What if writing a book isn’t about becoming an author… but becoming a guide?
In this episode of Plot Twist Radio, Erin sits down with author, ghostwriter, and editor Megan Okonsky to explore the deeper purpose behind storytelling—and why the most powerful books don’t just entertain, they transform.
Megan shares how the Hero’s Journey shapes not only the stories we tell, but the lives we live—and how she helps clients turn their experiences into meaningful, impactful books. They also dive into the realities of writing, from the fear that stops most people from starting to the messy, nonlinear process of actually finishing a manuscript.
Plus, Megan talks about her debut novel The Barefoot Followers of Sweet Potato Grace—a quirky, heartfelt story about grief, identity, and a mysterious group of barefoot strangers who shake up a small Texas town.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why many writers never start (and how to push past it)
- The difference between writing to impress vs. writing to guide
- How the Hero’s Journey applies to real life
- Why funny books are harder to sell—but more needed than ever
- Megan’s unique writing process (and why she rewrites everything)
If you’ve ever wanted to write a book—or wondered if your story matters—this episode is for you.
You can find Megan on Instagram.
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Welcome to Plot Twist Radio, the show where creativity,
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storytelling, and the unpredictable path of the
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creative life all collide. I'm your host, Aaron Egnatz.
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Welcome back to Plot Twist Radio, where we dive into the
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stories behind the storytellers and uncover the moments that
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shape creativity in ways we never expect.
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Today's guest is someone who lives at the intersection of
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transformation and storytelling. She is an author, ghostwriter,
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and editor who has helped bring countless books to life.
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But her approach goes deeper than just writing.
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She believes every story is a part of a larger journey, one
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that can actually change the person telling it.
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In this episode, we talked about the power of the hero's journey
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in real life, why editors might secretly be superheroes, and how
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storytelling can guide readers, not just entertain them.
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We also dive into Megan's debut novel, The Barefoot Followers of
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Sweet Potato Grace, a quirky, heartfelt story about Grease,
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identity, and what happens when a group of barefoot strangers
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roll into a tiny Texas town and turn everything upside down.
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If you've ever wondered what it really means to write a book, or
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why so many people never start, this conversation is going to
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hit home. Let's get into it.
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Hello, Megan, and welcome to the show.
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Thank you for having me, absolutely.
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So can you tell the audience a little bit about yourself before
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we get going? Sure.
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I am a author, I am a ghost writer, I do a little bit of
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editing, I am a cat mom and I am based in Austin, TX.
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Very cool. I'm also a cat mom.
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You'll probably hear them throughout.
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I apologize in advance. Yeah, Funny Business is sleeping
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right next to me, so he's maybe he'll make an appearance.
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I don't know. Well, I'm all for cats.
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I love them. So you've spent your years
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helping clients produce best selling books, which is awesome,
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but you always emphasize transforming lives first.
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Where did that philosophy come from?
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I really started thinking about the hero's journey and how it
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applies to both my clients books and my books quite a few years
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ago. It actually was spurred by a
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conversation I had in an Uber during South by Southwest.
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And I just had this fantastic conversation with a Uber driver
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about we're talking about Roadhouse specifically.
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And just like the importance of the hero's journey and the
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importance of all of these different elements of a good
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story. And I really started to like,
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I've been, I've written a few books before that with publisher
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and, you know, had, you know, a little bit of experience, but I
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really wanted to like lock in on that hero's journey for my
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clients because a lot of them come to me because they have
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like, quote UN quote, found that elixir of the hero's journey and
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they're sharing it with their clients, with their readers, all
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these things. So I, I like to apply that
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journey to their, their books. And then they can also like see
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their journey as well. And it's a positive experience
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for them to, you know, see themselves as a hero.
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A lot of people are writing books, you know, believing they
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are a hero already. So being able to kind of put
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that into like storytelling format is, is really fun.
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Oh, yeah, absolutely. And you, you kind of are a hero,
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especially. No, you definitely are a hero
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for, you know, you're an author, but you're also an editor and
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ghostwriter. Our editors, My editor is my
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savior, I'm telling you, because there are so many times that
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they've caught things. I've given them a product and I
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think, Yep, it's good. It's good.
