Mark interviews Bradley Charbonneau about his new book PROCRASTINATE and his new "Book in a Weekend" program for writers. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, thanks Patrons, provides a personal update, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In the interview, Mark and Bradley talk about: Bradley's love of Europe and his first eye-opening experience at the age of fourteen with the continent His early experience writing extremely long letters to his parents when, several years later, living in France The importance of the "audience" being yourself when you write The fact that on no calendar is there a day called SOMEDAY The concept of Stubborn VS Determined Bradley's first challenge of writing every single day for the month of November in 2012 A further challenge of posting a YouTube video every single day The idea of "practice is perfect" (as opposed to "practice makes perfect") The long-time streak of writing every single day for 2808 days in a row Being painfully reminded of himself when he hears an author say that they have an idea for a book that they might write "some day" Avoiding regret by taking action Bradley's admiration for humor and improv The program to get your "opposite" book written as a critical step to getting to that larger "massive" project that has always been kept at the horizon How the humor aspect of writing your "opposite" book can help bring out new elements of creativity and how it can be therapeutic Bradley's book PROCRASTINATE, which was his "opposite" book project The "book in a weekend" program that Bradley is running to help other writers overcome the things he had to overcome on his own writing journey The idea of writing a book every year as a way of creating a "timestamp" of who we are - the same way creating a photo album every year (which his mother used to do) works The DIY option as well as the interactive "virtual" real-time and "real-life in person" and the "one-on-one" options Bradley is working on And more . . .   After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of adapting "the rules" into something that works in the ways that work for YOU rather than some pre-prescribed notion that doesn't fit. If you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet, maybe it's okay to break or shake up a few rules in order to pave your own path to success. Links of Interest: Bradley's Website Mark's Affiliate link to get 25% off BOOK IN A WEEKEND EP 334 - Welcome to the Stupidpocalypse with Brittlestar EP 335 - So You've Failed NaNoWriMo Building Our Christmas Tree Built Out of Books Draft2Digital Blog: So You Didn't Win NaNoWriMo Harley Christensen on Twitter (Harley's Website) Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard     Before Bradley Charbonneau wrote his first book, he had written zero books. He spent years dreaming and wishing, chatting and hoping, but not actually writing. Finally, after years of procrastination, he wrote his first book. Since that first breakthrough, he's written 34 more. QUIZ: how many did Bradley write before his first book?   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

So it's December 1st, and NaNoWriMo is over. And everywhere around you, fellow author friends are posting on social media that they made it, they did it. They wrote 50,000 words in a single month. You're happy for them, of course. But you didn't quite make it to that 50,000 word goal yourself. So what do you do? Do you hang your head in shame and despair? I say: NO. I might be one of those "the page is half full" kind of writers, but if you're in the same boat as me, as an author who didn't complete the 30-day 50K word challenge, let me take over the paddle for a while and share a different spin.   Prior to the main content of this solo episode, Mark shares a brief personal update (explaining why there's another solo episode) and a word from this episode's sponsor. There are plenty of books and tips on writing faster, learning more marketing tactics and strategies, trying to maximize your ranking, hitting the top of the charts, judging the algorithms, and hacking different ad platforms. But not enough guides to help you take the pressure off your art and enjoy the creative journey. Return to the love that brought you to writing in the first place. Check out The Relaxed Author in audio, print, or eBook format.   Links of Interest: EP 212 - A Conversation with Joanna Penn on Co-Authoring The Relaxed Author Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews social media funny man Brittlestar (Stewart Reynolds) about his creative work and his new book Welcome to the Stupidpocalypse: Survival Tips for the Dumbageddon.   Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, welcomes a new patron, and offers a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Mark's movie trivia guides to Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Die Hard. In their conversation, Mark and Stewart talk about: Where the name "Brittlestar" came from Stewart's background as a musician and how he incorporates that into the parody music his does as part of his video skits How the music he now does for social media posts has broadly opened up the various styles and genres he can play and play with Stewart always writing stuff since he was a kid The way the book came from a series of topics that he wanted to riff on but which might not work as well for a video Being a fan of music and television and videos and trying to produce content from the perspective of the audience and of things he would like to see Beginning to do social media content back in 2013 Some of the early viral videos including the "Put Your Finger on the Screen" series and "Summer is Not Over" How Stewart, his wife Shannon, and their two sons were all involved in the creation of their social media content, and how Disney and that social media business came along in the nick of time to save them The KFC-branded "Explaining Canada Day to Americans" video that rec'd more than 10 million views than that year's most popular Nike video The process of how they create these videos, often based on a concept and a punch-line with a bit of winging it Getting into writing specific scripts for these skits about five years ago, which led into the monologue-style videos Why their living room is often dubbed the place where ideas go to die The "The Morning Show Thing" show that Stewart and Shannon started in 2015 - which is returning again in a slightly differen format Having to convince Shannon to come out in front of the camera Stewart's new book WELCOME TO THE STUPIDPOCALYPSE: Survival Tips for the Dumbageddon Some of the differences between writing essays that were 1000 words verses a one and a half minute video The irreverence that Stewart was able to inject into the text of the book Being contacted by a literary agency that asked if Stewart was interested in writing a book The constant mistake humans make in compartmentalizing themselves into boxes such as "left wing" or "right wing" and how we get hung up on those things The foreword (written by Ryan Reynolds), the middleword (written by Mary Trump) and the afterword (written by Colin Mochrie) which was partially inspired by something Eric Idle put on the cover of one of his books Stewart's thoughts on the digital umbilical chord A strategy for dealing with trolls online The two times in the past ten years of being on social media where responding to negative comments actually worked out okay Stewart's theory that Canadian cuisine is a defiance Advice that Stewart would offer to other creatives: "Don't make art for artists." And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the unique opportunity to chat with someone who has inspired you and Stewart's advice about not making art for other artists, but rather for the specific consumers of your product.   Links of Interest: Brittlestar's Website YouTube  Twitter Instagram TikTok Welcome to the Stupidpocalypse EP 333 - 10 Things You Likely Didn't Know About Draft2Digital Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Brittlestar, a.k.a. Stewart Reynolds, is a bespectacled every-dad who has become a popular online media personality over the past decade. Every week, hundreds of thousands of people watch his videos on various social media channels. Some of Brittlestar’s followers include Henry Winkler, Ryan Reynolds, Ken Jeong, Rex Chapman, Yvette Nicole Brown, and many other politicians and journalists. Brittlestar videos have been viewed more than a combined 600 million times, allowing him to gain a global fanbase, attend speaking engagements all over North America, receive an invitation to the White House, and engage in collaborations with celebrities such as Gordon Ramsay, Alan Thicke, and the Property Brothers.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark shares the audio from a presentation he gave in early November 2023 at 20BooksVegas called "10 Things You Likely Didn't Know About Draft2Digital." This episode is sponsored by Mark's affiliate link to Draft2Digital. Go to https://draft2digital.com/markleslie to sign up for a free Draft2Digital account. The visuals and slides for this presentation can be downloaded here.   Links of Interest: Visuals / Slides for this episode's presentation Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Johnny B. Truant about his new THE ART OF NOTICING podcast. Prior to the main content, Mark leverages his digital AI voice from Eleven Labs to offer a brief introduction as well as a word about this episode's sponsor, the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.   Links of Interest: Johnny B. Truant's Website Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Johnny B. Truant is a bestselling full-time author with over a hundred books to his name. His best-known book is probably Fat Vampire, which was adapted by the SyFy Network as Reginald the Vampire. Some of his other big hits are Pretty Killer, The Beam, Pattern Black, Gore Point, Dead City, Invasion, and Unicorn Western.       The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews author, coach & CEO/Founder of Little Labradoodle Publishing April Cox. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal updates and a word about this episode's sponsor, the Authorpreneur Summit 2023. Transform your passion to profit! Unveil the business behind the book and elevate your business acumen with 35+ industry-leading authorpreneurs at the Authorpreneur Summit.   