Writer, Writing Coach, Author of "Writing that Gets Noticed"
Release Date: 07/10/2023
Sitting in Traffic for Professional Women's Sports
Real Women's Work Podcast
What happens when something that once felt impossible suddenly feels… normal? In this short solo episode of Real Women’s Work, Jen shares a deeply personal experience attending a sold-out Professional Women's Hockey League game with her daughter — and the unexpected moment that stopped her cold: sitting in traffic outside the arena realizing all those people were there to watch women play hockey. For girls who grew up as athletes in the 90s, hearing “nobody watches women’s sports” was constant background noise. This episode reflects on what it means to witness real cultural...
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The One Shift that Changes Every Conversation
Real Women's Work Podcast
We talk all day long. At work. At home. With friends, colleagues, strangers. But how often are we actually communicating? In this episode, I sit down with communication consultant Dee Dee Fisher to explore a powerful (and slightly uncomfortable) idea: many of our conversations aren’t actually exchanging information at all. We’re reacting. We’re making assumptions. We’re talking—but not connecting. Dee Dee shares the moment she first recognized this pattern as a teenager working in her family’s gas station—and how that early insight turned into the work she does today helping...
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How to Show Up for Someone in Grief (When You Don’t Know What to Say)
Real Women's Work Podcast
What do you say to someone who’s grieving? Most of us don’t know. So we send flowers. We drop off food. And then… we disappear. Today’s guest, Kelly Edmondson, is here to change that. Kelly is a nurse executive, grief counselor, and founder of Timely Presence—a service created after the death of her son, Darius. Through her own experience of profound loss, she’s learned something most of us never have: Grief doesn’t need fixing. It needs presence. In this conversation, Kelly shares what people got right—and wrong—after her son passed, and gives us practical, deeply human ways...
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Rebecca Nurse and The Danger of Being Human: The Salem Witch Trials and What They Reveal About Us
Real Women's Work Podcast
This episode is part of Podcasthon, a global podcasting event spotlighting meaningful causes and stories that matter. What happens when fear becomes belief—and belief becomes certainty? In this episode, I speak with Kathryn Rutkowski, president of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, about one of the most devastating stories from the Salem witch trials. Rebecca Nurse was a 71-year-old woman, deeply respected in her community, who was accused, tried, and executed for a crime she did not commit. But this conversation doesn’t stay in 1692. As we explore Rebecca’s story—her arrest, her quiet...
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What Happens When We Start Talking About Dying with Laura Cleminson
Real Women's Work Podcast
What if talking about death actually helped us live better? In this episode of Real Women’s Work, Jen Keefe sits down with Laura Cleminson, a death doula and founder of the Pre-Dead Social Club, where people gather to talk openly about mortality, dying, and what matters most in life. Laura’s work began after walking alongside her mother through the dying process. That experience opened her eyes to something many of us never learn: we often face death without the language, awareness, or confidence to navigate it. Instead of avoiding these conversations, Laura helps people...
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Brenda Sullivan, Gravestone Girls Part 2
Real Women's Work Podcast
Some people find their calling in the most unexpected places. And for Brenda Sullivan, that calling happened… in the cemetery. In this two-part conversation, I'm joined by the fascinating, funny, wildly knowledgeable founder of The Gravestone Girls — cemetery artists and historians who are helping people all over the country reconnect with history, symbolism, mortality, and the stories literally carved into stone. I first discovered Brenda's work a couple of years ago when my daughter and I attended one of her talks at a library here in New Hampshire. I honestly didn't know...
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Brenda Sullivan Founder, Gravestone Girls
Real Women's Work Podcast
Some people find their calling in the most unexpected places. And for Brenda Sullivan, that calling happened… in the cemetery. In this two-part conversation, I’m joined by the fascinating, funny, wildly knowledgeable founder of The Gravestone Girls — cemetery artists and historians who are helping people all over the country reconnect with history, symbolism, mortality, and the stories literally carved into stone. I first discovered Brenda’s work a couple of years ago when my daughter and I attended one of her talks at a library here in New Hampshire. I honestly didn’t know what to...
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Wendy Peirce Vice President of Sales, Alnoba Leadership and Team Development
Real Women's Work Podcast
Some places change you the moment you arrive. Alnoba is one of them. In this conversation, Wendy Peirce, Vice President of Salles, shares how her path led her to Alnoba—and why this land, this work, and this community feel so deeply alive. What begins as a leadership and team development retreat quickly reveals itself as something much more: a space where nature, spirituality, and real human connection come together in a way that’s hard to put into words… but impossible to forget. We talk about the vision of Alnoba’s founders, Alan and Harriet Lewis, and their deep reverence for...
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Life Coach for Mums with Trisha Gudka
Real Women's Work Podcast
We have all heard the term "Life Coach" but what does it actually mean? What does a LIfe Coach do? Trisha Gudka was at a dangerous point in her life. The joy was gone. As a mom of two young children the expectations and realities did not line up. This led to unhappiness and depression. She was at a critical moment. Fortunately, Trisha was able to find resources, tools, and practices that brought her out of deperession and into happiness, joy, and love. Now, she spends her life helping other mums who want it do the same. This interview is so relatable. We all know the moment of responding...
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Cheryl Holling, Podcast Host and Voice Talent
Real Women's Work Podcast
Yes, Cheryl Holling talks about what it was like to create a podcast out of thin air and bring it to a multiple award winning pocast. Yes, Cheryl talks about her exiting work as a voice talent. This conversation veers deeper. In her incredible, love-filled voice, Cheryl offers us practical inspiration on how to offer kindness to those who are having a hard time. Her experience with her two pocasts; 19 Stories and The Voice Kitchen meld together beautifully to remind us why belonging matters, how kindness and love can positively shape a life, and the importance of staying flexible. Listen...
info_outlineHave you ever wondered who writes the articles in your favorite magazines? How do they know what to say? What makes you read it? Where do they find the courage to be vulnerable and how do they know where to draw the line?
Are you yourself a writer (maybe even secretly)? Do you want writing be your work? Do you wonder how to effectively pitch a publication, how to submit, and how to get your writing noticed?
If any of these strike a chord you do not want to miss today's episode!
Estelle Erasmus found herself fired from her first job. Want to guess why? She was caught reading at the library (true story!). This was the beginning of what would turn into her life's work; surrounding herself with words and stories, turning them into music on a page, getting paid for it, and helping others learn how to do the same.
It's not all business, though. Estelle also shares personal and professional experiences -such as becoming a mother during midlife and guesting on the soap opera Guiding Light- as they relate to her life and career.
In her recent release "Writing that Gets Noticed", Estelle gives us access to the information she shares with her students at Writers Digest and New York University School of Professional Studies. She explains both the business and craft of writing. From what makes a pitch effective and how to tighten up our work to explaining the different genres of essays, Estelle reveals a path flooded with light and support for those of us who have always dreamed of getting our writing noticed.
Where to Find Estelle:
Click here for Estelle's website.
Click here for Estelle's Online Pitching Class with Writers Digest.