Beautiful Writers Podcast

Welcome to Part 2 of our “Best Of” episode! Notice the “quotes” here; it’s not remotely possible to pick favorites amongst favorites. "Best Of" is just easier than typing, “a-sampling-of-some-of-my-beloved-booky-conversations-of-many-such-favorite-convos” on an album cover. (Did that even make sense?)Back in August of last year, when I put together Part 1 of this show, I couldn’t foresee the celeb authors who would soon join me and my guest co-hosts on air. Tom Hanks. Maria Shriver. Van Jones. Gabby Bernstein. Dean Koontz. Gretchen Rubin. Rob Bell. Danielle LaPorte. And more. They called into our conference line and met Glennon Doyle, Martha Beck, Dani Shapiro, Robert McKee, Leeza Gibbons... and me in the virtual green room for an hour+ of writerly love. Both my list of guests and guest co-hosts boggles the mind—at least my mind. Because outside of dominating the sock-out tournament on my third-grade school’s blacktop at recess, nothing has ever flowed more seamlessly or been more fun for me.These w

Martha Beck guest co-hosts in this radical conversation with legendary author Geneen Roth, which aired on Easter Sunday, 2018. Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, imagine this. Chocolate eggs. Jelly Beans. Ham. A little Hawaiian bread with your butter. Or, a LOT of Hawaiian bread with your butter… plus gravy. I mean you’ve tried that, right? Gravybutter? Good God. My point: do you ever wish you could finally attain peace over your weight and what you eat?This episode won’t be sending the food police to your door—no worries!—but it may bring some much-prayed-for relief. I know it has for me, as you’ll hear. These women—Geneen and Martha—are walking, talking, living proof of the magic of transformation, in a wildly abundant and crazy fun kind of way.The three of us have what just might be the radical conversation you’ve been wanting. Because let’s face it; everything you thought was going to fix things hasn’t so far. Perfect timing, I figured, for a holiday about mercy and freedom and rising and angels. Y

You’ve watched Maria Shriver on TV for decades. Read her many bestsellers. Cheered as she and her family founded and championed some of humanity's greatest causes. Now’s your chance to get to know her more intimately than perhaps ever before. Maria’s here, on for the first day of her new book tour! In this playful, deep interview for I’VE BEEN THINKING: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life (Pamela Dorman Books/Penguin Random House), Leeza Gibbons and I talk with this New York Times bestselling author of six (surely now seven!) titles.We muse about family, friendship, parenting, and divorce. On the struggle to believe we’re doing enough; the different ways we three get our writing done; Time Debt and what’s truly important, and the steps we should all be taking to safeguard our precious brains from Alzheimer’s and other dementia.Guys. This episode is epic for me. It’s hard to put into words what it means to host the show with someone who’s touched my life so beautifully for so long

The late Debbie Ford is here today, via her sister, Arielle Ford! In a kind of tribute to sisters, joining us as my guest co-host is my sister, Carol Allen. The four of us—Debbie, Arielle, Carol, and I—have a long friendship, so I’ve been looking forward to this sweet, informal convo.We cover so much beyond the book, including Debbie as a spiritual leader and bossy little sister; writing and the wacky world of dealmaking; magical beginnings with Deepak Chopra; muses + guides that wake us up at 3:00 a.m.; the healing power of guttural crying, and soulmate secrets you may never have considered before. And! Wait until you hear how this book—YOUR HOLINESS: Discover the Light Within (that drops March 6th, HarperOne)—came about! This is seriously mystical stuff.You probably know Debbie as the author of ten books including The Dark Side of the Light Chasers; Spiritual Divorce; Why Good People Do Bad Things, and The Best Year Of Your Life. With a foreword by Marianne Williamson, this prayer and inspiration masterpiec

I LOVE this soul sister. Gabby Bernstein makes me laugh. Her honesty is refreshing. Sometimes I look at her and think I’m witnessing an honest-to-goodness, real-life angel. But when this #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE UNIVERSE HAS YOUR BACK, and five other bestsellers sent me her latest book, JUDGEMENT DETOX (dropping Jan. 2nd from North Star Way), I didn’t think I could do it. I figured I had zero chance of embracing, much less TALKING about a subject I could barely stomach. Detoxing my judgment? Are you kidding me? When it comes to eating, I’m all about detoxing. Give me a juice fast any day of the week, and I’ll pucker up and chug the slimiest of swamp grass. But emotionally, I’m in activist-mode, #metoo-ing and marching with chin held high.Additionally, I live in a part of the world—Los Angeles—that’s experiencing its worst fire season ever, in December, mind you; at a time when our administration’s rolling back environmental protections with the speed and ferocity of our Santa Ana winds. Not

