Join hosts Ali and Kristy in the finale episode of Season One as they take a nostalgic journey through a full year of Emerald Coast Storytellers. In this episode, we'll delve into the triumphs and challenges that marked the first year, while also revealing our enthusiastic anticipation for the chapter ahead. Discover quirky tidbits about Kristy's life as a new mom and Ali's enduring love for all things feline. Relive the launch of our first-of-its-kind Story-Pairing Dinners and the unforgettable experiences of hosting at 12 remarkable venues across the scenic Santa Rosa Beach area and beyond, including a special On the Road edition in Nashville.

As we look back on the awe-inspiring writers and storytellers that have graced our stage, this episode, like everything we do, is a testament to the power of storytelling. Looking ahead, we can hardly contain our excitement for the stories yet to be shared and the milestones yet to come. Join us for this momentous reflection and celebration of the journey thus far, and get ready to embark on an even more enthralling second chapter.

Other topics of conversation include:

• The full-circle moments and universal alignment that come along with the territory of seeing your dreams through
• The “roses, buds, and thorns” of Year One and remembering our favorite moments with, of course, plenty of writing struggles throughout
• What’s next, including our brand new membership program, merchandise launch, and so much more!

To learn more about all things Emerald Coast Storytellers, visit emeraldcoaststorytellers.com and follow along on social:

https://www.instagram.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.youtube.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://twitter.com/ecstorytellers

https://www.tiktok.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers 

The Emerald Coast Storytellers podcast is produced in partnership with SOWAL House.

Meet Mike Ragsdale. Entrepreneur. Explorer. Father. Husband. Trailblazer. Throughout his life and career, he’s picked up a thing or two along the way; though how he defines success goes well beyond the traditional sense. By day, he’s the Founder of the 30A Company and publisher of Beach Happy Magazine, two businesses that sprung from a small beach town and flourished into household names. His true résumé, however, extends well beyond this, with life experiences that have taken him across the globe to over 50 countries and counting. And, trust us when we say, he has the stories to prove it.

He’s ridden a horse-drawn carriage through Prague on a snowy Christmas night, visited ancient brothels in Pompeii, eaten scorpions in Cambodia (which he doesn’t recommend), and he once spent a week on Necker Island with Sir Richard Branson. Even at the time of our interview, Mike phoned in from Bangkok where he and his wife (as well as their dog Ernie) have taken temporary residence on an open-ended adventure around the world. 

If there’s one thing to take away from this interview, it’s a strong hit of inspiration to live the life you’ve always imagined, revolving your dreams not on the pursuit of money, but around the precious gift that is time.

Join Mike Ragsdale and hosts Ali and Kristy, as he takes us through his enlivening journey, starting as a young man telling stories in his school cafeteria and onward to his entrepreneurial achievements, world travels, and a special glimpse at publishing his graphic novel (and passion project), Holier Than Thou. We promise you’ll walk away feeling a sense of motivation and adventure unlike any other, whether that’s booking a one-way ticket of your own or venturing out into your own city and seeing it in a way you never have before.

Other topics of conversation include: 

• Quite literally taking the road less traveled and being the hero of your own journey
• Prioritizing your time and revolving work around your life (and not the other way around)
• The many ways we define adventure and what it means person to person

To learn more about all things Emerald Coast Storytellers, visit emeraldcoaststorytellers.com. 

https://www.instagram.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.youtube.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://twitter.com/ecstorytellers

https://www.tiktok.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers 

The Emerald Coast Storytellers podcast is produced in partnership with SOWAL House.

Did that grab your attention? 

We thought so. Time to sit down and buckle up as your hosts, Ali and Kristy, invite New York Times Bestselling romance novelist, Meredith Wild, into the podcast booth. #1 New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author, Meredith Wild has written over 22 books including The Red Ledger series, Blood of Zeus series, The Bridge series, and more. After publishing her debut novel Hardwired in 2013, Wild used her ten years of experience as a tech entrepreneur to push the boundaries of her “self-published” status, becoming stocked in brick-and-mortar bookstore chains nationwide and forging relationships with major retailers. 

