People-Inspired Podcast
Connecting with people is like a vitamin B injected advanced Google search, except better. Inspiration fuels the creative process, and there is little that inspires me more than interesting people who teach me something new (which is pretty much anyone I run into these days).
Join me for this People-Inspired Podcast where I talk to inspiring people what and who inspired them. We will fill the tank and crank that inspiration flywheel, proving that one person's story is often all you need to get things rolling.
People ask what inspired me to write my debut novel, Back to Blue Holly, and the answer is easy. The book is place and PEOPLE-inspired. I relied heavily upon the compelling stories I collected traveling Kentucky with artist Kelly Brewer, painting and interviewing people from all walks of life for our Common Wealth of Kentucky Project (2022). Additional inspiration was the good folks I am lucky to know (or heard about) in the North Georgia region. And as I write my next book (about women in the Thoroughbred racing industry), I'm back to being nosy Beth, poking around, asking lots of questions, and mining unsearchable, informational, and inspirational gems I cannot find anywhere else than in the people I talk to.
People-Inspired Podcast
The Common Wealth of Mothers
Our first connection is with our mothers. We all have one, and they all influence and inspire us in ways we may not recognize until something pops up, like an expression they used that we just said, a recipe we crave, or a moment of courage when we pull from the memory of her showing us how to find it.
In this oral history montage pulled from the interviews with Kentuckians as they sat for artist Kelly Brewer while she painted their portraits for the Common Wealth of Kentucky Project, you will hear a collection of mom moments--specific and universal--in honor of those who brought us in and taught us to live.
In order of voice:
Betty Spain
Shelby Bale
Kate Harper
Jim Gray
Marcos Valdes
Jon Carloftis
Brian McCarty
Shannon Latham
Bill Samuel, Jr.
Gentille Ntakarutimana
Clayton Mullins