500 million books sold. 38 languages. 14 #1 New York Times bestsellers. How is that possible? My guest co-host, Robert McKee, and I couldn’t wait to get the inside scoop on a bestselling career that has spanned fifty years and been compared to the Beatles.Welcome to the epic world of Dean Koontz, who is totally delightful and slightly worrisome, in a crawl inside your brain and lays eggs kind of way. (Wait. Don't repeat that! In reality, what struck me as most odd is that he's not at all creepy.) Dean's new thriller, THE WHISPERING ROOM, drops TODAY and will leave you breathless. You might have to sleep with the lights on for a while, but you’ll beg for the next book in this series just the same because our protagonist, Jane Hawk, is that addictive. She's my shero. A rogue FBI agent on a mission to save her son, Jane is intuitive and fearless and perfectly on time with the times—putting the fear of God into abusive men everywhere. If only we could bring her to flesh-and-blood life. And the

The one and only Mr. Tom Hanks is here, and he’s caffeinated and ready to rock this podcast—with melodic typing accompaniment, no less. I couldn’t have chosen a better guest host than Danielle LaPorte to join me in perhaps our most enjoyable conversation yet. From the first seconds of Tom's hilarious/unorthodox entrance, we do our best to keep up with one of the world’s most creative minds. But as he soon learns, we ladies have several psychological tricks up our sleeve, and even get him to gut laugh a few times (go, D!). The 17 fictional stories in Tom’s book, Uncommon Type: Some Stories (Knopf), are whimsical, satirical, surprising, funny, and deeply touching. The characters and worlds he creates stay with you. Change you. Cause you to see things, you’d never thought of before. According to Kirkus: “While these stories have the all-American sweetness, humor, and heart we associate with his screen roles, Hanks writes like a writer, not a movie star.” Steve Martin says: “It turns out that Tom Hanks is al

CNN political correspondent and New York Times bestselling author Van Jones (THE GREEN COLLAR ECONOMY, REBUILD THE DREAM) is in the house! Just in time, too, to get our stinking thinking turned around before next month's Thanksgiving feasts (because didn’t we have enough food fights post-election last year to give us indigestion 'til 2050?).Van’s new book, BEYOND THE MESSY TRUTH: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together (Ballantine), soothes the ache. Reading it brings instant relief. Points our way back to love. If you’re sick of crazy, if you’ve had ENOUGH, this is the episode for you!I’m elated to share this conversation with #1 New York Times bestselling author Glennon Doyle (LOVE WARRIOR), who is back as our guest host. She and I are longtime fans of this environmental and human rights hero, but even more so now, having spent nearly an hour and a half with him. And boy do we talk writing—including rejection, how hard it can be, and tools to help you get it DONE.You probably know Van as the level

Want to be a writer? A career author? In case you haven’t heard, the blank page can be a real A-hole, and the book industry no less intimidating. If you’ve ever wished you could sit down and ask your favorite authors how they do it—how they REALLY pull it off day after day, year after year, book after book—you're going to love this show. Today’s a Celebration Day here at the Beautiful Writers Podcast, our first-ever "Best Of” episode.I’m Linda Sivertsen, your host, and these snippets make up Part I of more to come.Basically, it was IMPOSSIBLE to choose the “best” snippets from 22 hours of audio with the most lovable, talented storytellers in the world (bestsellers like Elizabeth Gilbert, Glennon Doyle Melton, Seth Godin, Brené Brown, Martha Beck, Anne Lamott, Steven Pressfield, and so many others), where all topics were fair game. If you’re already a fan of the show, I think you’ll love reliving these hilarious, wicked smart moments. If you’re new here, we’ll hopefully leave you wanting more. Every

Oprah's agent, THE biggest literary agent in the world, is on today’s episode of the Beautiful Writers Podcast with one of her star clients! Jennifer Rudolph Walsh is the head of the Worldwide Literary Department at WME (William Morris Endeavor). Along with repping authors like Sheryl Sandberg, Arianna Huffington, and Brené Brown, she’s sold the books you’ve heard about here multiple times—HOURGLASS, DEVOTION, and STILL WRITING—by one of our favorite writers and guests, Dani Shapiro!Dani is back as today’s guest host with her rock star agent for an intimate look at the kind of relationship every writer dreams of. Jennifer and Dani’s “soulmate” connection started nearly two decades ago, which makes this episode so unique. It’s loving. Kind. Cozy. Fun. Not exactly the first words that come to mind when you think of high-powered lit agents. But Jennifer is far from jaded or standoffish, as you’ll see. “Everyone who has breath has a purpose,” Jennifer says, which is just the kind of feel-good encouragement y