Wild takes us on her “wild” journey, which weaves in-between her technical and creative pursuits, such as starting her own publishing house, under which she hit #1 on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers lists. Other topics of conversation include: 

• Using romance novels as a way of conveying positive sexual health 

• How her journey was (partially) inspired by 50 Shades of Grey 

• Writing strong heroines, using her background as CEO of her own company as a little inspiration 

Visit emeraldcoaststorytellers.com to learn more about upcoming events and follow along the creative happenings on social: 

https://www.instagram.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.youtube.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://twitter.com/ecstorytellers

https://www.tiktok.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers 

The Emerald Coast Storytellers podcast is produced in partnership with SOWAL House.

Jumping into the podcast booth with a “splash,” published author and professional waterskier Kyle Petit talks love, divorce, and dating in a small town. Author of Thirty ShAdes of Grayton, her book is a "culmination of years of observation and later, participation in, the unique world of small town singles.” She sheds humor and hope on being single, even when the dating pool is filled with slim pickings and, um, convicted felons?

As for her advice, besides having your friends Google your dates? Learning to love yourself. Whether you're single, dating, married, or something in between, we could all learn to take a page out of her book. Literally. 

Other topics of conversation:

• Her professional (and badass) waterskiing career

• Being confused for Kyle Petit, the male racecar driver

• The long (and often tipsy) nights that inspired Thirty ShAdes of Grayton and the even longer ones spent writing about her hilarious escapades 

Visit emeraldcoaststorytellers.com to learn more about upcoming events and follow along the creative happenings on social: 

https://www.instagram.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.youtube.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://twitter.com/ecstorytellers

https://www.tiktok.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers 

The Emerald Coast Storytellers podcast is produced in partnership with SOWAL House.

All aboard the Hot Mess Express. In our latest Live Storytelling episode, we asked our readers to “tell us a story about a time that life got turned upside down, a time things didn’t go as planned, but the only choice was to pick up the pieces and carry on––in all that messy glory.” 

Hop on, buckle up, and journey along for tales of drunken alter egos, solo travel struggles with a six-month-old baby, a soccer coach being cussed out by a kid, a billionaire with daddy issues, 23andMe discoveries, and so much more. Complete with commentary from Kristy and Ali, we begin this episode by recounting our own Hot Mess story about how we realized that we were missing a crucial piece of our sound system that night just thirty minutes before the event was supposed to start...

The evening concluded with our Featured Storyteller, and Walton County Artist of the Year, Bradley Copeland. Copeland is a prolific, 25-year-old artist with an inventory amassing over 6,000 pieces and growing rapidly. She talked about her unexpected creative journey to now and the dawning realization that “maybe, just maybe, being a full-time artist was possible in this lifetime.”

This episode features stories told by:

Ali Diamond
Sheila Grey Perkins
MaryAlayne Long
Jay Liles
Amanda Abbott
Stacie Boudreaux 
Solange Jazayeri
Meredith Wild
Bryan Mayos
Jennifer Howard
Kristy Holditch
Bradley Copeland

This Open Mic Night audio was originally recorded on Thursday, March 9th, 2023 at Chiringo in Grayton Beach with the help of Isacks Imagery. 

To learn more about all things Emerald Coast Storytellers, visit emeraldcoaststorytellers.com. 

And follow along our creative happenings on social: 

https://www.instagram.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.youtube.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://twitter.com/ecstorytellers

https://www.tiktok.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers 

This episode was produced in partnership with SOWAL House.

Dwight Williams is the author of the novel “From the Garden of Memory” and the coauthor of several books of nonfiction, including “Raising Lazarus,” with Robert Pensack, M.D., and “The Way of the Explorer,” with Apollo 14 Astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell who walked on the moon in 1971 with Al Shepard. In this interview with hosts Ali and Kristy, Williams takes us through his time at the University of Colorado at Boulder, as well as his first writing gig as a newspaper reporter for the Steamboat Pilot, which led to the leap of faith that launched his writing career to new heights and eventually paved the way to his work on Raising Lazarus: A Memoir.

