Episode 618 - Heidi Bacon - Ratliner - Fictional Stories with Roots in History, Archaeology, Genealogy Heidi Bacon is an American novelist who uses her experience as a former Realtor, artist, filmmaker, and researcher and draws on her family history to weave historical fiction stories. When not writing, Heidi likes to paint, teach art classes and oversee The Artist Sanctuary, an arts nonprofit organization that she founded and is Executive Director. Heidi was born and raised in the Midw...

EPISODE 617 - Elizabeth Johnstone - Loss Within Waves, a heartfelt and poignant exploration of perinatal loss, stillbirth Elizabeth Johnstone is a certified mindfulness instructor and has spent more than 15 years serving as a counselor and advocate for students struggling with mental health issues. Elizabeth’s unique blend of expertise and empathy is not only evident in her career, but also through her art and writing. If life has taught her anything, it is to find happiness in the journey, ...

EPISODE 616 - Michael Conte - Route 80 is an honest journey through family, identity, and the cost of loyalty Michael was raised in Queens, caught between the disciplined life his mother offered and the legacy of his father—a man whose world revolved around loyalty, respect, and danger. From lavish weddings that erupt into brawls to road trips that end behind prison walls, Michael’s story unfolds in sharp, cinematic flashes—equal parts grit, glamour, humor, and heartbreak. When his father i...

Episode 615 - Trevor Jones - The Fantasy World of Kinthur - Created for my Dungeons and Dragons Games Welcome, Traveler To the Official Home of the World of Kinthur I’m glad you’ve found your way here—whether by chance, curiosity, or the call of adventure. I’m Trevor Jones, fantasy author and world builder, and this is the heart of Kinthur: a realm of ancient magic, fallen kingdoms, and stories forged in fire and blood. Inspired by the storytelling depths of tabletop role-playing games,...

Episode 614 - Jonathan Stanley - Restoring Humanity to the Workplace, A Viral Tik Tok Clip, and Selling 12 Books I’m deeply grateful for the outpouring of love, support, kindness, and encouragement from every corner of the world. You inspire me every single day. To my readers, thank you. Without you, my words would have stayed quiet on the page. Your support gave this book a voice, and that voice is now reaching farther than I ever imagined. If you know the TikTok story, then you see the s...

Episode 613 - Dennis A. Blackledge - Working professional in the American Theatre, Writer and Short Story Creator Dennis A. Blackledge has spent a lifetime immersed in storytelling as a working professional in the American Theatre. As a writer, he has authored articles for Blue Suede News Magazine, written the script for the annual yearend radio broadcast of Rock & Roll Heaven (2005-2009), plus the book for the musical Smokestack Lightning. He is currently creating a series of short ficti...

EPISODE 612 - Chris Kauzlarich - Short Story Collection, Menagerie in the Dark, And The Suspense Horror Novella, LAZARUS Chris is the author of the short story collection, Menagerie in the Dark, and the suspense horror novella, LAZARUS. He is also a member of The Authors Guild, AWP, and the Chicago Writers Association. In addition to writing and reading extensively, he enjoys hiking, playing video games, binge-watching a good show with his husband and daughter, and simply being a dad. He gra...

Episode 611 - Nick Peck - Award-Winning Journalist, Only Way Out, A Son and Brother That Finds His Way Nick Peck, a California native, is an award-winning journalist who has primarily covered the world of finance and law and has garnered significant recognition for his work in the industry. Before starting his journalism career, Nick earned his bachelor's degree in communications from Upper Iowa University, where he was a standout football player. The book "Only Way Out" covers Jaylen Pierre,...

Episode 610 - Marianne Leone - Actor in The Sopranos, Three Stooges, Author of Five Dog Epiphany, Ma Speaks Up And a First-Generation Daughter Talks Back and Jesse A Mother’s Story Marianne Leone grew up seven miles outside of Boston, in the village of Nonantum that everybody called “the Lake,” a small blue-collar enclave of a larger city, Newton. Lake dwellers were pretty evenly divided between Italian and Irish-Americans, with a soupcon of French-Canadians. There was no actual Lake in the L...

Episode 609 - Kristin Aurelia - SHE Wise Publications, illuminate, guide, and empower souls on their journey Meet Kristin AureliaKristin Aurelia grew up in a small town in New England and currently resides in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. She is a Soul-Led Author, Podcaster, Public Speaker, Coach and Teacher. Additionally, she is a Certified Health Coach (CHC), NASM Certified Nutrition Coach (CNC), Certified Wellness Coach (CWC), Certified Biofield Tuner and Reiki Master. Kristin obta...

