Riffing on Writing

What do coffee and creativity have in common? Quite a lot when you combine the ambient sounds of a busy coffeehouse with entrepreneurial spirit and some good old-fashioned chutzpah. ACe Callwood, one of the cofounders of Coffitivity, joins me this week to talk startups, the P word, and coworking.

Chris Flannagan and Garrett Von Räd of Southern rock band Hail Dale join me this week to talk about their upcoming EP, how they write music and how the days of the legacy musician might just be a fond memory.

Director of social media and blogger outreach at Unison Agency Chris Abraham joined me this week (after a brief hiatus - sorry!) to discuss the long tail of blogger relations and outreach, influencer models and getting the next big project started.

How do non-writers write? Brad Farris joined me this week to discuss creativity from a non-arts perspective, his personal productivity hacks, and why honest feedback is such a rarity in this space.

Self-published speculative fiction writer and homebrewer J.P. Sloan joined me on the show this week to share his journey as a novelist -- and why dropping the word "aspiring" has transformed the way that he views his work.

The sassy and delightfully profane Erika Napoletano (@Redheadwriting) joins me this week to talk about how she gets businesses unstuck and the power of being unpopular. Erika uses the word "fuck" like a comma, so be prepared. Sensitive ears might want to skip this episode.

Iain Broome is a writer, editor, and content creator based in the UK. His first novel, A is for Angelica, was published in 2012 by Legend Press. He joined me this week to share his insights on why passion projects might be a slippery slope, among other things.

Marketing consultant Jennifer Kane joined me on the show this week to talk about how, on a lark, she took up writing erotic fiction -- and landed a book deal. But that's just the beginning -- we talked about publication models, how the internet stardom doesn't always lead to big breaks, and that darned 50 Shades of Grey. Again.

Leslie Bradshaw is a passionate entrepreneur and digital strategist who knows a few things about building teams and businesses. She co-founded JESS3, a creative data visualization agency in Los Angeles. Under her leadership, JESS3 generated $13M and was named as the AdAge Small Agency of the Year (SE Region) in 2012. Oh - and she also cultivates wine grapes at Bradshaw Vineyards, her family vineyard and winery in Oregon.

Director of Digital Engagement at Weber Shandwick Marcy Massura joins me this week to talk about her experience in going from blog to job and "the circle of influence." Call her a mommy blogger and she'll cut you. (Her words, not mine)

Local novelist and actor Chet Williamson joined me this week to discuss his evolution as a writer, the tensions between consumer and author in an Amazon world, and his love of H.P. Lovecraft.

Julien Smith is an outspoken and reassuringly real communicator and blogger who understands (no, lives) the value of the bleeding edge in every facet of his life.

The co-hosts of The Work Life Show, DJ Waldow and Nick Westergaard, join me this week to discuss unique work situations, personal productivity hacks, and what we love most about podcasting.

Content strategist and analytics maven Andy Crestodina joins me to discuss the paradigmatic shifts introduced by content marketing, his great new book Content Chemistry and the value of writing, well, daily.

Christopher Penn is no stranger to the world of podcasting. The co-host of Marketing Over Coffee, he is a brilliant and data-driven marketing technologist who joined me to take an in-depth look at audience building and distribution strategies for getting that podcast heard.