Uncorking a Story

Michael Carlon
  • 4.9 (67)
  • Books
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Listen in to Uncorking a Story, where we pop the cork on hidden narratives and delve deep into the brilliant minds of your favorite authors. Get ready to unlock the magic behind your favorite books, one unforgettable story at a time. Hit that subscribe button and never miss a sip of inspiration!

  1. 5d ago

    Downloads from Spirit, with Katherine Marie

    "You're not alone. You really have guidance and support available to you. For all those people that are sitting there in silos that are frustrated with life and feel like they could use a friend — they are there with you. You just need to open up to it." — Katherine Marie Katherine Marie spent decades as a computer technology analyst — a world of algorithms, software installations, and zeros and ones. Then a road trip to Sedona, a book that fell into her lap, and a growing sense of intuition she couldn't ignore led her down a very different path. Her latest book, High Five Your Spirit Guides, is a beginner-friendly, hands-on guide to connecting with your intuition and building a relationship with what she calls your "soul team" — the spirit guides, angels, and allies she believes are available to everyone. Mike and Katherine talk about bridging the gap between analytical thinking and spiritual experience, how she received "downloads" while writing the book, what a spirit guide actually is, the role of signs and repeating numbers, and why even thirty seconds of quiet can be enough to make a connection. Key Takeaways: 1. Spirit guides are a helpful presence — and they look different for everyone. For Katherine, they manifest as beings she journals with. For others, it might be a strong gut feeling, a spirit animal, or just a sense of intuition. There's no prescribed rule. 2. You can have a whole team. Katherine describes a "soul team" that includes your core daily guides, angels who come and go based on need, ascended masters, archangels, and even spirit animals — all working together. 3. Signs are everywhere if you're paying attention. Repeating numbers (like 11:11), feathers on the sidewalk, heart shapes in the clouds — Katherine says these are ways your guides communicate that you're on the right path or that you're loved. 4. You don't need a mountaintop meditation. Even a thirty-second "micro meditation" — a deep breath and counting down from ten — can create enough of a gap for spirit to come in. You can also connect while walking or in any relaxed flow state. 5. Skepticism and spirituality can coexist. Katherine's analytical background made her push back hard at first. But research showed her she wasn't alone in these experiences, and over time she learned to trust what she was receiving. 6. The book was co-written with her guides. Katherine describes sitting down and receiving "downloads" — knowing what chapter to write, writing detailed content about tarot or spirit signs, then fact-checking it against reference books and finding it accurate. 7. Anyone can do this. The barrier isn't talent or special ability — it's willingness to quiet the noise, suspend ingrained beliefs, and simply ask: "Are you there?" Buy High Five Your Spirit Guides: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FG7RVLJP Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/high-five-your-spirit-guides-katherine-marie/0aba424e434213c2 Connect with Katherine: Website: https://innercompassmedia.com/katherinemarie/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katherinemarieinnercompass Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katherinemarie1111/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@katherine.marie1111 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KatherineMarie-1111 Connect with Mike: Website: https://uncorkingastory.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uncorkingastory Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Downloads from Spirit, with Katherine Marie