EPISODE 608 - Paul J.C. Edge - Mercurial Novels to Unleash Your Imagination, and a Local Bakeshop Paul J.C. Edge is a leading independent author , his works include the gritty Summer Haven and Book of Xaal Sci-Fi horror trilogies, fusing his love of space sagas, fantasy and Lovecraftian gothic horror stories. Paul studied IT at university, which included modules in Astro Physics, which built real knowledge around his love of tales of space travel and alien contact. Finally forsaking a succe...

Episode 607 - M C Paas - Debut novel Broken Rules of The Hunt and of the Fight- Dark romantic suspense M.C.Paas writes dark romantic suspense where happily ever after is earned through shadows, secrets, and a heartbeat of danger. Her obsession with storytelling began at fourteen with a single poem and has grown into six completed manuscripts that blend pulse pounding stakes with sinful chemistry. Her debut novel Broken Rules of The Hunt strands two broken souls on opposite sides of a crime th...

EPISODE 606 - Claire Isenthal - Balancing Family and Writing, An Adventurous Duology Made to Order Claire Isenthal grew up traveling all over the world with her family. She graduated from Purdue University and went on to live in Chicago where she worked in Digital Marketing and Ad Sales for over ten years. She has since relocated her family back to her Indiana hometown, but is still an avid traveler and loves nothing more than to lose herself in a good book. She still attributes her knack for...

EPISODE 605 - Jayne Mills - BOTTOM OF THE BREATH - Seeking Answers in The Grand Canyon, Using Our Write Brain Like both my mother and my daughter, I have always loved to read. I also dreamed of writing a book someday. In fact, as a young person, I planned to be a writer by profession. Life, however, has a way of reminding us that we’re not in charge. In the book, Cyd’s aunt tells her, “Man plans and God laughs.” That has certainly been true in my life. It was a happy accident that I ended u...

EPISODE 604 - Anne Louise O'Connell - Author, developmental book editor and partner publisher About the author Author, developmental book editor and partner publisher, Anne Louise O’Connell, was a long-time expat, returning to Canada in 2016 after enjoying the sun and sand of Florida, Dubai and Thailand over a span of 23 years. Anne worked in the PR field for 17 years and then decided it was time to just write. From 2007 to 2016, Anne was writing books while freelancing, editing, author men...

Bonus - November Will Have 30 Episodes in 30 Days of Living The Next Chapter National Podcast Post Month is a November challenge every year to produce and release an episode every day - Starting Nov 1st, we will be releasing 30 episodes featuring amazing authors! If you love what we do here, please consider supporting the show financially via our Buy Me A Coffee link https://buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca If you want to jump the line to see what is coming in the future head over to our YouTube ...

EPISODE 603 - Shannon Russell - Second Act Success - Leave unfulfilling careers to build joyful, purpose-driven businesses I spent over 16 years as a Television Producer overseeing multi-million dollar productions in New York City and Los Angeles working for companies like MTV, E! Entertainment, Yahoo!, Pop Sugar, A&E, TLC, etc. My second act began once I leapt into entrepreneurship and opened a franchise business serving families in my community, so I could be more present mom for my ...

EPISODE 602 - Leslie A Rasmussen - TV Writer for Gerald McRaney, Alf, Burt Reynolds, Roseanne Barr, Norm McDonald, Drew Carey to Author of Books on Family Leslie A. Rasmussen was born and raised in Los Angeles and graduated from UCLA. She went on to write television comedies for Gerald McRaney, Burt Reynolds, Roseanne Barr, Norm McDonald, Drew Carey, The Wild Thornberrys, and Sweet Valley High. After leaving the business to raise her boys, Leslie obtained a master's degree in nutrition and...

EPISODE 601 - Cal Logan - ShadowBane - One womb, one soul, two fates. One will rise. One will fall A full-time personal trainer and competitive powerlifter, Cal started writing seriously in 2017, drawing inspiration from history, his time spent practicing mixed martial arts, and of course, books. Cal lives in Chicago with his wife, Taylor, and his dachshund, Rizzo. At the end of the day, I’ll be happy if ShadowBane earns me some loyal fans. As a debut author, I can’t ask for more than that....

Episode 600 - Dominick Domasky - Celebrating 600 Episodes, Tap Into Your Creativity, Go Beyond Learning, Embrace Starting Episode 600 brings the return of Dom Domasky - every one hundred episodes of Living The Next Chapter, Dom returns to celebrate a podcast idea that he gave me 600 episodes ago Dom shares publishing inside information and how we as creatives need to engage in action over information collecting! Check out Dom and his services here!! https://www.motivationchamps.com/ Books Men...