crime genre, including Morbid Relations and the popular Bingo Hall Detectives series. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning...
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Episode 159 – April Davila - Meditation & Writing
Finding an agent and publisher was easy for April Davila, an award-winning author who quit her job in 2016 to write full-time. Her debut novel, 142 Ostriches, won the WILLA Literary Awards for Women Writing the West. In this episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner chats with…
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Episode 158 - Suzanne Nugent - On Character Development
Suzanne Nugent, author of Brunch and Other Obligations and host of the Character Development podcast, uses humor to confront life's darkest moments. She navigates between various storytelling mediums, from novels to screenplays, finding the right narrative platform for each project. In the latest...
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Episode 157 - Blake Kimzey - Creating a Writing Community
Blake Kimzey is the founder of writingworkshops.com, a global community offering writing classes taught by experienced instructors, like Make Meaning Podcast host Lynne Golodner. Blake is also an author, screenwriter and hands-on dad of three. In this episode, Blake recalls a pivotal moment in...
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Episode 156 - Blair Fell - Original Storylines & Unique Characters
While fiction is born from imagination and creativity, many authors explain how they came to the stories they create through lived experiences. This is definitely true for Blair Fell, author of The Sign for Home, whose work in the deafblind community taught him about nuances, details and issues...
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Episode 155 - Martha Anne Toll - Finely Crafted, Award-Winning Fiction
Episode 155 - Martha Anne Toll - Finely Crafted, Award-Winning Fiction Martha Anne Toll is an author and former lawyer who has always been passionate about writing. She grew up in a secular Jewish family and was deeply influenced by the stories of Holocaust survivors. Martha's debut novel, Three...
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Episode 154 - Dawn Chalker - Writing What You Know
Episode 154 - Dawn Chalker - Writing What You Know Dawn Chalker wrote her first novel in fifth grade, finding inspiration from real life. That curiosity, creativity and imagination has continued throughout her life, drawing stories from journeys in nature. The northern Michigan-based writer based...
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Episode 153 – Jewish Books, Jewish Authors
Episode 153 – Jewish Books, Jewish Authors In a special two-part episode, Lynne Golodner interviews people who curate and promote Jewish books and Jewish authors. The first part features representatives from America's longest-running Jewish Book Fair -- Lauren Johnson, a librarian and consultant…
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Episode 152 - Ami Irmen - Character-Driven Narratives
Ami Irmen's favorite storyteller was her grandfather, who set her on the path to becoming an educator and a writer. Her first traditionally-published novel is coming soon from Scarsdale Publishing, while she self-published another novel, Wherever Would I Be. Her short stories and poems have...
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Episode 151 - Rochelle Weinstein - Writing Best-Selling Novels
Rochelle Weinstein is a successful and talented author known for her emotionally charged novels. After leaving a career in the music industry in 2000, she started writing and has produced eight novels, with the latest coming out on Oct. 20th. Rochelle's writing explores topical issues and draws...
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Episode 150 - Lisa Peers - First Novels & Writing Friendships
As a child in Richmond, Virginia, Lisa Peers was introduced to writing by her mother, who was also a writer who invited her young daughter to play with her typewriter. Still, Lisa began her career in theater and only later pursued writing in a professional capacity. She shares how acting shapes…
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Episode 149 – Anne-Marie Oomen - Writing through Family
Lynne Golodner first met Anne-Marie Oomen at Goddard College, where Lynne was beginning her MFA in Writing and Anne-Marie was graduating. A fellow Michigan resident who calls the forests and hills of the Lake Michigan shores her home, Anne-Marie serves on the board of Michigan Writers where Lynne...
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Episode 148 – Woman of Valor - Katie Scott interviews Lynne about her debut novel!
A Super Special Episode: Lynne Golodner discusses her debut novel! Writer, Washtenaw County Commissioner, Nurse and Friend Extraordinaire Katie Scott takes the mic on this episode to interview Make Meaning host Lynne Golodner about the release of her ninth book and debut novel, Woman of Valor....
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Episode 147 – Diane Gottlieb - Writing Short & Writing Well
Diane Gottlieb champions midlife women while telling her own provocative, riveting stories for publications like River Teeth, HuffPost, and SmokeLong Quarterly. Winner of the Tiferet 2021 Writing Contest and a finalist in SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest 2022, Diane has three master's degrees and...
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Episode 146 – Barbara Stark-Nemon - Tracing the Path of Historical Fiction
Barbara Stark-Nemon takes her time writing historical fiction, tracing the paths her characters walked and lived. The author of award-winning novels, Barbara turned to writing after retiring from a successful career. In this episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner chats with...
