On today’s episode, we will be chatting with Catherine Matthews, a Women’s Fiction author whose recently launched her debut novel, Releasing the Reins. This dual timeline novel follows Bunny O’Kelly’s as she storms off to Alaska to prove her worth, not just as a ranch hand, but as a woman in a world that doesn’t want her. As the title implies, Bunny has something to learn about trust—not just in others but in herself. Catherine took that journey along with Bunny as she let go of a thirty-four-year career in education to write full-time. Adventurous and headstrong like Bunny, Catherine is driven to achieve her goals. Earning a Bachelor of Science, and a Master’s and Doctorate in Educational Leadership, her career followed a carefully charted path from high school science teacher and coach to high school principal to Director of Assessment and Research. When her father became ill though, she deviated from the plan. Her childhood memories bubbled up, forcing a groundswell of emotion to the surface and she began to write. These stories became a blog as she took her first truly vulnerable step of trusting her own voice and sending it out into the world. Her debut novel took root as she explored her own experiences from being a young woman working traditionally male jobs in Alaska in the 1980s to being a professional in the present. Releasing the reins in her own life, she embraced her passion for writing stories about strong women who face the storms of life with courage and live their dreams. She is driven to explore how people find that place they truly belong in the world so that they can live as their authentic selves. Family secrets and their effect on relationships are a source of endless fascination for her as you will read in her next book Roadside Sisters.

Catherine is the Vice President of Technology for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. As with all of her main characters, she is usually in the company of her faithful dogs, Buttercup and Boxer. Delta regularly attends the WFWA Writing Dates to make sure everyone is on task.

You can learn more about her on her website www.CatherineMatthewsAuthor.com and follow her on Instagram @catherinematthewsauthor.

Get your copy of Releasing the Reins in paperback, eBook, or audiobook at your favorite bookseller: https://books2read.com/CatherineMatthews or at Bookshop.org.

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...