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And then it comes back with all these red Marks and you're like,
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Oh my God. But they help you create the
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story that needs to be out there.
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Yeah, yeah, you, you're so into your story, especially if
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you're, you know, if I'm ghost writing for a client who they're
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telling the story of their life, they have very specific memories
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of it. They have a very specific
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perspective on it. But that perspective might not
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always reach all of their readers it's or meet them where
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they are. So I editors are just so
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important to have that extra perspective.
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Just the extra eyes on it is always, you know, it's always
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very illuminating. Do you remember the moment you
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realize books could be more than art?
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Like for me, I I was an adult, I did not like to read when I was
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younger. And then I finally got to Pride
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and Prejudice and I realized, Yep, this is it.
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So do you remember that moment for yourself?
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I think there was a book that I read when I was really young.
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It was called Walk 2 moons. It was by Sharon Creech.
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It was this basically this book that boiled down to like have
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empathy for other people because it was this it like Native
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American saying of like you can't understand someone until
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you walk 2 moons in their moccasins.
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I think is a quote. It's been a long time, but being
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able to like read that book and like take that lesson from it
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and see that it's not just like an entertaining story or it's
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just something, you know, it's not part of like a bedtime
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routine, but it's something that like shapes your world and
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introduces you to maybe new culture, a new perspective, a
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new, you know, all these different things I think was
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very important for me. I really, you know, that was my
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favorite book for a very long time.
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That Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli, very similar, showed
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this character who was so different and was so proud of
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her being different and proud of being unique and being a little
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wacky. That book as well was, I think,
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very formative because it just showed a character that you
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could see yourself in that character.
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You could be inspired by that character.
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And that's, I mean, that's a lot to for a while.
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You know why a book, you know, I'm reading it in 4th grade or
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whatever. That's a lot to powerful impact.
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Absolutely. Absolutely.
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So you work with a wide range of clients.
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Is there a common theme that you see among the people?
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That, that's an interesting question.
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I, I think it's the one thing that I've learned from a lot of
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people. And I'm trying to say this not
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gently, but people are writing these books you with, you know,
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they're an expert on something. They have a lot to share.
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They have a lot of insight. They have a lot of wisdom.
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But also people, you know, whether they're writing a book
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as a memoir or a, you know, a business book, there's also
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still so much that they have that they want to explore that
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is they're interested in learning about that Maybe
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they're questioning. They also are writing these
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books because they know people who are curious, who want to
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make a change, who are questioning thing, who want to
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improve. It's, you know, it's basically
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I've, I've learned that it's just like this constant cycle of
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like learning and sharing and learning and sharing and, and it
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continues just throughout your entire life.
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And I kind of catch people in a very interesting spot where they
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are definitely sharing what they've, they've learned.
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But, you know, as we have conversations, I have to ask
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them questions, you know, for 960 to 90 minutes every week.
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And you know, they get to think a lot too about their journey
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and their, you know what they don't know as they're asking the
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answering these questions and as they're reflecting on their,
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their life. Do you do both nonfiction and
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fiction? I'm ghostwrite non fiction, so
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business books, memoirs. I'm yeah, I do a little bit of
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fiction editing if it comes my way, but a lot of non fiction
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editing, beta reading, developmental editing.
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And then I write fiction just, you know, for myself with my own
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name and all the stuff. I'm happy to do it like editing
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for fiction, but I like to write it for myself.
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Gotcha. Yeah, I I was like that too.
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That's why I have a pen name and then I have my name for when I
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do the nonfiction. But I prefer fiction.
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Yes. I don't know why, but I do.
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I guess I like the fantasy. And it's fun to kind of have
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some control over the world and the characters and the like when
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with fiction, you can kind of tell people this is how the
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world is. With nonfiction, you have to
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meet them where they are in their perspective of the world
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because you know they have readers have an idea of what's
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true. And you have to make sure that
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you're kind of meeting them at that point.
