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Linda Harkey is an award-winning children's book author, with 13 books published to date, including The Budding Staff, Desert Friends, The Great Animal Escape, and her newest release, The Case of the Missing Pink Piggy.  Linda loves dogs and loves teaching children. Her experiences as a mother, school teacher, volunteer docent and hunting dog owner have inspired her to write the award-winning children's book series, Hickory Doc's Tales. For over 22 years she diligently worked as a volunteer docent at two outstanding museums in Oklahoma – The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City and Gilcrease Museum (Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art) in Tulsa.  During her tenure, she helped develop curricula for children's programs and gave countless presentations to children both at the museums and local schools. Website, Facebook, (X), Instagram Books mentioned in this episode: Desert Friends, Chatty The Hen Pheasant, The Case of the Missing Pink Piggy, The Great Animal Escape  Angel Fire, New Mexico Linda Radke at Story Monsters Press Linda's upcoming book: The Curious Friendship of Patch and Barney Prolific Writers Life PodMatch for podcasters Films for Writers at Prolific Writers Life The Space Between Time, Lucinda's novel Lorraine Haataia, founder of Prolific Writers Life

I've written seven published novels - four mysteries and three thrillers. I've also written for TV - Law and Order, House, Pretty Little Liars, Supernatural, and other shows. In addition, I've written several produced and published stage plays and a movie. I've taught writing at UCLA Extension for twenty years, and people tend to enjoy hearing my experience, advice, and hopefully wisdom. People will also enjoy hearing about my speculative thriller 51% that comes out on April 28, 2026; it presents an intriguing view of the future. Here's a synopsis: In a future where corporations own everything—including people—one murder could ignite a revolution. Twenty years from now, the United States is completely privatized. The Big Six syndicates own schools, roads, police departments… even human beings. When a young immigrant woman—51% owned by the syndicates—is brutally murdered, NYPD, Inc. detective Juke O'Keefe and his partner, crime marketing consultant Haylee Navarro, catch the case. Pregnant and broke, Haylee knows they can't crowdfund enough from a dead immigrant to pay for basic forensics, let alone their paychecks. But Juke, with his old-school sense of justice, is determined to find the killer. Their search for the truth leads them to Juke's ex, a Resistance leader on the syndicates' most wanted list. As the three join forces, they stumble onto a conspiracy designed to destroy the last shreds of American freedom. To rescue fifty-one percenters—and everyone else—from syndicate control, they'll have to defeat the Red Queen, the most ruthless, powerful AI in the world. 51% is a gritty, fast-paced thriller about power, justice, and what happens when everything—even people—can be owned. Website, Facebook, (X), Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads David Nevins, Producer, Executive CBS NBC, Television Network Charlie Craig, Matt's writing partner Dick Wolf, Producer, Writer William Goldman, Screenwriter, novelist, non-fiction writer Toronto Anti-Capitalist Book Fair PodMatch, a dating service for podcasters Jimmy Vines, Literary Agent Bill Crider, Author William F. Fitzhugh, Author Don Winslow, Author Stacy Willingham, Author Jennifer Hillier, Author The Space Between Time, Lucinda Sage-Midgorden Penguin, Carroll & Graf. Dell Publishers Rex Stout, Author

Nathan Cody graduated in 2023 with a B.S. in Digital Film. He is currently living in Savannah as an up-and-coming filmmaker working on his craft, specializing in screenwriting and directing his own films. Nathan is a firm believer in the transformative power of storytelling; he loves how a well-crafted film can deeply impact an audience, sparking new perspectives or providing a much-needed emotional connection. His favorite films include anything from Pixar, Good Will Hunting, and Jaws. LinkedIn, YouTube Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Bradley Whitford, Steven Webber Eli Wallach, Actor Charlie Chaplin, Writer, Actor, Director of Classic Films   City Lights, The Kid, The Great Dictator TCM (Turner Classic Movies) MGM+ on Amazon Tubi, Pluto, Max