During their interview Mark and April talk about: April's background as a former IT consulting geek Leaving that corporate world to assist authors with their publishing goals and helping to make their dreams come true How her desire to write a story for her grandkids led to an entirely new and dynamic role and purpose Recognizing how she could make a huge difference being there to help authors who would normally be easy targets for so many of the predatory outfits looking to take advantage of them The origin of Little Labradoodle Publishing which was more of a legacy project How the consultant, programmer, and project manager in April were applied to help authors with navigating the complex world of publishing books for younger readers Why April puts so much free content on sites like her YouTube channel April's 12-week course that takes authors through the process of getting a book ready for publishing The importance of having a network of trusted professionals to work with Wanting to create a summit that focused more on the business side of publishing, which became the Authorpreneur Summit Some of the amazing interviews that have been lined up for this summit which takes place for free Dec 4 through Dec 8, 2023 The bonuses April will be releasing for those who sign up for the summit early Advice April would offer to authors who are receiving numerous rejection letters from traditional publishing And more . . .   After the interview Mark reflects on the value when an author combines their passion with filling in a hole within a particular market.   Links of Interest: April's Self Publishing Made Simple Website April's YouTube Channel Mark's Affiliate Link to the Authorpreneur Summit 2023 Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   April Cox is an Author, Coach & CEO/Founder of Little Labradoodle Publishing. She has successfully guided over 1,500 authors from manuscript to a high-quality, self-published book through her 90-day signature program, Self-Publishing Made Simple. April is a passionate teacher and speaker on publishing topics and has personally launched over 400 books.       The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  

Mark interviews writer and indexer Stephen Ullstrom about book indexing and his recent release BOOK INDEXING: A Step-by-Step Guide. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update about a skeleton and license plate theft, as well as word about this episode's sponsor, the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.   In their conversation, Mark and Stephen talk about: Stephen's long-time interest in writing How his role working at UBC Press when he was attending university was his first exposure to indexing Using freelancing doing indexing to help support his writing, but how that freelancing kind of took over much of his career Still being interested in fiction, but how writing a book about indexing was a good full book-length project to complete Stephen's book: BOOK INDEXING: A Step-by-Step Guide His goal to make indexing simple and practical and more entry-level Why authors should care about indexing How indexing can become somewhat of a marketing tool The way an index can bring more value to a book The pros and cons of a keyword search (as opposed to an index, where the human filtering on what's relevant is being done for you) How an index can be much more granular than even a layered/multi-leveled table of contents The way an index works within an eBook What an embedded index is Cases where a fiction author might want to use indexing Considerations on whether or not it's best to do your own index or to hire that work out to a professional indexer The average length of time it would take Stephen to index a 200 page book (about 20 hours) The typical price range an author can expect to pay for having a book indexed (For example a trade book that's about 200 pages could cost about $800 to $900 CAD - about $4.00 CAD per page. A scholary book is usually about $6.00 to $6.50 to $7.00 CAD per page) The steps to go through when creating an index Stephen's use of the indexing software called Cindex Remembering that, ultimately, your index is for the READER How to hire Stephen if you're interested in leveraging his indexing services\ A common misperception authors often have about indexing And more   After the interview, Mark reflects on the value of indexing as it pertains to some of his non-fiction and even fiction titles.     Links of Interest: Stephen Ullstrom's Website Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Stephen Ullstrom is an award-winning professional indexer. He believes that the world is a better place with well-written indexes, and is passionate about helping authors, publishers, and the index-curious understand how indexing works.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews actor/director/producer/writer Eriq La Salle about his latest novel LAWS OF ANNIHILATION and his life-long passion for storytelling. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, thanks Patrons, provides a personal update, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.   You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Eriq talk about: How Eriq had always wanted to be a writer Joining the high school drama club in junior high with the idea that they'd be able to put on the plays that he would write Being told by the drama teacher that he had to audition, and how that started the "acting bug" that took him through a multi-decade career acting, directing, and producing The way the author desire resurfaced about a dozen years ago The prequel story to The Martyr Maker series (which appears in the end of LAWS OF DEPRAVITY) and why Eriq wrote it The concept behind The Martyr Maker franchise Loving movies and television and being inspired by the storytelling conventions there The way each of the three main characters leads a little bit more in the first three books in the series Eriq's work as Executive Producer for several years on Chicago PD Directing and Executive Producing Dick Wolf's first show launched into streaming on Amazon Prime A minor character in the series (known as "The African") who was fashioned after the Luca Brasi character in The Godfather and who will return in a later book in the series How it took 10 years to find a publisher, and Eriq's DIY experience self-publishing The importance of understanding and participating in the grass-roots style marketing as an author Having to do a lot of marketing work even when you're with a larger publisher The way that the status of "celebrity" can sometimes work against you Eriq's respect for each medium and how to re-think, and re-learn in his unique roles within them The importance of humbling yourself How the marketing person that Eriq had hired and worked with eventually became his agent Feeling that he is a better writer of fiction novels than of screenplays, despite his years of experience as an actor, director, and producer The intention cinematic writing that Eriq did when crafting The Martyr Maker series Enjoying collecting "useless trivia" and how that can aid in the research aspect of writing a novel Giving credit to the technical advisors Eriq has worked with on shows like ER and Chicago PD The various first readers that Eriq works with Being an old fashioned paper book reader Eriq's great respect for librarians The delightful feeling of seeing your book in various bookstores of all sizes, including indie bookstores, big box stores, and airport bookstores Doing several events in New York for the week the book is launching, including a special "On the Couch with Eriq La Salle" The importance of listening to the messaging The understanding that "we are blue collar artists" Advice Eriq would offer to writers who are working at it and haven't yet found their success And more . . . After the interview, Mark reflects on a few of the things Eriq talked about, as well as a subtle, but important way Eriq spoke about the "team" he works with as an author.   Links of Interest: Eriq La Salle's Website Eriq on Instagram Eriq on Facebook Eriq on Twitter Eriq on TikTok Eriq La Salle's Books Sourcebooks Video of The Interview with Eriq (YouTube) EP 328 - Reflecting on a New Season with Terry Fallis EP 327 - Writing the Shadow with Joanna Penn EP 326 - Rebranding and Relaunching with E.L. Williams Port Dover: Friday the 13th Best Book Ever Podcast EP 154 - Mark Leslie Lefebvre on "The Best Laid Plans" by Terry Fallis EP 155 - Canada-Palooza with Mark Leslie Lefebvre Best Book Ever Pod Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Actor/director/producer Eriq La Salle is best known to worldwide television audiences for his award-winning portrayal of the commanding Dr. Peter Benton on the critically acclaimed and history-making medical drama ER. Educated at Juilliard and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, his credits range from Broadway to film roles opposite Eddie Murphy in Coming to America and Robin Williams in One Hour Photo and Hugh Jackman in Logan. La Salle has maintained a prolific acting career while at the same time working steadily as a director, taking the helm for HBO, Showtime, NBC, Fox and CBS. He remains a valued member of the Dick Wolf Entertainment camp after 4 years as Executive Producer and director on Chicago PD in addition to directing episodes of Law & Order, and Law and Order Organized Crime. As a writer, La Salle is the author of several critically acclaimed thrillers published in 2022 and 2023-Laws of Depravity, Laws of Wrath, and Laws of Annihilation. He has also written an episode of The Twilight Zone which made WGA’s list of 101 Best Written TV Series. He lives in Los Angeles, California.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  

