Uncorking a Story

Michael Carlon
  • 4.9 (67)
  • Books
  • Updated Weekly

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. Through Her Eyes, with Dr. Kate Sorokas

    21h ago

    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

    39 min
  2. In the Blood, with April Henry

    4d ago

    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

    36 min
  3. You're Not Broken, with Marci Hopkins

    5d ago

    You're Not Broken, with Marci Hopkins

    "I went to bed a victim and I woke up the next day and just something was different. I just surrendered. I knew that I couldn't do this anymore." — Marci Hopkins --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE Marci Hopkins is an award-winning television host, author, and mental health advocate. She's the creator and host of Wake Up with Marcy, which has earned three Telly Awards and two Anthem Awards for excellence in social impact. Ten and a half years sober, Marci's journey from functioning alcoholic to sobriety advocate began with childhood trauma — abuse, abandonment, and a home shaped by her mother's alcoholism. After two earlier attempts at sobriety that lasted only months, a second DUI in 2015 became the rock-bottom moment that changed everything. Her memoir Chaos to Clarity: Seeing the Signs and Breaking the Cycles told that story, and her latest, Wake Up, You're Not Broken: A Companion for Your First 30 Days of Sobriety, distills everything she's learned into a day-by-day guide. Mike and Marci talk about the spiritual signs that called her to write, why stopping drinking isn't the same as getting well, the neuroscience behind cravings and habits, and how daily small actions can literally rewire the brain. --- KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Surrender, not force, made the difference. Marci tried getting sober twice before — once in her early 20s after a DUI and again at 44. Both times lasted about three months. What changed in 2015 was an internal surrender: she woke up knowing she couldn't live that way anymore and asked for help. 2. Signs confirmed the calling to write. When Marci finally said "Okay, God, I'm going to write this book," a rainbow appeared, two doves landed on her roof, and a dragonfly — her spiritual symbol — flew by. She took that as confirmation she was on the right path. 3. Writing the memoir was its own therapy. Reliving trauma on the page was painful at first, but over the year it took to write Chaos to Clarity, Marci reached a place where those stories no longer defined her. She could read and share them without breaking down. 4. Stopping isn't the same as healing. You can quit drinking and still be miserable. Without addressing the emotional root causes — the trauma, the victim identity, the inability to connect — you're just a sober version of the same sick person. The inner work is where real change happens. 5. Addiction masks emotion. Whether it's alcohol, social media, shopping, or food, the root is the same: filling a void, avoiding confrontation with painful truths. The dopamine reward cycle keeps you chasing a feeling that diminishes over time. 6. People, places, and things all need to change. Muscle memory is real — the wine glass, the bar, the drinking buddy. Marci got rid of her wine glass. Rewiring requires changing the physical environment and daily habits, not just willpower. 7. Neuroplasticity is the science of hope. Our brains are like plastic — we can literally change how we think through daily actions and new modalities. It's not overnight, but it's real and it's available to everyone. 8. The book is a hand to hold. Wake Up, You're Not Broken is structured as 30 days, each with a personal story, a reflection, a tool, a journal prompt, and an affirmation. Plus expert contributions on what your body and mind go through in early sobriety, and modern alternatives to the 12-step program. 9. Spirituality as connection, not religion. Marci reframed her relationship with God — from a punishing figure in the sky to a "mass divine energy of love" that connects all of us. Daily meditation became the channel through which clarity came. 10. A morning routine changes everything. Marci credits her morning practice as one of the most important shifts in her recovery. She offers a free morning routine guide to anyone who reaches out. --- GET THE BOOKS Wake Up, You're Not Broken: A Companion for Your First 30 Days of Sobriety by Marci Hopkins Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Wake+Up+You%27re+Not+Broken+Marci+Hopkins&tag=rettocasgra-20 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/wake+up+you%27re+not+broken+marci+hopkins Chaos to Clarity: Seeing the Signs and Breaking the Cycles by Marci Hopkins Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Chaos+to+Clarity+Marci+Hopkins&tag=rettocasgra-20 --- CONNECT WITH MARCI Website: https://wakeupwithmarcy.com Email: wakeupwithmarcy@gmail.com (reach out for a free morning routine guide) Show: Wake Up with Marcy (3x Telly Award winner, 2x Anthem Award winner) --- 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 #WakeUpYoureNotBroken #MarciHopkins #WakeUpWithMarcy #Sobriety #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealthAwareness #AddictionRecovery #TraumaHealing #Neuroplasticity #MemoirWriting #AuthorInterview #BookPodcast #WritingCommunity #SoberLife #RecoveryIsPossible #MorningRoutine #SelfHelp #BookRecommendations #AuthorsOfInstagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    35 min
  4. The Gift of Starting Over, Ralph Brewer