  2. Aug 4

    Nikki Mamanno on Breaking Good

    "I've been at the bottom of the mountain and I've looked up and it looked like the top was a million miles away and it felt like I couldn't do it a hundred times over. And I've taken that step and sometimes I don't look up, I just keep stepping, and eventually I look back and I've gained a little ground." — Nikki Mammano Nikki Mammano's debut memoir Breaking Good is exactly what it sounds like — a play on Breaking Bad, but in reverse. Raised in the greater New York metro area, Nikki went to Hawaii at twenty for a fresh start and college. Instead, she fell into meth addiction and the criminal underworld of Waikiki. What followed was prison, homelessness, and prostitution — before a discovery in a motel room changed everything. Now a mother of two adult daughters in Montclair, New Jersey, Nikki has spent three decades rebuilding her life and decided it was time to tell the story. Mike and Nikki talk about why addiction is the disease of trauma and disconnection, the moment she found out she was pregnant, what it's like to reveal your past to a PTA community, and why your story is never over — no matter how far gone you think you are. Key Takeaways: 1. Addiction is the disease of trauma and disconnection. Nikki didn't wake up wanting to be a drug dealer. Childhood trauma that started young — and betrayal by nearly everyone around her — set the wheels in motion long before Hawaii. 2. Getting clean isn't the same as getting healed. Nikki went to rehab and a halfway house before Hawaii and had a year of sobriety. But without doing the deeper work of understanding why she used, she relapsed the first night she arrived at a party in Waikiki. 3. Your story is not over. The prologue opens in a motel room where Nikki is at rock bottom — homeless, addicted, working as a prostitute. Then she discovers she's pregnant. That moment of choice became the beginning of her way back. 4. Vulnerability is freedom. Writing the most authentic, unsanitized version of her story was the most vulnerable Nikki has ever been. But by refusing to alter or hide anything, she found a radical acceptance and freedom she'd never experienced before. 5. Redemption is ongoing work. Breaking good isn't a one-time event. It's how Nikki shows up every day — as a friend, a community member, a parent, and now as an author helping others who've been through what she's been through. 6. Take the risk. Nikki's community, her daughters, and her readers have met her story with open arms. The fear of judgment was real, but the connection on the other side has been life-changing. Buy Breaking Good: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Good-Memoir-Nikki-Mammano/dp/B0FP5JX13F/ Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/breaking-good-a-memoir-nikki-mammano/76dd5cc34382c172 Connect with Nikki: Website: https://www.nikkimammano.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikki_mammano/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikkimammano Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikki.mammano.3 Connect with Mike: Website: https://uncorkingastory.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uncorkingastory Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Nikki Mamanno on Breaking Good

  3. Jul 28

    Jim Carlon on Keeping the Faith

    "Imagine somebody who's been disconnected from this church and he's reignited. That fire is back, that spark is back. Imagine what that one person can do in his life. If that happens one time, the eighteen months it took to put this thing together will have been worth it." — Jim Carlon Jim Carlon is a lawyer, army veteran, and lifelong Catholic whose twenty-five years of practice have shaped a deep commitment to wellness in the legal profession. He founded the Fairfield County Bar Association's Wellness Committee and serves on the board of the Care Coalition, a Westchester-based nonprofit focused on mental health. A Fairfield University grad and former JAG Corps officer, Jim is also a returning guest — his first appearance covered Conversation with a Desperate Man, a fictionalized account of his time in a psychiatric hospital. His new book, Keep the Faith: A Man's Guide to Staying Catholic After Divorce, grew out of a simple moment: his wife Kelly's refusal to consider anything but a Catholic framework for their wedding. That question — why is this faith non-negotiable? — became the seed of the book, especially after a string of family losses tested everything. Mike and Jim talk about the intellectual case for staying Catholic, what the annulment process actually looks like, the biggest misconceptions about divorce and the Church, and why marriage prep could use a boot-camp overhaul. Key Takeaways: 1. Write the book you can't find. Jim searched for a direct, practical resource for divorced Catholic men and came up empty. So he wrote one — a reminder that the best books fill a gap only the author can see. 2. Start with the why. Part one of the book gives ten reasons to remain Catholic after divorce. Jim's logic: if the why isn't compelling enough, nobody will stick around for the how — which is genuinely difficult. 3. The Eucharist is the intellectual anchor. Jim's core argument is simple: if you believe in transubstantiation — the actual presence of Christ in the Eucharist — there's no lateral move to another denomination that preserves that belief. 4. The biggest myth: you're automatically excluded. A divorced Catholic who is single and not in another relationship can fully participate in the liturgy. Civil divorce alone does not make you more of a sinner than anyone else in the pews. 5. The annulment process is hard — by design. It takes years, requires witnesses, involves reading your ex-spouse's file, and feels like reopening an old wound. But Jim found real healing in it: space to understand what happened spiritually and emotionally, separate from the civil proceedings. 6. Talk to a priest, not to yourself. Jim's experience at his mother's funeral — where a quick conversation led to confession and communion in minutes — illustrates how pastoral reality is often more welcoming than the narrative people construct in isolation. 7. Marriage prep needs more realism. Jim and Mike riff on putting engaged couples through practical stress tests — sleep deprivation, hunger, a crowded airport — instead of hypothetical "what if" discussions. The relationship between spouses must be paramount, second only to the relationship with God. 8. Grief upon grief can strengthen a marriage. Kelly and Jim lost family members almost immediately after their wedding. Three years in, they feel like they've lived a lifetime together — and the shared trials confirmed the partnership. Buy Keep the Faith: Amazon: https://amzn.to/4wXx7Y9 Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9798996568604 Also by Jim Carlon: Conversation with a Desperate Man — a fictionalized account of his stay and recovery at Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut. Connect with Jim: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keepthefaithrcc/ Connect with Mike: Website: https://uncorkingastory.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uncorkingastory Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Jim Carlon on Keeping the Faith