TIME magazine named author Rob Bell one of its “100 Most Influential People in the World” for many reasons. Listen in as Linda and her guest co-host—NYT bestselling novelist of THE SECOND SON, Charles Sailor (our April guest)—chat with this beloved author of many binge-worthy NYT bestsellers including LOVE WINS, HOW TO BE HERE, and WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GOD.From his top-rated podcast, The RobCast; his wildly popular sermons; touring with Oprah, and performances on stages around the world, being around this husband and father of three is an addictive experience. Some would say, do say, they can’t get enough, and tap into his high-speed DSL line to the Divine as often as possible.Rob is currently on tour for his new book, WHAT IS THE BIBLE?: How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything (HarperOne). By bringing dry, historical characters to life, he's forever changing people’s perceptions of this book from an outdated, primit

Author, Visionary, & Oprah SuperSoul100 leader, Danielle LaPorte, isn’t risk averse. No. She’s “risk erotic.” But that doesn’t mean she didn’t get a not-so-little unwelcome surprise after choosing to walk from a Big 5 publisher and go rogue to self-publish her latest book, WHITE HOT TRUTH: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another.Linda and bestselling author Dani Shapiro (9 books; currently on tour for HOURGLASS: Time, Memory, Marriage) chat with D about what taking big risks really looks like when the realities of funding your mission, your art in the world, test your “limits.” This is what Danielle calls the teeth of entrepreneurship.Three writers. Two on book tour. All mothers with sons. On today’s episode, they get real and really vulnerable about: Tradeoffs and damn hard parenting lessons learned (stuff you can’t take back and don’t ever want to regret); the fear of not looking pretty enough on stage; why confidence is not necessarily a writer’s friend; the courag

Charles Sailor, a Hollywood screenwriter and the New York Times bestselling novelist of "THE SECOND SON” (a book that sold six million copies in the late 70s and has been optioned by the biggest stars) is the single biggest influence on Linda Sivertsen's writing career."Uncle Chuck,” as Linda calls him, was her late father’s best friend and her model for what a writer’s life looked like. While he was in L.A. scripting TV shows like “Kojak,” “Rockford Files,” “Chips,” “Get Christie Love!” and “Charlie’s Angels,” Linda and her family were living in Northern California. But when he’d visit, the glamor and excitement of his world infused their home like cologne. She was his biggest fan—still is—and followed him from room to room, including into his limo on book tour, determined to learn everything a teenager could about his world.Wrestling with fears or lack of faith in your abilities? Not if Charles Sailor has anything to say about it. The sky's the limit with this guy who has cheated death;

Glennon Doyle Melton is back on the Beautiful Writers Podcast; this time in the co-host chair with Linda Sivertsen. Fresh from her whirlwind tour for the #1 New York Times bestseller, LOVE WARRIOR, Glennon shares heart-centered updates on those dizzying details, as well as love notes on her recent divorce (yes, they're darling like that), and romantic musings on her engagement to soccer legend, Abby Wambach (simply captivating).Linda and Glennon couldn’t be more excited to interview their long-time idol (whom they’ve never met)—Anne Lamott—the much BELOVED author of the New York Times bestsellers: Help, Thanks, Wow; Small Victories; Stitches; Some Assembly Required; Grace (Eventually); Plan B; Traveling Mercies; Operating Instructions, and several novels—including Imperfect Birds and Rosie. And let’s not forget, her universally adored, how-to writing classic, Bird by Bird. Anne and Glennon have so much in common it's hard to keep up, but here’s a sneak peek list: Oprah; sobriety; motherhood; bestsel

Linda Sivertsen interviews her longtime friend Guru Singh—a third-generation yogi, spiritual leader, and author—for one of her most powerful conversations yet. Named “Best Guru in L.A.” by Los Angeles magazine in the early 90s (that claimed Guru's yoga classes were so popular, attendees had to levitate for space), Linda made an appointment to see what all the hype was about. What she found was positively addictive.For decades, people of all faiths have flocked to this minister of Sikh Dharma because, as you’ll see, his unique and profound take on the world is spellbinding. We also can’t say enough about Guru's memoir, BURIED TREASURES: The Journey From Where You Are To Who You Are, a book that takes you through a most mystical of hero’s journeys.About this episode! Guru Singh is epic, and we need epic right about now. We promise you’ve never heard insights like the ones you’re about to discover… crazy-cool strategies on bringing through your most inspired writing; cutting-edge wisdom on what the hec