    Jul 1

    The Gift of Starting Over, Ralph Brewer

    "If you can raise your hand and say, I need a little help here — guess what? That expedites the process of getting better so much more." — Ralph Brewer --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE Ralph Brewer is the founder of Help for Men, creator of Dad Starting Over, and author of five books including The Dead Bedroom Fix — a top-rated Amazon guide for men facing sexless marriages and disconnection. His latest, Rebuild: The Complete Guide to Starting Over as a Man, distills a decade-plus of member meetings, live chats, and thousands of conversations into a blueprint for men navigating divorce, job loss, infidelity, or any identity-shaking moment. Ralph's story starts at rock bottom: discovering his ex-wife's affair, a divorce sixty days later, and suddenly learning how to be a single parent, manage finances, run a home, and date again — all at once. A suggestion from one reader led him to write his first book, and a $25 Facebook ad that sold $700 worth of PDFs overnight proved the demand was real. Mike and Ralph talk about why long-term monogamy works against sexiness, the anxious-avoidant trap most couples fall into, why the "nice guy" who avoids conflict at all costs ends up in the most trouble, and how a rock-bottom moment can actually be the gift of starting over. --- KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Rock bottom became a launchpad. Ralph's writing career started when his marriage collapsed. With three kids to raise solo, he returned to a childhood love — creative writing — and started blogging about relationships. The topic of sex and marriage was the only one that consistently drew readers. 2. One suggestion sparked a career. A single reader told Ralph he should write a book. That was enough. He taught himself Amazon KDP, learned Scrivener, and spent a year organizing The Dead Bedroom Fix. Three editions and a few hundred thousand copies later, it remains his top seller. 3. Long-term monogamy works against desire. Ralph frames it as a timeline: the honeymoon stage is hypersexual and hyper-connected, then biology shifts focus — women toward children, men toward novelty. Outside influences (porn, cultural messaging that husbands are disposable) compound the drift. 4. Insecurity is the real bedroom killer. The book could have been titled How to Be a More Secure Man. Most of Ralph's audience are anxiously attached men paired with avoidant partners. The standard advice — "communicate more, be vulnerable" — backfires for a man who's already suffocatingly needy. 5. The "nice guy" trap. Codependency disguised as kindness — "yes, dear, whatever you say, dear, as long as you don't leave me" — erodes attraction. Ralph recommends Dr. Robert Glover's No More Mr. Nice Guy as the definitive guide to breaking that pattern. 6. Low anxiety beats smooth lines. The "jerk at the bar" who gets attention isn't winning because he's rude — he's winning because he's low in social anxiety and neuroticism. He gets rejected 27 times and doesn't care. That resilience is what's actually attractive. 7. Self-improvement can trigger your partner's insecurity. When one partner gets in shape or finds new purpose, the other often sabotages — baking forbidden desserts, starting drama. The answer isn't to shrink back; it's to keep going and invite your partner along. 8. Rebuild is for the "who am I now?" moment. Whether it's divorce, job loss, or the death of a loved one, men often define themselves entirely by a role — husband, VP of engineering — and have no identity without it. Rebuild addresses that void with a step-by-step framework drawn from patterns Ralph observed across thousands of men. 9. You're not a lone wolf — you need a network. The "alpha male lone wolf" who thinks YouTube and supplements are enough gets stuck. Raising your hand and saying "I need help" exponentially speeds recovery. Community isn't weakness; it's infrastructure. 10. Every great man has a rock-bottom story. Ralph's observation from a decade of coaching: every man he admires went through something catastrophic and chose to pivot rather than stay down. It's never a gradual incline — it's always a rebuild. --- GET THE BOOKS Rebuild: The Complete Guide to Starting Over as a Man by Ralph Brewer Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Rebuild+Ralph+Brewer&tag=rettocasgra-20 The Dead Bedroom Fix (3rd Edition) by Ralph Brewer Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Dead+Bedroom+Fix+Ralph+Brewer&tag=rettocasgra-20 --- CONNECT WITH RALPH Website: https://helpformen.com The Brotherhood (private men's community): https://helpformen.com/join Facebook: Dad Starting Over — https://www.facebook.com/dadstartingover YouTube: Dad Starting Over — https://www.youtube.com/@dadstartingover Instagram: @dadstartingover — https://www.instagram.com/dadstartingover TikTok: @dadstartingover — https://www.tiktok.com/@dadstartingover Twitter/X: @dadstartingover — https://twitter.com/dadstartingover --- ALSO MENTIONED No More Mr. Nice Guy by Dr. Robert Glover John Bowlby's attachment theory (anxious vs. avoidant attachment styles) --- 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 #TheGiftOfStartingOver #RalphBrewer #Rebuild #TheDeadBedroomFix #DadStartingOver #HelpForMen #MensHealth #Divorce #StartingOver #RelationshipAdvice #AttachmentTheory #SelfImprovement #MensWellness #AuthorInterview #BookPodcast #WritingCommunity #NonfictionBooks #MentalHealth #BookRecommendations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    55 min
  5. When Art Imitates Life, with Liz Lazarus

