In this 'Friends Season' of The Download, Jill shares 'a tale of two writers' that bridges books, friendship, and the mysterious ways the universe weaves them together. What begins as a reflection on World Book Day unfolds into the friendship frequency - and a children’s book that somehow finds its way, decades later and half a world away, into the hands of the next generation.

It’s a story about friendship that endures across time and distance, about intuitive connections that defy logic, and about the magical threads that run through our creative lives. From Winchester to Auckland, from one Fairy House to another, this is a gentle reminder that stories have their own frequencies — and they always know where to find us.

Along the way, Jill celebrates World Book Day, her long friendship with author Kelly McKain, and the synchronicity of a book rediscovered at the exact right moment.

Listen if you love: real-life magic, creative friendships, and stories that remind you the universe is always in conversation.

Links:

• World Book Dayhttps://www.worldbookday.com/
  
  
• Kelly McKain’s books
  
  
• Jane Blonde The Perfect Spylet - a World Book Day Mini Mission

Message Us!

Like to work with Jill?

Try Jill's unique six-month mentorships: Fiction Editor and The Her-ro’s Journey.

The Fiction Editor Mentorship Programme isn’t about proofreading or copy editing — it’s a full developmental editing immersion and an entry point to a business choice, built on Jill's careers as both author and editor.

The Her-ro’s Journey Mentorship Programme is a contemporary take on the Hero’s and Heroine’s journeys, exploring many of the themes we cover here on The Download.

Find out more about Jill’s best-selling fiction and storyworlds on girlpowerpublishing.com.

Find The Download Podcast on YouTube, FaceBook, Instagram,
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and LinkedIn

Welcome to The Download: Season of Friends.

Jill opens her Season of Friends with a story of lifelong connection, cosmic coincidence, and a birthday adventure that somehow involves Steve Coogan. From Cambridge kitchens to Cornish cliffs and the tiniest island in the Atlantic, this is a funny, tender reflection on friendship, memory, and the mysterious frequency that keeps us linked across time and distance.

In this episode, Jill opens her “Season of Friends,” a heartfelt and funny exploration of the strange synchronicities, shared memories and timeless threads that connect us to the people we love.

The story begins in Cambridge, in a college kitchen decades ago, where Jill first met her lifelong friend and the friend's then-new boyfriend. It travels through forty years of friendship, birthdays, laughter, and the kind of adventures that become folklore within your closest circle.

At the centre is a magical and slightly surreal trip to Cornwall and the Scilly Isles for their joint milestone birthdays ten years ago, complete with toy planes, puffins, a cottage fire, and an uncanny connection with Steve Coogan - who by coincidence, was born the same week as the two friends, and somehow became an accidental fourth member of their friendship triangle.

✨ In this episode:

• How lifelong friendships begin in the unlikeliest places (including kitchens)
• A once-in-a-lifetime synchronicity featuring Steve Coogan
• The enduring comfort of connection across miles, memories, and years
• Why friendship is one of the universe’s most mysterious and miraculous frequencies

If you’ve ever felt that certain friends exist in a timeless field with you, appearing in synchronicities, birthdays, and passing thoughts, this episode will resonate.

So pour a glass, light a candle, or take a walk somewhere beautiful, and tune into the frequency called friendship.

Read Pineapple, mentioned in the podcast and available in print, ebook and audio
Pineapple | YA Time-Slip Romance

Message Us!

Like to work with Jill?

Try Jill's unique six-month mentorships: Fiction Editor and The Her-ro’s Journey.

The Fiction Editor Mentorship Programme isn’t about proofreading or copy editing — it’s a full developmental editing immersion and an entry point to a business choice, built on Jill's careers as both author and editor.

The Her-ro’s Journey Mentorship Programme is a contemporary take on the Hero’s and Heroine’s journeys, exploring many of the themes we cover here on The Download.

Find out more about Jill’s best-selling fiction and storyworlds on girlpowerpublishing.com.

Find The Download Podcast on YouTube, FaceBook, Instagram,
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and LinkedIn

This is Episode 40 — the episode that nearly wasn’t.

For two weeks I put out no new material: one encore, then nothing at all. And here’s the paradox: when I went quiet, the downloads spiked. Which made me stop and wonder - is there something in silence itself that draws people in?

