Episodi
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From Amy:
My junior year in high school, we read Thornton Wilder's play Our Town in English class. My senior year, that same English teacher, Carol Ottoson, directed the play and cast me as the Stage Manager. That role, which spends so much time reflecting on details in life and their meaning, had a huge influence on how I see the world, and I'm certain that's rubbed off on me as a writer of creative nonfiction: how I make sense of small details, the things that matter, the people around me, and how they all connect to each other. It seems to me that I would be a different person if not for that experience, and the understanding that I had a voice that carries, and that I can use it for good in the world.
So when I went with my husband to a recent production of Our Town at a neighboring high school, I was delighted to run into my old castmate (and previous podcast guest) Cory Busse, himself a writer, whose daughter was now in the show. We both agreed that this play was something special, something that had a huge impact on both of us, and something that holds up across time. So I reached out to our former English teacher, Carol Ottoson, and the three of us recorded a reunion conversation. It's the perfect introduction to my latest podcast season.
I am reminded all the time that story is powerful. Connection to each other is powerful. And we have no idea the impact that stories will have on us until long after they're told. Some stories have our attention a moment. But some storiesâand some peopleâmake an indelible mark.
And if that's not a worthy reason to make our artwork and write our stories and engage in creative play with each other, I'm not sure what is.
Carol Ottoson (Otto) retired from teaching, coaching, and directing after 36 years in the classroom, including 24 in the Prior Lake Savage (MN) School District. She continues to sub in the district. She directed theater for thirty years and coached speech for 34 years. Carol and her husband Keith have been married for over 51 years and have two adult children, Heather and Andy, two sons-in-law, Collan and Branden, and two grandsons, Zach and Jameson. Carol and her husband enjoy traveling and are frequently on the road somewhere. Carol also occasionally preaches at her local church (htumc.org). They are a reconciling congregation, and promote inclusivity.
Follow Carol on Facebook or email her directly at [email protected].
Cory Busse was once voted "Sexiest Man Alive" by Cory Busse Magazine whose audience boasts more than zero Cory Busses.
Follow "Tales from the Christmas Village," a way to keep the spirit of snark alive in your heart all year long.
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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It's a new season for Courageous Wordsmith. My first two books are launched and I'm focused on helping Real-Life Writers find their voices. Here’s what has my attention, and why.Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German
Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous
Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for
Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers
through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works,
specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of
grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1 -
Episodi mancanti?
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From Amy:
This year, more than ever, I wanted to honor Black History Month, at a time when attempts have been made to erase it. I invited my friend Terry Newby to help me do that. As a white woman in America, I loved literature, but I did not grow up reading many marginalized voices. While I knew the name James Baldwin, I couldn't have told you what he stood for. And now? I know him as a Black man and a gay author. And what else? I've admired him interview clips. He feels important. How do I talk about his contributions, beyond a surface level?
I'm no expert in Black literature. I'm still very much learning. But this is knowledge that Terry brings.
I'm also not German, and I taught those stories for seventeen years, within a historical context. That was not an accident. I was trained by some excellent literature teachers. I learned about the authors as people within their life circumstances in concert with reading their writing. For our six-hour comprehensive graduation exam, we German majors were required to know all relevant information, literary terminology, authors, character names, themes, and dates for all literary movements and a selection of eighty German canonical works. And were required to figure out what "relevant" meant for ourselves. It was brutal. I read some in the German original, some in translation, and met with fellow German majors to compare notes. We passed, all six of us, which is to say: We graduated, none of us with honors in our major, not even my classmate who graduated Summa Cum Laude. I will always remember how Julie Klassen, our beloved mentor, brought us strawberry tea and donuts for a break three hours in. It was more than perfect. She gave us a powerful lesson, better than acing the test, honestly. We didn't know everything we were asked, but we could prepare, come close enough, and celebrate our exploration of writers.
This took place in a language that wasn't even mine until I was fourteen. Let that sink in for a moment. Their voices were truly foreign to me. But they came from a context I needed to learn and these were their authentic voices. What a gift. So what I have, really, is the training to ponder the authors I read. Where do they come from, and what does that bring to their writing?
What's there for me to take away from the reading?
Please understand, I don't mean that an author intended to include all the meaningful connections that show up in their writing. I firmly believe that things land in creative works that a writer never consciously intended to add, but readers see them, because I have experienced this in my own writing. It's magic, really. It's the fullest expression of what it is to be human, and it's essential. The writer's gifts take on a life of their own. But what the writer does, and must do, is gather the courage to show up and publish the words. And readers make meaning.
We, the readers, can ask the questions together and individually and trust that it's going to be a good journey, whatever we find.