    Jun 30

    When Art Imitates Life, with Liz Lazarus

    "I write for myself, but I edit for the reader." — Liz Lazarus --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE Liz Lazarus is an engineer by education, a GE Healthcare executive by experience, and an author by calling. Her fourth novel, Dawn Before Darkness, is a psychological thriller about a vet tech named Dawn Smith who escapes a toxic relationship only to find herself stalked, harassed, and dragged into a guardianship battle for her aging mother. It's a story ripped from Liz's own life — she spent ten years and thousands of dollars fighting a stranger for legal guardianship of her mom in South Carolina. To build her supervillain, Liz interviewed ten women who survived stalkers and combined their experiences into one relentless antagonist. Mike and Liz talk about writing as therapy, journaling your way into a debut novel, the puzzle of twist endings, self-publishing as self-determination, and why you should sit down with your family and have the uncomfortable estate planning conversation before it's too late. --- KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Writing began as therapy, not ambition. Liz's first novel, Free of Malice, started as a journal she kept after a man broke into her house in college at Georgia Tech. She didn't know she had PTSD — she just knew journaling was helping her process what happened. That journal eventually became a legal thriller about self-defense. 2. The four things she needs before writing. Liz won't start a novel until she knows the protagonist, the antagonist, the twist ending, and the opening hook. Once those are locked, she outlines, interviews experts, and writes when she has content — no rigid daily schedule. 3. Every book educates and entertains. All four novels carry social causes — self-defense law, stalking, guardianship abuse — but entertainment comes first. The education is baked into the story, never lectured. 4. A ten-year guardianship nightmare inspired the book. Liz fought a family member, then a professional guardian, for control of her mother's care. The judge recused himself; they moved counties; the costs were staggering. Dawn's story in the novel is actually a softened version of what Liz lived through. 5. Ten stalker survivors built one supervillain. Liz put the word out on Facebook asking women with stalker experiences to talk. Several came forward, and she combined their stories into a single antagonist so devastating that reviewers say they've never hated a character more. 6. Characters are real people — and sometimes they surprise you. Liz describes writing in a groove as watching characters on a screen and taking notes. Twice a character did something she didn't plan — including getting fired — and she kept it because human behavior trumps outlines. 7. Self-publishing is owning your destiny. Liz created her own publishing company, learned ISBNs, layout, Mobi, EPUB, and PR from scratch. She values the control — no risk of being dropped by a publisher, no lost say over covers or release dates. 8. A twist must be earned. Inspired by The Usual Suspects, Liz insists every twist must make the reader say "I should have caught that." No tropes, no lost phones — it has to follow from human behavior and planted clues. --- GET THE BOOK Dawn Before Darkness by Liz Lazarus Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Before-Darkness-Liz-Lazarus/dp/099093747X?tag=rettocasgra-20 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dawn-before-darkness-liz-lazarus/1146561497 Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9780990937470 Book Website: http://www.dawnbeforedarkness.com/ Also by Liz Lazarus: Free of Malice, Plea for Justice, Shades of Silence --- CONNECT WITH LIZ Website: https://lizlazarus.com Linktree: https://linktr.ee/lizlazarus --- 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 #DawnBeforeDarkness #LizLazarus #PsychologicalThriller #ThrillerBooks #WritingCommunity #AuthorInterview #BookPodcast #Stalking #GuardianshipAbuse #ElderCare #SelfPublishing #WomenWriters #TwistEnding #WritersOfInstagram #BookRecommendations #AuthorsOfInstagram #Podcast #SuspenseNovel #TrueCrimeInspired Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    41 min
  6. Pass the Trauma, Please, with Todd Diamond