Linda Sivertsen and bestselling author and Oprah magazine columnist Martha Beck team up yet again... this time to interview their buddy… the New York Times bestselling author and Omega Institute co-founder, Elizabeth Lesser. Elizabeth's new memoir, Marrow: A Love Story (HarperWave), tells of being her sister’s “perfect match” for a bone marrow transplant when in their real lives, the two were more of a mismatch. (Incidentally, this leads to unimaginable highs of emotional and spiritual healing.)Hear these three friends share behind-the-scenes details around the stress/honor of speaking at TED/TEDWomen; working in depth with Oprah to put on a teleconference for a mere 15 million people; the challenge of writing about family members; how standing tall with integrity and openness around those we love can lead to a "soul marrow transplant,” and how the often "boring practice part" of a person's spiritual practice often results in a kind of unparalleled life potency that more than makes up

Music icon Paul Williams shares a hilarious, heartfelt hour with longtime bestie, Linda Sivertsen (who moved into his mansion 26 years ago to care for his pups so he could go get sober) and this month’s guest host, bestselling memoirist and novelist Jillian Lauren.Paul, whose standards have been recorded by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, David Bowie, Tony Bennett, The Carpenters, Willie Nelson, REM, Diana Ross, The Dixie Chicks, and so many others—including Jillian’s rock star husband!—shares a secret-weapon creativity tool that led to winning the Oscar for “Evergreen” (with Barbara Streisand), an armful of Grammy’s, Golden Globes, and a recent New York Times bestseller. Oh, and an induction into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. There’s that.Paul’s songs, “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays” “You and Me Against the World” and “The Rainbow Connection” from the Muppets, have been anthems for generations. (Ever watch The Love Boat? Yep; that theme song’s there, too!) Not b

Legendary novelist Terry McMillan chats with Linda Sivertsen and guest host Dani Shapiro while on tour for her 8th novel, I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT YOU, currently getting rave reviews from the New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times, and O magazine, to name a few. Terry's #1 New York Times bestsellers Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back were hit films (starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett).Once again Terry's created what readers expect from a McMillan book—characters full of wit and rich with friendship… oh, and great sex scenes, but we’ll get to that later. Like Dani (author of Still Writing, and also a bestselling novelist and memoirist, who was a guest of this podcast late last year), Terry’s taught for years as a professor, so they'll be talking craft and inspiration in this ridiculously fun interview filled with hilarity and adult language.Heads up! If you’ve got kids within earshot, you might want to push pause. Linda, Dani, and Terry will be ready when you a

Linda Sivertsen and her guest co-host, bestselling author, and Oprah magazine columnist Martha Beck are self-described giddy fangirls in this playful, wise interview with Glennon Doyle--author of the New York Times bestseller, CARRY ON, WARRIOR. Her new memoir, LOVE WARRIOR (Flatiron Books), is now available for preorder and the reviews--“astounding” (Rob Bell), “epic” (Liz Gilbert), and “blew me away” (Brené Brown)--barely hint at the mind-blowing experience that is this book (trust us)! Glennon’s blog, Momastery.com, reaches about a million people daily, and her non-profit, Together Rising, has raised more than 4 million dollars to aid women and children in crisis around the world.We cannot say for sure where Glennon's magic fairy dust comes from. Could it result, perhaps, from her raw, extraordinary honesty? (You may remember how Martha told Danielle LaPorte and Linda Sivertsen during her episode for this podcast last year: “Every time you get more honest, you get more magical.”)Regardless, tune in to

Marianne is a spiritual teacher and author of 11 books—(4 #1 NYT bestsellers), who shares with us unforgettable insider publishing stories, including the dangers of ignoring the “still, small voice within” when it comes to media and pressure from industry experts. We discuss being pregnant with a book; how to invite more miracles, and the difference between learning through suffering vs. joy. As the founder of Project Angel Food (a meals-on-wheels program serving homebound people with AIDS); a co-founder of The Peace Alliance (supporting legislation to establish a United States Department of Peace); her tireless work to end poverty (worldwide), and running for Congress (bringing the revolutionary concepts of love and forgiveness into the political arena), this visionary woman doesn’t mess around! Newsweek magazine has called Marianne one of the 50 most influential baby boomers, and with her new book, Tears to Triumph: The spiritual Journey from Suffering to Enlightenment, the brilliance continues…To hear past