Other topics of conversation: 

• His college years alongside the beat poet scene and crossing paths with legends like Allen Ginsberg.
• Witnessing in real time a literary movement that started in a small mountain town and led to spiritual revolution, sexual liberation, and a thirst for individualism that spread throughout American society.
• Linking arms as coauthor for some of the brightest in the biz like Robert Pensack, M.D. and Apollo 14 Astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell. (Not to mention, during his work with Dr. Mitchell, he had the opportunity to hold a real-life moon rock. Tune in for his confession on what he did with it.)

Visit emeraldcoaststorytellers.com to learn more about upcoming events and follow along the creative happenings on social: 

https://www.instagram.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.youtube.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://twitter.com/ecstorytellers

https://www.tiktok.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers 

The Emerald Coast Storytellers podcast is produced in partnership with SOWAL House. 

Ali and Kristy are back in the SOWAL House podcast booth to “shoot the shit” and look back on all things life, Emerald Coast Storytellers, the future and beyond. It’s been almost six months since we recorded our very first episode and, boy, did we have a lot to cover. 

In this episode, Kristy gives her latest pregnancy update including a mini gender reveal and the fact that her little one is apparently the same size as a Mr. Potato Head. Ali shares the latest report from “The Kitty Palace,” aka the land of a million cats and counting, in which we reveal the fun fact of what our January Featured Storyteller Kuk Harrell, his Grammys, and Ali’s cats have in common. And together, the girls look back on some highlights from various Storyteller events this year, launching the first-ever Story-Pairing Dinner Series, and heading to Nashville for their first “Storytellers on the Road.” 

Other topics of discussion: continued writing struggles (as well as a few writing wins along the way). Venturing into Parnassus Books and experiencing Ann Patchett’s magical bookstore for the first time. Accidentally matching outfits (against Kristy’s will). Ali sending manic texts at 1 AM and “notifying anyway” when Kristy turns on “Do Not Disturb.” As well as what’s next for Kristy, Ali, and Emerald Coast Storytellers. 

Visit emeraldcoaststorytellers.com to learn more about upcoming events and follow along the creative happenings on social: 

https://www.instagram.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.youtube.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://twitter.com/ecstorytellers

https://www.tiktok.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers 

The Emerald Coast Storytellers podcast is produced in partnership with SOWAL House.

In Part Two of our first-ever Live Storytelling episode, we dive back into our January Open Mic Night at Fonville Press. We were blessed to have 5x Grammy Award winner and one of the most sought-after vocal producers in the game, Kuk Harrell, as our Featured Storyteller. 
Described as “defining the role of the modern vocal producer,” Kuk has worked with artists such as Rihanna, Beyoncé, Cardi B, Camila Cabello, Cher, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Lorde, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Sting, and many others.

As an ode to this musical storyteller and the places we’ve all been and will go, the theme for the evening was ORIGIN STORIES. In part two, it paves the way for tales from a memoir titled "White People and Wonder Bread," a look at consciousness as a celestial reward, and a mother-to-be hearing her child's heartbeat for the first time. Kuk himself wowed guests with his faith-filled origin story that began in the heart of Chicago, Illinois, and opened doors to music career milestones like being honored with his multiple Grammys, working as a composer and engineer on Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” and working with musical legend Cher (in her bedroom!). But as for his biggest achievement of all, he'll be the first to tell you nothing compares to family.  

This episode features stories told by: 

Lucinda Bunn

Milton Siegele

Kristy Gustafson 

Kuk Harrell

With the help of Isacks Imagery, this livestream was originally recorded on January 7th, 2023 at Fonville Press in Alys Beach. 

To learn more about all things Emerald Coast Storytellers, visit emeraldcoaststorytellers.com. 

Follow along our creative happenings on social: 

https://www.instagram.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers/

https://www.youtube.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://twitter.com/ecstorytellers

https://www.tiktok.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers

The Emerald Coast Storytellers podcast is produced in partnership with SOWAL House.