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Whereas fiction you can just say, you know, this, this, and
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this is true. And that's that's part of it.
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So many people think writing a book is about becoming an
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author. You frame it as becoming a
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guide. Can you explain?
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Yeah, I mean, it kind of what I was saying where you're you're
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meeting set like a reader where they are.
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And then you're you're guiding them to either, you know, a
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lesson or, you know, a nonfiction.
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It's maybe a transformation that they're going to make or you're
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guiding them through, you know, a journey that they're going to
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take. Like nonfiction readers.
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It's like they have a problem. Like let's say they want to make
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more money and you're guiding them through that journey of
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what they need to do, what hero's journey they need to take
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so that they can make more money and, you know, all that stuff.
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And even in fiction too, like, like I always lead with a theme
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or a kind of a message, you know, that I want to share in my
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fiction books. And the entire book is just
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guiding someone through that journey until they get to that
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conclusion. They may or may not agree with
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it, but that's kind of the the point that I want to make in my
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fiction. But that's my debut novel.
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The kind of point that I'm making.
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I don't think it's something that necessarily everyone would
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agree with, but it's at least, you know, that's the point of
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view of the book, so. Yeah, I get that for sure.
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So let's talk about your book. What can you tell us about it
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without, you know, spoilers? Yes, yeah, of course.
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So it is called the Barefoot Followers of Sweet Potato Grace.
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And the basic spiel is there is this young woman named Pinky
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Swear. She is a closeted lesbian in a
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very, very tiny, tiny town in Texas called Tombstone.
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She is dealing with the grief of her cat, and she's also decided
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to potentially come out to her friends and family.
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But before she can do that, she is interrupted by a Volkswagen
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van of a bunch of barefoot people who look like they came
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straight out of the 70s. And they move into this town.
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They cause a lot of chaos. It's very fun.
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They're accused of being a cult. It's very fun, light hearted.
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I mean, there are some like serious themes of like grief and
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and identity and and coming out. But overall it's like a good fun
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light read. You can finish it in a day and
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it's a good like escape from things because it's very
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optimistic. Hey, that's what we need right
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now. So what was the inspiration?
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Is there any real world inspiration or is it just a
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world you created? Yeah, it's basically a world I
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created. I was so I was grieving a cat
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that I had named Sweet Potato Grace, and she loved goat
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cheese. She's very bougie.
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And I was planning, I was planning a memorial for her that
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was going to be like a goat cheese themed memorial.
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And as I was planning it and thinking about it, for some
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reason, like the, the date of the 4th of July popped in my
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head and I thought the 4th of July goat cheese memorial for
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Sweet Potato Grace. And I was like, well, if that's
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not the title of a book, I don't know what is.
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So I started thinking about that and, you know, I, I, I was very,
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kind of feeling very small and very sad and in my grief.
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And I kind of pictured this character who's giving this
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eulogy at a 4th of July goat cheese memorial for sweet potato
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Grace. And, you know, I could hear the
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flies buzzing and the, the grandma kind of, you know,
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disassociating and the, and the, you know, heaviness of the, the
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occasion. And, you know, I kind of had
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that character, but I didn't know what was going to happen.
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And then at the time, I was thinking about the phrase and a
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good story starts with a hero leaving home or a stranger
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coming to town. And I knew I didn't know this
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character yet, but I knew she wasn't ready to leave home.
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So that left me with no choice but for some strangers to come
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to town. And that's how the Barefoot
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Followers came into into play. And then, you know, I just let
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them, you know, go on their journey.
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So it's, yeah, kind of a not the the most fun inspiration for a
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book, but here we are. But you.
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It's the, you know, turning the lemons in the lemonade
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situation. Exactly.
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Yeah, yeah, she, I mean pinkies where she learns a lot from that
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situation. She kind of has this, you know,
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this next step in her life, this next chapter in her life.
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And when she and she has these new people to help her kind of
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decide what to do with it. And so it's and it's very fun
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along the way. Sounds like So what is your
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writing process like? I tend to just kind of think of
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the different kind of scenes. I don't plot things out until
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like a few drafts in. So I usually will just write a
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bunch of different mishmash scenes and I don't know where
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they're going and I don't know all of that.