    Jun 29

    Pass the Trauma, Please, with Todd Diamond

    "Most Holocaust memoirs start in camps. This one begins in a Chinese restaurant." — Todd Diamond --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE Todd Diamond is an advertising copywriter turned memoirist, born in Queens, New York, who delivers narratives that are unapologetically raw and darkly humorous — a reflection of the borough that raised him. His book, Pass the Trauma, Please, is a comedy-drama memoir that tells the story of his 95-year-old father David Diamond, a Holocaust survivor whose long-buried secrets started spilling out over Mongolian beef and double scotches at their regular Chinese restaurant dinners. When his father's one editorial demand was "don't be afraid to slip in a few jokes" and "you're no Elie Wiesel," Todd took that as permission to write a Holocaust memoir that refuses to behave — one that uses humor as a Trojan horse to carry in the horrors. Mike and Todd talk about inherited trauma, Studio 54, Zionist justice in seventh-grade home ec class, the art of reverse circumcision, borrowing money from a Manhattan madam, and why the toughest client Todd ever had was his own father. --- KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. The Chinese restaurant as confessional booth. Todd's 92-year-old father began dropping long-buried secrets about his Holocaust survival during their regular Chinese dinner outings. That booth became a Jewish confessional — and the origin of the book. 2. Humor isn't a gimmick, it's inherited. Todd's father demanded the book not be "another Holocaust memoir" with long descriptions of ghetto smells. His survival mechanism was humor, and it became a non-negotiable editorial demand. A researcher from the Poland Museum in Warsaw told Todd this was the first time she'd ever interviewed someone who could talk about his most dramatic past and still make her laugh. 3. The Holocaust memoir that refuses to behave. Todd approached the book as a branding and positioning exercise — treating it as a challenger brand in a crowded market of solemn testimony. The goal: reach readers who might otherwise feel Holocaust fatigue while never diminishing the history. 4. Trauma is genetically inherited. Research from Mount Sinai shows trauma can be genetically passed to children of Holocaust survivors, altering biology and behavior. Todd recognized his own dissociation, addictions, hypervigilance, and anxiety in the findings — though he admits growing up in 1970s Queens with friends who "looked like the cast of The Outsiders but now look like the cast of The Sopranos" probably contributed too. 5. A father-son memoir told while the father is alive. The book evolved from just David's story into an intergenerational memoir — father and son, first and second generation — braided together. Todd describes it as "Vito and Michael Corleone, if they were Jewish." 6. A life beyond the camps. David Diamond was arrested by the Gestapo at 12, smuggled medicines for his physician father, was a slave laborer on a German farm, and a teen soldier in Israel's War of Independence. He then came to America, borrowed $50,000 from a Manhattan madam to open a pharmacy next to her brothel, and sold more condoms than any other store in the country. 7. A bar mitzvah 80 years late. At 92, David finally had his bar mitzvah — the rite of passage stolen by the Gestapo. He crushed his haftorah, surrounded by family and friends. For David, it was an act of defiance: "Hey, you Nazi bastards, I'm still here." 8. Bypass agents, find your niche. Todd went straight to Fig Tree Books, a publisher specializing in the American Jewish experience, after agents quoted six-month timelines he couldn't afford with a father in his 90s. His advice to aspiring writers: look for niche publishers who align with your story. --- GET THE BOOK Pass the Trauma, Please: My Father's Not-So-Depressing Holocaust Memoir about Love, Loss, Laughter, and Legacy by Todd Diamond Amazon: https://amazon.com/Pass-Trauma-Please-not-so-depressing-Holocaust/dp/B0DTZW3X4F?tag=rettocasgra-20 Barnes & Noble: https://barnesandnoble.com/w/pass-the-trauma-please-todd-diamond/1146882261 Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9781941493335 --- CONNECT WITH TODD Website: https://todddiamond.net Instagram: @pass_the_trauma_please — https://www.instagram.com/pass_the_trauma_please/ --- 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 #PassTheTraumaPlease #ToddDiamond #HolocaustMemoir #MemoirWriting #WritingCommunity #AuthorInterview #BookPodcast #InheritedTrauma #IntergenerationalTrauma #HolocaustSurvivor #JewishMemoir #DarkHumor #WritersOfInstagram #BookRecommendations #AuthorsOfInstagram #Podcast #NonfictionBooks #FamilyStories #FatherAndSon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 7m
  7. The Roots of the Guava Tree, with Sonia Daccarett