In this milestone episode, I explore the power of fallow periods - those empty-chair moments when it looks like nothing is happening, but in truth everything is gathering strength beneath the surface. From Carl Jung’s insights on thresholds, to Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ call for the soul’s winter, to Thomas Moore and Parker Palmer’s reflections on silence, I share why doing nothing is not failure but part of the natural cycle.

We’ll talk about:

• What it means to leave the field fallow in life, work, and creativity
• Why silence, rest and waiting can be as powerful as constant output
• The paradox of absence: more downloads when no episode was released
• How to recognise the ‘let it lie’ moments a la Vic Reeves
• October as a season of harvest, thresholds and friends
• A preview of my upcoming “season of friends,” with milestone birthdays, memories and synchronicities to share

00:00 Welcome to the Download

00:29 Episode 40: A Milestone

00:58 The Fallow Period

02:03 Embracing Silence and Rest

06:25 The Wisdom of Letting It Lie

08:58 The Paradox of Silence

10:48 A Season of Friends

12:20 Conclusion and Next Steps

Episode 40 is a pause, a marker stone, a threshold. A reminder that it’s not wrong to do nothing, and that sometimes the most authentic thing we can do is let it lie.

Message Us!

Like to work with Jill?

Try Jill's unique six-month mentorships: Fiction Editor and The Her-ro’s Journey.

The Fiction Editor Mentorship Programme isn’t about proofreading or copy editing — it’s a full developmental editing immersion and an entry point to a business choice, built on Jill's careers as both author and editor.

The Her-ro’s Journey Mentorship Programme is a contemporary take on the Hero’s and Heroine’s journeys, exploring many of the themes we cover here on The Download.

Find out more about Jill’s best-selling fiction and storyworlds on girlpowerpublishing.com.

Find The Download Podcast on YouTube, FaceBook, Instagram,
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and LinkedIn

Encore: The Launch Reality — What Book Launches Are Really Like

I've noted that Elizabeth Gilbert is everywhere this week with the launch of her new book, All the Way to the River. It reminded me of two episodes of The Download. In my very first episode, I spoke about the influence of her brilliant book on creativity, Big Magic, on my creative path. And in this episode — one of my most listened-to — I explored the reality of launches.

Because let’s be honest: most of our launches don’t look like Liz Gilbert high-fiving with Oprah. They’re smaller, messier, and often not what we expect.

And yet they’re no less powerful for that.

So this week I’m resurfacing Uploading the Download Back into Space – The Launch Reality. Whether you’re launching a book, a business (like my fiction editor mentees!), or a new version of yourself, I hope it helps you see the beauty in your own process.

👉 Want to hear my first-ever episode, Harnessing the Power of Downloads in Your Creative Journey, where I talk about Big Magic and creativity? Listen here: Episode One of The Download
.

The Launch Reality: Beyond the Glitz

In this encore episode, I revisit the theme of launches, inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest release. Drawing from my own experiences with book launches and other creative endeavours, I contrast the glossy portrayals in media with the far less glamorous reality. Launches, I suggest, are less about instant commercial success and more about celebrating the creative process and the people involved.

⏱️ Episode Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:53 The Reality of Launches
02:11 Personal Experiences with Book Launches
03:08 Misconceptions from TV and Film
04:43 A Memorable Launch Event
07:24 The True Purpose of a Launch
08:03 Conclusion and Farewell

Message Us!

Like to work with Jill?

Try Jill's unique six-month mentorships: Fiction Editor and The Her-ro’s Journey.

The Fiction Editor Mentorship Programme isn’t about proofreading or copy editing — it’s a full developmental editing immersion and an entry point to a business choice, built on Jill's careers as both author and editor.

The Her-ro’s Journey Mentorship Programme is a contemporary take on the Hero’s and Heroine’s journeys, exploring many of the themes we cover here on The Download.

Find out more about Jill’s best-selling fiction and storyworlds on girlpowerpublishing.com.

Find The Download Podcast on YouTube, FaceBook, Instagram,
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and LinkedIn

The Future of Books: From Paperbacks to Podcasts

What is a book today — a paperback, an audiobook, a TikTok trend? Jill Marshall explores the future of reading, children’s literacy, fandom, adaptations - and the timeless archetypes that keep stories alive.

What counts as a ‘book’ today? Is it a paperback on your shelf, a story whispered through headphones, even a Bluey episode on a screen?

In this episode of The Download, Jill Marshall takes you on a lively journey through the ever-changing world of books and storytelling. From her early leap into ebooks and audiobooks to today’s BookTok, Substack, and streaming adaptations, Jill reflects on how books keep reshaping themselves - and why that matters.

