We've got a treat for our lovers of storytelling! Hersh sits down with Douglas A. Burton, a novelist and storyteller whose various works emphasize heroic women in fiction. Doug’s debut historical novel, "Far Away Bird," brought Byzantine Empress Theodora to life through an intimate biographical account. The novel collected numerous awards including gold medals for the IBPA’s Best New Voice in Fiction, Readers’ Favorite Historical Personage, and eLit’s Best Historical Fiction eBook. Far Away Bird was also a finalist for the Montaigne Medal (Eric Hoffer Book Award) and Screencraft’s Cinematic Book competition. His articles and work on Theodora have appeared in Ms. Magazine and have been cited on Wikipedia. More recently, Doug’s short story ‘The Vaccine’ won the 2024 NextGen Short Story Awards for the Scary Story/Paranormal category.

Burton’s newest book, The Heroine’s Labyrinth: Archetypal Designs in Heroine-Led Fiction, is a nonfiction writing craft book that boldly presents a paradigm shift for story structure. Sourced entirely from heroine-centric stories. The heroine’s labyrinth model offers a completely original and groundbreaking alternative to the hero’s journey. The book has been endorsed by Hollywood and storytelling gurus such as Christopher Vogler and Matt Bird. Burton currently lives in Austin, TX with his wonderful wife, Crystal, and two energetic boys, Jacob and Lucas.

Connect with Douglas: https://www.facebook.com/douglasaburtonauthor https://www.instagram.com/dougburtonwriter/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-a-burton-790095186/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfHHg-qxyLSa3EVlyQo971Q

(0:00) Introduction to Hero and centric characters in native culture (2:11) Douglas Burton's passion for historical fiction and Far Away Bird (4:25) Mysticism, power, and introduction to Heroine's Labyrinth (7:10) Identifying patterns in heroine-centric stories and their journeys (12:11) Villains and masked minotaurs in heroine centric tales (18:20) Douglas Burton's literary background and influences (19:20) Byzantine politics in House of Dragons and modern parallels (24:17) Revolutionary figures in heroine stories and writer support (26:18) Heroine's labyrinth applicability across genres and consulting (28:15) Douglas Burton's online presence and closing remarks