Mark interviews Terry Fallis about his latest novel, A New Season. A two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, Terry Fallis is the author of nine novels, all of them national bestsellers—including six #1 bestsellers—and all published by McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, welcomes new Patron Nikki Guerlain, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Terry talk about: Terry's latest novel, A NEW SEASON, and the unique approach he took to his latest book Retiring from his day job as a communications/public affairs consultant in March 2022 Having wanted to write full time since the release of his first novel fifteen years earlier The precarious reality of the earnings an author is most likely to make, even if they are a successful author who regularly hits the bestseller lists in Canada How the novel was derived from fears (something Terry was inspired by John Irving to consider), and from events that unfolded during the pandemic, and the way Terry had to evolve his writing from the usual "bend" of humor he employed in his previous books Casting off the shackles/tyranny of humor Some of the "trademark" self-depracating humor of Terry's narrators (Jack McMaster in this one, Daniel Addison in his first couple of novels) Not being able to believe that he's currently 63 and the experience of writing a narrator (Jack) who is closer to Terry's own age Terry's experiences playing ball hockey every week and how ball hockey can be a bit of a time machine Writing the scenes from trying to speech French when in Paris from personal experience Terry's friendship with Jim Cuddy (of Blue Rodeo fame) via his weekly ball-hockey and how the musician allowed Terry to write him into his novel The examination of make friendship which is an important aspect of this novel Terry's history of being a "closeted" singer-songwriter, which he's been doing since he was seventeen years old The song "More Than The Game" which Terry wrote about the comradarie of his ball hockey league Laying a few of Terry's songs into the audiobook produced by Penguin Random House The 42-year-old love song that Terry wrote for his University girlfriend (who he has been married to for 36 wonderful years) The long-time romantic tradition of Terry singing the love song to his wife on Christmas Eve Terry's personal connection to Paris and how it, like ball hockey, is a kind of time machine Writing a scene of the novel at the seat of Hemmingway's favorite table at a Paris cafe Hailing from the "why use 6 words when 12 will do" school of writing The saga of Constance Stanley's diaries becoming the final piece that Terry needed to complete the story How the title A NEW SEASON refers to so many different elements from the novel The next book that Terry has already started to work on, which has even more intrigue and suspense than two of his previous novels Advice Terry would have for writers who have long wanted to do it, but haven't yet taken that step And more...   After the interview, Mark reflects on the idea of writing books from passion and intense interest. He then shares the name of the Patron winner of Joanna Penn's Writing the Shadow. Links of Interest: Terry's Website Terry's Substack A New Season (PRH Canada) Terry's previous guest appearances on this podcast: EP 029 - Terry Fallis on Writing with Authenthicity, Humor, and Passion Mentions of Terry on previous episodes: EP 189 - From Stage to Page and Back to Stage with Rod Carley EP 050 - 5 Things Learned in 50 Episodes EP 020 - Lessons Learned on My Writer Journey EP 146 - Finding Yourself in Our Song with Meaghan Smith EP 327 - Writing the Shadow with Joanna Penn EP 326 - Rebranding and Relaunching with E.L. Williams EP 325 - Reflecting Back: 3 Things That Are Wrong With Indie Publishing Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Joanna Penn about her new book Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness into Words, then associated Kickstarter she launched for it, plans she has to window its release, and much more. Prior to the main content, Mark thanks Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.   In their conversation, Mark and Joanna talk about: How it has been a while since Joanna has been on Mark's podcast (she was in episode 212) The number of years Joanna has been podcasting under The Creative Penn brand (March 2009) How sometimes there's a book that you really want to write that you're not ready to write yet The way we can often push the "shadows" down and repress them The importance of writing the things that fascinate you What happens when you push a balloon down underwater and try to hold it there Plato's Chariot and the White and Dark horses and getting them to run together in harmony The value of addressing what we're repressing and bringing it into the light particularly in your writing How critical it is for successful fiction to have conflict, which is often derived from the shadow The common themes in Joanna's writing about helping or saving the family or saving the world The only way we're going to be able to stand out as human in a crowded market, and, in particular, a market with emerging AI-generated content How Writing the Shadow and Pilgrimage are "mid-life" books for Joanna as she is addressing that part of her existence and Mememto Mori in those memoir-style books Exploring how you're being held back by some of those things that you've allowed to be repressed The shadows in both self-publishing and traditional publishing How you don't need to be afraid to look into the shadow and perhaps find the gold in that shadow The Kickstarter that Joanna has launched for Writing the Shadow The way authors have long focused on the retail websites for sales but how that has slowly shifted into a new phase of direct selling and windowing strategies Joanna's launch strategy for Writing the Shadow which starts with Kickstarter, migrates to direct selling on her personal websites, and then moves into broader retail and library distribution The value of standing out as an author, particularly today How Writing the Shadow is an optimistic book despite the topic and themes explored in it Building a new author ecosystem and training existing and new readers to engage in that realm The importance of remembering how the business model will keep changing but what doesn't change is writing the books of your heart and the books that will help you and others Gifts of the shadow, finding the gold, and the idea of "after the curse comes the gift" The spiral bound workbook How thecreativepenn.com/shadowbook will redirect either to the Kickstarter or wherever the books are available in the future The horror themed storybundle that Mark and Joanna are both in And more... After the interview Mark reflects on a few things from the conversation, announces a bonus for his patrons related to a reward from Joanna's Kickstarter, and invites listeners to share their own reflections on this topic. Links of Interest: Joanna Penn's Main Website: The Creative Penn Writing the Shadow Halloween/Horror Storybundle (Ends after Oct 31, 2023) Joanna's Previous guest appearances on this podcast: EP 002 - Living the Healthy Writer's Life with Joanna Penn EP 148 - AI Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn EP 212 - A Conversation with Joanna Penn about Co-authoring The Relaxed Author SELECTED OTHER MENTIONS / Appearances EP 164 - Reflections on Other Podcasts: The Creative Penn Podcast Episode 517 EP 300 - Celebrating 300 Episodes with Guest Reflections Mark's YouTube Channel EP 324 - The Asset of Attention with Joe Solari EP 325 - Reflecting Back: Three Things That Are Wrong With Indie Publishing Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews author E.L. Williams about her writing life, about her books, about rebranding one of the books in her series, and more. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes a brief personal update, welcomes new patron T. Thorn Coyle, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.   In their conversation, Mark and Emma talk about: How it took Emma about ten years to write her first book Getting slightly "bullied" into going to a writer conference from a fellow author Publishing her first book during Halloween season in 2020 How the global pandemic changed enough things with her day job that allowed her the opportunity to get the book finished and published The "Murphy's Law" events that piled up with the launch of book two, which led to a signifcant health issue that had to be dealt with The decision to change the title and cover for book two after realizing it wasn't hitting the market properly Being a great believer in learning by doing Rolling back on the unrealistic expectations Emma set herself up with and learning to enjoy the process and take a more relaxed approach Emma's ideas involving merchandise in relation to her book and how that led to collaborating with Deadweight Brewing The book "relaunch" party Emma planned out including the beer and book cakes The social media "long shot" that Emma took on Instagram asking if the beer book branding thing had ever been done before How social media can be a bit like marmite Beginning to check out experimenting with TikTok by doing a video a day Advice Emma has for other writers who haven't taken the plunge yet And more.... After the interview, Mark reflects back on a couple of things his conversation with Emma made him think about. Links of Interest: E. L. WIlliams' Website Instagram Facebook TikTok Deadweight Brewing Company Mark's YouTube Channel EP 324 - The Asset of Attention with Joe Solari EP 325 - Reflecting Back: Three Things That Are Wrong With Indie Publishing Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this episode Mark reflects back to Episode 6 of this podcast, which was released on Feb 6, 2018. He shares clips from that episode, in which he outlined three of the things that bothered him about the indie publishing world. Reflecting back, he comments on a few things that have changed, and what is consistent more than 5 years after the initial broadcast. This episode is sponsored by the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast. Links of Interest: Episode 6 - What's Wrong with Indie Publishing Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  