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Episode 145 – CL Walters - Young Adult & New Adult Fiction from Hawaii
Building an author career depends on writing book after book after book, which is something CL Walters knows well. From her home base in Hawai'i, she writes and publishes through Mixed Plate Press, the venture she runs with her husband. CL writes Young Adult and New Adult titles, and pens…
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Episode 144 – Danny Hankner - Founding Story Unlikely
Danny Hankner is an electrician by trade and a writer at heart as well as the founder of Story Unlikely. This online literary publication showcases incredible stories, focusing on non-fiction memoiristic pieces. As a publisher, Danny is passionate about discovering great authors and beautiful...
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Episode 143 – Annie Cathryn - Dreams Come True: The Friendship Breakup
Annie Cathryn transitioned from a career in marketing for a Fortune 500 company to her own consulting agency inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat Pray Love" to pursue her dream of writing fiction. She recently released her debut book, The Friendship Breakup, and is a self-proclaimed book nerd who...
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Episode 142 – Announcing Scotia Road Books
Welcome to a special episode of the Make Meaning Podcast! As a full-time author, writing coach, and host of this podcast, Lynne Golodner never thought starting another business would be part of her plan. However, her passion for storytelling and a gap in the marketplace led Lynne to create Scotia...
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Episode 141 – Tom Sleigh– A Lifetime of Poetry
The award-winning author of 11 books, Tom Sleigh is the latest author to be a guest on the Make Meaning Podcast. In this episode, Tom talks with host Lynne Golodner about how his love of language traces back to childhood, when his mother, an English teacher, first read Thoreau aloud. That journey...
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Episode 140 – Minda Zetlin – On ASJA, Leadership & Writing for Inc.
Minda Zetlin has written columns for Inc. Magazine for more than a decade, and out of that research, reporting and curiosity grew the material and focus for her latest book, CAREER SELF-CARE. The latest author to share her story on the Make Meaning Podcast, Minda Zetlin talks with host Lynne...
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Episode 139 – Desiree Cooper – Being "Genre Agnostic"
Desiree Cooper was once a Detroit Free Press columnist, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, a Kresge Artist Fellow, an attorney and now she's a children's book author – which explains why she considers herself "genre agnostic." The latest author to share her story on the Make Meaning Podcast, Desiree…
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Episode 138 – Sara Bennett Wealer – Connecting with YA Readers
When your mother is an English teacher and your favorite TV show is Masterpiece Theater on PBS, it's almost inevitable that you'll take to writing creative, compelling, fantastical stories that captivate readers. "Writing was something I knew I could do," says Sara Bennett Wealer, the latest…
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Episode 137 – Christopher P. Locke – Breathtaking Essays & Stories
The key to great writing, says Christopher P. Locke, is to be vulnerable. Don't worry about what people will think. Don't censor yourself. Just share your realness and that will help others feel less alone. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews...
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Episode 136 – Tammy Pasterick – Writing & Publishing Your Way
Tammy Pasterick didn't intend to become a historical fiction novelist. But when a deep dive into her family's immigrant history unearthed fascinating storylines about Eastern European emigres who settled in Pennsylvania, she knew she had a great story on her hands. In the latest episode of the…
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Episode 135 – Camille Pagan – Making Writing Your Career
As a first-generation college student, Camille Pagan thought she'd study medicine. She ended up writing about health and then penned her first novel after the birth of her daughter, selling it at auction in a six-figure deal. But all was not easy after that. While Camille has enjoyed a hearty...
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Episode 134 – Andrew McDiarmid – Simply Scottish
What began as penance for speeding has become a beloved radio show-turned-podcast called Simply Scottish that allows writer Andrew McDiarmid to stay connected to his heritage and his homeland. "Being an immigrant has enriched my life," says Andrew, who emigrated to the United States from Scotland...
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Episode 133 – Sara Henning – Poetry about Loss & Redemption
In her latest poetry collection, Sara Henning tries to make meaning of grief, after losing her mother to metastatic colon cancer. "I lost my center," Sara says, and Terra Incognita is her way to regain a firm stance on this earth. In this episode, Sara does a live reading of her poem "Queening"...
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Episode 132 – Merryn Glover – Literary Fiction about Place
Episode 132 – Merryn Glover – Literary Fiction about Place Merryn Glover writes literary fiction from the Scottish Highlands, deep into the Cairngorm Mountains. Her lyrical prose invokes place and relationship in gorgeous ways, her words rising from the page to attach to the reader's heart. Born…
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Weina Dai Randel
Weina Randel emigrated to the United States from China at the age of 24, switching from her native Chinese to English, as she began to write fiction. She wrote a duology about China's first and only female emperor, Wu Zetian, and then penned a truly stunning historical novel called The Last Rose…
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Merle Saferstein
Merle Saferstein has been journaling since 1974, so when she decided to comb through her nearly 400 journals to create a book, she knew it would not be an easy endeavor. It has taken the better part of the last two decades to create LIVING AND LEAVING MY LEGACY, volume 1, which debuted in June…
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Rosina Lippi a.k.a. Sara Donati
Rosina Lippi writes under her own name and under the pseudonym Sara Donati, and her Wilderness series of six historical novels is some of the most gorgeous fiction you'll ever read. A former linguistics professor, Rosina has been writing for decades and built quite a following, even as the...