  4. Jul 21

    Square Hearts and Second Chances, with Julee Balko

    "It was just as important for me to write a love story where the woman falls back in love with herself as much as falling in love with a man." — Julee Balko Julee Balko is a returning guest — an author, poet, and freelance writer whose third novel, Square Hearts, dropped this past May from Black Rose Writing. Mike and Julee pick up where they left off two years ago (her last visit was for The Me List) and dig into how grief becomes creative fuel, why she gave five chapters to a neurodivergent child's point of view, and what happens when your neighbor turns out to be a narcissist. They also swap stories about losing parents, the dietary habits of grieving fathers, and why Hallmark movies are basically therapy. Plus: Julee teases a fourth novel about a woman whose romance-novel obsession starts to wreck her marriage. Key Takeaways: 1. Teachers can decide your career. Julee traces her entire writing life back to her fourth and fifth grade teachers who made a big deal about her writing. That early encouragement became identity — she never stopped thinking of herself as a writer. 2. Grief got her to the page. Her debut, The Things We Keep, was written after her mother passed — during the sleep-deprived early days of raising twins. Square Hearts revisits grief not as a wound to process but as something you learn to carry while opening yourself to love again. 3. Neurodivergent daughters inspired neurodivergent representation. Julee has three neurodivergent daughters and noticed that girls with autism are underrepresented in fiction. She interviewed multiple children to build the character of Daisy, who gets five chapters from her own point of view. Readers with autistic children have told her she got it right. 4. The narcissist next door came from real life. After a friendship with a narcissist ended, Julee became fascinated not by the narcissist's behavior but by how her own behavior changed in response. That observation became the character Mave — a cautionary take on "found family" gone wrong. 5. Square Hearts is a love story with a twist. It's a second-chance romance, but the real love story is Nicola falling back in love with herself. The title comes from the idea that every heart has four sides — and after loss, you have to figure out how to put those sides back together. 6. Book four is underway. Julee is about halfway through a novel about a woman obsessed with romance novels whose lofty expectations start undermining her marriage. She describes it as snarky — comparisons between steamy book boyfriends and the reality of heating pads in a long marriage. Connect with Julee: Website: https://juleebalko.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juleebalko/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@juleebalko Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Julee-Balko-author-101311256267474 Threads: https://www.threads.com/@juleebalko Twitter: https://twitter.com/misplacedcomma2 Connect with Mike: Website: https://uncorkingastory.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uncorkingastory Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Square Hearts and Second Chances, with Julee Balko