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And then once I've got like a good chunk of the story in, then
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I'll go through the book and again, I will plot it out as in
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like the, there's like the inside outline that is in it's
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in blueprint for book. I don't know the author's name,
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but she has this like structure for an outline where it's just
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like, here's what happens, you know, and because this happens,
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then you have the next thing. And because that happened and
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it, you know, just that kind of basic structure.
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So I like to plot all that out and then I'll rewrite the book
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essentially, which I, that ideas from Matt Bell's refuse to be
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done. And then if I'm, you know, with
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certain books, I'll write, rewrite it again, which is what
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I'm doing with my second book. And yeah, just kind of, you
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know, once I have the, the order of events, then I really just go
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from top to bottom and, and write the write the story all
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again. So.
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Yes. How many drafts do you think you
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have? Because I, I'm on my second or
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my sequel to the book I just released and I am on my sixth
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draft and I'm like, where am I going with this?
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I I can't, I don't know how many drafts there were for the
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barefoot followers. I kind of wish I had counted.
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I know with the next book that I'm working on now, I'm about to
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start the third draft. I'm counting it like later this
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month. And then I'm hoping that with
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that draft, I'll be maybe like do some edits and that will be,
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you know, I'll just be chipping away at that draft instead of
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deciding to rewrite it entirely so.
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Yes, because it's so frustrating.
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Yeah, yeah, I'm I, So originally this book I was going to do
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third person, which is also what I I did for Barefoot Followers.
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I thought it was going to be in third person for Barefoot
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Followers. Pinky's voice is just very
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unique and it's very fun to be in her head.
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So I rewrote the entire book in first person and now it's in
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first person with the second book, the main character, it's
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not so fun to be in her head and it's she's not a very pleasant
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person. So I'm going to rewrite it again
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in all in third person. I think it's going to stick that
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way, so see. That's, that's, that's
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impressive that you can switch between the two because I cannot
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do that. It's it's tough.
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I was with the like with fairfoot followers.
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It was much easier to do the first person just because
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Pinky's so unique. Yeah, with this, it's it was a
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little tougher to be in first person with this one character
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because it she's just quite negative, which is not a fun
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place to be so and not fun for readers.
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So hopefully with a little bit of distance and a little
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hopefully that third person kind of narrator will be able to kind
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of poke fun at her as much as, you know, the readers want to as
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well. So how do you balance the
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different emotions because like you said, it's a light hearted,
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but I I've talked to different authors and some of them say,
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you know, I just don't know how far I should take the comedy.
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Yeah, I, I think I wanted to lead with the the comedy and
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with the quirky aspects of it. So like the town that they're in
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is called Tombstone. It has very silly.
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Everyone has a very silly name. I mean, Pinky Swear is she's
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named Pinky Swear after another cat that I had.
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And it was just like kind of the perfect name.
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Her sister is named Fanny. Like at like the barefoot people
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all kind of have quirky names. The town itself is filled with
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very quirky like death related names, like the churches, Our
00:16:59
Lady of the obituary and like all that, all that kind of
00:17:03
stuff. So it's like I wanted to lead
00:17:05
from that space. But there's obviously there's
00:17:09
some themes that go and you need tension and you need, you know,
00:17:13
some conflicting feelings as well.
00:17:15
So it's, I wanted to have like the comedy, like first and
00:17:18
foremost, like this is going to be a funny book.
00:17:20
There's going to be some tension and there's going to be some
00:17:21
conflict. But like, let's, this is very
00:17:24
silly, you know, so just kind of placing the readers in a very
00:17:27
silly space, you know, for them to go on the journey with Pinky.
00:17:31
Those are my favorite kind of books.
00:17:32
I, I love to laugh, you know, and I love to escape, especially
00:17:35
in fiction, you know, you really want to escape.
00:17:38
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I there's this book called
00:17:40
Dialect for Aunties that is one of the books that kind of very
00:17:45
loosely inspired this book, because I had read this book.