James Baldwin had courage in spades. I've seen him in those video clips and thought of him as another mentor, albeit not one I know well. And when Terry Newby came into my world, we started having conversations that make us both think deeply, as I once did with my German major peers. (You'll hear this in the interview. I pose some questions where it's clear that I'm formulating. I have no idea where we'll end up. Terry laughs and calls me out and responds with his own surprises. Not all of it makes it into the final product. Terry can attest to that.)
It's a creative process we capture, just as Baldwin was known to say unexpected things on the video clips that I've seen and admired.
This is actually the antidote to that star-student perfectionism that society trains us to reach for. When we don't have to be the expert, this makes room for us to appreciate the experience of all the interesting, diverse voices around us. Terry and I agree: We must do this NOW.
I appreciate how James Baldwin led the way, refusing to be someone that he was not, nor a stereotype of the richly gifted person he was. Baldwin didn't parse words. And because he grounded us so fully in his experience, I can extrapolate. I can learn where I stand and maybe take steps in another direction. And I loved seeing where Terry came from as a writer, with Baldwin as one of his key influences.
Thank you to Terry for introducing me to James Baldwin as one of the authors that influenced him most as a writer.
We ended with a list of Terry's favorite books for Black History Month, or frankly, whenever you want a good read.
Terrance Newby's Recommendations:
Another Country, by James BaldwinThe Bluest Eye, by Toni MorrisonInvisible Man, by Ralph EllisonNative Son, by Richard WrightBeloved, by Toni MorrisonThink fast: If you enjoyed this conversation and you're in Minnesota, you can see a play by Terry this Friday, February 28 at 7:00. Landmark Center in St. Paul is staging an encore performance of Little Rock, 1942, by Terrance Newby and James Lundy. Terry not only co-wrote this play, but he's in it. I saw the premiere and I learned so much. Seriously good. Buy your tickets in advance here. Only $10, only one night.
Terrance C. Newby is an attorney, novelist, and playwright based in St. Paul, Minnesota. His plays The Cage, The Body Politic, Reunion Forever, and The Piano Teacher have been professionally staged in Twin Cities theaters.
Terry's novel, Dangerfield's Promise, was published in April 2022, and has received five-star reviews from the Seattle Book Review, Manhattan Book Review, Chicago Book Review, and the Midwest Book Review, among others. Terry is currently working on a sequel to Dangerfield's Promise.
Terry's LinkedIn
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy:
Welcome to my 100th Episode! Thank you for celebrating with me.
When I launched this podcast as Frau Amy's World on January 1, 2019, Sarah Bamford Seidelmann was my very first guest. As the original name suggests, I was still transitioning out of my teaching career, through the life coach world, into this literary life as a writer and editor of my own unfolding design. My first true-life novel, German Awakening: Tales from an American Life, had come out in October 3, 2018. This book was much more timely than I anticipated, which made me nervous to talk much about it. As a woman who had stood on both sides of the Berlin Wall at seventeen, two years before it unexpectedly fell, and then went on to teach 20th-century German film and literature for most of my career, I saw too many themes from my book echoing out in my own native land concurrent with publication. How on earth would I talk about that? Such a unique problem for memoir writers.
But / and / also universal to all human beings living on this planet together. We're longing for language to meet these times.
And how did I possibly talk about this life-coaching-meets-narrative-craft world I've been shaping for myself ever since?
Indirectly, via my podcast. The podcast helped me get used to the idea of talking about timely topics. I don't really shape this content. The topics present themselves to me. I read something or I cross paths with somebody. I reach out. Almost invariably they say yes. (Though I must say: ONE famous author that I admire sent me an incredibly gracious no thanks! All I could say was: SHE WROTE ME BACK! But also: I ask knowing she can say no, which likewise requires grace on my part.) I've spoken with many gracious guests, and some amazing humans have partnered with me, especially Will Quie, my first editor, and now Brooke Roy.
All that collaboration requires me to know where I stand, and where others begin. Which gets to this special 100th episode: Boundaries Make Love Possible, also the title of Sarah's most recent beautiful book. And I've seen Sarah live those words.
In saying yes, Sarah was my ideal first guest. Like me, she was a published author (who had graciously blurbed my front cover!) and had left an established career (in her case, as an MD) and gone through Master Coach Training. At the timeâand I did look to seeâSarah was the only other Martha Beck Certified Master Life Coach in Minnesota when I graduated. (That name has since changed too. It's now Wayfinder Master Coach Training. Anyway... Sarah is a mentor, a few steps ahead of me in many ways.) The more things change, the more they stay the same, to quote a cliche. I am still a teacher. Sarah is still a healer.
