#142 Giving Motherhood a Microphone: How Listen to Your Mother Became a Movement Featuring Ann Imig
Release Date: 06/05/2025
#176 The Domino Effect of Plot: Writing Emotionally Complex Characters with Tova Mirvis
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
Family loyalty can push ordinary people toward unimaginable choices. Estelle Erasmus chats with novelist and memoirist Tova Mirvis about her latest book, We Would Never, a gripping murder mystery inspired by a true crime case. While real events sparked the novel, the plot ultimately emerged from the emotional choices her characters make, with each decision setting off the next. Tova reveals that the real work happened on the inside, as she burrowed into the emotional lives of her characters: the anger, loyalty, fear, and love that drive people to extremes. In this episode: How a true crime...
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#175 From Mews(es) to Manuscript: How Inspired by Cats Became an Illustrated Literary Book
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
Did you know that cats have, in their feline way, shaped some of the greatest writing careers in literary history? Bob Eckstein and Nava Atlas join Estelle Erasmus to talk about their collaboration on Inspired by Cats: Writers and Their Mews(es), a visually rich book exploring the creative bond between writers and their feline companions. The conversation traces how the idea evolved from a shareable literary roundup into a full-scale book published by Norton. Bob and Nava unpack their creative process, from cleanly dividing roles between writing and illustration to navigating permissions,...
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#174 Forgiveness Without Apologies. Writing a Mother-Daughter Memoir
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
Forgiveness doesn’t erase the past. It changes who gets to control your present. In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with filmmaker, writer, and coach Gayle Kirschenbaum and her 102-year-old mother, Mildred Kirschenbaum, about their volatile, funny, and hard-won evolution from conflict to connection. Gayle shares the story behind her debut memoir, Bullied to Besties: A Daughter’s Journey to Forgiveness, including the relentless criticism she grew up with, the physical toll it took, and the moment she realized the only way forward was to stop living as a...
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#173 Writing Flawed Female Characters in Noir Fiction with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
After years of writing literary fiction, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, author of Pool Fishing, saw her work shift when she turned to noir. Estelle Erasmus chats with Barbara about the genre shift that reignited her fiction and led to publication. Barbara shares how stepping into noir forced her to embrace plot, tension, and consequence, without sacrificing voice or depth. They touch on the big craft questions behind the book, including how place shapes story, how themes emerge across a collection, and how to build characters readers empathize with, even when those characters make bad choices....
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#172 A Year in Motion: Writing, Teaching, and Publishing in Real Time
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
In this solo recap episode, Estelle Erasmus reflects on a year shaped by creative momentum, personal loss, and professional growth. As she approaches 200 podcast episodes, expands her teaching at NYU and Writer’s Digest, and leads small-group workshops, she considers what this season revealed and what she is carrying forward into 2026. She also revisits major moments including her TEDx talk, How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond, students publishing in outlets like Modern Love, Brevity, The Boston Globe, The Kenyon Review, Audacity, and Business Insider, and the shifting landscape of...
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#171 Musings on Writing Through Uncertainty with Abigail Thomas
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
Memoir often begins where certainty ends, and that is exactly where Abigail Thomas feels most alive on the page. In this thoughtful conversation between friends, Estelle Erasmus and Abigail explore what it means to write through uncertainty, follow curiosity, and let small surprising moments become the heart of a story. This episode is for writers who crave honesty on the page, who wrestle with self-doubt, and who want practical ways to turn ordinary moments and uncomfortable memories into powerful stories. In This Episode: How Abby’s writing process starts with curiosity rather than...
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#170 Braiding Cultural Context into Your Memoir with Melissa Fraterrigo
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
Estelle Erasmus sits down with award-winning author Melissa Fraterrigo, whose latest book, The Perils of Girlhood, is a memoir in essays that examines identity, fear, body image, motherhood, memory, and the cultural touchstones that shaped so many girls growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Together, Estelle and Melissa explore the moments that define girlhood, from fear and body image to parenting, consent, pop culture, and the stories we carry into adulthood, and how writing about them can open conversations we rarely have out loud. In this episode: The real fears that follow...
