Christopher Lee Maher is the author of Free for Life, a book born not from theory but from a personal reckoning. After years as a Navy SEAL, Christopher looked physically elite yet struggled with insomnia, chronic pain, and nervous system overload. His book documents the system he built to understand why strong bodies break down—and how to restore them.

In this episode, Christopher unpacks the core ideas behind Free for Life and the method he calls True Body Intelligence, which addresses stress and distortion across the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual body. He explains how prolonged exposure to cold and high stress shortened muscle chains, disrupted sleep, and trapped tension in the nervous system—and how most fitness routines unknowingly make this worse.

We talk through the practical framework at the heart of the book: using all three muscle contractions—concentric, eccentric, and isometric—to lengthen tissue, stabilize joints, and release stored stress. Christopher shares why most workouts overtrain one contraction, how slowing the lowering phase can change everything, and why daily “resets” matter more than intensity.

We also zoom out to the author journey. Christopher reflects on self-publishing Free for Life, choosing a slow, values-driven marketing strategy, and prioritizing purpose over visibility. This conversation is for writers and authors interested in embodied knowledge, meaningful nonfiction, and what it looks like to build a book—and a body—around long-term integrity rather than quick wins.

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If you’re ready to write your book, I’d love to help you bring your story to life.
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Ready to turn your book into a voice that moves people—and moves your business forward?

In this episode, I sit down with audiobook coach and producer Robert Lane to unpack how nonfiction authors can confidently narrate their own audiobooks from a simple home setup and publish professionally on major platforms.

If you’ve ever thought, “I hate how my voice sounds,” or worried that your accent might hold you back, this conversation reframes your voice as a brand asset. Robert shares practical tools to help you sound clear, conversational, and engaging, without trying to sound like someone else.

We break down what goes into a professional audiobook: confidence-building narration coaching, pacing that keeps listeners hooked, and production essentials such as clean edits, noise control, and adherence to exact specs for Audible, Amazon, and Apple. We also explore who should self-narrate, when hiring a voice actor makes sense (especially for character-heavy fiction), and how to build an effective at-home studio—with the right mic, closed-back headphones, and an acoustic space that works (yes, even a closet).

We also address the key question about AI narration. Robert explains why synthetic voices still miss emotional timing and subtext—and how cutting corners here can quietly damage your author brand.

Finally, we dig into the business case. Audiobooks continue to outperform ebooks in revenue growth, but the smartest authors don’t rely on royalties alone. Learn how to use your audiobook as a high-credibility calling card to land paid speaking gigs, organizational sales, and cross-format bundles.

If you’re serious about reaching more readers, sounding like yourself, and building a durable revenue engine around your book, this episode delivers the mindset, workflow, and roadmap.

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If you’re ready to write your book, I’d love to help you bring your story to life.
👉 Explore my 1:1 Book Coaching Program:
https://www.natashatynes.com/bookcoaching

Read My Writing & Learn With Me

📬 Substack — Read & Write with Natasha
https://natashatynes.substack.com

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What happens when Hollywood decides smart, fearless women don’t sell?

We sit down with Kay A. Oliver, award-winning author and former industry insider, to explore how she turned that “no” into twelve page-turning novels, a loyal readership, and growing momentum toward the screen.

Kay shares a writing process built for consistency and flow: visualizing the opening and ending, stopping mid-scene to avoid writer’s block, and using novellas to test ideas, master KDP formatting, and later expand into full-length novels.

She explains how deep research fuels her globe-trotting mysteries, why accuracy builds reader trust, and how Road to Elysium weaves grief, mentorship, and second chances with the emotional resonance of Gran Torino and A Man Called Ove.

Then we get tactical. Kay breaks down a repeatable indie marketing system: submitting to the right book awards for credibility, investing in press releases that can generate 40k–60k impressions, and running targeted ads where readers already are.

We talk platform choice by audience and timing, tracking ROI through the Amazon dashboard, creating cinematic book trailers, and using BookFunnel and KU promos to grow your newsletter through shared audiences.