Samuel Garza Bernstein's life and writing reflect the wild intersections of modern life. He was born to an undocumented Mexican mother who everyone assumed was a white Texan, and a Jewish father who passionately supported the Palestinian cause in Egypt, where the family lived for a year when he was a kid. "I was six-years old in Cairo," Garza Bernstein says, "Surrounded by hot Egyptians, spinning fantasies and inventing myself." The family traveled all over the world—occasionally on the lam—and lived in Cairo, Honolulu, Austin, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, and Ft. Collins, Colorado.  His newest book Roddy McDowall: An Actor's Life has drawn raves from Carol Burnett, Julie Andrews, and Emma Thompson, among many others, and is in bookstores now. He is gearing up for the fourth season of 6-time Emmy Award-winning After Forever, after serving as co-showrunner and co-executive producer of the third season, now streaming on Amazon. His 2025 book, Cesar Romero: The Joker Is Wild, is a Foreword Magazine award-winner for Biography, and his non-fiction anthology Uncommon Heroes won a Stonewall Book Award from the American Library Association. His pilot for The Secret World of Danny Lopez was named a Writers Guild of America television comedy access project honoree but was also a drama winner at the New York Film Awards and a Content London International Drama Summit nominee for Best Pilot Script. He is also a well-regarded story consultant, working with clients in the United States, the U.K., and Europe. He won Best Screenplay at the London Independent Film Awards for Elephant & Castle and a G.L.A.A.D. nomination for the Showtime film Bobbie's Girl, which also garnered its star Bernadette Peters an Emmy nomination. Episodic credits range from the CBS drama Judging Amy to Nickelodeon's Shimmer and Shine. With composer David Snyder he first adapted his non-fiction book Mr. Confidential as a stage musical, developing it at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and then directing its world premiere at Actors Theatre of Indiana. Garza Bernstein started his career as an actor and singer, most notably performing in several productions of Evita as Eva's first conquest, the tango singer "Magaldi." He also served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for trans foster children in Los Angeles County for five years, created and co-chaired a writing mentorship program for public high school students for twelve years, and served as a youth facilitator for the Los Angeles LGBT Center for eight years. He and husband Ronald Shore have been together for over thirty years and split their time between LA and Porto, Portugal. They are currently the hostages of a pair of incorrigible dachshunds. PRESS FOR RODDY McDOWALL: AN ACTOR'S LIFE:  Ann Pryor, Kensington Books (212) 407.1526 [email protected]  Samuelgarzabernstein.com [email protected]  IMDb page TCM

Laurence O'Bryan is an Irish author, entrepreneur, and internationally recognized book marketing expert whose career has been built around a simple belief: great books deserve to be discovered. As the founder of BooksGoSocial, he has helped thousands of independent and traditionally published authors reach readers worldwide through innovative advertising, promotion, and publishing services. Drawing on decades of experience in sales, digital marketing, and publishing, he has become a respected voice on book promotion, speaking at conferences across Europe and North America and training authors in modern publishing strategies. Socials   https://internationaldublinwritersfestival.com/  https://booksgosocial.com/ His books: The Istanbul Puzzle, First of five Puzzle books The Sign of the Blood, First of A Dangerous Emperor series The Rise of Synne, The First of The Last Seer series The International Dublin Writers' Festival David Gutierrez, Non-Fungible Book Club, nfbclub for Audio Books Prolific Writers Life Find a Company You can Trust with Trustpilot

Leif Bristow is an Emmy winning producer, director, screenwriter, and bestselling author who has spent decades bringing unforgettable stories to life for audiences around the world. But Dancing Through the Shadow is far more than just another project. It is a story that found him personally. The inspiration came through Tia Zhang, an internationally celebrated dancer, Shen Yun artist, and survivor whose extraordinary life story recently earned her the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal for her contributions and impact. Tia once taught ballet to Leif and Agnes Bristow's daughter, and through that connection, the family came to learn the unimaginable truth of her life, surviving oppression under Mao era China, enduring extraordinary hardship, and ultimately escaping to freedom. Agnes Bristow knew this was a story the world needed to read, which led her to write the award winning bestselling novel Dancing Through the Shadow. Leif, as a filmmaker and storyteller, knew it was equally a story that needed to be brought to the screen.   Podcast audiences will gain a fascinating behind the scenes look at how a real life friendship uncovered one of the most remarkable untold survival stories of our time, the journey of transforming truth into powerful storytelling, the creative process behind adapting books to film, and why stories of courage, freedom, resilience, and the human spirit matter now more than ever. Website, Facebook, (X), Instagram, LinkedIn, Leif's IMDb page where you can see his entire filmography   Dancing Through the Shadow, Agnes Bristow Love on Safari (2018) Starring Lacey Chabert and Jon Cor, Brittany Bristow Mao's Last Dancer (2009) Starring Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood and Kyle MacLachlan Dr. Robert J. Wolf, Story-Power episode 138, 20 Miracles and 4 Escapes from Tyranny Love on the Danube: Royal Getaway (2025) A Sweet Austrian Holiday (2024) Beyond Black Beauty (2024) John Rhys-Davies, Actor, Lord of the Rings, and much more