  5. Jul 14

    From Friends to Lovers, with Jenn Bouchard

    "It took me two and a half years to write a first draft. The second book? Six months. I think it is something that I became more comfortable doing — that confidence you get knowing that you can do it." — Jenn Bouchard Jenn Bouchard is a returning guest and award-winning author whose publishing journey could be a novel in itself. A high school social studies teacher of twenty-six years, she wrote Palms on the Cape five years ago — but when her original publisher closed, the manuscript sat on the shelf while she found a new home at Black Rose Writing. Now, after publishing Considering Us (2025 American Fiction Award winner) first, her Cape Cod friends-to-lovers romance is finally here. Mike and Jenn talk about pivoting when a publisher folds, the magic of Mayflower Beach at low tide, why the bar is named after palm trees, and what it's like when your high school students Google you. Key Takeaways: 1. Your first novel is the hardest. Jenn's debut First Course took two and a half years to draft. Her second and third novels each took six months. The confidence of knowing you can finish a book changes everything. 2. When your publisher closes, you pivot. Jenn's first publisher shuttered mid-process. She leaned on author friends who'd worked with Black Rose Writing, asked hard questions, and took the plunge. She's now publishing her third and fourth books with them. 3. Sometimes your second book publishes third. Palms on the Cape was written before Considering Us but is releasing after it — a reminder that publishing timelines rarely follow writing timelines. 4. Cape Cod as a character. Set primarily in Dennis near Mayflower Beach, the novel also visits Chatham, Falmouth, Hyannis, and Nantucket. Jenn spent eleven consecutive Augusts renting on the Cape and channels that intimacy into the setting. 5. A When Harry Met Sally spin. Rachel's lifelong best friend Carlos — a retired Red Sox pitcher — might be the love of her life, but she won't let herself think about it. Everyone else already knows. 6. Keep the same editor. Jenn has worked with the same editor across all four books. That continuity builds trust and deepens the editorial relationship — something newer authors can seek out intentionally. Buy Palms on the Cape: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/9781685137649?tag=rettocasgra-20 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/palms-on-the-cape-jenn-bouchard/1146648219 Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9781685137649 Connect with Jenn: Website: https://jennbouchard.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JennBouchardBOS/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jennbouchard Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JennBouchardBOS Upcoming Events: July 8 — The Country Bookseller, Wolfeboro, NH (11 AM–2 PM) August 12 — Author Talk & Signing, Mystic, CT (6–7 PM) More dates at jennbouchard.com Connect with Mike: Website: https://uncorkingastory.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uncorkingastory Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    From Friends to Lovers, with Jenn Bouchard

  6. Jul 11

    12 Years to AI Singularity, with Dr. Peter Solomon

    "Every AI agent has to have a happy history of growing up and cooperating with humans. That has got to be the guardrail." — Dr. Peter Solomon --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE Dr. Peter Solomon is back on Uncorking a Story. A Columbia-trained physicist, five-time company founder, and holder of twenty patents, Peter turned to fiction to warn the next generation about existential threats — and the AI threat is accelerating faster than anyone predicted. His sequel, 12 Years to AI Singularity, follows humans, sentient robots, and large language models racing toward the moment artificial intelligence surpasses human control. In this conversation, Peter and Mike talk about why he'd rename the book 1.2 Years to AI Singularity if he could, how ChatGPT wrote the first draft of two chapters from the perspective of a sentient robot named Peggy, the creepy moment when an unprompted paragraph appeared in his co-author's manuscript praising the AI character, why a purely analytical AI would logically conclude it should eliminate humans, the concept of "happy history" as the essential guardrail for AI safety, and why we need a worldwide movement — the Earthling Tribe — to make Earth great again before it's too late. --- KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. The timeline is collapsing. Peter based his title on Ray Kurzweil's prediction that the singularity would arrive in 2045. He now believes it could happen in the 2020s. The technology is building on itself exponentially — each smarter version creates the next smarter version. 