In this solo episode, Mark interviews Joe Solari about his new book May I Have a Moment of Your Attention? Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and then reflects on the reasons why he canceled a trip he was supposed to take to Florida to attend NINC (Novelist's Inc.) This episode is sponsored by the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.   In their conversation, Mark and Joe talk about: Joe's winding experience path, the long journey he has been on, and how there's no way you could possibly train for the job that Joe does The daily roadblocks that Joe had to overcome as he was beginning to learn about the complex writing and publishing business The importance of not assuming that the person on stage actually knows what they're talking about Also not assuming that what you "need" is what you're seeing presented on that "stage" Joe's very first 20BooksVegas conference (which he has been to since the very beginning of it) How Joe feels that we're still in the early stages of the entire self-publishing landscape Understanding different formats, like audio, where the consumers aren't necessarily readers, but do enjoy story The value of recognizing the assets in your business, which includes the asset of AUDIENCE and the related importance of DEMAND How ads aren't scaleable, but that audiences are scaleable Joe's latest book MAY I HAVE A MOMENT OF YOUR ATTENTION and how it's only available to buy direct from Joe How the book was created, and how, in part of Joe building his brand is NOT just putting the book up everywhere The audit statements in a survey that Joe asks readers of the book to complete The way this survey and other assets help the reader get to "know, like, and trust" Joe and then be willing to purchase from him How traffic to your Amazon page can be one of the worst things you do if that traffic doesn't convert to sales The value of a customer retention system The importance of feeling a special part of a brand's community Focusing on serving your ideal reader rather than trying to sell more books How author Chris Kennedy allows his fans to incorporate their own fan club about the worlds he has created and written The way that people who spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on merchandise, cosplay, etc, are not even thinking about how much a book costs Joe telling authors to try out his author marketing audit survey and to pay attention to it and see how they can steal his ideas for their own branding and marketing efforts The free 20 minute calls that Joe offers The critical importance of focusing on your audience, and not on what other authors are doing After the interview Mark reflects on a couple of the things Joe talked about, including the advice on assumptions made about the person "on stage" offering advice, and on the critical value of focusing on how you can serve your ideal reader rather than focusing on trying to sell more books.   Links of Interest: Joe Solari's Website Joe's Author Marketing Audit May I Have A Moment of Your Attention? (Book) EP 323 - Rambling Reflections From the Road: This Old House EP 096 - Focusing on and Delivering to Your Audience with Dale L. Roberts  EP 232 - From Script Writer to Novelist with David Boito Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this solo episode, Mark reflects on his last few days in his old childhood home which has been in his family for three generations. This episode is sponsored by the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast. Links of Interest: Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy about their new online course on How to Write a Novel. Prior to the interview, Mark shares and reflects on a brief industry update related to Amazon's recent AI-related change, comments from recent episodes, and word about this episode's sponsor. Reedsy contains an online listing of vetted professionals from across the industry, including editors, cover designers, and marketing experts. Get $20 off hiring a pro through Reedsy using Mark's Reedsy affiliate link. In the interview, Mark and Ricardo talk about: Ricardo's persona and image being directly attached to Reedsy When Reedsy started and what the main idea behind it was, and the value proposition to authors How only 3 to 5% of the professionals who apply to be on Reedsy actually make it through The Reedsy online writing tool that you can use to write and export professional looking ePub and print-ready PDF files Some of the future development plans for the Reedsy writing platform, including collaboration with an editor Ricardo's HOW TO MARKET A BOOK, which is free in eBook edition The 2nd book he wrote and released in Jan 2023 called AMAZON ADS FOR AUTHORS which is the 2nd book in the Reedsy Guides series Some of the reasoning behind why one of the books is free in eBook and the other has a retail price associated with it (hint: it's a marketing tip) Important marketing information that Ricardo would want authors to know The new Reedsy course that runs 3 months and helps authors work through the first draft of their novel The various ongoing cohorts for the course, including one that opens in Sept and another that starts Oct 30th, to co-incide with NaNoWriMo, then the next that'll start in January 2024 The term "Reedsian" which is used to denote Reedsy employees Tom Bromley, the instructor they hired to teach the How to Write a Novel course The intial launch price for the course, which is $1000 - and that it'll be going up shortly after the September launch Ricardo's previous attempts to try to write a novel and how this course might be one that he himself can benefit from Some of the things that surprised Ricardo about Reedsy since it's launch nearly 10 years ago How to find Reedsy and Ricardo What Ricardo is looking forward to about the future of our industry And more...   After the interview Mark reflects the overall supportive nature of the publishing industry   Links of Interest: Reedsy Reedsy's How to Market a Book Online Course Subscriptions for Authors Episode 018 - Finding The Right Professional with Ricardo from Reedsy Episode 006 - What's Wrong with Indie Publishing (Mark's "10-year-olds playing soccer" analogy) Mark's Wide for the Win Update Page YouTube Video: OH NO! Is Amazon Anti AI? Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Ricardo Fayet is one of the four founders of Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors to the world's top publishing talent--from editors to cover designers, book marketers, or literary translators. He's the author of two books on marketing for authors, and a regular presenter at several prestigious writers' conferences: NINC, 20BooksVegas, and The Self Publishing Show Live, among others.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Emilia Rose and Michael Evans of Ream Stories, a subscription platform built by authors for authors. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes, and word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In the interview, Mark, Emilia, and Michael talk about: Emilia's Wattpad experience which resulted in one of her books becoming very popular on that platform Michael's love of distopian fiction and discovery of the magnitude of the indie author realm, and his interest in the creator economy How Emilia and Michael first met What Ream (which launched in May 2023) is and how it works How authors can choose to make their book free or paid on Ream, and release it serialized or all at once The purposeful lack of exclusivity and onerous contract terms that Ream offers The fact that it's free for authors to use and Ream keeps 10% plus a credit card processing fee, resulting in authors keeping about 85% of the revenue Taking all the aspects of the various reading and serialzied platforms and merging them together to create Ream Creative things that authors have done that have surprised them since launching Ream The popularity of "author notes" and asking readers questions along the way on Ream Advice they would offer to other writers And more...   After the interview Mark reflects on a number of things, including how a small gesture can make a big difference, the value of bringing the best of the best of multiple platforms together into a single place, and the importance of treating readers like real people rather than objects to sell to.   Links of Interest: Ream Stories Michael Evans Website Emilia Rose Website Subscriptions for Authors Free Audiobook: Subscriptions for Authors Self Publishing Insiders with Draft2Digital - Mark Interviews Daniel Willcocks on Overcoming Author Hurdles (YouTube) EP 320 - Maximizing Your Creative IP with Reenita Hora Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Ream is the subscription platform by fiction authors for fiction authors. The platform allows writers to build communities around their stories and charge a monthly fee that rewards your readers with early access to your stories, bonus content, access to new stories and your backlist, and even perks like signed books and merchandise. Emilia Rose is a steamy romance author of 30 novels with over 30 million story reads online and six figures in annual subscription revenue. You can learn more about her here: https://www.emiliarosewriting.com/ Michael Evans is an author of 12 sci-fi thrillers + 2 nonfiction books for authors, serial creator economy founder, and a student at Harvard. You can learn more about him here: https://mevansinked.com/   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Reenita Malhotra Hora, an award-winning screenwriter, novelist and audio producer. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. Learn more about SciFidea and the awesome Dyson Sphere Sci-Fi Writing Contest.   In the interview, Mark and Reenita talk about: How Reenita has been writing her entire life and her love of storytelling in varous forms The manner in which life can be more fun when we are creating and when we don't always take life so seriously Focusing for a long time on how she could help her clients get THEIR stories out there The decision, in mid-pandemic, to begin to take her writing career in her own hands and developing her own IP The release of her book OPERATION MOM, which was released by Harper Collins India initially in 2011 Buying the rights back for the book in the rest of the world (ie, outside India), as well as for the subsidiary rights for film, TV, etc The publisher's belief that the Western world isn't at all interested in reading a book set in Mumbai Reenita's own screenplay adaptation of the novel (written in the last year) which she decided to set in Hoboken, New Jersey How the story and the comedy in the screenplay remains the same but how the specific details and specific jokes have been modified and adjusted for the different market Just how much Reenita has been learning about publishing in the past few years The way that working with a smaller, boutique publisher can be a good experience, but how an author self-publishing it can potentially work a bit better because of the control they have Winning the Santa Barbara International Screenplay Award and being a finalist for the New York International Screenplay Award The unique approach Reenita took with her newer book Shadow Realms and the multiple formats she has created it in The importance of understanding the business of storytelling The two active podcasts Reenita has created, including the True Fiction Project, which explores the journey of story from non-fiction to fiction The