In today’s episode, we chat with women’s fiction author Jen Craven. After two historical fiction novels, Jen made the jump forward to contemporary times, now focusing on stories in the present day, featuring flawed protagonists making split-second decisions. Her books target readers who are drawn to complex families, morally gray characters, and fast-paced plotlines that serve for excellent chit-chat well after the last page. In fact, one of Jen’s favorite things it to join in on book club meetings—she’s Zoomed into everywhere from Florida to New England.

As an indie author, Jen learned the ins and outs of self-publishing and how to make her books stand out. Her contemporary debut, Best Years of Your Life (Aug. 2022), is set on a fictional college campus where both professors and students get wrapped up in cheating scandals. Her next two books, scheduled for fall 2023 and spring 2024 will be published by Bookouture.

When she’s not writing— Er, well…actually, she’s always writing, whether that’s at her computer, in her head on long walks, or at her three children’s sporting events in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Jen is most active on Instagram @jencravenauthor, where she loves to create relatable, uplifting writing and book content.

Learn more about Jen and her books at www.jencraven.com

Support your local bookstore & this podcast by getting your copy of Best Years of Your Life at https://bookshop.org/a/

A little about today's host-

Shawna Rodrigues left her award-winning career in the public sector in 2019 to consult and publish her first novel Beyond the Pear Blossoms. Her desire to connect and help others led to the launch of her podcast The Grit Show shortly thereafter. When she learned women host only 27% of podcasts, her skills and passion led to the founding of the Authentic Connections Network. She now helps mission-driven entrepreneurs better connect with their audiences by providing full-service podcast production and through a community for Entrepreneurs & Podcasters – EPAC. Podcasting is her primary focus, so she continues to support the writing community through this podcast, and her writing time is mostly focused on anthologies.

She offers a free 7 Steps to Perfect Your Podcast Title to anyone interested in launching a podcast. You can also follow her on Instagram-@ShawnaPodcasts, and learn more about the network and community at https://linktr.ee/37by27.

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Learn more about our hosts, the guests we've had, and their books -

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