Ken Weene loves words. At times he is so captivated by them that they cannot hold the flow back and they tumble out as novels, short stories, poems, essays, and stage plays. Although Ken desperately tries to hold back those word floods and endlessly edit them, they find their ways into print and electronic form, which can be found by looking for Ken's name anywhere on the internet. He is, after all, the only Kenneth Weene in captivity so he cannot hide from your searches, not on Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, X, Bluesky, Truth Social, or LinkedIn. 
When you do that search, you will learn that Ken grew up as a broody New Englander, has a PhD in Psychology, worked for years as a therapist and teacher in New York, and moved/retired to Arizona in 2003 when he decided to focus on his writing. Married for 58 years to the late artist Rosalyn Weene, much of Ken's work is dedicated and about the love of his life and their love for life. Website,  Facebook, (X), LinkedIn, Bluesky, TruthSocial, YouTube, Amazon Books and Plays Coursing, The Boat and Ashes (With Umar O. Abdul) Memoirs From The Asylum, Jumping Over the Ram (With Deng Atem) Times To Try the Soul of Man Mario Puzo, The Godfather, book and screenplay Sleeping Dogs (2024) Russell Crowe Guy Morris, Story-Power guest, Episode 140 aired on November 19, 2025, Books: Swarm, The Image, The Last Ark Red Bird, Diandra Ford, Story-Power Episode 132 aired on July 30, 2025 John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, Travels With Charlie John Dos Passos, Upton Sinclair, authors Canio's Books, Shelter Island, NY  One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest, Ken Kesey The Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis, Minnesota The Gadsden Hotel, Douglas, Arizona Dave Dahl, Story-Power guest, Episodes 1 aired on July 22, 2020, and 21 aired on July 21, 2021

Tamara is a Creator & Connector with an undeniable gift for inviting others into Community.  She focuses on fostering hope, community, and belonging through art and teaching, inspiring a joy that transforms hearts and mindsets. Tamara is a creative entrepreneur passionate about kids, families, and communities. Through her work as the founder of Love In A Big World, her impact is evident across the US and beyond. With a Master's degree in education from Vanderbilt University, she has devoted over thirty years of service as an educator and program developer. As a seasoned leader of both nonprofit and for-profit businesses, she models community support and engagement. With an unwavering commitment to making a positive difference in the world, she has persevered through life's ups and downs. Through her writings, songs, and paintings, she shares her story of finding her voice. Her healing journey inspires others to seek wholeness.    Tamara lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is the proud mother of three adopted adult children.   Tamara Fyke's Website https://www.loveinabigworld.com/ Tommy E. Black, musical collaborator BMI, Broadcast Music Inc. ASCAP, The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers SESAC, Society of European Stage Authors and Composers Hello Story-Power listeners. I wanted to let you know that after several years of producing Story-Power, I've started running ads through Libsyn to support the show. These are programmatic ads, in other words I don't pick the brand, but I have blocked categories that don't align with my values. Your support of this show over the years has meant a lot to me. Running these ads will help me pay for producing all the great content I've been providing. I plan to continue to bring you stories of innovative creators that will helpfully inspire you. Thanks so much for following Story-Power.

David Gutierrez is the co-founder of Non-Fungible Book Club (NFBC), an independent audiobook platform focused on helping authors retain greater ownership, control, and revenue from their work. Built around a creator-first philosophy, NFBC was founded on the belief that writers deserve a more meaningful relationship with both their audience and the success of their art. David is also the author of Punkz Awaken: Disconnecting the Minted, a young adult science fiction novella that blends action, rebellion, and retro-futuristic themes inspired by 90s internet culture. Filled with callbacks to the era of 56k dial-up modems, underground digital culture, and analog nostalgia, the story follows a young protagonist who grows disillusioned with the pressures and inequities of the adult world and ultimately joins a rebellion searching for something more human, authentic, and free. David's experience as an independent author helped inspire his passion for supporting creators and building better opportunities for writers within the audiobook industry. Today, through NFBC, David and his team work with independent authors and publishers to help bring audiobooks directly to audiences while allowing creators to keep significantly more of their earnings than traditional industry models typically allow. NFBC's mission centers on empowering authors, preserving creative independence, and building deeper communities around books and storytelling. Instagram: @NFBCSocials (https://www.instagram.com/nfbcsocials/) YouTube: @NFBCSocials (https://www.youtube.com/@NFBCSocials) X: @NFBCSocials (https://x.com/NFBCSocials) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-gutierrez-507340276/ Website: www.nfbclub.com Prolific Writers Life Punkz Awaken: Disconnecting the Minted, 4th ed., David Gutierrez Story-Power Guest Episode 80 8/2/23 Cheryl King, Sitting on Top of the World, and Under the Paw Paw Trees Edgar Allan Poe Greatest Works Shut Up and Write Global Community Story-Power Guest Episode 140 11/19/25 Guy Morris, Swarm, The Last Ark, The Image Story-Power Guest Episode 24 "Every Life is a Library" PodMatch for Podcasters Story-Power Guest Episode 41 2/2/22 Ali Khamseh Story-Power Guest Episode 42 2/16/22 Lola Drona Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters YouTube channel Films for Writers on Prolific Writers Life The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (1979) (1989) (2005), Book by C. S. Lewis Hello Story-Power listeners. I wanted to let you know that after several years of producing Story-Power, I've started running ads through Libsyn to support the show. These are programmatic ads, in other words I don't pick each brand, but I have blocked categories that don't align with my values. Your support of this show over the years has meant a lot to me. Running these ads will help me pay for producing all the great content I've been providing. I plan to contiue to bring you stories of innovative creators that will hopefully inspire you. Thanks so much for following Story-Power.