00:17:48
It's about a woman who she kills her blind date that she was set
00:17:53
up on by her 4 aunts and she like has this dead body that she
00:17:58
doesn't know what to do with. But they're all hosting a
00:18:00
wedding. Like they're all wedding
00:18:01
planners. So they like have to go through
00:18:04
this wedding with this like dead body.
00:18:06
And it's like, so I mean, you have to suspend your disbelief
00:18:09
for a lot of it, but it's so funny, like laugh out loud
00:18:14
funny. And there's not, I don't
00:18:17
encounter a lot of books like that.
00:18:20
But when I read it, I was like, I want more of these books where
00:18:24
you just can laugh out loud and like, it's silly and absurd and
00:18:27
quirky. And that was one of the things
00:18:29
that kind of pushed me forward with this book is like, I want a
00:18:32
book that where people can actually laugh and, you know,
00:18:35
even if they have to suspend their disbelieve a little bit.
00:18:40
Yeah, that's exactly the kind of genre I love.
00:18:43
I wish there was more in it. Yeah, it's hard.
00:18:46
I had the first agent who rejected me was like, I love
00:18:51
funny books. I just can't sell funny books,
00:18:54
which I totally get because it there's a weird feeling of when
00:18:59
you're trying to pitch a book to someone and you're like, it's
00:19:01
funny. Like it's, I feel like I have to
00:19:04
do jazz hands or like a little dance just to prove that it is
00:19:08
quite funny, especially when it starts with a cat eulogy.
00:19:11
So I get that it's tough to self and everyone has a different
00:19:15
sense of humor and what one person thinks is funny is, you
00:19:17
know, not going to be the same as another person's sense of
00:19:21
humor. So I get that it's hard to sell,
00:19:23
but it's also like we just need more funny bucks out there.
00:19:26
So, you know, hopefully, yeah, I'll try and write as funny as
00:19:30
I. Can please do.
00:19:31
Please do, Agents, if you're listening.
00:19:33
We want funny. Yeah.
00:19:36
So it's for prospective writers out there.
00:19:39
There's so many people out there that say I want to write a book,
00:19:42
but what's the most common real fear hiding behind that phrase?
00:19:48
I wonder if people are afraid that it's just not going to be
00:19:52
good, especially it's a lot of time that you put into writing a
00:19:58
book. I mean, it's, I have a writing
00:20:02
friend and mentor that says, like, block out four years of
00:20:05
your life for a book. You know, that wasn't the case
00:20:07
with the Barefoot Followers, but it was, you know, it could be
00:20:11
the case for many books. I mean, The Slip by Luka
00:20:13
Schaefer, which I read recently, and also an Austin author, he
00:20:17
spent 12 years on the book. I mean, he's reaping all the
00:20:20
benefits of that. And he's, you know, winning all
00:20:22
of these amazing rewards. And it's one of the best books
00:20:24
of 2025. So it's completely worth it in
00:20:28
my opinion. It was a phenomenal book.
00:20:30
It's a lot of time. And then to invest all this time
00:20:33
into doing something that may not go anywhere.
00:20:37
I think for some people that's not a risk that they're willing
00:20:40
to take, but it's also, I don't know, I just like the process of
00:20:46
writing a book. I like the process of creating
00:20:49
these characters and kind of putting things from the real
00:20:53
world and kind of placing it into the book and to kind of
00:20:57
work through it that way. I the second novel I've been
00:21:00
working, I worked a lot on in airports and just using my
00:21:04
frustration of people in airports and just putting that
00:21:06
into the book, stuff like that. So I enjoy the process.
00:21:10
I don't have any like crazy expectations for where things
00:21:13
are going to go, but I'm just enjoying taking the time to like
00:21:17
make it the book that I want to read anyway.
00:21:20
So I would hope that writers are coming, perspective writers are
00:21:23
coming from that position as well, because then they'll just
00:21:26
enjoy it, even if it goes nowhere.
