One of the most common questions I get from readers is who my favourite writers are and where I find inspiration.

I’m going to save the favourite writers part for another day, but quite a lot of my inspiration comes from people who aren’t novelists. Here’s who I’ve been loving lately:

Laura Ramoso - Sketch Comedian

Laura Ramoso is a sketch comedian who built a massive online audience during the pandemic. She makes these sketches where she plays the characters of a German mother and an Italian father, which are loosely inspired by her own parents. But she also does these other bits where she pretends to be an insufferable young woman returning from a vacation abroad (e.g. ‘Girl who came back from Copenhagen’). For the life of me, I cannot watch any of her videos with a straight face.

Here are a few sketches that I love (lets be real, I love them all!)

Laura Ramoso - Checking in for flight to Italy

Laura Ramoso - German Mom Movie Night

Laura Ramoso - German Mom Game Night

I enjoyed Laura’s interview by Tom Power on CBC Radio’s Q. A running theme for most of the people I’ve listed here is their willingness to take charge of their creative careers, on their terms. The pandemic could have stalled Laura’s progress as a live performer, but she figured out a way to get her material out there. Her editing skills are second to none - I don’t think people realize how hard it is to cut a 1 min video.

I got to see Laura during her ‘Sit up Straight’ tour at The Town Hall. I expect her star will only continue to rise, so catch her while you can!

You can find and subscribe to Laura on YouTube and you can also sign up to her email list to be notified when tour dates drop.

Josh Johnson - Stand-up Comedian

I don’t even know if I can call Josh Johnson a stand-up comedian because he is so much more than that. I started watching his videos on YouTube last year (Josh uploads an ENTIRELY NEW SET EVERY SINGLE TUESDAY NIGHT) and never stopped. He’s got to be the hardest working person in the business. I don’t know how he does it.

All of his stuff is great. These are some short clips from his longer sets:

Josh Johnson - Cook County Jail

Josh Johnson - Blue Origin Space Trip

But it’s his set about Luigi Mangione that I love the most. It’s worth an hour of your time:

Josh Johnson - The Failure, Fear, And Frenzy around Luigi Mangione

I was lucky to catch him on a snowy night in NYC, and was also fortunate to attend a taping of Kara Swisher’s podcast at the Cooper Union, where Josh was a featured guest (you can listen to that conversation here).

Apart from uploading sets to YouTube and touring constantly, Josh is also a podcaster and appears on television. Given his creative output, I would be very surprised if he wasn’t already writing a book (or ten) and working on a bunch of other projects.

The best thing about Josh isn’t the work he produces. It is his humility. He’s community-first and that shines through in everything he does. Like Laura, he built his career by thinking laterally and showing up consistently, even if he didn’t feel like it. I admire this kind of tenacity. This man deserves all the flowers! Go support him!

You can find Josh on YouTube. I believe his current tour is sold out but check his website and sign up for the emails because they’ll email you if they release more tickets. And you can sign up to be notified of secret variety shows (just fill out the Google form on his site).

Max Kerman - Musician

I recently read a book written by Max Kerman, who is the lead singer of Arkells, a Canadian rock band. The book is called Try Hard: Creative Work in Progress. It’s not exactly a memoir, although Max does share snippets of his rise to fame and what it’s like being a musician. But for me, Try Hard is more of a guide to creativity. The message I got from it was that a lot of people think being an artist, or being creative, is something you’re born with - you either have it or you don’t. Max argues otherwise, writing that everyone is worthy of creative and artistic pursuits - they simply have to try.

As someone who struggled with writing after my first book was published, and who has always grappled with whether or not I want to use tools like social media, I found this book refreshing. His take on marketing and the business of being an artist were particularly helpful. And I LOVED the chapter about Vince Kerman (you have to pick this book up to know what I’m talking about!)

I read part of this on a warm Sunday in Brooklyn Heights, at Adam Yauch Playground. My nearest and dearest know I’m a huge Beastie Boys fan, so it’s pretty surreal that I was able to come to this place.

You can pick up a copy of Try Hard at Indigo in Canada. I bought mine at McNally Jackson in NYC.