different opportunities for various sponsorships in these two different podcasts Diversity being so important, but the fact that it has become such a recent "buzzword" The interesting compromise of the diversity of a community like Hoboken (which has shades of similarity to Mumbai and offers a window into the Indian-American community) How it can be fun to play with stereotypes and tropes and to turn them around Reenita's passion about bringing the experience of South-Asians to an American audience Describing her experiences as being akin to a street-food in Mumbai And more... After the interview Mark reflects on a few things from the conversation, including the narrow way many New York publishers look at setting in a novel, which hasn't changed all that much since the early 1990s, and the dynamic way Reenita has explored storytelling in creative ways, while patiently learning more about the industry. Links of Interest: Reenita's Website Operation Mom Reenita's Podcasts Screenplays The 2023 Aurora Awards (YouTube) 2023 Aurora Awards Opening Schtick (YouTube) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Reenita Malhotra Hora is an award-winning screenwriter, novelist and audio producer. Based partly in San Francisco and partly in Los Angeles, her experiences are akin to 'Bhel Puri,' the street food of Mumbai, her native place — a delectable mix of tastes (and preferences), meshed together with a bug or two for good measure. Passionate about storytelling the Indian narrative, Reenita writes characters and themes that reflect the South Asian experience whether set in South Asia or in the Western world. As a writer she has contributed to Reuters, South China Morning Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Times of India, Rolling Stone, National Geographic Kids, Cartoon Network Asia, Disney and more. As an on-air news reporter, writer, and producer, she has contributed to Bloomberg, RTHK Radio 3, Monocle Radio and the BBC. She has two active podcasts - 'Shadow Realm' (narrative fantasy fiction) and the 'True Fiction Project' (unscripted to scripted). Her female-driven comedy, 'Operation Mom' is a Santa Barbara Screenplay Awards winner, a Chanticleer International Book Awards GrandPrize winner and an Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize winner. Her YA fantasy screenplay, ‘Shadow Realm’ is a Script2Comic and Launchpad Prose finalist, a Screencraft quarterfinalist, and a selected nominee for the New Media Film Festival. She is a limited partner in the How Women Invest fund which specifically invests in women owned companies. She is working on her next novel and has recently launched Chapter by episode, a digital publishing platform for immersive chat fiction stories with diverse themes.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews the creative daughter/father team of Brigid Collins and Ron Collins about their collaborative writing. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes, and word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In the interview, Mark, Brigid and Ron talk about: The last time they saw one another (Feb 2020, just prior to the world "shutting down" for the pandemic) Ron's entry into the world of professional speculative fiction writing in the mid 1990s Why Ron feels that non-fiction can be a lot of fun to write Ron's latest book On Creating (And Celebrating!) Characters Brigid growing up and being witness to the dedication her father Ron had for his pursuit of writing Singer, the first book Brigid wrote, which evolved into the four books of The Songbird River Chronicles in response to her father's prompting Brigid's appreciation of having good parents at all the various stages of her youth and adulthood The importance of being able to accept the other person's methods and style of writing as well as their ideas which can be totally different Learning one's own writing styles from engaging with the other person's work The incredible amount of fun that can happen with the right collaborations The logistics of how they co-author together, for both short stories as well as a newco-authored book project Finding the middle-ground between planning and discovery writing Merging the worlds of the fairie realm with the baseball world based on the idea of a baseball diamond being built on top of a fairie ring The fun of merging the tropes of these two types of worlds The way the split of writing has evolved and gotten more complicated as part of writing the next books in the series Leveraging Google doc and folders for the collaborations Using Draft2Digital's payment splitting option for publishing A collaboration that Ron is doing with his brother merging science fiction and the world of music Advice they would offer to writers interested in getting into writing collaborations And more...   After the interview Mark reflects on the "2+2 equally more than 4" awesomeness that can happen in a powerful collaboration. Links of Interest: Brigid's Website The Songbird River Chronicles (and more) Ron's Website On Creating (And Celebrating!) Characters Home Run Enchanted (Faires and Fastballs Book 1) Abridged (half-hour) Keynote on Embracing Technology for AuthorTube Writing Conference Unabridged FULL HOUR Keynote (Patreon link) Wine Country Writer's Festival EP 250 - Typewriters, Nature, and Fatherhood with E S Curry EP 314 - Defeating Writer's Block Using Penspyre EP 317 - Rambling Reflections from the Road - Part 2 EP 318 - Rambling Reflections from the Road - Part 3 Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Brigid Collins is a fantasy and science fiction writer living in Michigan with her wonderful wife and her irritating cats. (Just kidding, the cats are pretty wonderful, too.) Her fantasy series The Songbird River Chronicles and Winter’s Consort, her fun middle grade hijinks series The Sugimori Sisters, and her dark fairy tale novella Thorn and Thimble are available wherever books are sold. Her short stories have appeared in Fiction River, Feyland Tales, and Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar anthologies. Ron Collins is a best-selling Science Fiction and Dark Fantasy author who writes across the spectrum of speculative fiction. With his daughter, Brigid, he edited the anthology Face the Strange. His short fiction has received a Writers of the Future prize. His short story “The White Game” was nominated for the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s 2016 Derringer Award. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and has worked to develop avionics systems, electronics, and information technology before chucking it all to write full-time.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this solo episode Mark reflects on the value authors can have for libraries, exhaustion of being on the road for several weeks in a row and too many commitments, and the feeling of "coming home." This episode is sponsored by patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast. Links of Interest: Digipalooza Mark Leslie's Books via OverDrive Mark Leslie Lefebvre's Books via OverDrive Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this solo episode Mark reflects on a few of the things he has learned from a couple of the craft talks given at his intense residency week in the Masters in Creative Writing program at Western Colorado University. This episode is sponsored by patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast. Links of Interest: Graduate Program in Creative Writing at WCU Steve Coughlin (Professor of English) Maya Jewel Zeller (Nature Writing and Poetry Faculty) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  

Mark interviews Johanna Rothman about her latest book FREE YOUR INNER NON-FICTION WRITER. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor This episode is sponsored by Mark's new book Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard. In the interview, Mark and Johanna talk about: Why Johanna is often called The Pragmatic Manager The thirty-years of consulting that Johanna has experience with The fact that she is not a "natural writer" Beginning to write in 1997 because she realized that speaking only wasn't a great way to market her business as a consultant Advice Johanna received from Gerald Weinberg How Johanna began to write short fiction in 2016 Being involved in the early days of "Agile" development Why Johanna recommends writing in 15 minute chunks for non-fiction Who the idea reader is for Johanna's book FREE YOUR INNER NONFICTION WRITER How to keep a business-related blog interesting How writing non-fiction includes universal story elements: "a person in a situation with a problem" The "write fast to write well" concept The importance of maintaining your voice Why Johanna writes a question of the week on her blog The book Obliquity by John Kay and how detours might help us better in the long run Advice Johanna would offer to writers for getting better at their own non-fiction writing And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of your author voice as well as the divergent ways you sometimes find your way to your destination. Links of Interest: Johanna Rothman's Website Create an Adaptable Life Free Your Inner Non-Fiction Writer Lou J. Berger (IMDB) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Johanna Rothman, known as the “Pragmatic Manager,” offers frank advice for your complex problems. She helps leaders and teams learn to see practical alternatives that help them achieve more agility in their work. With that knowledge, they can choose what—and how—to adapt their product development. For almost three decades, Johanna has helped her clients experiment with agile and lean alternatives for every piece of their product development. As a result, her clients create more management agility which translates to better business results. A prolific writer, Johanna is the author of 18 books and hundreds of articles about many aspects of product development. She uses her trademark practicality and humor to focus on what people can do—and not take herself too seriously.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this solo episode Mark reflects on being overly stressed about having too much on his plate, and what seemed to have helped him deal with that. This episode is sponsored by patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast. Links of Interest: Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews David Olive, Jr (AKA David Grimdark) author and one of the engineers behind Penspyre a tool to help writers tackle writer's block and productivity. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes, and word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In the interview, Mark and David talk about: David's love of reading as a young child and his love of fantasy novels Begining to read eBooks on a dedicated reader, and reading Webnovels Starting to write when interning in University Putting some of his work up on Wattpad The Systems Design Engineering program David recently graduated from at University of Waterloo The final year project that David and his fellow engineering students put together, which resulted in Penspyre The procedural documentation of identifying problems related to the writing process Reaching out to local writers from the Cambridge Writer's Group as part of their research and investigation Learning the Google Spring method How Pensypre offers up AI-generated writing prompts to help a writer with their productivity The research they'd done with writers leading them to believe they didn't want a tool that would give them something they'd take word for word but that they needed something to help "get the ball rolling." The metrics they looked at for their research with how writers engaged with the tool Their study's results showing that writers typically wrote 15% more in a 20 minute writing sprint using the tool than when not using the tool How Pensyre is a tool David wanted to make as much for himself as for other writers The "Continue the Story" option where you can focus on action, dialogue, or inner thoughts of the characters with various styles or moods The "Link the story" feature for briding two different scenes or moments or actions together The "Describe" function that allows you to draw upon one or more of the five senses Penspyre's availability as a Google Docs extension How writers during the test kept the prompts unedited about 15% of the time The element of the software that suggests the level of "originality" score to the prompt Advice David would offer to beginning writers David's thoughts on why writers shouldn't be afraid of this new technology   After the interview Mark shares a few of his own reflections, thanks Patrons for their support and reminds them there'll be a video walk-thru of Penspyre available for them at www.patreon.com/starkreflections.   Links of Interest: David's Author Website Penspyre Website Penspyre Extension on Google Chrome Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   David Olive Jr is a recent graduate from the University of Waterloo, Canada who has a passion for reading and writing fiction. As an aspiring writer he and some classmates decided to try and tackle writing productivity as their final year design project. The result was Penspyre, a tool that utilizes AI to give the writer contextualized writing prompts and help them be more productive.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews author, publisher and RPG gamer Peter M. Ball who has been engaged in experimental and digital publishing since the very beginning of its appearance in the book industry. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In the interview, Mark and Peter talk about: Peter being a night owl who is most comfortable starting to write at about 10 PM at night and working through the night How, through necessity with a regular life schedule, Peter will get the writing done first thing in the morning Peter having wanted to be a writer since he was quite young The way that most of the work he has taken on in his life has been somehow affiliated with the writing world Describing the Gold Coast of Australia as Miami with slightly less charm The undergraduate degree focus which mostly avoided genre fiction How you can never escape poetry once you've done it, even years later being introgued as "Peter the Poet" How in the early 2000s Dungeons and Dragons open-sourced their rules, allowing people to provide material within their realm Getting involved in DriveThruFiction back in 2005 The hunger for content that came out in that time period How changes in the RPG industry that happened were later echoed a few years later in the eBook fiction publishing space The issues Peter recognized in 2006 in creating role playing game material where somebody else held the licensce for it Challenges of submitting fiction to markets from a country like Australia Spending six weeks at an Australian branch of the Clarion Writers Workshop and how that dramatically changed the perspective forced on him from his university education Continuing to submit his fiction to the traditional markets but paying attention to what was going on in the self-publishing, digital publishing, and indie publishing space Launching Brain Jar Press in 2017 largely as a vehicle for publishing his backlist Why cutting your teeth in short fiction can be great Having a plan to indie publish his own books for about ten years, make all the mistake on his own books, rather than someone elses, and getting solid learning and experience from it to benefit his press Working with Kathleen Jennings on a poetry collection right at about the time her first book with Tor went huge The idea for a series of short chapbooks with four or five essays per writer in order to bring these remarkable articles the authors had already written back into availability Borrowing the cultural capital of all the people they're publishing so that they can grow and eventually launch new writers How Peter fell in love with print quite accidentally The requirement of having to have an online store for the press The joke that it's cheaper to get things to Narnia than it is to get them to Australia The thought exercise Peter does regarding how many books he has to sell to make it to $100 Understanding the market base that you're likely selling to as a small specialized indie press Peter's impatience for just replicating what midlist are publishing is doing in the face of such wonderful, free, and dynamic digital tools when one can be breaking the model, expanding, and forming new ideas and new products ether Peter has been doing much of his own writing since launching Brain Jar Press 2.0 The flash fiction writing Peter has been able to do during a few 8 minute breaks at work What Peter is most optimistic about with what's happening in the publishing world now And more...   After the interview Mark reflects on Peter working in publishing and writing related realms, the value of connecting with others in the industry, and Peter's thirst for innovation and experimentation within digital publishing.   Links of Interest: Peter M. Ball's Website Brain Jar Press Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Peter M. Ball is an author, publisher, and RPG gamer whose love of speculative fiction emerged after exposure to The Hobbit, Star Wars, David Lynch’s Dune, and far too many games of Dungeons and Dragons before the age of 7. He’s spent the bulk of his life working as a creative writing tutor, with brief stints as a performance poet, gaming convention organiser, online content developer, non-profit arts manager, and d20 RPG publisher. Peter’s three biggest passions are fiction, gaming, and honing the way aspiring writers think about the business and craft of writing, which led to a five-year period working for Queensland Writers Centre as manager of the Australian Writers Marketplace and convenor of the GenreCon writing conference. He is now pursuing a PhD in Writing at the University of Queensland, exploring the poetics of series fiction and their response to emerging publishing technologies. He’s the author of the Miriam Aster series and the Keith Murphy Urban Fantasy Thrillers, three short story collections, and more stories, articles, poems, and RPG material than he’d care to count. He’s one-half of Brain Jar Press with his partner, Sarah, publishes his own work under the Eclectic Projects imprint, and resides in Brisbane, Australia, with his wife and two very affectionate cats.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Jeff Elkins about his writing, about dialogue and character voice, about his new book The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now, and more . . . Prior to the interview, Mark shares the winners of the complimentary tickets to BookMARCon, the surprise winners of complimentary pizza, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation Mark and Jeff talk about: Jeff's "nickname" as "The Dialogue Doctor" as well as his background as a writer What Jeff has seen in the past eight years that he has been involved in the indie author space The latest novel Jeff released in March 2023 co-authored with J.P. Rindfleisch called NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services which is described as "Ghostbusters meets The Office" The first collaboration Jeff had done with his best friend years ago Wanting to reengage in and looking for a way to give back to the author community in 2020 Adapting what he does professionally, training professionals in difficult conversations, and leveraging that to help authors apply those skills to their writing Doing more than 200 1:1 sessions since 2020 with authors to help them with their dialogue Liking helping writers perhaps more than he even likes writing The Dialogue Doctor community that seems to operate as a problem-solving community Jeff's book The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now, coming July 1, 2023 The structure of the book, which is hear the problem, learn the philosophy and the strategy for fixing it, then do a reading challenge, then a writing challenge The emotional journey a character goes on and the emotional shape of stories How you can have all the right plot points but not have the right emotional journey and the reader will disconnect from it Replacing the words hero, alley, and villain with terms like vehicle (the point of view character), the engines (characters who help move them forward), the anchors (those who weigh the vehicle down or bring out the worst versions of the vehicle) If you need the character to struggle, put them in scenes with their anchor If you want a big emotional moment where the character has to make an emotional choice, have the character enacting upon the influence of the anchor, then introduce the engine into that scene How when we talk about dialogue we're really talking about overall character interaction Building a character voice and ways of building a dynamic cast around a character where they can all build upon one another The difference between segments and scenes Jeff's "Apple a day" style advice for writers And more... After the interview Mark reflects on dialogue being one important aspect of overall character interaction, the readers emotional journey, and the value in helping other authors. Links of Interest: Jeff Elkins Website The Dialogue Doctor Website Kurt Vonnegut on the Shape of Stories (YouTube) Full Kurt Vonnegut Lecture (YouTube) Findaway Voices Spotify Royalty Increase (Findaway Blog) Converting Your Audiobook From Exclusive to Non-Exclusive (Findaway Blog) BookBub Blog: Promoting Your Audiobook For Skyrocketing Sales Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Jeff Elkins coaches authors and podcasts as the Dialogue Doctor. Since launching the Dialogue Doctor in 2020, he's held over 200 1-on-1 coaching sessions with authors focused on helping them improved their dialogue. In addition to 12 novels, Jeff is the author of The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now: How to Write Dialogue and Characters Readers Will Love -- a primer on how to write great dialogue, dynamic character voices, and powerful casts of characters.