If you’re an indie author looking to write faster, market smarter, and build a catalog that lasts, this

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If you’re ready to write your book, I’d love to help you bring your story to life.
👉 Explore my 1:1 Book Coaching Program:
https://www.natashatynes.com/bookcoaching

Read My Writing & Learn With Me

📬 Substack — Read & Write with Natasha
https://natashatynes.substack.com

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If you’ve ever worried your story sounds “too foreign,” this conversation is for you.

I sit down with Brussels-based writer and coach Dr. Anne Randerson (pen name Mickey Brent) to discuss writing stories that cross borders and languages without losing the reader. We discuss setting, voice, intentional use of foreign words, and navigating a publishing world that often favors the familiar.

Anne shares the long road behind her Brussels-centered novels and a sequel set in Santorini, thirteen years and thirteen rewrites before her first yes. We talk revision, resilience, reader expectations, translation, and how to protect tone and humor when your work moves across languages.

We also provide practical advice for non-native English writers, address imposter syndrome, and share book marketing that actually works—live events, libraries, bookstores, and community conversations—without relying on gimmicks or constant posting.

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Connect with Natasha

If you’re ready to write your book, I’d love to help you bring your story to life.
👉 Explore my 1:1 Book Coaching Program:
https://www.natashatynes.com/bookcoaching

Read My Writing & Learn With Me

📬 Substack — Read & Write with Natasha
https://natashatynes.substack.com

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Romance fiction is dominating the chart. It's also redefining how stories are told and sold.

In this episode, I sit down with author and industry veteran Noel Stark to talk about why happy endings aren’t clichés.

They’re promises. We dig into how a genre once brushed off as “women’s fiction” built one of publishing’s most loyal and profitable audiences.

Noelle takes us from the secret paperbacks she once hid in her backpack to the binge that launched her writing career.

Along the way, she breaks down what makes romance work: authentic voice, emotional honesty, and that feeling of safety that keeps readers coming back for more.

We also talk shop: how the “happily ever after” or “happy for now” acts as a contract with the reader, what happens when writers break that trust, and how gatekeepers like Harlequin shaped the genre’s evolution.

Noelle shares her own journey through Pitch Wars, agent rejections, the long wait on submissions, and finally landing her first book deal. It’s a reminder that persistence and mentorship can change everything.

We also compare traditional and indie publishing, discuss how to handle your own marketing, when to hire a publicist, and why podcasts and newsletters still move the needle.

If you love romance, storytelling, or the business side of publishing, this episode is full of hard-earned lessons, humor, and practical takeaways.

You can connect with Noel through her website here.

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If you’re ready to write your book, I’d love to help you bring your story to life.
👉 Explore my 1:1 Book Coaching Program:
https://www.natashatynes.com/bookcoaching

Read My Writing & Learn With Me

📬 Substack — Read & Write with Natasha
https://natashatynes.substack.com

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What happens when ancient biblical narratives collide with Wall Street ambition?

Author Jeanne Blasberg takes us on a fascinating journey through her literary trilogy, culminating in Daughter of a Promise- a bold, contemporary reimagining of the David and Bathsheba story set in the high-stakes world of investment banking.

The conversation reveals how Blasberg transforms this ancient tale of power imbalance into a relevant examination of workplace dynamics, consent, and unexpected love. Her Bathsheba (renamed Betsabe) is a young professional navigating a complex relationship with her powerful boss during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most compelling is Blasberg's decision to give voice to a character largely silenced in biblical tradition, crafting the novel as a wisdom letter from mother to future son.

We explore the challenges facing authors who incorporate biblical themes in today's publishing landscape.

The industry's reluctance to embrace religious references - despite their profound influence on Western literature - creates both obstacles and opportunities for writers willing to pursue unconventional projects.

Similarly, Blasberg shares her thoughtful approach to writing across cultural boundaries, working with sensitive editors while creating authentic characters outside her own experience.

For writers struggling with marketplace pressures versus artistic vision, Blasberg offers liberating advice:

"Write the story that's burning to come out." Her journey from traditional expectations to finding her unique voice serves as inspiration for creators navigating today's complex publishing environment.

