Creative, Inspired, ALIVE Podcast By Evelyn Skye and Joanna Phoenix cover art

Creative, Inspired, ALIVE

Creative, Inspired, ALIVE

By: Evelyn Skye and Joanna Phoenix
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Interviews with amazing authors and leading creativity experts about the creative process, the love of their craft, their biggest successes and disappointments, and of course, their latest books. All hosted by NYT Bestselling author Evelyn Skye and writer & creativity coach Joanna Phoenix.

www.creativeinspiredalive.comJoanna Phoenix
Art Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • Rebecca Serle on Emotional Depth and Literary Brevity
    Mar 17 2026
    Hello, Protagonists!Welcome to another episode of the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE podcast—where we go behind the scenes with the storytellers shaping our culture.Our next guest, Rebecca Serle, is the New York Times bestselling author of Once and Again, Expiration Dates, One Italian Summer, In Five Years, and The Dinner List, to name a few. Serle also developed the hit TV adaptation Famous in Love, based on her YA series of the same name. She is a graduate of USC and The New School and lives in LA with her husband and daughter.Today, we talk about:* creative brainstorming,* motherhood and writing,* when time travel isn’t really time travel,* and so much more!xo,Joanna & Evelyn🎥 Watch the ConversationYou can watch the full video on:→ Our Website | Youtube | Substack appCaptions and full transcripts are always available on the website version (just click the “CC” button or the transcript tab below the video).🎧 Prefer to Listen?Stream the episode wherever you get your podcasts:→ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Audible | or your favorite platform🎙️ Browse all past episodes HERE📝 Want to Ask a Future Guest a Question?We invite the community to submit questions via our community chat—available in your browser or in the Substack app. We love including your curiosities in the conversation!Connect with Rebecca Serle:You can find Rebecca on Instagram. Her newest novel, Once and Again, is available in bookstores everywhere or from your favorite online retailer! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.creativeinspiredalive.com/subscribe
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    36 mins
  • The Studio for Serious Novelists
    Mar 13 2026

    This spring, I’m going to try a small experiment: a live studio for writers actively building a novel, where I’ll read your opening pages and we’ll work on them together, live.

    ____

    Atelier Skye: The Studio for Serious Novelists

    Here’s what this will look like:

    Twelve novelists. Six Saturdays. Live sessions. Direct developmental critique.

    No recordings. No passive consumption. A working studio.

    This studio is designed for writers who:

    * Are actively drafting a novel

    * Have 8–10 strong opening pages ready

    * Want developmental-level critique

    * Care about both craft and industry positioning

    * Take their work seriously

    This is not an introductory writing class.

    It is a professional room.

    REGISTER here: https://buy.stripe.com/fZu5kCgtd5PY1nV1Fs8EM00

    Enrollment is first come, first served until the atelier reaches 12 writers.

    About the Studio Lead:

    I’m Evelyn Skye, a New York Times bestselling novelist and the author of eleven books, published by major houses including Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Disney, and translated into sixteen languages worldwide. I have also written for Netflix in a literary-film collaboration starring Millie Bobby Brown, Angela Bassett, and Robin Wright.

    My work has been featured in PEOPLE, Newsweek, The Hollywood Reporter, CBS New York, The Morning Blend on NBC, The Mirror, Woman’s World Magazine, South China Morning Post, Book Riot, PopSugar, Bustle, Psychology Today, Mochi Magazine, and more.

    I’ve been a featured speaker and guest of honor around the world—at the Festival du Livre de Paris, the Danish Fantasy Festival, San Diego Comic Con, Emerald City Comic Con, and more. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Russian literature from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

    Over the past decade, I’ve developed a deep understanding of what makes a manuscript not only compelling on the page, but viable in the marketplace.

    In this studio, I bring that experience directly to your opening pages.

    More details about the studio at:

    https://www.creativeinspiredalive.com/p/the-studio-for-serious-novelists-writing-workshop



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.creativeinspiredalive.com/subscribe
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    10 mins
  • Multiple POVs and Family Secrets with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, NYT Bestselling Author
    Mar 3 2026

    Hello, Protagonists!

    Welcome to another episode of the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE podcast—where we go behind the scenes with the storytellers shaping our culture.

    Our next guest, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, is the author of the instant New York Times bestselling novels The Nest (named a best book of the year by People, the Washington Post, and NPR) and Good Company (a Read with Jenna selection). Her work has been translated into more than 28 languages, and The Nest is in development as a limited series with AMC Studios. Sweeney holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars.

    Today, we talk about:

    * writing distinct and integrated POVs,

    * finding the right pace of writing for yourself,

    * how we sometimes scare ourselves out of taking risks in writing,

    * the truth of having work developed into a TV series,

    * and so much more!

    xo,

    Joanna & Evelyn

    🎥 Watch the Conversation

    You can watch the full video on:→ Our Website | Youtube | Substack app

    Captions and full transcripts are always available on the website version (just click the “CC” button or the transcript tab below the video).

    🎧 Prefer to Listen?

    Stream the episode wherever you get your podcasts:→ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Audible | or your favorite platform

    🎙️ Browse all past episodes HERE

    📝 Want to Ask a Future Guest a Question?

    We invite the community to submit questions via our community chat—available in your browser or in the Substack app. We love including your curiosities in the conversation!

    Connect with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney:

    You can find Cynthia on Instagram. Her newest novel, Lake Effect, is available in bookstores everywhere or from your favorite online retailer!



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.creativeinspiredalive.com/subscribe
    Show more Show less
    41 mins
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