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Lindsay Buroker, a full-time independent fantasy and science fiction author who has written over a hundred novels, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list, and has been twice nominated for a Goodreads Readers' Choice Award. Prior to the interview, Mark shares an extremely short personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation Mark and Lindsay talk about: Lindsay's first appearance on the Stark Reflections Podcast, back in December 2018 The last time they saw one another in person, back in Vegas at 20BooksVegas a few months prior to the global pandemic Lindsay's start in self-publishing, which started just prior to Christmas in 2010 How she had been about to hit the publishing button for her first book when she received an offer back from an agent - and she decided to just go ahead and hit that "publish" button Using Podiobooks to release the first three books in audio for free Doing a Kickstarter to pay for the audiobook production back in 2012 What it was like self-publishing back in 2010 through 2013 Writing in different genres, the various experiences of doing that, and the surprising number of readers who willingly follow her on this journey Listening to her fans, but actually responding more to sales than to requests from her readers The writing, editing, proofreading, betareading, publishing process Lindsay loops through Always being aware of the possibility that the sales and consistent income might not always be there Launching books to her fans "direct" via Patreon prior to pushing them into KDP Select How an introvert like Lindsay can deal with being in such high demand from the author community and the reader community Pseudo-retiring the weekly schedule of The Six Figure Author Podcast and considering doing an episode once every quarter Books that Lindsay would recommend new readers might want to start with Advice Lindsay has for authors who prefer to "follow the muse" And more... After the interview Mark reflects on a few things about Lindsay's unique journey as well as how much he enjoyed returning to her books as a reader. Links of Interest: Lindsay Buroker's Website Lindsay on Twitter Lindsay on Facebook Sinister Magic (Book 1 in Death Before Dragons) 6 Figure Authors Podcast (new episode June 20, 2023) Episode 54 - Personable Publishing with Lindsay Buroker Mentions/apperances of Lindsay on Stark Reflections Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Lindsay Buroker is a full-time independent fantasy and science fiction author who loves travel, hiking, tennis, and vizslas. She's written over a hundred novels, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list, and has been twice nominated for a Goodreads Readers' Choice Award.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Dana Claire, an award-winning author and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Book Brush about her writing, about Book Brush, and about the virtual BookMARCon conference. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a word from this episode's sponsor.   You can find out more about BookMARCon at https://bookbrush.com/bookmarcon/ During their conversation, Mark and Dana talk about: Dana's background as a creative person as a writer, including the influence of her mother, an English teacher, and her college experience Joining forces with her mother who wanted to write a children's book, and Dana who wanted to write an adult book - and the resulting young adult book they decided upon Losing her mother unexpectedly, and then honoring her mother's memory by releasing the book the had planned on Some of the issues and errors Dana made when publishing her first book (The Connection) Dana's experience and background doing marketing and promotions for major companies Being an author who has both traditionally published and self-published Dana's belief in conferences and how important that has been to her author career Pitching her novel to fourteen different publishers at a conference, and how it got picked up because of this What Book Brush is - online software to make promotional images for books, including 3D versions of the books, within thousands of images that place it in specific settings and environments How Book Brush is updated weekly and there's always something new available for writers to take advantage of The way Book Brush can be very community driven so that authors don't feel so lonely What BookMARCon is (a three day virtual event - August 11 through 13, 2023), the origin of it, and how that MAR stands for MARKETING. (Book Marketing Con) The agent pitches that will be a part of this virtual conference The importance of the "personality fit" that can happen between authors and agents Self-publishing a book that her agent didn't want to pick up, and how that led to it winning an award and also being involved in a few things Dana isn't yet able to publicly talk about Her novel Sideliners being optioned for TV because Hunterland was optioned for television How self-published titles can help sell more of an author's traditionally published titles and vice versa More about the various topics that'll be covered during BookMARCon Heart-felt advice that Dana received from an agent during a meeting where the book she'd pitched was rejected and how that stayed with her and kept her motivated The $199 USD registration fee for this conference The Early Bird special registrants can get at the price of $149 until the end of July How you can get $50 off the conference registration using code MARK50 Advice that Dana would offer to other writers And more...   After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of conferences to a writer's career, particularly from the networking and connections made there, Dana's great advice for writers, and the unique way that Dana signs her emails to authors as the company's COO.   Links of Interest:   Dana Claire's Website Book Brush BookMARCon Episode 209 - From Zero to Four Figures with Paul Austin Ardoin Episode 284 - Collaborations in AI with Elizabeth Ann West Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Dana Claire is an award-winning author and also serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Book Brush, overseeing the company's daily operations, spearheading strategic initiatives, and expanding the platform's offerings. With her experience as an author, Dana brings a unique perspective to Book Brush, enabling her to empathize with the needs of the community and provide tailored solutions. With nearly two decades of experience in marketing and sales, she is well-equipped to bridge the gap between traditional marketing and the literary world. Dana currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, California with her biggest fan, her husband.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Paul Austin Ardoin about his new book From Zero to Four Figures: Making $1,000 a Month Self-Publishing Fiction. Prior to the interview, Mark welcomes new patrons, shares comments from recent episodes and a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation Mark and Paul talk about: How Paul has wanted to be a novelist since he was six years old University being all about literary fiction, and never finishing that "great American novel" he kept trying to write The way that writing a genre he was passionate about (mystery) was what made the major difference for Paul Paul's wife giving him a great idea for a main character, a former nurse who becomes a county coroner The fact that there are distinct seasons in Milwaukee Paul being a pantser, or discovery writer How literary fiction didn't gell with Paul's writing style What is really meant by the "write what you know" advice from writing Some mistakes that can be made related to missing some of the important tropes in one's writing How Paul always approaches writing mysteries as a "pantser" or "discovery writer" One of the pitfalls of "pantsing" a mystery novel Making a lot of mistakes in the past five years, and being sure to include that in his new book for writers The definite plan that Paul believes that many authors can put into place to get to $1000 a month How Paul approached writing this book as something that just didn't seem to exist for writers, offering them a way they could approach it, including an important mindset shift The value of series to a reader not having to go through the process of "finding something to read next" The importance of setting a more reachable goal such as $1000 a month rather than the commonly shared much higher revenue goals often pushed on writers Reader expectations and why it's such an important element for writers to pay attention to The marketing pitfall authors can fall into when they believe their book is unique and "defies" genre Sharing the many mistakes Paul has made as an author in this book The important question about how readers are going to find your books Paul's "Costco" analogy of book marketing Focusing on the entry point novel How the "freebee seekers" are a part of the business The timeline that Paul lays out for this author journey Thinking about your first book as an advertisement rather than as your baby A few of the elements that are a part of this book that are mostly lacking in many of the books out there for writers The power of being able to make changes Advice Paul wish he'd had when he was first starting out And more . . . After the interview Mark shares a few reflections about things that came up in the conversation.   