America is still changing fast. It's still hard to talk about it.
But also... we have come a long way in those six years. As I write this, this podcast is nearing 6400 downloads.
Sarah is now known as an artist, and I have always considered myself a working, real-life creative. Which is why it was such an honor to interview Sarah about her most recent workbook that combines Sarah's writing and her distinctive artwork. You really might want to read it. It's lovely and colorful, and I find myself relying on the wisdom inside and quoting sections to friends. Several of them have received Sarah's book from me for birthdays and Christmas. It really is that relevant and timely.
I have a few more episodes with Sarah coming up in April to celebrate my second book's second birthday.
Meanwhile, inspired by Sarah once more, I'm unveiling new show art. Enjoy!
Here's to 100 episodes. And here's to 100 more.
Sarah Bamford Seidelmann is a 4th generation physician, accomplished author, artist and shamanic healer. Her celebrated and unconventional work aims to restore the soul. âSarah Seidelmann is a true medicine woman and everything she creates is good for what ails us.â âMartha Beck, New York Times bestselling author of The Way of Integrity.
Boundaries Workbook
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy:
This episode, in which my dear colleague and peer Orla Collins interviewed me in 2023, introduces my 52-card Tiny Altars oracle deck. My books are available through distributors other than me, and I haven't been interested in opening a storefront to sell these decks. I already tried that with my first book and my first products, and I could do that again, but it's not where I want to put my energy. And I only want to focus on what I am truly here to do as a working creative. I could market the cards to someone else, a distributor who could make them available widely. I do believe they're that good. But I don't want to.
I grew up watching my sign-painter grandpa make branded gifts for his clients, and his remaining golden yardsticks (two that I use daily) bring me profound joy. So instead, I only sell these cards locally in Minnesota and make them available as gifts to my Courageous Wordsmith clients that I work with personally. Which is an intentionally small group. That doesn't make the cards any less powerful or any less profound or any less beautiful. They are in fact the capstone of my self-appointed curriculum on the path to becoming a working creative, my odyssey while I healed myself from the intensive trauma of my teaching career. Now I do what I want. And so... since for all these many reasons, you can't buy the cards on the Internet, I have held off on releasing this episode until now. And then, recently, I listened to the beautiful gift that my friend Orla gave me.
She would not let me deflect my attention away from what I have accomplished with these cards.
These cards represent the complete set of my life-coach-meets-narrative-craft questions around which I framed Tiny Altars. The cards in turn shaped the final book revisions. Both are distilled thanks to that process.
So here's why I'm sharing this episode now:
Because it gives a behind-the-scenes look at what it is to put your creative work into the world, and to remind you that maybe you too feel like hiding as I have, but there's good work that you have to share, however you do. You have choices and agency about how you show up in the world. And furthermore these cards are now, more than ever, at the heart of my work in Courageous Wordsmith, including my recent premiere one-day Writing Revival. So you might want to work with me.
And as I say, for those of you without an artist grandfather to model your life on, who still want to be a real-life working creative, it helps to know what it might look like for you.
Orla Collins, aka the Irish Orlacle, profoundly understands how constant people-pleasing damages relationships, drains energy, producing anxiety, anger and despair. Originally from Dublin, Orla lives in Toronto with her husband, is mum to four, young adults, and a snuggly goldendoodle. Orla loves a well-made cup of tea, speaks with a soft Irish accent, swears occasionally, while using her experience and humour to help her clients dissolve unhealthy, inherited, people-pleasing patterns, strengthen their intimate relationships, and create peace in their homes.
Orla's podcast: Tea with the Irish Orlacle
Instagram: @orlacle_coaching
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orla.collins.5811/
Website: www.orlaclecoaching.com
Subscribe to Orla's newsletter
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy:
When Cara Pacific Campbell first inquired about working with me as a 1:1 Book Writing Mentor, she was reluctant, but not because she was my first book writing client per se. She was reluctant because she'd never written a book, especially about such tender topics, but she was determined to write her book because it wouldn't leave her alone. As in, she was still living the experience she was writing about. A lot of people who end up working with me are like that. They have something to say, and it's tender and personal and ongoing. I can teach them to write in their own language while they bear witness to what's going on.
Cara's trust in me meant a lot because I too was starting over, at least wearing the hat of a developmental editor. People had started to approach me for writing guidance even before I retired from teaching high school languages, and I'd been coaching writers since then, and edited some. But Cara was the first person to hire me for a longitudinal book development project.
And I got to recapture what I love best about teaching languages: seeing fluency, awareness, and pride build over time.