    Jun 23

    The Roots of the Guava Tree, with Sonia Daccarett

    "Even though we're so diverse, we're all the same. We're all longing for the same thing — to belong, have a purpose in life, to understand why we are here on this planet." — Sonia Daccarett ABOUT THIS EPISODE Sonia Daccarett is a writer and communications professional born in Colombia to a Christian Palestinian father and a Jewish mother. She holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master's in international and public affairs from Columbia University. For more than two decades she worked on strategic communications for corporate and nonprofit clients. Her debut memoir, The Roots of the Guava Tree: Growing Up Jewish and Arab in Colombia, explores identity, belonging, and coming of age against the backdrop of 1980s Colombia. Mike and Sonia discuss how a casual memoir-writing class turned into a book, the challenge of writing childhood scenes in the voice of a child, navigating a multicultural identity in a homogenous society, and why she wanted to offer a first-person account of what ordinary Colombians endured during the country's violent 1980s. --- KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. A book that wasn't meant to be a book. Sonia enrolled in a memoir-writing class during a quieter chapter of her life, fell in love with the genre, and accumulated pages before realizing the recurring themes — identity, diaspora, family — could form a cohesive narrative. 2. Retraining the writing brain. After two decades of press releases and corporate communications, Sonia had to relearn scene, dialogue, and narrative writing — breaking free of the "five W's, tell it all on one page" mindset. 3. Writing in the child's voice was the breakthrough. The manuscript initially felt flat when told entirely from her mid-50s perspective. Switching to first person as a four-, six-, or fifteen-year-old brought the memories alive — though it meant extensive rewriting. 4. Rediscovering parents as complex people. One of the book's biggest gifts was moving beyond the unidimensional way children see adults and understanding her parents and grandparents as people navigating their own immigrant struggles. 5. A utopian experiment in identity. Her parents deliberately raised their children without religious labels or ethnic identifiers — a noble dream that left Sonia feeling identity-less in a society that expected you to know who you were. 6. A hidden diaspora. Most people don't know that a large Christian Arab population emigrated from the Ottoman Empire to Colombia in the 1910s, or that Jewish communities thrived in Latin America. Sonia wanted to broaden mainstream narratives about where Jews and Arabs live. 7. Colombia's 1980s through ordinary eyes. Beyond the Netflix portrayals of Pablo Escobar, the book offers a first-person account of what civil war between government, guerrillas, and cartels felt like for everyday families — the kidnappings, the fear, the impossible choices. GET THE BOOK The Roots of the Guava Tree: Growing Up Jewish and Arab in Colombia by Sonia Daccarett Buy on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4aYCCx1 Buy on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9781647429409 CONNECT WITH SONIA Website: soniadaccarett.com Instagram: @soniadaccarettauthor CONNECT WITH YOUR HOST Mike Carlon | Uncorking a Story Website: uncorkingastory.com YouTube: @uncorkingastory Instagram: @uncorkingastory Facebook: Uncorking a Story TikTok: @uncorkingastory Twitter/X: @uncorkingastory LinkedIn: 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. #SoniaDaccarett #RootsOfTheGuavaTree #Colombia #Memoir #JewishIdentity #Palestinian #MulticulturalIdentity #Diaspora #LatinAmerica #Colombia1980s #ImmigrantStory #MemoirWriting #AuthorInterview #BookPodcast #UncorkingAStory #WritingCommunity #Nonfiction #CulturalIdentity #JewishAndArab #BookRecommendations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    36 min
  8. An Unquenchable Thirst, with Anne H. Putnam