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#169 Finding the Line: How a Linear Structure Brought a Memoir Into Focus with Heather Sweeney
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
Some lives resist easy summary, and Heather Sweeney’s was one of them. After two decades inside a military marriage, marked by relocations, solo parenting, and a gradual loss of personal direction, she knew she had a story, but not yet a shape. Estelle Erasmus talks with Heather about how she translated that long, complicated stretch of living into her memoir, Camouflage: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage. They discuss the early drafting that felt scattered, the challenge of seeing her own experience clearly, and why a straightforward linear structure ultimately gave the...
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#168 The Making of A Modern Love Essay, “Negotiating the End of Us” with Leslie B. Blanchard
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
Leslie B. Blanchard joins Freelance Writing Direct for a conversation about developing her Modern Love essay, finding the line that anchored the piece, writing honestly about anticipatory grief, discovering structure through revision, clarifying metaphor, understanding what makes a submission stand out, and learning what the story truly wanted to say.Modern Love essays aren’t accidents, they’re built from a bold hook, clear structure, and often, the courage to write through grief. In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with her student, writer Leslie B....
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#167 Fairyland: A Transcendent Father–Daughter Story Finds New Life in Film with Alysia Abbott
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
Queer history is family history, and Alysia Abbott’s Fairyland proves how one father-daughter story can illuminate an entire era. In this conversation, Estelle Erasmus talks with Alysia about her acclaimed memoir of growing up with her single gay father in 1970s and 80s San Francisco, and how that memoir found new life as a feature film more than a decade later. In this discussion, they explore the love, art, grief, and legacy at the heart of the story. Alysia shares how her father built a queer literary community long before the internet, and how his journals, letters, poems,...
info_outlineIf you’ve ever felt creatively stuck or invisible after becoming a mom, this conversation will speak to you. Nearly 15 years ago, a single storytelling show about motherhood sparked a nationwide movement—and it’s still going strong.
Here, we explore how Listen to Your Mother grew from one stage to 70, how the blogging boom birthed a wave of creative expression, and how vulnerability can turn into community power. We also dive into what happens after the kids grow up—when ambition, burnout, and joy collide in midlife.
Ann Imig is an award-winning founder and speaker with numerous national media and stage appearances. An MSW and certified coach (PQCC), Ann helps burned-out moms regain their mojo, crush their goals, and fuel their joy at home and work. In 2010 she created the storytelling series (and then book) titled LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER. Almost 15 years later, LTYM continues Giving Motherhood A Microphone on stages across North America (70 cities and counting).
In this episode:
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The surprising origin of Listen to Your Mother and how it grew to 70 cities [3:41]
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Why storytelling (and vulnerability) creates powerful community [7:05]
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How the blogging era fueled a generation of creative women [10:07]
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Moving from burnout to brain science: Ann’s shift to coaching midlife women [19:11]
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Ambition, motherhood, and redefining success in midlife [23:38]
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The impact of positive intelligence and rewiring your brain for joy [31:46]
Connect with Ann
Schedule a free breakthrough session with Ann at listenlifecoaching.com.
Episodes on Freelance Writing Direct Mentioned
Wendi Aarons
Nina Badzin
Amy Wilson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCCmKnX0BRM
Listen to Your Mother YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/ltymshow
Estelle’s Listen to Your Mother Reading of “And She Danced” on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmV4abTKy8Q
Buy Ann’s book Listen To Your Mother on Estelle’s Bookshop
If you haven’t yet—watch my TEDx Talk:
How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond
In this bold, funny, and widely shared talk, I blend personal storytelling with the real-world writing strategies I’ve developed as a longtime magazine editor, NYU professor, and writing coach. It all starts with a chaotic moment involving Thomas the Tank Engine—and builds into a powerful message about how to stand out in a crowded, noisy world, no matter the medium.
📺 Watch, comment, and share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ
About Estelle:
Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a “Best Book for Writers” by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer’s Digest and adjunct instructor at NYU, she’s written for over 150 outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine, and has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines.
✨ Explore More:
📚 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the Book | Listen to the Audiobook
📬 Subscribe on Substack – Craft tips, pitch advice & exclusive podcast extras. Latest post How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen
🎧 Freelance Writing Direct – Interviews, insights & behind-the-scenes publishing tips
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