People come to me at all different stages of writing. In Cara's case, she couldn't even get started. So that's what we worked on. Time passed while Cara lived into the rest of the story, and now she's nearing publication of her memoir. So I asked her to reminisce with me about what it's like writing a book when you've never been a writer before.
I know that many people out there are wondering how you get started, and if it's all worth it. This is how, and in Cara's opinion: Yes. Yes it is.
Cara Pacific Campbell is an award-winning sales leader, consultant, and author of an upcoming memoir about her battle with Lyme disease and the path to deeper healing. Known for coaching leaders to create thriving, high-performing teams, Cara blends strategy with heart to help people achieve moreâwithout the burnout. Whether sheâs teaching reps how to close million-dollar deals or sharing hard-earned life lessons, Cara inspires growth from the inside out.
www.linkedin.com/in/carapacificcampbell
https://www.instagram.com/carapacificcampbell/
https://www.facebook.com/carapacific
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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Bridgette Boudreau is a Master-Certified Coach and Advisor for business owners. Bridgette's coaching philosophy is rooted in compassion and finding one's intrinsic motivation versus pushing or hustling. She acts as a strategic thought partner, providing a confidential and supportive environment for her clients to grow their businesses and themselves. With over 15 years of coaching experience, she has developed the Mosaic Framework which is designed to help people create a fulfilling third act of life. Bridgetteâs coaching style is like the love child of Bob Ross and Mary Poppins: She's going to love and encourage the hell out of you to do it your way, and you're going to get it done.
You can find Bridgette and learn more about her offerings at https://www.bridgetteboudreau.com.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bboudreau/
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy:
I met Nicole Diaz in the life-coaching world around the time that I was first envisioning my online community for real-life writers. She demonstrated a brilliant understanding of the creative process, and I had this idea of hosting Idea Parties as the centerpiece of my work with writing groups, with Parker Palmer's work as my model. Nicole was a Parker Palmer fan too. So for a few years, we collaborated to host once-a-month calls on Saturday mornings where we let beautiful words draw us into our writing.
Afterwards, people spoke their voices into the room, and nobody corrected or coached or edited each other. Instead, we let you be at the heart of your story and reflected your words back. And books began to be written and friendships began to be made.
Together, Nicole and I developed a flexible and potent Idea Party format that works to this day, even after she has moved on.
There were other experiments Nicole and I tried, among them this little series of three podcasts. It was going to be available in the community library only, as one of many exclusive features. Since then I've streamlined my online Writing Circle space to center on writing calls and there's no reason to house a three-part podcast series with a leader who's no longer there.
On the other hand, Nicole and I agree that these three episodes would make a beautiful Winter Solstice gift to YOU, my podcast listeners, at a time when creativity could bring us all comfort if we could just calm down about the creative process itself.
These are shorter than my other episodes, and I find talking with Nicole delightful. I hope you enjoy.
Happy holiday season.
Love, Amy
PSâNicole sends her love too.
Nicole Diaz is a creativity coach and business strategist. She works with business professionals to access their creative flow, and with creatives to build the structure they need to stay on track without losing inspiration. Through private coaching and workshops, she helps people balance strategy and creativity so they can bring their ideas to life.
www.nicolemdiaz.com
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
-
From Amy:
I met Nicole Diaz in the life-coaching world around the time that I was first envisioning my online community for real-life writers. She demonstrated a brilliant understanding of the creative process, and I had this idea of hosting Idea Parties as the centerpiece of my work with writing groups, with Parker Palmer's work as my model. Nicole was a Parker Palmer fan too. So for a few years, we collaborated to host once-a-month calls on Saturday mornings where we let beautiful words draw us into our writing.
Afterwards, people spoke their voices into the room, and nobody corrected or coached or edited each other. Instead, we let you be at the heart of your story and reflected your words back. And books began to be written and friendships began to be made.
Together, Nicole and I developed a flexible and potent Idea Party format that works to this day, even after she has moved on.
There were other experiments Nicole and I tried, among them this little series of three podcasts. It was going to be available in the community library only, as one of many exclusive features. Since then I've streamlined my online Writing Circle space to center on writing calls and there's no reason to house a three-part podcast series with a leader who's no longer there.
On the other hand, Nicole and I agree that these three episodes would make a beautiful Winter Solstice gift to YOU, my podcast listeners, at a time when creativity could bring us all comfort if we could just calm down about the creative process itself.
These are shorter than my other episodes, and I find talking with Nicole delightful. I hope you enjoy.
Happy holiday season.
Love, Amy
PSâNicole sends her love too.