Fran Hawthorne has been writing novels since she was four years old, although she was sidetracked for several decades by journalism. During that award-winning career, she wrote eight nonfiction books, mainly about consumer activism, the drug industry, and the financial world, and was also an editor or regular contributor for The New York Times, Business Week, Fortune, and many other publications.  But Fran never abandoned her true love: Her first two novels, The Heirs and I Meant to Tell You, were published in 2018 and 2022 and together won or were named a finalist for nine awards, including the Eric Hoffer Book Awards and the Sarton Award. HER DAUGHTER, Fran's third novel, has just been published by Black Rose Writing. Website, Instagram Hello Story-Power listeners. I wanted to let you know that after several years of producing Story-Power, I've started running ads through Libsyn to support the show. These are programmatic ads, in other words I don't pick each brand, but I have blocked categories that don't align with my values. Your support of this show over the years has meant a lot to me. Running these ads will help me pay for producing all the great content I've been providing. I plan to continue to bring you stories of innovative creators that will hopefully inspire you. Thanks so much for followiing Story-Power.

I've been producing Story-Power for six years now and have dedided to include ads with the episodes to offset the costs of producing the content you've been consuming. I appeciate each of you who listen. I hope you will continue to enjoy the stories of my fabulous guests.

Over the years, I've used comedy, music, and film as ways to process life and connect with people in a real, unpolished way. My latest project, The Loneliest Boy on Earth, came out of that impulse — it's part experiment, part personal confession, and part attempt to make sense of love and identity in the modern world. What I've learned is that vulnerability, when shared honestly, can be both healing and entertaining (also provocative and dangerous) — and that's the kind of conversation I want to bring to your audience. Across all mediums — whether film, music, or live conversation — my work is about pushing boundaries, experimenting with form, and ultimately creating something that is both meaningful and entertaining. My most recent project, The Loneliest Boy on Earth, is a hybrid of documentary and narrative filmmaking that examines relationships, identity, and self-transformation in a deeply personal way. Right now, I am most interested in discussing this project; but am open to discussing art, creativity, philosophy, and other related topics.   YouTube Channel Instagram TikTok (X) Hello Story-Power listeners. I wanted to let you know that after several years of producing Story-Power, I've started running ads through Libsyn to support the show. these are programmatic ads, in other words I don't pick each brand, but I have blocked catefories that don't align with my values. Your support of this show over the years has meant a lot to me. Running these ads will help me pay for producing all the great content I've been providing. I plan to continue to bring you stories of innovative creators that will helpfully inspire you. Thanks so much for following Story-Power.

