Episode 30: Ch-Ch-Changes… Turn and Face the Strange!

They say change is good. But try telling that to a television character whose writers have suddenly decided to turn their entire world upside down!

This week on Life According to Lisa (and Jim too!), we're talking about character development. The good, the bad, and the moments that leave us staring at the screen wondering, "What were the writers thinking?"

Some characters grow, learn, and become better versions of themselves. Others take a spectacular turn for the worse. And sometimes the characters we've spent years rooting for become people we barely recognize.

From Game of Thrones and Sons of Anarchy to Ted Lasso, Tracker, and NCIS: Origins, we're looking at the choices writers make, the relationships they build, and what happens when a character's journey takes an unexpected turn.

We're also talking romance. Do writers always know which characters belong together? What happens when the audience falls in love with a relationship the writers never intended? And should a character's happy ending always be the one we expected?

Of course, we can't talk about character development without mentioning Pride and Prejudice. Because sometimes the biggest change isn't about becoming someone new. It's about finally seeing someone differently.

And naturally, Lisa and Jim have a few opinions about which character transformations worked, which ones didn't, and which ones still have us shaking our heads!

So grab your coffee, get comfortable, and join us for Ch-Ch-Changes… Turn and Face the Strange!

🎙️ Life According to Lisa (and Jim too!)
Season 2 | Episode 30

Meet Your Host and Author: Lisa Dolan

Lisa Dolan is the author of The Brooklyn Witch: The Battle for Brooklyn, where Brooklyn attitude meets witches, faeries, mystery, and magic.

✨ Take the Cannoli and Leave the Magic!

🌐 Visit The Brooklyn Witch Website

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There's a Wolff at the door! And this time, we're letting him in!

For the very first time, we're welcoming a guest to Life According to Lisa and Jim too! And we're making another debut: our first video podcast! Now you can watch the conversation as well as listen.

Our special guest is Lawrence "Larry" Wolff, a Long Island film and television historian who knows a thing or two about the entertainment we grew up loving.

From I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners to classic Hollywood, comedy legends, movie memorabilia, and the magic of old television, Larry has spent more than 15 years sharing his passion for entertainment history with audiences across Long Island.

But Larry's story isn't just about movies and television. It's about turning something you've loved your entire life into an exciting second career.

We're talking nostalgia, Hollywood memories, collecting memorabilia, the fascinating world of interactive murder mysteries, and what it takes to research and present more than 70 different lecture programs.

Join us for our first guest interview, plenty of laughs, a little mischief, and a trip down memory lane!

Meet Our Guest: Larry Wolff.

Learn more about Larry's classic Hollywood and television lectures, film presentations, and interactive murder mysteries:

Visit Larry Wolff's Website

🎙️ Life According to Lisa and Jim too!

Subscribe or follow for more conversations about life, pop culture, nostalgia, and everything in between.

Don't forget to vote in our episode poll! We'd love to know which classic Hollywood topic you'd choose.

Meet Your Host and Author: Lisa Dolan.

Lisa Dolan is the author of The Brooklyn Witch: The Battle for Brooklyn, where Brooklyn attitude meets witches, faeries, mystery, and magic.

✨ Take the Cannoli and Leave the Magic!

🌐 Visit The Brooklyn Witch Website

#LifeAccordingToLisa #LarryWolff #ClassicTelevision #ClassicHollywood #Podcast #Nostalgia #LongIsland #TheBrooklynWitch

Episode 28: Second Time’s The Charm! Part Two: Main Character Energy.

What makes a supporting character so interesting that someone decides they deserve a story of their own?

This week on Life According to Lisa (and Jim too!), we're picking up where we left off with our conversation about spinoffs, prequels, and the characters who step out of the background and into the spotlight!

Huckleberry Finn started out in Tom Sawyer's world. Neagley was Reacher's trusted investigator. And what about Dr. Watson? Could he carry a story without Sherlock Holmes?

We're also talking about The Other Bennet Sister, which takes Mary Bennet, the often-overlooked sister from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and finally gives her a story of her own. Sometimes the most interesting character isn't the one everybody notices first!

Then we take a few turns into familiar storylines, from Trading Places and Quantum Leap to the changing worlds of mystery, romance, crime fiction, and romantasy. Can you take a character out of one genre and drop them into another without losing what makes them special?

And naturally, Jim turns the question on Lisa. Could someone from The Brooklyn Witch step out of Speranza's shadow and become the star of their own book?

Because there's a big difference between a character you want to see more of and a character whose story you actually want to follow!

So grab your coffee, get comfortable, and join us for

Second Time's the Charm, Part Two: Main Character Energy!

🎙️ Life According to Lisa (and Jim too!)
Season 2 • Episode 28 • Part Two.

Lisa Dolan is the author of The Brooklyn Witch: The Battle for Brooklyn, where Brooklyn attitude meets witches, faeries, mystery, and magic.

✨ Take the Cannoli and Leave the Magic!

🌐 www.thebrooklynwitch.com

#LifeAccordingToLisaAndJimToo #SecondTimesTheCharm#MainCharacterEnergy #TheBrooklynWitch #Podcast

Can a spinoff actually be BETTER than the original?

This week on Life According to Lisa (and Jim too!), we're talking about the television characters who were so good they got another chance to steal the show!