Nicole Diaz is a creativity coach and business strategist. She works with business professionals to access their creative flow, and with creatives to build the structure they need to stay on track without losing inspiration. Through private coaching and workshops, she helps people balance strategy and creativity so they can bring their ideas to life.
www.nicolemdiaz.com
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
-
From Amy:
I met Nicole Diaz in the life-coaching world around the time that I was first envisioning my online community for real-life writers. She demonstrated a brilliant understanding of the creative process, and I had this idea of hosting Idea Parties as the centerpiece of my work with writing groups, with Parker Palmer's work as my model. Nicole was a Parker Palmer fan too. So for a few years, we collaborated to host once-a-month calls on Saturday mornings where we let beautiful words draw us into our writing.
Afterwards, people spoke their voices into the room, and nobody corrected or coached or edited each other. Instead, we let you be at the heart of your story and reflected your words back. And books began to be written and friendships began to be made.
Together, Nicole and I developed a flexible and potent Idea Party format that works to this day, even after she has moved on.
There were other experiments Nicole and I tried, among them this little series of three podcasts. It was going to be available in the community library only, as one of many exclusive features. Since then I've streamlined my online Writing Circle space to center on writing calls and there's no reason to house a three-part podcast series with a leader who's no longer there.
On the other hand, Nicole and I agree that these three episodes would make a beautiful Winter Solstice gift to YOU, my podcast listeners, at a time when creativity could bring us all comfort if we could just calm down about the creative process itself.
These are shorter than my other episodes, and I find talking with Nicole delightful. I hope you enjoy.
Happy holiday season.
Love, Amy
PSâNicole sends her love too.
Nicole Diaz is a creativity coach and business strategist. She works with business professionals to access their creative flow, and with creatives to build the structure they need to stay on track without losing inspiration. Through private coaching and workshops, she helps people balance strategy and creativity so they can bring their ideas to life.
www.nicolemdiaz.com
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
-
From Amy:
In the early days of my podcast, I hired Molly Darling and her now husband, Christian Rivera, to help me understand what it was to be a working creative with a business (as opposed to a dedicated real-life creative). I thought I was hiring them to help make my Instagram design more visually appealing, but I ended up rethinking my Courageous Wordsmith brand in significant ways. This includes renaming my podcast from Frau Amy's World to today's Courageous Wordsmith. (Good name for a business, equally good name for a podcast. Frau Amy was the remnants of a teaching identity that I loved, that planted enduring seeds, that didn't end well and I still hadn't processed. I'm not even German. Or barely. Parts of this story appear in both books.)
Much of what I learned from Molly back then have provided foundations for my business that endure to this day.
Fast forward to this time last year. I was looking at my online community space that I had built way too large for what I really wanted. I thought I wanted a bustling hub for real-life writers to follow up between calls, where the real connection happened. What I had created instead was more like "sprawling-but-dead shopping center." I was ready to throw in the towel. Molly was moving on from a longtime facilitator position and asked if I could use her help again. I thought she could build engagement.
Instead Molly helped me start to distill the online community down to the library that I truly want. Because, as I said, the calls are the center of our work. Everything else stems from there. One year later, I have the right-sized creative space I actually wanted.
When Molly posted about downsizing her own art spaces, I knew it was time to reminisce. This episode was a fun one.
Molly Darling is a mixed media artist, storyteller, and creative guide with a passion for uncovering the beauty in lifeâs messiest moments. Rooted in the philosophy that âitâs all compost,â Mollyâs work transforms the highs and lows of existenceâlove, shame, resilience, and struggleâinto layered, thought-provoking pieces that invite viewers to explore their own stories. In addition to her art, Molly is the creator of Compost & Creation, a Substack where she shares behind-the-scenes glimpses of her creative process, reflections, and poetry. She also co-hosts the podcast Behind the Studio Door, where she interviews fellow creatives about their journeys and the human side of making art. Through her work, Molly inspires others to embrace vulnerability and creativity as tools for self-discovery and connection, whether through her courses, community projects, or mentorship. She believes that every layer of life has something to teach usâand that art has the power to hold it all.
thedarlingrevolution.org
compostandcreation.substack.com
instagram.com/thedarlingrevolution
thedarlingrevolution.org/podcast
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy:
From the beginning of my work as a "real" writer (which I had tried to be on my own for a very long time, but I couldn't move past the journaling stage... no matter how "gifted" anyone said I was at wordsmithing...) I have found that I cannot succeed without the support of collaborative partners whose gifts and vision complement mine. That's true of this podcast, and it's definitely true of an audiobook. So when my long-time podcast editor moved on to brighter things (he's a gifted musician who graduated from college and spends his time performing on stage), and I couldn't get traction recording and editing my second audiobook (surprise, surprise), I reached out to K.O. Myers, whose work I had long admired from Natalie Miller's Mindwitchery podcast.