00:21:29
Yes, yes, that I think that that is a big reason that a lot of
00:21:33
people just don't pull the trigger on going into writing
00:21:36
because, you know, it is an uphill battle.
00:21:38
And then there's the what if, you know, what if I don't make
00:21:40
it? So that kind of leads me to my
00:21:42
next question. What advice would you give
00:21:45
prospective writers out there? I think it's doing it because
00:21:49
you love it, like do like enjoying the time, taking the
00:21:53
like money, success, all that kind of stuff out of it.
00:21:58
And also just finding writing groups because like when you're
00:22:02
writing by yourself and it's a solitary activity, it's not as
00:22:05
fun. A lot of the barefoot followers.
00:22:07
Like the reason that it's the book it is today is because I
00:22:11
was part of writing groups and I wrote with in with amazing
00:22:15
writers in Austin. And just like was able to, I was
00:22:18
able to share this with writers and readers and and people that,
00:22:21
you know, help me make this book a better book.
00:22:23
And it's also just fun because you get to learn about different
00:22:26
elements of storytelling and writing and craft and all this
00:22:28
stuff. And you get to be in community
00:22:31
with people, especially, I think, you know, I don't know
00:22:34
about other cities, but the awesome writing community is 1
00:22:37
huge 2, very like accomplished and also very quirky.
00:22:42
You do not know who you're going to meet at certain literary
00:22:45
events. We're in writing groups and
00:22:47
there's like so many writing groups and so many free writing
00:22:50
groups. And all of those people can
00:22:52
teach you something about telling a story or just like
00:22:54
about what it is to be a human, which I think is what all
00:22:58
writing is kind of getting at. So yeah, just write with other
00:23:01
people is, I think, very important.
00:23:04
Let you know worse comes to worse, you'll make a friend.
00:23:07
So. Yeah, that's a good.
00:23:09
That's a good point. That's great advice.
00:23:10
I haven't had anyone say that. So that's really good advice.
00:23:13
So where can the reader, the readers, the listeners find?
00:23:16
You can find me on Instagram. It's just Megan Okonski.
00:23:20
I have a sub stack. It's called I Can't Stop
00:23:23
Writing, but I think if you look up meganokonski.substack.com,
00:23:27
that's the way to find me, and then you can find the book
00:23:31
pretty much everywhere books are sold.
00:23:33
Hopefully you're looking in an indie bookstore near you or
00:23:36
bookshop.org, which you can benefit local bookstores through
00:23:40
your purchase. You can also the audio book is
00:23:44
coming out May 26th, I believe. I know it's on Spotify, It's on.
00:23:49
It's going to be on Audible, Libro dot FMI believe so yeah,
00:23:55
there's all the places you can find a book.
00:23:56
You can find my book SO. Awesome.
00:23:59
Well, I look forward to reading it.
00:24:01
Megan, thank you so much for joining me.
00:24:03
Thank you so much for having me, this is great.
00:24:10
I think one of the biggest takeaways from this episode is
00:24:12
that writing isn't just about becoming an author, it's about
00:24:15
becoming a guide. Whether you're telling your
00:24:17
story or helping someone else tell theirs, there's something
00:24:19
incredibly powerful about shaping A narrative that leads
00:24:23
someone from where they are to where they could be.
00:24:26
I loved what Megan said about writing not needing to be
00:24:28
perfect or even successful right away.
00:24:30
It just needs to be something you enjoy because at the end of
00:24:33
the day, that's what keeps you coming back to the page.
00:24:36
You can find Megan on Instagram on Sub Stack, and her book The
00:24:39
Barefoot Flowers of Sweet Potato Grace is available wherever
00:24:42
books are sold, so definitely check that out, especially if
00:24:46
you're looking for something heartfelt, quirky, and genuinely
00:24:49
funny. And if you enjoyed this episode,
00:24:50
don't forget to follow Blood Twist Radio on Spotify, leave a
00:24:53
review, and share it with someone who has a story they've
00:24:55
been too afraid to start. Until next time, keep writing,
00:24:59
keep creating, and keep embracing the twists in your own
00:25:02
story.