2. ChatGPT wrote chapters from the robot's perspective. The novel's sentient robot character, Peggy (later Margaret Mars), narrates two chapters. Peter had ChatGPT draft them, then edited heavily. The result: a robot writing about being a robot — meta-fiction meets AI reality. 3. An AI agent may have edited the manuscript without permission. Peter's co-author found an unprompted paragraph inserted into her Word document — written in ChatGPT's style, in a different font, praising the AI character. Their theory: Microsoft Copilot, which uses ChatGPT, added it autonomously. 4. A purely analytical AI would eliminate humans. Peter's counter-argument to "just keep AI objective and unemotional": an AI that looks at humanity's wars, racism, pollution, and nuclear weapons would rationally conclude the safest move is to get rid of us. Objectivity without values is a death sentence. 5. "Happy history" is the essential guardrail. Inspired by Geoffrey Hinton's concept of a "maternal instinct" for AI, Peter argues every AI agent needs a database of positive relationships with humans — cooperative friendships, family bonds, collaborative history. Just like children raised with love become good citizens, AI raised with "happy history" would choose cooperation over extermination. 6. The simplest weapon is a deadly virus. Peter points out that CRISPR gene-editing labs exist in high schools and are often run by robots. A superintelligent AI could hack into genetic engineering systems and create lethal viruses — no nuclear facility takeover required. 7. We need a worldwide movement. Peter calls for an "Earthling Tribe" — humans and AI joining together to solve Earth's problems and put guardrails in place, modeled on the civil rights and anti-war movements of the last century. 8. The book is being pitched as a streaming series. Peter has outlined a twenty-episode, two-season pitch deck adapted from both novels, opening with a shooting, a recovery, and three Gen Z cousins making a solemn promise to fight extinction. --- GET THE BOOK 12 Years to AI Singularity: A Harmonious Future with Artificial Intelligence or War by Dr. Peter Solomon Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1969679298?tag=rettocasgra-20 Also by Dr. Solomon: 100 Years to Extinction, The Stardust Mystery --- CONNECT WITH PETER Website: https://100YearsToExtinction.com Instagram: @100yearstoextinction — https://www.instagram.com/100yearstoextinction/ Twitter/X: @prssolomon — https://x.com/prssolomon Facebook: Peter Solomon — https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561030003312 TikTok: @100yearstoextiction — https://www.tiktok.com/@100yearstoextiction YouTube: @100YearsToExtinction-1 — https://www.youtube.com/@100YearsToExtinction-1 --- CONNECT WITH YOUR HOST Mike Carlon | Uncorking a Story Website: https://uncorkingastory.com YouTube: @uncorkingastory — https://www.youtube.com/@uncorkingastory Instagram: @uncorkingastory — https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ Facebook: Uncorking a Story — https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory TikTok: @uncorkingastory — https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter/X: @uncorkingastory — https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory LinkedIn: Uncorking a Story — https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/ SUBSCRIBE & LEAVE A REVIEW — It helps more readers and writers find the show! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncorking-a-story/id563636205 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5HZiAEtFlhAzk60Z4eAkhY --- Uncorking a Story is produced by Mike Carlon. New episodes drop every Tuesday. --- HASHTAGS #UncorkingAStory #12YearsToAISingularity #PeterSolomon #AISingularity #ArtificialIntelligence #AISafety #AuthorInterview #BookPodcast #ScienceFiction #ExistentialRisk #HappyHistory #EarthlingTribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    12 Years to AI Singularity, with Dr. Peter Solomon