I could not have been more pleased with the results, and I have to let you in on a secret. This was an experiment I was conducting not just for my own audiobook, but because I refer my writing clients to professionals I know firsthand.
So let this be my ringing endorsement: I love the audiobook that K.O. produced for me. He's got skills and profound wisdom. Beyond that, I felt supported and seenâor should I say, heard. If you're wondering what the process looked and felt like, for curiosity sake or even because you're considering if audio work is for you, this episode lets you in behind the scenes.
K.O. Myers is the founder an lead editor of Particulate Media, a full-service audio production company that helps podcasters and audiobook presenters sound more professional without sacrificing their authenticity.
https://particulatemedia.com
K.O.'s Podcast is https://roll-factory.captivate.fm
https://www.facebook.com/particulatemedia
https://genvexed.bsky.social
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy:
We were originally hoping for a November 22 release of my Tiny Altars audiobook on Audible, but that date came and went while it awaited its turn in Quality Assurance for over two weeks. Now it's December 3, and the audiobook has arrived, which reminds me that books, like children, arrive in their own time and way, no matter how we try to control it.
Fun fact: From my first callings to write my personal narrative, I kept seeing the number 123 in association with my writing. This book always knew and was telling me what it wanted to be, even if I didn't see it.
The part of me that likes to watch such things notes that it's arriving nearly one year to the day that I first met K.O. Myers at Particulate Media, who created this audiobook with me. The meeting was an unexpected development, but a fortuitous one.
There's what we think we're doing, and there's what wants to happen. Then we start wrap our head around what's really there. Especially in narrative craft.
In this episode, I talk about the surprise of mothering twins. This book, Tiny Altars, was like that. Unexpected. I didn't want to write about the dollhouse on the cover that represents something much bigger than me. I thought I was writing a different book when this dollhouse origin story snuck into my manuscript. I tried to fit it into my German-themed book. The dollhouse image took over. It had its own story it wanted to tell. Not about Germany, but a story much closer to home. I'm so glad I let it.
Which is how it ended up on the cover. The origin story of the dollhouse wraps up this episode. I hope you enjoy.
Let me also introduce you to K.O. Myers, the producer of this episode and my Tiny Altars audiobook.
K.O. Myers is the founder an lead editor of Particulate Media, a full-service audio production company that helps podcasters and audiobook presenters sound more professional without sacrificing their authenticity.
https://particulatemedia.com
K.O.'s Podcast is https://roll-factory.captivate.fm
https://www.facebook.com/particulatemedia
https://genvexed.bsky.social
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy: I had hopes of my audiobook being one thing, and instead it's another. It's my memoir on coming to deeper awareness of the role I play in my homeland, inside institutions, and how I couldn't stay there, and how I let myself wander and grieve. Anyway, I've said it before and I'll say it again. A book comes into the world in exactly the timing it wants to. The paperback came out on April 21, 2023.
This audiobook wanted to come into the world on November 22, 2024.
Listening to it in this light, I've thanked my former self for writing her story. It contains many things perfectly timed for this time, in ways that I could not have anticipated them landing so fully.
And so although I had already agreed with K.O. Myers that I would share this Foreword and another chapter coming out as podcast episodes to celebrate the release of Tiny Altars, the audiobook, I had no idea how to introduce them until Election Day had come and gone. There are many takeaways and many ways to proceed, too many to list here, especially since my book is not about politics but the context of one woman's life, specifically mine. The takeaway I unpack in this introduction is the one that Tiny Altars has been pointing me to for several years now, as a white Minnesota woman born into a mainstream Christian Protestant tradition. It's the message contained in this Foreword:
It's time to tell your story and stop counting on others (more interesting or worthy) to give you permission.
This Foreword is the frame for my book. Every story has one. Don't forget it. Thanks for listening.
Let me also introduce you to K.O. Myers, the producer of this episode and my Tiny Altars audiobook.
K.O. Myers is the founder an lead editor of Particulate Media, a full-service audio production company that helps podcasters and audiobook presenters sound more professional without sacrificing their authenticity.
https://particulatemedia.com
K.O.'s Podcast is https://roll-factory.captivate.fm
https://www.facebook.com/particulatemedia
https://genvexed.bsky.social
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy: I have been a fan of Linda's gorgeous imagery ever since I met her in an online writing forum. At the time, we were both publishing our books with birds on the cover. The thing about poetry is, sometimes, especially at a moment like nowâone week out from pivotal presidential elections in the United Statesâwhere the rhetoric has gotten QUITE LOUD, and it's already been a LOUD nearly-decade, our nervous systems need a break. We need soothing words that speak to our humanity. And so this episode is intentionally timed for right now... Beyond that, I love talking with Linda about how she works her magic, and I suspect you will love to hear what she says too.
