Today’s episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is sponsored by Child Care Search, a service of Child Care Resources Inc. Looking for child care? Our team provides guidance every step of the way! Search online at www.FindChildCareNC.org or call 1-888-600-1685 for live assistance and free, customized referrals.
Between billable hours and family life, few professionals find time to chase the stories in their heads — but one Charlotte attorney did. As a trial attorney, Mathew Flato has spent decades in litigation. Now, he’s turned his eye for detail and structure into a new kind of brief: a debut novel.
In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Steve Dunn talks with Flato about “Ocean Child,” his first book — a sweeping story of three half-sisters raised oceans apart who must confront the imprint of a broken father and define belonging on their own terms. Flato shares how he carved out writing time, the lessons he brought from law into fiction, and the balancing act between storytelling, editing and vulnerability.
In this conversation:
Why a veteran litigator turned to fiction after years in the courtroom
How outlining a 20,000-word treatment gave structure — and commitment — to the writing process
What it’s really like to argue with editors and defend your creative choices
How AI can be a tool for editing — but never a substitute for storytelling
The business of self-publishing, from developmental editing to Amazon algorithms
The vulnerability of putting art into the world and the discipline it takes to finish it
We hope you enjoy the conversation with Mathew Flatow.
This episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast was produced by Lindsey Banks.
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