Along the way, she explores:

• Why reading for pleasure may be the true key to children’s literacy
• How fandoms respond when adaptations alter the stories they love
• The quirky, prescient behind-the-scenes casting choices for her Jane Blonde series book-to-screen adaptations
• And how archetypes make books timeless, no matter the format

Whether you’re a die-hard print lover, an audiobook binger or someone curious about where storytelling goes next, this episode invites you to wonder: what is a book, really?

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to The Download
00:36 What makes a book a book?
02:54 Children and the joy of reading
04:25 From ebooks to audiobooks and beyond
09:17 Adaptations, fandom, and story fidelity, with The Thursday Murder Club
12:40 Behind the scenes with Jane Blonde, Harry Potter and Bluey
15:20 Archetypes: the timeless magic of books
19:55 What’s next for stories?

Message Us!

Like to work with Jill?

Try Jill's unique six-month mentorships: Fiction Editor and The Her-ro’s Journey.

The Fiction Editor Mentorship Programme isn’t about proofreading or copy editing — it’s a full developmental editing immersion and an entry point to a business choice, built on Jill's careers as both author and editor.

The Her-ro’s Journey Mentorship Programme is a contemporary take on the Hero’s and Heroine’s journeys, exploring many of the themes we cover here on The Download.

Find out more about Jill’s best-selling fiction and storyworlds on girlpowerpublishing.com.

Find The Download Podcast on YouTube, FaceBook, Instagram,
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and LinkedIn

Jill Marshall reveals how her Teacher archetype arrived fully formed in her first training job, showing how intuitive bluff and future selves guide us into our true paths.

What if your future self could lend you her courage?
What if your archetype arrived before you were ready?

In this episode of The Download, Jill Marshall shares the surprising story of her first ever training job: a two-day presentation skills course she had no formal experience to teach, but which she delivered with 10/10 feedback. This was not faking it till she made it. It was an intuitive bluff: borrowing confidence from her future self and allowing her Teacher archetype to step forward fully formed.

Jill reflects on the mystery of archetypes, how they arrive, how they crumble under silence or fear, and how they reform in deeper, more authentic ways. Along the way she weaves in insights from Carl Jung, Robert Ohotto, and Maya Angelou, inviting you to see where your own archetypes might already be waiting to emerge.

✨ A mix of story, psychology and archetypal wisdom, all pointing to one truth: if the calling is there, the capacity is already seeded.

Episode Highlights

• The audacity of teaching what you had never done (and nailing it)
• Intuitive bluffing vs faking it till you make it
• When archetypes crumble and why that can be an initiation
• The invisible curriculum: skills you do not know you already carry
• Borrowing courage from your future self
  
  

00:00 Welcome to the Download Podcast

00:39 The Arrival of the Teacher Archetype

01:15 First Steps into Training

03:52 The Intuitive Bluff

13:18 The Invisible Curriculum

15:32 Embracing Your Archetype

17:16 Conclusion and Call to Action

More listening you might enjoy:

• Witches to Warriors: Fighting the Silencing of Women and Girls (International Women’s Day special)
Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify

• The Quickening: Waiting, Transformation and the Threshold of Change
Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify

Message Us!

Like to work with Jill?

Try Jill's unique six-month mentorships: Fiction Editor and The Her-ro’s Journey.

The Fiction Editor Mentorship Programme isn’t about proofreading or copy editing — it’s a full developmental editing immersion and an entry point to a business choice, built on Jill's careers as both author and editor.

The Her-ro’s Journey Mentorship Programme is a contemporary take on the Hero’s and Heroine’s journeys, exploring many of the themes we cover here on The Download.

Find out more about Jill’s best-selling fiction and storyworlds on girlpowerpublishing.com.

Find The Download Podcast on YouTube, FaceBook, Instagram,
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and LinkedIn

Why life speeds up before transformation: Jill Marshall explores the quickening through stories, Jungian psychology and lived experience.

Why does life feel as though nothing happens for ages and then suddenly everything arrives at once? In this episode of The Download, Jill Marshall explores the archetypal rhythm of the quickening, that moment when long periods of waiting give way to sudden acceleration, synchronicities and transformation.

Drawing on her work mentoring fiction editors and as an author, Jill shows how the pacing of novels mirrors the psyche’s own cycles. Her mentees are at the final stretch of their training, moving from slow, steady exercises into the rush of a full professional edit, and their experience becomes a mirror of this larger pattern.