Linda Flaherty Haltmaier is an award-winning author and the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Andover, MA. Named the winner of the Robert Frost Poetry Prize, she is known for her âsensational imagery, her deft ear for the music of language, and her emotional sonar for sounding the depths of love (and anger).â Her new collection, Shadows Set to Burn, was recently honored with the 2024 International Book Award for Narrative Poetry. Her debut collection, Rolling up the Sky, claimed the Homebound Publications Poetry Prize and her follow-up, To the Left of the Sun, was the winner of the American Bookfest Award for Poetry. Additional accolades include winning the JuxtaProse Poetry Prize and the Palm Beach Poetry Festival Competition, as well as Finalist honors for the Princemere Poetry Prize, the New Millennium Award for Poetry, the Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize, the Tucson Festival of the Book Literary Award, and more. Nominated for four Pushcart Prizes, Lindaâs work has been featured widely in journals and anthologies. A graduate of Harvard, Linda leads poetry workshops, gives readings, and promotes poetry on the North Shore of Boston where she lives with her husband and daughter.
https://www.instagram.com/linda.thepoet/
Buy Linda's book here & write a review
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy: I met Sonya at a Minneapolis bookstore, where she was reading from her latest collection of essays. Her writing voice is engaging. But it's the multiplicity of roles she occupies as a writer that fascinates me: from established professor of creative writing and published author, to her embrace of various voices still waiting to be released. For the people in my audience who long to write but feel constricted by "what's permitted," this conversation just may feel freeing.
We end with three promising writing prompts to try for yourself.
Sonya Huber is the author of eight books, including the new essay collection, Love and Industry: A Midwestern Workbook as well as the writing guide, Voice First: A Writerâs Manifesto, and an award-winning essay collection on chronic pain, Pain Woman Takes Your Keys and Other Essays from a Nervous System. Her other books include the Supremely Tiny Acts: A Memoir in a Day, Opa Nobody, Cover Me: A Health Insurance Memoir, and The Backwards Research Guide for Writers. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and other outlets. She teaches at Fairfield University and in the Fairfield low-residency MFA program.
www.sonyahuber.com
https://www.instagram.com/sonyahuber/
The What Happened Project
The Three Words That Almost Ruined Me As A Writer: Show, Don't Tell
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy: Gin Hammond is a friend of a friend, and when I heard about Returning the Bones, Gin's fictionalized account of her beloved Aunt Bebe, I very much wanted to talk with her. Gin had one request: that we release it before elections because this book's themes are so timely. Twenty days out from Election Day, that's what I'm doing. I highly recommend the audiobook.
1946. Bebe Hammond, a shy bookworm with a wild imagination yearns to find her own voice in the world, but is held captive by the expectations of her family and the realities of the Jim Crow south. When faced with an odds-defying opportunity, does she risk her life in the fight for Civil Rights, or abandon her home, and fiancé, and flee to Paris to live a life she's always dreamed of? Returning the Bones is a novel that will transport you through many miles, perspectives, and epiphanies.
Gin Hammond is an award-winning Harvard University/Moscow Art Theatre graduate, as well as an actor, writer, director, and has performed onstage both nationally and internationally. A certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework Âź, Gin teaches voice and speech, public speaking, voice-over, and accents and dialect. Gin received a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for The Syringa Tree and NEA grants for multiple plays. She is also co-founder of the Meditations for Actors mobile app. Her book, Returning the Bones, is a National Indies Excellence Finalist and a Gold Winning INDIES Book of the Year winner.
www.returningthebones.com
www.instagram.com/returningthebones
www.instagram.com/livingincognegromovie/
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy: Terry Newby and I met in the spring of 2023 and found resonance between our writing that led us to trade books. We wanted to explore what it was to write about real people related to us, Terry in historical fiction and plays, me in creative nonfiction, specifically memoir. This is the third and final episode that resulted from that conversation. While Terry and I write different genres, the fact remains that we're writing around similar troublesome themes in American history, a history that is very much still playing out in modern-day patterns. We simply come to our understandings from different vantage points. Mine came through a longtime study of German literature as a lens on challenges closer to home, and I talk about that narrative path. But it wasn't until I read Isabel Wilkerson's Caste that I finally had a name for what I've seen all along in my homeland.