Christine grew up in North Andover, MA with her parents Tony and Joyce and brothers Anthony and Eddie. She was very shy when she was young and spent a lot of time reading. Throughout her childhood Christine loved animals, especially elephants. People started to buy them for her as a collection. Her grandparents, Eddie and Ginger, as well as her parents would bring her back lucky elephants from their trips. Throughout her childhood Christine always enjoyed trips to the beach with her family and grandparents. In 2006 Christine graduated from Merrimack College with a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Elementary Education. In 2008 she received her master's degree in Elementary Education from Merrimack College. Christine would then go on to teach elementary school for the next 13 years. Her favorite part of the day was reading to her students. It was during reading time that she connected with her students through books. They learned, laughed and felt a range of emotions together. Christine decided that she wanted to write her own book for students to engage with, while learning and laughing. Since elephants have always been her favorite animal, she found it fitting to include them in her story. In 2017 Christine traveled to Africa with her mother and husband where she was able to see elephants living in the wild, which was always a lifelong dream. Many of the elephants were playing in the water and seemed to be having fun as they appear to in her book. Christine and her husband John have 3 children- Joey, Nick and Adeline and a dog named Sophie with whom she loves to read. They laugh at her stories and enjoy trips to the beach together as a family. Elephant Beach is her first published work. Instagram - stined13, Website- Elephant Beach | Christine Devane Lola & Sophie: ABC Adventures Pet Safety with Lola & Sophie Book an Author

I don't remember much about the education policies at the time I was at school. I do remember the classes and teachers that got me excited about learning, and those that created an environment for me to grow, thrive and be me. This is so key. If this feeling could encompass a whole school you know great things would be possible for everyone involved. It is down to each of us to be that person - to show how and what is possible to those around us and to be a beacon for growth. This helps pupils, staff and parents believe anything is possible. The world is a wonderful place of opportunity so let's make it our focus to 'be the change we wish to see in the world', to quote Gandhi. It is this bed of creativity that will give rise to the skills, understanding and knowledge that we will need in the future for a sustainable, happy and tolerant planet. Let's show our pupils what has been achieved, what is known and how this came about. Then set them free to explore, enquire and grow so they can become the person they were born to be. In that gift the world has a bright, happy and exciting future of wondrous possibilities. Mark has been a professional percussionist for 25 years and has had the opportunity of performing with some the UK's finest orchestras and theatre companies. With 3 children and his experience of delivering whole class music workshops around the UK, Mark wanted to share the creative and inspiring learning he was witnessing in schools. This was the start of the Education on Fire podcast in 2016. Today the show has released over 350 episodes and has been downloaded in 147 countries. Website, Facebook, (X), LinkedIn, Podcast, Education on Fire Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters Through a Different Lens: Lessons from a Life in Education, Ger Graus

Neil Laird is an LGBTQ+, multiple Emmy and BAFTA nominated Executive Producer who has worked extensively on both the network and production side of non-fiction TV since 1997. I've developed, overseen and produced over 1,000 hours of factual programs and specials in nearly every genre, with a particular passion, expertise and professional contacts in history, mystery, science and adventure. As a showrunner/producer for several highly-respected production companies in the US and UK, I traveled to over 70 countries, with a specialty in history programming in often difficult terrains. My shows have aired on Discovery, Science Channel, Netflix, HBO Max, A&E, History, PBS, BBC, Channel 4, Animal Planet and National Geographic Channel, where I helped launch several successful series, including Brain Games and Border Wars.  Over the years, I've built an extensive list of contacts across the globe in both the production world and with foreign organizations, including antiquities boards in the Middle East, Asia and the Americas,  I am a member of scientific institutions such as the Archeological Institute of America and the Explorers Club, and write book reviews for World History Encyclopedia. I published my first novel Prime Time Travelers in May 2024, with the follow-up, Prime Time Pompeii, following later in the year. Both are inspired by my years in the field making antiquity TV shows. Website , Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, IMDb Judith Starkston, Author, Story-Power Episode 114 aired 11/20/24 Gobeli Tepe, Turkey Pompeii, UNESCO World Heritage site preserved Ancient Roman City Troy, Ancient Ruins in Turkey (2004) Achilles, Briseis, and Patroclus Lilith: A Novel Niki Marmery Julia Felix (Praedia luliae Felicis), Wealthy businesswoman in Pompeii Luxor, Thebes, Diro Medina, Saqqara Egyptian cities Saqqara where King Tut's Tomb was discovered is a UNESCO World Heritage Site  Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) First Indiana Jones Movie Star Trek, Doctor Who The Space BetweenTime, author, Lucinda Sage-Midgorden Barry Maughan, Author, Story-Power Episode 146, 2/11/26 The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe, Matthew Gabriele Omm Sety (Dorothy Eady 1904 - 1981) Lived and worked in Abydos, Egypt Ethiopia Jewish Community claimed to be the home of The Ark of the Covenant  The Odyssey, Homer The Song of Achilles: A Novel, Madeline Miller Circe, Madeline Miller Peter O'Toole, British Actor played Priam in (2004) version of Troy Disaster Movies of the 1970s, The Poseidon Adventure, Airport, Airplane (1980)