Good morning Taylor, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?

That’s a great question. I think many people struggle with imposter syndrome—the idea that we’re not good enough or creative enough, and that everyone (except us) has it all figured out. That’s a huge lie that even the most competent people believe. For me, one way to combat that is to continue to be courageous, putting my creative efforts out there and building my self-efficacy as I go. Deeper than that, though, is that I start with the foundation: that I’m loved by God and created for a purpose. When that’s the starting point, it helps ground us and shield us from needing to find validation elsewhere. Otherwise, we’re easily tempted to base our worth on our work.

On Wednesday, award-winning author Taylor Thomas Smythe released Kingdom of Florida: Journey to the Wayward Isles, a novella set in the world of his award-winning Kingdom of Florida fantasy series. The book is framed as the in-universe journal of Jesse Haywood—a character who debuted in the original Kingdom of Florida novels and features as the narrator of the podcast limited series Treasure Hunters: A Kingdom of Florida Adventure. 

On Wednesday, the first episode of Treasure Hunters: A Kingdom of Florida Adventure was released. Treasure Hunters is creator Taylor Thomas Smythe’s new fiction podcast, an audio drama set in the world of his award-winning Kingdom of Florida fantasy series. The scripted audio adventure consists of five episodes, which will be released weekly on all major podcast platforms.