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Episode 128 – Becky Robinson – Building Reach for Books
Imagine starting a company to give yourself an income source that is compatible with your role as a mom of small children. And then, as that company grows, realizing your role is really about creating opportunities for others – providing meaningful, flexible work, access to great content and...
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Episode 127 – Ly Tran – Writing Unapologetically
So many writers say they write to figure out what they believe or make sense of a situation. Ly Tran says she writes to overcome self-doubt and to celebrate her voice. More than that, she says her words connect her to others, and the best part of putting a book in the world is the feedback she…
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Episode 126 – Indigo Willing – Skateboarding, Community & Consent
Do you do fun things often? Do you take risks? Are you connected to a community that makes you feel good about who you are? These are essential elements of a healthy life, according to Dr. Indigo Willing, who started skateboarding in her 40s, after finishing her PhD and becoming a "mum." It was...
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Episode 125 - Gramps Jeffrey - Leaving a Legacy
Sometimes inspiration comes from sources very close to home. While spending more time with his family during the Covid-19 pandemic, Jeffrey was inspired to pass on his experience and values to younger generations by writing a children's book starring his own grandchildren, I Don't Want to Turn 3....
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Episode 124 - Dorit Sasson - On the Many Meanings of Home
As a young woman, Dorit Sasson moved to Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces as a lone soldier. After 18 years, Dorit returned to the United States, and those decisions, along with the details of her life in both places, inspired two memoirs about straddling cultures, languages, and...
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Episode 123 - Karen Baum Gordon - On Surviving the Surviving
It took 10 years for Karen Baum Gordon to write and publish her memoir, The Last Letter: A father's struggle, a daughter's quest, and the long shadow of the Holocaust, under the guidance of a friend who was an editor at McGraw-Hill. The book explores generations of her family through letters…
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Episode 122 - Valoree Gagnon and Karena Schmidt - On the Food & Culture of Indigenous Gardens
The colonizing of America separated Indigenous people from their nourishing "first foods," plant and animal species that native communities relied upon for subsistence, ceremony and medicine. More than a decade ago, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), Michigan Technological University…
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Episode 121 – Stephanie Steinberg - On Personal Passions & Creating Communities
Stephanie Steinberg always knew she wanted to be a writer. From a young age, she chased her creative nature, which led her to become a published author, a successful journalist, and an inspiring entrepreneur. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, Stephanie speaks with host Lynne...
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Episode #120 - Jacqueline Suskin - A Poem Every Day
Jacqueline Suskin has been a poet all her life. It's something she was born with, she says, and this passion for poetry has led her to build a career where people pay her to write poems about their experiences, their longings, their celebrations, and their desires. In the latest episode of the…
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Episode #119 - Roots - Israeli-Palestinian - Toward True Peace in the Middle East
Noor A'wad and Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger may have come to the question of how Palestinians and Israelis can co-exist on land that they both claim as sacred from different perspectives, but through their work with Roots, the Palestinian Israeli Grassroots Initiative for Understanding, Nonviolence…
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Episode #118 - Elizabeth Gowing - How to know a place by living its stories
Elizabeth Gowing's life changed when she moved from London to Kosovo in 2006 for her partner's job on what was supposed to be a six-month contract. Fifteen years later, Elizabeth speaks Albanian, teaches English and leads The Ideas Partnership, an NGO that offers support to people through...
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Episode 117 - Steven Wingate - How to find your voice again & again
Steven Wingate writes to learn foundational truths such as: Who are we? And, why do we behave the way we do? A resident of South Dakota, Steven sets his novels in the center of America, known as the heartland, flyover country or a big open expanse of unbridled wilderness. He writes about this…
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Episode 116 - Jake Neher - Telling Stories & Planting Seeds
In a way, every person is a storyteller, according to Jake Neher, senior producer for Detroit Today on 101.9 FM WDET in Detroit. As co-host of the weekly series and podcast MichMash, not only does Jake have storytelling gifts, but he brings a huge passion for gardening to guide his curiosity when...
About this show
Writers figure out what they believe and make sense of the world by putting words on the page.How authors, writers and those in publishing go from idea to book-length story to published with a sought-after audience is the focus of this podcast!Make Meaning Podcast host Lynne Golodner is a former journalist, multi-title author, award-winning marketing strategist who knows just how to ask the right questions to yield rich, inspiring responses. She shares her own writing process and creative pursuits in lively conversations with stunning writers of great books, compelling stories, and life-changing articles.
Hosted by
Lynne Golodner