Jill connects this to Carl Jung’s idea of enantiodromia, Marie-Louise von Franz’s reflections on the unconscious, and her own recent experiences of events clustering together in uncanny ways. She explains how times of stillness are not wasted but act as a gestation before the sudden rush forward, and how the appearance of opposites at these moments is part of the transformation rather than a regression.

Whether you find yourself in a season of waiting or in the swirl of too much happening at once, this episode offers perspective, encouragement and practical wisdom for recognising and navigating your own quickening.

00:00 Welcome to The Download with host Jill Marshall
00:34 Exploring the quickening in stories and life
01:08 The final stretch for Jill's fiction editors
03:47 The archetypal pattern of quickening
07:11 Personal experiences of quickening
10:41 Embracing the quickening and what it means
13:53 Congratulations, conclusion and farewell

If you’re curious to go deeper into these rhythms of waiting, transformation, shadow and integration, you might also enjoy: Letting Go of the Log, where we release survival patterns; The Invisible Child Archetype, where we sit with the shadows of self-abandonment; and Patterns Within Patterns, which explores the hidden cycles that weave through art, psyche and daily life. Those episodes sit right beside this one on the same journey.

Message Us!

Like to work with Jill?

Try Jill's unique six-month mentorships: Fiction Editor and The Her-ro’s Journey.

The Fiction Editor Mentorship Programme isn’t about proofreading or copy editing — it’s a full developmental editing immersion and an entry point to a business choice, built on Jill's careers as both author and editor.

The Her-ro’s Journey Mentorship Programme is a contemporary take on the Hero’s and Heroine’s journeys, exploring many of the themes we cover here on The Download.

Find out more about Jill’s best-selling fiction and storyworlds on girlpowerpublishing.com.

Find The Download Podcast on YouTube, FaceBook, Instagram,
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and LinkedIn

We all carry invisible threads from our ancestry - imprints, wounds, and archetypes that shape our lives. In this episode, Jill maps these three layers and shows how recognising them leads to personal healing.

We all carry more than personal experience —-we carry ancestral imprints, family wounds, and archetypal roles that shape who we become. In this episode of The Download, Jill Marshall introduces a three-layered map of the self:

• Imprints — recurring family themes passed through generations
• Wounds — the sharper ruptures or traumas that scar a lineage
• Archetypes — the roles we unconsciously step into as a result

Through personal stories, a vivid past-life dream, and insights from Carl Jung, Caroline Myss, Robert Ohotto, It Didn’t Start With You, and The Heroine’s Journey, Jill explores how recognising these layers can reveal hidden patterns and open the way to sustainable individuation and personal healing.

Episode Guide
00:00 – Introduction: Why We Carry More Than Personal Experience
00:45 – Imprints: The Ancestral Echoes and Family Themes
05:16 – Wounds: How Trauma Creates Ruptures Across Generations
07:44 – Archetypes: The Roles We Unconsciously Step Into
10:14 – Case Study: A Past-Life Dream of Exile and Survival
12:30 – Integration: Bringing the Layers Together for Sustainable Individuation
16:07 – Reflection: Questions to Recognise and Transform Your Own Layers

Related Episodes You May Enjoy

• Float or Flow: The Courage to Let Go of the Log of Survival – Explore the metaphor of holding onto survival mechanisms—and what happens when we finally release them to embrace our creative flow.
• Everyday Angels: Subtle Support That’s Seen, Unseen, and Everywhere Between – Reflect on the small but profound acts of kindness that shape our lives, often without fanfare.

✨ Want to dive deeper? Watch this episode in full on The Download Connection YouTube Channel. And if you’re enjoying The Download, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who’s ready to unlock new ways of seeing and creating.

Message Us!

Like to work with Jill?

Try Jill's unique six-month mentorships: Fiction Editor and The Her-ro’s Journey.

The Fiction Editor Mentorship Programme isn’t about proofreading or copy editing — it’s a full developmental editing immersion and an entry point to a business choice, built on Jill's careers as both author and editor.

The Her-ro’s Journey Mentorship Programme is a contemporary take on the Hero’s and Heroine’s journeys, exploring many of the themes we cover here on The Download.

Find out more about Jill’s best-selling fiction and storyworlds on girlpowerpublishing.com.

Find The Download Podcast on YouTube, FaceBook, Instagram,
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and LinkedIn