Dr. Teresa Purzner - Neurosurgeon and Entrepreneur

Dr. Teresa Purzner is one of the most remarkable people I’ve had the privilege of learning about this last year.

After earning undergraduate and medical degrees in Canada, Dr. Purzner decamped for California to pursue a PhD at Stanford. While there, she raised three children and launched a baby-food company when she spotted a gap in the market. I don’t know about you, but just doing ONE of those things would probably take up most of my energy. I was humbled and inspired to read about Dr. Purzner’s journey, and energized by her commitment to innovation.

Dr. Purzner brought that same mindset to the Kingston Health Sciences Centre in Ontario - she wanted to revolutionize brain tumour care. Recognizing that the hospital's 19-step treatment process was failing patients, she led her team through extensive patient interviews to completely redesign the system.

This business-minded approach, focused on patient navigation and clear communication, has transformed lives by reducing treatment delays by 40 percent and doubling the number of patients receiving care.

Seeing how people think and approach challenges in other fields is one way to increase your own critical thinking and creativity skills. You can read more about Dr. Purzner and her work in this Globe and Mail article.

Dr. Andrew Boozary - Physician and Executive Director

Another doctor on my list! Dr. Boozary is a primary care physician and the founding executive director of the Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine at the University Health Network (UHN) in Ontario. I have a lot of admiration for his work. He’s dedicated his career to addressing healthcare inequities - particularly the homelessness crisis in Toronto - through innovative social medicine approaches.

Inspired by his parents (his father was a refugee and his mother a human rights lawyer), Dr. Boozary established Dunn House in 2024. Dunn House is Canada's first social medicine supportive housing initiative. It provides 51 units with integrated healthcare services for people transitioning out of homelessness.

The program has been so successful that it's expanding citywide with a $2-million project to bring similar supports to existing housing. Named a 2025 Clarkson Laureate for his work, Dr. Boozary believes in combining evidence-based solutions with storytelling and lived experiences to create a universal healthcare system that serves all Canadians.

There have been very, very few times in my life when I have ever considered pursuing a medical career, but reading about people like Dr. Boozary and Dr. Purzner definitely made me stop and reconsider. I am humbled by individuals like these two, who are truly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in healthcare.

Alysa Liu - Figure Skater

Alysa has an amazing story. At 17, she was already a national champion and World medallist and decided to retire from skating. She was content with her career and felt she’d achieved what she wanted to.

But last year, she went skiing and realized she missed the adrenaline rush. So she went back to skating, just to see how things would go…and ended up winning a World title! And she’s still a teenager!

Alysa_Liu_long_worlds_2025 — *Alysa at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships. Photo Credit: Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images, from the* *NY Times*

In March, I watched the World Championships and was blown away. This was the first time I had ever seen her skate and Alysa is mesmerizing. I haven’t seen anyone as sublime as her in years. She skated to Laufey’s ‘Promise’ for her short program, and I still get chills thinking about it. The picture above is from her long program (she skated to a Donna Summer medley). Unfortunately, due to rights, I can’t find decent footage of either program online (NBC had the rights to broadcast Worlds in the US, but they’ve since taken down all the videos).

If you can find them, I highly recommend watching. The parallels between writing a story on paper and telling one on ice are why I love both mediums.

Special shout outs to Ilia Malinin, the men’s champion, and Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the ice dance champions. All of their programs were divine. I fear this is the most stacked US team in years - and we’re just a few months away from the Olympics….

Anyways, these are just a few people who’ve inspired me lately and who I’ve turned to when I’m feeling like I’m in a rut. If you’re an artist seeking inspiration, I encourage you to look outside your practice or zone of genius. Some of my best inspirations came from films, fashion design, music, architecture, science and sports. We are all guilty of creating our own echo chambers (sadly most of the time we don’t even realize we’re doing it). Actively seeking out things that aren’t curated for you by an algorithm is one of the best ways to combat this.

Hope this was helpful for some! I’ll share more creative inspirations soon!

Creative Inspirations: Laura Ramoso, Josh Johnson, Max Kerman & More