It all started with Reacher and Neagley.We both enjoy Reacher, but could it be that Neagley has an even better story to tell?

From Cheers and Frasier to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Lou Grant, The Jeffersons, Young Sheldon, and The Simpsons, we're revisiting the television shows that gave us some unforgettable spinoffs.

And what about the ones that didn't quite work? Remember Joey, The Golden Palace, and Joanie Loves Chachi?Sometimes being a great supporting character doesn't guarantee a hit show!

We're also talking about prequels, television family trees,and the stories that keep growing long after the original series ends.

And because we can never resist bringing books into theconversation, we'll explore a few familiar literary worlds and wonder whether someone from The Brooklyn Witch might someday deserve a story of their own.

So grab your popcorn and join us as we revisit the shows weloved, the characters we couldn't get enough of, and the spinoffs that made us say, "Wait...they got their OWN show?"

🎙️ Season 2, Episode 28: Second Time's the Charm (Part One).

Stay tuned for Part Two, when we ask what it reallytakes for a supporting character to become the star!

📖 Lisa is the author of The Brooklyn Witch: The Battle forBrooklyn, where Brooklyn attitude meets witches, faeries, mystery, and a little organized crime.

🌐 www.thebrooklynwitch.com

✨ Take the Cannoli and Leave the Magic!

#LifeAccordingToLisaAndJimToo #SecondTimesTheCharm#TVSpinoffs #TheBrooklynWitch #Podcast

Remember when the telephone rang, and everybody in the house yelled, “I'LL GET IT!”

You had no idea who was calling. No caller ID, no texting first, and absolutely no privacy if your little brother decided to pick up the extension!

This week on Life According to Lisa and Jim too!, we're taking a trip back to a time when the telephone was attached to the house, phone numbers had names like Cloverdale and Esplanade, and you could spend half the night talking to someone without ever running out of things to say.

We're remembering those ridiculously long telephone cords, busy signals, operators who could interrupt a call, payphones, the Yellow Pages, long-distance charges, and the excitement of coming home to a blinking answering machine.

And then came call waiting, three-way calling, cordless phones, and eventually cell phones. Suddenly, everything changed.

Lisa shares some of her own telephone adventures, from personalized answering machine messages and her beloved Princess phone to finding creative ways to get a little privacy. And Jim remembers when your brain was your contact list!

Remember when a phone call was something you looked forward to?

Today, when the phone rings unexpectedly, we stare at it and wonder, “Why is somebody calling me?”

We're laughing about how much has changed, what we don't miss, and a few things we just might.

So pick up the phone, settle in, and join us for Hanging on the Telephone!

📖 Learn more about The Brooklyn Witch:
https://www.thebrooklynwitch.com

📚 The Brooklyn Witch: The Battle for Brooklyn
By Lisa Dolan

✨ Take the Cannoli and Leave the Magic. ✨

#LifeAccordingToLisaAndJimToo #HangingOnTheTelephone #Nostalgia #RetroMemories #TheBrooklynWitch

You wrote the book. Congratulations! Now what?

In Part II of So, You Want to Write a Book?

Lisa and Jim move beyond the writing and into the part nobody really talks about: turning that manuscript into an actualpublished book.

Paperback or hardcover? Or both? What about an e-book? White paper or cream? Dust jacket or no dust jacket? Who designs the cover? What goes on the back of the book? How do you write a blurb about a story that took you hundreds of pages to tell? Writing your own bio!

And then come the acronyms and numbers.

ISBN. LCCN. Copyright. Distribution. Print-on-demand.

What do they mean? Which ones do you need? And where do you even begin?

Lisa shares what she learned while independently publishing The Brooklyn Witch: The Battle for Brooklyn, while Lisa and Jim talk about the decisions, surprises, mistakes, and technical details that come after you finish writing the book.

Because apparently...

Writing the book was only the beginning.

Resources We Talk About in This Episode:

IngramSpark: Self-Publishing, Printing & Distribution
Paperback, hardcover, jacketed hardcover, e-books, print-on-demand and global book distribution. IngramSpark says its network provides access to more than 45,000 retailers, libraries, and other outlets. IngramSpark Website

Bowker: ISBNs for U.S. Publishers & Authors
Bowker is the U.S. ISBN agency. Remember that different book formats may require separate ISBNs. Tip: buy in bulk!

BowkerPublishing Services
Library of Congress: Preassigned Control Number (PCN/LCCN)
Eligible U.S. authors and publishers of forthcoming books can apply for a preassigned Library of Congress Control Number. The Library of Congress notes that this needs to happen before the eligible book is published. Library of Congress
Library of Congress PCN Program

U.S. Copyright Office: Register a Literary Work
Official information and registration for books and other literary works.
U.S. Copyright Office — Literary Works

One thing to remember: an ISBN, LCCN, and copyrightregistration are three different things. The Library of Congress does not issue ISBNs; in the United States, ONLY Bowker administers those. Also, purchase your own ISBN. You will be happy you own it and proud too!

Learn more about The Brooklyn Witch:
The Brooklyn Witch official website

The Brooklyn Witch: TheBattle for Brooklyn
By Lisa Dolan

✨Take the Cannoli and Leave the Magic.✨

#SoYouWantToWriteABook#SelfPublishing #IndieAuthor #WritingCommunity #TheBrooklynWitch #authors #writing #WritingABook #IndiePublishing