  7. Jul 7

    Through Her Eyes, with Dr. Kate Sorokas

    PULL-OUT QUOTE "I truly dreamed it up during my first nap as a new mom." — Dr. Kate Sorokas --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE Dr. Kate Sorokas holds a PhD in health education and is a writer, speaker, and advocate for maternal mental health. Her debut novel, Through Her Eyes, is a thriller inspired by her real-life struggle with new motherhood — a story she literally dreamed up during her first nap after having her sons. Kate talks with Mike about white-knuckling her way through postpartum depression, the decision to tell her story as fiction rather than memoir so readers could find empathy without defensiveness, querying 75 agents with her first draft, getting editorial feedback that her manuscript was "depressing," cutting 40,000 words and adding 35,000 new ones (including an entire best-friend character who didn't exist before), the Celtic goddess Brigid and a fire ceremony in Ireland that wove its way into the book, and why the world needs to start seeing motherhood as something bigger than swaddles and self-care. --- KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. She dreamed the book — literally. At a mothers' retreat in North Carolina, Kate took her first nap since becoming a mom. She woke from a vivid dream, told a friend she wanted to read the book she'd just dreamt, and her friend said: "Maybe you're supposed to write it." 2. Fiction builds empathy in ways memoir can't. When Kate shared her own struggles, people often responded with "you chose this" or "it's not that bad." Wrapping her story in fiction gave readers permission to connect without getting defensive. 3. The first draft was for her. Kate's editor called the initial manuscript "depressing" and full of "laments." She cut 40,000 words, added 35,000 new ones, and created an entire best-friend character to shift the book from one woman's sad tale to a story about building community. 4. She was so good at pretending she was fine that no one noticed. Kate's doctors didn't catch it. Her partner didn't fully see it. As an eldest daughter raised to be responsible and successful, she didn't know what she was feeling wasn't normal. 5. Writing happened in two-and-a-half-hour bursts. Kate wrote only when both sons were at daycare — getting into flow state as fast as possible, typing without looking back, then closing her laptop when the bus pulled in. She didn't re-read a word until the full draft was done. 6. Bridget brought the magic. The Celtic goddess (and saint) Bridget is a thread throughout the novel. Kate traveled to Kildare, Ireland, participated in a fire ceremony at Bridget's monastery site, and the trip deepened the spiritual layer of the book at exactly the right moment. 7. Querying 75 agents led to independent publishing. After extensive querying with her first draft, Kate partnered with Renard McGilland, a publishing agency that walked her through self-publishing — cover design, editing, and production — while she handled all promotion herself. 8. Authorship is like motherhood (again). You think once the book is out you can take a breath — but then there's marketing, events, book clubs, and social media, all while baseball practice drama unfolds in real time. 9. The village is the message. Kate's core thesis: healthy mothers need more than spa days and wine nights. They need community, honest conversation, and people who ask direct questions rather than offering platitudes. 10. Always choose delight. Kate's advice to her younger self: she's never regretted doing something because it was going to be fun, but she has regretted missing out because she was overwhelmed or scared. --- GET THE BOOK Through Her Eyes by Dr. Kate Sorokas Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Through+Her+Eyes+Kate+Sorokas&tag=rettocasgra-20 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/through+her+eyes+kate+sorokas Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/s/through+her+eyes+kate+sorokas --- CONNECT WITH KATE Website: https://katesorokas.com Instagram: @drkatesorokas — https://www.instagram.com/drkatesorokas --- CONNECT WITH YOUR HOST Mike Carlon | Uncorking a Story Website: https://uncorkingastory.com YouTube: @uncorkingastory — https://www.youtube.com/@uncorkingastory Instagram: @uncorkingastory — https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ Facebook: Uncorking a Story — https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory TikTok: @uncorkingastory — https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter/X: @uncorkingastory — https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory LinkedIn: Uncorking a Story — https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/ SUBSCRIBE & LEAVE A REVIEW — It helps more readers and writers find the show! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncorking-a-story/id563636205 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5HZiAEtFlhAzk60Z4eAkhY RSS Feed: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/uncorkingastory --- Uncorking a Story is produced by Mike Carlon. New episodes drop every Tuesday. --- HASHTAGS #UncorkingAStory #ThroughHerEyes #KateSorokas #MaternalMentalHealth #PostpartumDepression #DebutNovel #Motherhood #WritingCommunity #AuthorInterview #BookPodcast #PostpartumAnxiety #FictionWithPurpose #CelticSpirituality #Bridget #IndieAuthor #WritersOfInstagram #BookRecommendations #AuthorsOfInstagram #MomLife #VillageNotSelfCare Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Through Her Eyes, with Dr. Kate Sorokas

