Every author's journey is different. For John Infortunio, writing his first novel took 15 years.

In this episode of The Story Cure, I talk with John, an author and educator, about how he became a writer, the experiences behind his novels, and what it takes to keep going when the publishing journey gets difficult.

John shares how his parents and teachers encouraged his love of reading and writing, how his mother helped him see the potential in an early short story, and how that story eventually became Destroyed by the Events of the Day.

We also discuss his more recent novel, Today Was Tomorrow, which explores memory, identity, family, and Alzheimer's. John talks about drawing on personal experiences to explore complicated emotions and the ways ordinary people respond when life takes an unexpected turn.

We get into the practical realities of being an author, too: self-publishing, retaining creative control, approaching publishers and literary agents, dealing with rejection, and navigating the growing role of AI in writing.

If you're working on a book or trying to find your way through the publishing process, this conversation is a reminder that your journey doesn't have to look like anyone else's.

In this episode:

• How John's love of writing began
• Why his first novel took 15 years
• The personal themes behind Today Was Tomorrow
• Facing the fear of putting your work into the world
• Self-publishing and creative freedom
• Rejection, persistence, and finding the right publishing opportunity
• John's perspective on AI and the future of writing

Listen to the full conversation and join us on The Story Cure as we explore what it really means to be an author.

What does writing a book have to do with using AI?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

In this conversation, I sit down with Courtney Murtha, founder of Hot Girls Don't Work, to talk about writing, creativity, entrepreneurship, AI, and the importance of doing the work that only you can do.

Courtney shares her experience writing her book and how the process helped her recognize the core themes running through her story. She also talks openly about how profoundly healing the experience was for her.

Then we get into one of the most interesting connections between books and AI: context.

A book can contain your experiences, knowledge, ideas, beliefs, stories, and voice in a structured body of work. Courtney explains why that makes it such a powerful source of context for AI, and why the goal shouldn't be to have AI replace your creative work.

Instead, the idea is to use AI to handle more of the work around your expertise so you can spend more time actually thinking, creating, and doing the work you're uniquely good at.

Courtney also shares the story behind Hot Girls Don't Work, how she developed the course, what she learned from her first cohorts, and why she's changing the way she teaches AI to entrepreneurs.

The next cohort begins October 14th, and I'm joining Courtney for it.

If you'd like to join us, learn more here:

https://www.hotgirlsdontwork.com/

What can happen when you stop thinking of your book as the final destination?

In this episode, I’m joined by Laura Malin to talk about the many directions a book or idea can take, from podcasts and social media to film and television.

Laura shares her experience working in the adaptation space and explains why authors should think about the “middle steps” between a book and a screen adaptation. We talk about audience building, finding comparable stories, momentum, nostalgia, and the importance of having an audience that genuinely cares about your work.

Then I take some time to share practical storytelling techniques authors can use in their own books. We talk about specificity, dialogue, using the five senses, authenticity, conflict, the “mystery box,” ambiguity, ticking clocks, research, visuals, audiobooks, and expert interviews.

It’s a conversation about both sides of the book journey: how to make the story itself stronger and how to think about where that story could go next.