In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Elma Linz Kanefield discusses her book, Hamlet’s Mirror: Reaching Your Potential Onstage and Off. It is a book designed for performing artists, but the advice it contains could apply to all artists and artists-at-heart. Elma is a psychotherapist and one of the world’s only specialists in the psychology of the performing artist. And she knows what she’s talking about. Her own horrifying experience with stage fright as a young performer in New York City led her to become a mental health clinician and to write this book. She began writing Hamlet’s Mirror nearly thirty years ago but never quite finished it…until now. Elma is quick to point out that if she had finished the book any earlier, she wouldn’t have had the benefit of her nearly four decades of learning and practicing in the field. In Hamlet’s Mirror, she discusses why artists and performers do what they do, the pressures they experience as a result, and why the goal should be to strive for excellence not perfection. In this episode, I’ll chat with Elma about her writing journey, why artists need to understand the concept she calls “performance potential,” and her specific advice for writers…as well as a few other things.

The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!

In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Laury A. Egan discusses her latest novel, Once, Upon an Island. It is a coming-of-age story set against the beautiful backdrop of the island of St. Croix in 1966, and it follows 16-year-old Olivia and her glamorous mother as they escape to St. Croix following the devasting loss of Olivia’s younger brother. On the island, Olivia befriends a mysterious Czechoslovakian woman named Sofiya, and the two bond over their mutual grief as long-buried secrets come to light. This book is semi-autobiographical for Laury, because she visited St. Croix in 1966 when she was just 16 years old. The island left an indelible impression on her, and she promised herself she would write a book about it someday. So, nostalgia finally led her to put that idea down on paper, more than half a century later. In this episode, I’ll chat with Laury about her writing journey, the similarities between herself and her main character Olivia, and why she wanted to explore the reasons people come to islands and how they are changed as a result of their visit.

The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!