Terrance C. Newby is an attorney, novelist, and playwright based in St. Paul, Minnesota. His plays The Cage, The Body Politic, Reunion Forever, and The Piano Teacher have been professionally staged in Twin Cities theaters.
Terry's novel, Dangerfield's Promise, was published in April 2022, and has received five-star reviews from the Seattle Book Review, Manhattan Book Review, Chicago Book Review, and the Midwest Book Review, among others. Terry is currently working on a sequel to Dangerfield's Promise.
Terry's LinkedIn
Terry has two upcoming plays being staged. See you there?
Little Rock 1942: The true story of a civil rights lawsuit that brought Thurgood Marshall to St. Paul, and led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision
October 3 & 4, 7 pm | October 5, 2 pm, 2024. Landmark Center, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.landmarkcenter.org/history-play/
Our Dearest Friends (the second play of the night)
Thu, Nov 21, 2024 7:00 PM Sun, Nov 24, 2024 2:00 PM. The Hive Collaborative, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.thehivecollaborativemn.com/events/a-woman-over-forty
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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From Amy: Terry Newby and I met in the spring of 2023 and found resonance between our writing that led us to trade books. We wanted to explore what it was to write about real people related to us, Terry in historical fiction and plays, me in creative nonfiction, specifically memoir. This is the second of three episodes that resulted from that conversation. While Terry writes about real people using fiction to convey larger truths, he wondered what it's like when the people I write about are real people, and my contract with a reader of creative nonfiction says that anything I write about has to have happened. The very fact that I'm writing about any events or relationship already tells you that everything wasn't simply perfect. (Because... boring.) How we treat real people in writing is a question I regularly navigate with writers. Terry and I talk about how I navigate that in my work.
Terrance C. Newby is an attorney, novelist, and playwright based in St. Paul, Minnesota. His plays The Cage, The Body Politic, Reunion Forever, and The Piano Teacher have been professionally staged in Twin Cities theaters.
Terry's novel, Dangerfield's Promise, was published in April 2022, and has received five-star reviews from the Seattle Book Review, Manhattan Book Review, Chicago Book Review, and the Midwest Book Review, among others. Terry is currently working on a sequel to Dangerfield's Promise.
Terry's LinkedIn
Terry has two upcoming plays being staged. See you there?
Little Rock 1942: The true story of a civil rights lawsuit that brought Thurgood Marshall to St. Paul, and led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision
October 3 & 4, 7 pm | October 5, 2 pm, 2024. Landmark Center, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.landmarkcenter.org/history-play/
Our Dearest Friends (the second play of the night)
Thu, Nov 21, 2024 7:00 PM Sun, Nov 24, 2024 2:00 PM. The Hive Collaborative, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.thehivecollaborativemn.com/events/a-woman-over-forty
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
-
From Amy: Terry Newby and I met in the spring of 2023 and found resonance between our writing that led us to trade books. We wanted to explore what it was to write about real people related to us, Terry in historical fiction and plays, me in creative nonfiction, specifically memoir. This is the first of three episodes that resulted from that conversation. In Terry's case, the relative was Dangerfield Newby, a newly-emancipated black Virginian determined to buy his wife and children out of slavery, and the first of John Brown's men to be killed in the ill-fated raid on Harper's Ferry. Dangerfield's modern counterpoint is fictitious surgeon Michael Turner, who becomes a surrogate for Terry in tracking his ancestor Dangerfield's path. Through this novel, Terry brought historical circumstances to life for me on many levels, and I'm excited to share our discussion.
Terrance C. Newby is an attorney, novelist, and playwright based in St. Paul, Minnesota. His plays The Cage, The Body Politic, Reunion Forever, and The Piano Teacher have been professionally staged in Twin Cities theaters.
Terry's novel, Dangerfield's Promise, was published in April 2022, and has received five-star reviews from the Seattle Book Review, Manhattan Book Review, Chicago Book Review, and the Midwest Book Review, among others. Terry is currently working on a sequel to Dangerfield's Promise.
Terry's LinkedIn
Terry has two upcoming plays being staged. See you there?
Little Rock 1942: The true story of a civil rights lawsuit that brought Thurgood Marshall to St. Paul, and led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision
October 3 & 4, 7 pm | October 5, 2 pm, 2024. Landmark Center, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.landmarkcenter.org/history-play/
Our Dearest Friends (the second play of the night)
Thu, Nov 21, 2024 7:00 PM Sun, Nov 24, 2024 2:00 PM. The Hive Collaborative, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.thehivecollaborativemn.com/events/a-woman-over-forty
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeysâfrom inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
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