New Age Stores, New Orleans, and Mystical Fiction with C. D'Angelo

What happens when you're a licensed mental health counselor with a full-time caseload and a burning desire to publish novels? For C. D'Angelo, it meant learning to self-publish, setting firm boundaries, and discovering that her best ideas come during her morning commute.

The author of The Difference and her brand-new release The Visitor joins Every Soul Has a Story to discuss her journey from a small press to self-publishing after eight years of incubating her debut, how she balances two full-time careers, and why release—not letting go—is the secret to managing creative energy. With settings as rich as her characters—New York for The Difference and New Orleans for The Visitor—C. weaves her Italian heritage, love of music, and observations from her therapy practice into stories that explore connection, ancestry, and community. She also shares why Sundays are her writing days, how music fuels her creativity, and why putting down the phone at 8 p.m. is non-negotiable self-care.

0:00 - Intro and evening podcast
2:55 - Self-publishing journey and parting with publisher
4:44 - The eight-year incubation
5:50 - Licensed mental health counselor by day
6:37 - Boundaries, self-care, and saying no
8:32 - Creative ideas come in the car
10:46 - Sundays are writing days
12:16 - Observations from therapy in fiction
13:28 - The Difference plot and Italian heritage
15:09 - Discovering Italian relatives in Florida
18:45 - The Visitor set in New Orleans
20:43 - Book titles from music and movement
22:46 - Self-care tips and the power of release
25:53 - Final thoughts and farewell

• https://www.instagram.com/dara.levan/
• Website: daralevan.com3
https://cdangeloauthor.com/

QUOTES:

"Letting go to me as a type A person would be 'how do I do that?' But release sounds so much easier."
– C. D'Angelo

"That's how you know you're following your passion and purpose—when it's itching and knocking at you."
– Dara Levan