Ready to discover how timeless stories can illuminate contemporary issues?

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Connect with Natasha

If you’re ready to write your book, I’d love to help you bring your story to life.
👉 Explore my 1:1 Book Coaching Program:
https://www.natashatynes.com/bookcoaching

Read My Writing & Learn With Me

📬 Substack — Read & Write with Natasha
https://natashatynes.substack.com

Follow Me

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Dr. Nicole Janz, author of The Write Habit planner, brings an honest perspective to the psychological barriers that prevent writers from establishing consistent creative practices.

Drawing from her own journey from burnt-out academic to thriving authorpreneur, she reveals how the most common writing struggles—procrastination, avoidance, and inconsistency- often mask deeper fears about worthiness and vulnerability.

This conversation goes beyond surface-level productivity advice to explore the mindset shifts necessary for sustainable creative success.

Dr. Janz shares her evolution from scattered marketing efforts to community-based connection, from overwhelm to intentional business planning, and from perfectionism to self-trust. Her practical wisdom on diversifying income streams while maintaining creative energy offers a roadmap for writers seeking to build sustainable careers without sacrificing wellbeing.

Perhaps most valuably, Dr. Janz models the integration of creativity and self-care. Her practices—scheduled recovery days, morning meditation, movement, and firm boundaries—demonstrate how creative productivity stems from wellbeing rather than endless hustle.

As she puts it: "I'm watching my health very carefully because I have to, but also because I want to. I want to be able to be creative, and it's not possible when you're bogged down in the hamster wheel."


What writing project have you been avoiding, and what might happen if you approached it with radical self-trust?

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Connect with Natasha

If you’re ready to write your book, I’d love to help you bring your story to life.
👉 Explore my 1:1 Book Coaching Program:
https://www.natashatynes.com/bookcoaching

Read My Writing & Learn With Me

📬 Substack — Read & Write with Natasha
https://natashatynes.substack.com

Follow Me

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🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashatynes

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When a creative mind trained in Hollywood's competitive structure ventures into the world of novel writing, the results can be illuminating.

Shan Serafin's journey from James Patterson collaborator to solo novelist offers fascinating insights into the modern creative landscape, and a passionate warning about the future of human expression.

Serafin reveals the unexpected path that led him to co-authoring bestsellers with Patterson, crediting his manager for seeing novel-writing potential he hadn't recognized in himself.

"When writing a novel, you create an entire universe," Serafin explains, contrasting this with screenwriting, where directors, designers, and actors share the creative burden.

This collaborative foundation provided crucial storytelling skills, particularly Patterson's ability to identify that critical "one percent" that transforms a good story into an exceptional one.

Now standing at the threshold of his solo career with The Paris Vendetta Serafin shares the ironic origin story of a book he never intended to write.

Having moved to Paris with two clear goals, not to write about the city and not to write about himself, he found himself doing precisely both when COVID isolation and unexpected encounters with European business figures sparked his creative imagination.

But it's when addressing artificial intelligence's role in creative work that the conversation takes its most passionate turn.

Serafin delivers a warning about AI's homogenizing effect on artistic expression: "If you start using AI as a creative person, it will homogenize everyone slowly because it's just basing everything on what currently gets the most attention in the shortest time."

While acknowledging AI's benefits in fields like medicine, he argues that in creative pursuits, it threatens the very diverse human voices that make literature meaningful.

For writers struggling to break through, Serafin offers hard-earned wisdom about nurturing your authentic voice despite rejection.

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Connect with Natasha

If you’re ready to write your book, I’d love to help you bring your story to life.
👉 Explore my 1:1 Book Coaching Program:
https://www.natashatynes.com/bookcoaching

Read My Writing & Learn With Me

📬 Substack — Read & Write with Natasha
https://natashatynes.substack.com

Follow Me

🌐 Website: https://www.natashatynes.com/

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashatynes

🐦 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NatashaTynes

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natasha.tynes

▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Readandwritewithnatashapodcast