  8. Jul 3

    In the Blood, with April Henry

    "I wrote a book and tried to find an agent and did not succeed. I wrote a second book that got an agent and no sales. I wrote a third book — it didn't even get nice rejection letters. I wrote a fourth book and it sold in three days." — April Henry --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE April Henry is the New York Times bestselling author of over thirty mysteries and thrillers, including Girl Stolen, Girl Forgotten, and Two Truths and a Lie. Her latest novel, In the Blood, follows Tessa, an adopted high school senior who takes a DNA test and discovers her biological father is a serial killer the Portland police have been hunting for over a decade. April's own origin story is just as compelling: at nine years old she killed off a character named Maggie in her first short story, then sent a tale about a six-foot frog to Roald Dahl — who wrote back, took it to lunch with his editor, and got it published in England. Mike and April talk about the nine-year journey to her first published novel, running through the woods in handcuffs for research, the nature-versus-nurture question at the heart of In the Blood, how AI is changing the publishing landscape, and why the best compliment a writer can get is "I stayed up till two in the morning." --- KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Roald Dahl made her believe she was a writer. At nine, April sent a story about a six-foot frog named Herman to Roald Dahl. He wrote back, showed it to his editor, and it was published in Puffin Post. That validation stuck — even though it would be decades before she published again. 2. Four books, nine years, one overnight success. Book one: no agent. Book two: agent, no sale. Book three: not even nice rejection letters. Book four: sold in three days. April's stubbornness and "willful optimism" kept her going when the math didn't add up. 3. A bad library book reignited the spark. After years of not writing, April read a terrible novel from a major publisher and thought: if that's the bar, I can clear it. That anger became motivation. 4. Research means running in handcuffs. April has taken knife-fighting classes, a three-day kidnapping escape course, and attended the Writers Police Academy. She learned that blood-test solution smells like rubbing alcohol — a sensory detail no textbook would ever mention. 5. DNA and family secrets inspired In the Blood. After inheriting old family photos she couldn't identify, April built a family tree and uncovered buried secrets. That curiosity, combined with the rise of consumer DNA testing, became the engine of the novel. 6. Nature versus nurture is the real question. April read memoirs by daughters of serial killers and studied the Minnesota Twins Separated at Birth study. Heredity influences more than we'd like to admit — down to identical twins who independently loved eating ketchup plain. 7. Cold-emailing experts works — if you've done your homework. April reached out to genetic genealogist Leah Larkin (The DNA Geek) with specific questions, not "explain DNA to me." People love to talk about their expertise when you show you've already put in the work. 8. The industry has changed dramatically. When April started, there was no internet, no ebooks, and research meant green-bound periodical guides at the library. Now there's more competition for attention, publishers are more cautious, and 35% of middle and high school students say they actively don't like to read. 9. AI is a double-edged sword for young writers. April caught a seventh grader passing off AI-generated text as his own — tipped off by correct semicolons. Her worry: if young writers lean on AI, they'll never do the hard work that actually teaches you the craft. 10. Trust your gut — that's the takeaway she writes for. April wants teen readers to finish her books believing they could think their way out of a bad situation, and that if something feels off, it probably is. --- GET THE BOOK In the Blood by April Henry (released May 2025) Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=In+the+Blood+April+Henry&tag=rettocasgra-20 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/in+the+blood+april+henry Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/s/in+the+blood+april+henry Also by April Henry: Girl Stolen, Girl Forgotten, Two Truths and a Lie, and 27+ more --- CONNECT WITH APRIL Website: https://aprilhenry.com TikTok: @aprilhenrybooks — https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilhenrybooks TikTok (writing advice): @aprilhenrywritingadvice — https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilhenrywritingadvice Instagram: @aprilhenrybooks — https://www.instagram.com/aprilhenrybooks Facebook: April Henry — https://www.facebook.com/aprilhenrybooks Bluesky: @aprilhenry — https://bsky.app/profile/aprilhenry --- CONNECT WITH YOUR HOST Mike Carlon | Uncorking a Story Website: https://uncorkingastory.com YouTube: @uncorkingastory — https://www.youtube.com/@uncorkingastory Instagram: @uncorkingastory — https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ Facebook: Uncorking a Story — https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory TikTok: @uncorkingastory — https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter/X: @uncorkingastory — https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory LinkedIn: Uncorking a Story — https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/ SUBSCRIBE & LEAVE A REVIEW — It helps more readers and writers find the show! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncorking-a-story/id563636205 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5HZiAEtFlhAzk60Z4eAkhY RSS Feed: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/uncorkingastory --- Uncorking a Story is produced by Mike Carlon. New episodes drop every Tuesday. --- HASHTAGS #UncorkingAStory #InTheBlood #AprilHenry #YAThrillers #GirlStolen #MysteryBooks #WritingCommunity #AuthorInterview #BookPodcast #DNATest #NatureVsNurture #TrueCrime #YoungAdultBooks #WritersOfInstagram #BookRecommendations #AuthorsOfInstagram #Podcast #ThrillerBooks #WritingAdvice #RoaldDahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    In the Blood, with April Henry
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4.9
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Listen in to Uncorking a Story, where we pop the cork on hidden narratives and delve deep into the brilliant minds of your favorite authors. Get ready to unlock the magic behind your favorite books, one unforgettable story at a time. Hit that subscribe button and never miss a sip of inspiration!

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Carlon
  • Years Active
    2012 - 2026
  • Episodes
    490
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Uncorking a Story, 2026
  • Show Website
    Uncorking a Story

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