    Jun 16

    An Unquenchable Thirst, with Anne H. Putnam

    "I'm convinced that these experiences that we have, where we feel so alone, that there's a huge portion of the rest of the world who's feeling the exact same way at any given time. And it's so important to see those things reflected so that we just don't feel like there's something wrong with us." — Anne H. Putnam ABOUT THIS EPISODE Anne H. Putnam is a writer, editor, and teacher with an unending interest in the stories that shape our humanity. Her first memoir, Navel Gazing: One Woman's Quest for a Size Normal, was published in the UK and Commonwealth after she wrote it as part of a master's degree in creative nonfiction — never imagining it would actually be published. Her latest, Make Do and Mend: A Breakup Memoir, explores love, loss, and self-discovery with raw honesty and humor. It's the story of the end of her seven-year relationship and first engagement — a breakup that propelled her into therapy, across an ocean, and through a decade of emotional excavation before the book finally found its shape. After years of agents who loved it but couldn't figure out how to sell it, Anne chose to self-publish — and put serious investment into making the book indistinguishable from a traditionally published title. Mike and Anne talk about backing into a publishing deal at 28, writing 200,000 words before finding the right 80,000, the courage (or compulsion) behind vulnerability on the page, pushing back on editorial feedback, the stigma of self-publishing, and why the compost pile is a writer's best friend. KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Nothing is wasted — it all goes on the compost pile. Every word you write that doesn't make it into the final book becomes fertile ground for what comes next. Anne wrote 200,000 words before landing on the 80,000 that became Make Do and Mend. 2. Vulnerability isn't courage — it's compulsion. Anne doesn't experience sharing her story as brave. She has an unquenchable thirst for being understood, and memoir is the form that lets her explain herself fully. The vulnerability is the point, not the obstacle. 3. Structure helps, but free-falling teaches you something too. Her first book was written in a master's program with deadlines, workshops, and authority figures. The second was just her, alone, for a decade. Both approaches produced books — but the unstructured path required far more trust in the process. 4. You can push back on your editor. Anne's editor wanted her to be meaner about her ex. She resisted, choosing instead to present situations and let readers draw their own conclusions. Your name is on the cover — make choices you can stand by. 5. Traditional publishing is driven by capitalism, not quality. Agents and editors loved Anne's work but didn't know how to package or market it. Once your writing clears the "good enough" bar, the rest is about what publishers feel is safe to sell — something outside your control. 6. Self-publishing is a legitimate path. Anne invested in professional editing, a book coach, and a quality cover to ensure no reader would know the difference. The goal isn't sales volume — it's connection with readers who need the book. 7. It counts. Borrowing from her swimming routine: if you got in the swimsuit, it counts. If you got to the parking lot, it counts. Building the routine — showing up — matters more than any single session's output, especially for writers with ADHD. GET THE BOOK Make Do and Mend: A Breakup Memoir by Anne H. Putnam Buy on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0i6jjwZu Buy on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/make-do-and-mend-a-breakup-memoir-anne-h-putnam/357d18d27975bf58 CONNECT WITH ANNE Website: https://www.annehputnam.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahputnam/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annehputnam Substack: https://annehputnam.substack.com/ CONNECT WITH YOUR HOST Mike Carlon | Uncorking a Story 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/X: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory LinkedIn: 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. YOUTUBE HASHTAGS #MakeDoAndMend #AnneHPutnam #BreakupMemoir #SelfPublishing #MemoirWriting #WritingProcess #Vulnerability #CreativeNonfiction #NavelGazing #BodyImage #IndieAuthor #WritingCommunity #AuthorInterview #BookPodcast #UncorkingAStory #WriterLife #SelfPublishedAuthor #Heartbreak #Healing #NonfictionBooks #BookRecommendations #WritingAdvice #IndiePublishing #WomenWriters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min
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4.9
out of 5
67 Ratings

About

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
    480
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Uncorking a Story, 2026
  • Show Website
    Uncorking a Story

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