In Ep. 43, we take a close look at the creative brain of Rachel Lehmann-Haupt, an award-winning science writer and expert on the future of family life. We explore her latest work, Reconceptions, and the fascinating journey behind her path to becoming a science writer which was deeply influenced by her journalism background and personal life. From ghostwriting the bestseller The Female Brain to exploring topics like egg freezing and modern family structures, Rachel has carved a niche in science storytelling. She opens up about her upcoming project, The Literary Brain, an exploration inspired by her late father, the former literary critic for the New York Times. She intends to weave family history with neuroscience, examining storytelling's genetic links across generations and how writing literally optimizes your health. Rachel also discusses her admiration for Joan Didion and how her poignant prose in The Year of Magical Thinking is inspiring her next work. There’s a whole lot of good stuff packed into this intimate conversation between two friends, writers, and single mothers who are forging new paths into being professional writers in modern times.
Page One, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.
About the guest author:
Rachel Lehmann-Haupt, is an award winning science writer and one of the nation’s premier experts on the future of family life. Her first book, In Her Own Sweet Time: Egg Freezing and The New Frontiers of Family is a pioneering work and deeply engaging memoir on how she harnessed advances in reproductive technologies to have more control over when she chose to become a mother—something she coined as becoming a “DIY parent.” She is also the ghostwriter of the New York Times Bestselling book, The Female Brain by Dr. Louann Brizendine, which has been translated into more than thirty languages, and sold nearly a million copies.
Lehmann-Haupt has been profiled by the Chicago Tribune for her practical and brave choice to freeze her eggs when she was thirty-seven and has been quoted on the front page of the New York Times. She has appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America, NPR’s Talk of the Nation,and the Wall Street Journal’s Lunch Break. In her writing and public speaking, shel offers life strategies for the most relevant social trends that intimately affect women’s lives. Her writing has been featured in the New York Times, New York Magazine, O Magazine, Self, Vogue, Outside, Wired, Business Week, and Neo.Life. She is the founder of StoryMade Studio a boutique storytelling and editing studio and lives in the Bay Area with her son.
About the host:
Holly Lynn Payne is an award-winning novelist and writing coach, and the former CEO and founder of Booxby, a startup built to help authors succeed. She is an internationally published author of four historical fiction novels. Her debut, The Virgin's Knot, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers book. She recently finished her first YA crossover novel inspired by her nephew with Down syndrome. She lives in Marin County with her daughter and enjoys mountain biking, surfing and hiking with her dog. To learn more about her books and private writing coaching services, please visit hollylynnpayne.com or find her at Instagram and Twitter @hollylynnpayne.
If you have a first page you’d like to submit to the Page One Podcast, please do so here.
As an author and writing coach, I know that the first page of any book has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. So I thought to ask your favorite master storytellers how they do their magic to hook YOU.
After the first few episodes, it occurred to me that maybe someone listening might be curious how their first page sits with an audience, so I’m opening up Page One to any writer who wants to submit the first page of a book they’re currently writing.
If your page is chosen, you’ll be invited onto the show to read it and get live feedback from one of Page One’s master storytellers. Page One exists to inspire, celebrate and promote the work of both well-known and unknown creative talent.
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If you're interested in getting writing tips and the latest podcast episode updates with the world's beloved master storytellers, please sign up for my very short monthly newsletter at hollylynnpayne.com and follow me @hollylynnpayne on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. Your email address is always private and you can always unsubscribe anytime.
The Page One Podcast is created at the foot of a mountain in Marin County, California, and is a labor of love in service to writers and book lovers. My intention is to inspire, educate and celebrate. Thank you for being a part of my creative community!
Be well and keep reading.
~Holly~