Links of Interest:   Paul Austin Ardoin's Website From Zero to Four Figures Episode 300 - Celebrating 300 Episodes with Guest Reflections Episode 301 - Procrastinating Partners Collaborating with Liz Anderson Episode 166 - Wording Around with Kathy Mac Other episodes with Kathy Mac Episode 280 - The Jozie Planner The 12 Hour Walk (Audio for Patrons) and Blog Post Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Paul Austin Ardoin is the USA TODAY bestselling indie author of The Fenway Stevenson Mysteries and The Woodhead & Becker Mysteries. He holds a B.A. in creative writing from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an M.B.A. in marketing from the University of Phoenix. His book Zero to Four Figures: Making $1,000 a Month Self-Publishing Fiction was published in June 2023.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews, actor and writer C. C. Humphreys about his new novel Some Day I'll Find You. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During the interview Mark and Chris talk about: Chris's new epic romance saga novel Some Day I'll Find You and how it's partly based on his own parents Having to imagine his parents in their early 20s in the precarious situations they found themselves in How this novel related to Chris's previous historical novel from the same era, Chasing the Wind The common theme of "characters in peril" in Chris's novels The consistent question of "what would I have done" during this significant era of history as well as in situations taking place around the world even today How the spark for a novel always begins with story and characters The various ways that Chris conducts research for different historical periods that he writes about The book All the Fine Young Eagles: In the Cockpit with Canada's Second World War Fighter Pilots by David L Bashow which contained beautiful details about Canadian fighter pilots The playlist Chris compiled related to songs that were a part of the research he did into that era The book launches Chris will be doing when in Toronto (June 7th at Noonan's Pub) and Perth (June 9th at 7 PM at The Book Nook), then at Book Warehouse (Vancouver) on the 14th, as well as the free stage show in Toronto Tips Chris would provide for authors who are preparing to do a reading of their work How Chris enjoys doing launches at pubs and the live reading Chris did from the 5th oldest pub in England in the summer of 2022 A potential additional novel idea set in this same universe that Chris has been noodling over Chris's fascination with the ambiguity of war Advice that Chris would offer to beginning writers And more... After the interview Mark reflects on those historic moments when people had to take a stand, as well as the idea of hosting a book-related event at a pub or other typically non-bookish locale. Links of Interest:   C.C. Humphrey's Website Some Day I'll Find You (Penguin Random House) Noonan's Pub The Book Nook Perth Episode 32 - Hubrid Publishing with C.C. Humphreys Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Chris (C.C.) Humphreys - born in Toronto, raised in London - has played Hamlet in Calgary, a gladiator in Tunisia, waltzed in London’s West End, conned the landlord of the Rovers Return in Coronation Street, patrolled the Sun Hill beat in The Bill, commanded a starfleet in Andromeda, voiced Salem the cat in the original Sabrina, and is a dead immortal in Highlander. He is also a playwright, audiobook narrator, creative writing teacher and award-winning author of historical fiction and fantasy. He has written twenty two novels including The French Executioner, The Jack Absolute Trilogy, Vlad-The Last Confession, A Place Called Armageddon, Shakespeare’s Rebel, Chasing the Wind and his recent modern thriller, One London Day. Plague won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel. He has been translated into thirteen languages. His fantasy work includes The Runestone Saga and the recently published high epic series Immortals’ Blood beginning with Smoke in the Glass. His other fantasy series, The Tapestry Trilogy, has just been re-launched beginning with The Hunt of the Unicorn. This Summer sees the publication of his WW2 thriller, Someday I’ll Find You. He lives on Salt Spring Island, BC. Visit him at: https://www.authorchrishumphreys.com/   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Riley Odell, an autistic writer of horror, humor, and bizarro stories. As an autism/neurodiversity advocate, Riley is working on a speculative fiction anthology about neurodiverse characters written by neurodiverse writers called Divergent Realms: Speculative Stories About Neurodiversity. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation, Mark and Riley talk about: How Riley first started off writing by creating silly comic strips back in the third grade, moving to prose fiction by the time he was about twelve years old, and has pretty much been writing ever since Years of working on various unfinished projects, but having found a groove just a few years ago The ways in which his wife has helped Riley with his writing Riley's two short story collections (Vile Visions and Odd Ordeals) and his novella entitled My Weird Nightmare Baby How landing on the title Vile Visions felt perfect Being drawing to writing speculative fiction because Riley has long been a reader of those genres Inspiration from the world for writing horror and the types of horror that appear in Vile Visions How comedy and horror work on two different sides of the same coin The anthology Riley is reading for and publishing, Divergent Realms, and how it was inspired Why a call for neuro-divergent writers only is important The honor system for submissions that include a cover letter explaining how neurodiversion applies to them The types of stories Riley is hoping to receive for the anthology The submission window (June 1, 2023 until the last day of August 2023), the story length requested (2000 to 5000 words) Where, online more can be found out about this anthology (horrortree.com) and the email to send submissions to ([email protected]) and what payment will be offered for submissions Riley's connection to the Odell Brewery in Fort Collins, CO (which Mark nerds out on) How Riley will be doing a bit of work with Melissa Dalton-Martinez of The Book Break The expected timeline for the release of the anthology, which is spring 2024 How writing with Autism and ADHD is never made easier, but can sometimes be made easier, including strategies like taking a lot of basic writing advice with a grain of salt How forcing yourself to write when you're not ready to write can create a negative association with writing which makes things worse Advice Riley would offer to other writers And more...   After the interview Mark reflects on Riley taking a solid DIY ethic to fix a hole in the publishing world, as well as the importance of adapting advice into something that works best for YOU in your particular situation.   Links of Interest:   Riley Odell's Website Riley Odell's Facebook Page Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   RIley Odell is an autistic writer of horror, humor, bizarro and stories about autism. He is the author of the books Vile Visions, Odd Ordeals and My Weird Nightmare Baby. As an autism/neurodiversity advocate, Riley is working on a speculative fiction anthology about neurodiverse characters written by neurodiverse writers called Divergent Realms: Speculative Stories About Neurodiversity.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0     

Mark interviews Angelique Fawns about her writing as well as the intel she provides on short fiction markets for other writers. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their discussion, Mark and Angelique talk about: Angelique's background in freelance writing, journalism and her 25 years working in corporate television What Global TV is, for the benefit of non-Canadians Her preference for not having to be constrained by the truth, which led to her passion for fiction over non-fiction/journalism Some of the logistics of doing promotional short videos for Global TV The silver lining of shattering her ankle and how it led to finally sitting down and writing fiction Entering the fiction world in 2018 and not being able to find markets for selling short fiction Writing in active present tense because of her background in broadcast The work Angelique does finding and sharing information about markets for short fiction for other writers The Guide of All Guides market listing that Angelique has published based on the research she has done "Re-printing" her short fiction via her "Read me a Nightmare" podcast How working with an editor (Scott from DreamForge) helped Angelique revise a good story into a great story Balancing working a full time job, managing a farm, and having an active family life along with writing Not buying the idea that there's no money in short fiction The fickleness of luck in a writer's life and how the harder you work and the more lightning rods you plant, the more likely the right luck will happen The consistent message of "I think I'm successful because I didn't give up" from many of the world's most known and successful writers How what looks like success often doesn't show the numerous rejections and failures behind the scenes What Angelqique would advise to writers who are frightened of rejection A true and very cautionary tale about a writer who had impressed a series of editors and quit just when he was at the verge of that "breakthrough" submission And more... After the interview Mark reflects on a few of the things Angelique spoke about, as well as the way she has adapted her "day job" skills into her writing.   Links of Interest:   Angelique Fawns Website Read Me a Nightmare Podcast EP 33 - Browsers & Interview with Mark Leslie Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Angelique Fawns is a journalist and speculative fiction writer. She began her career writing articles about naked cave dwellers in Tenerife, Canary Islands, and hosting a radio show in Mooloolaba, Australia. Now she works full-time making television commercials for Global TV in Toronto. She writes fiction for fun and uses her journalism skills to promote editors, publishers and authors. She has her own podcast, Read Me A NIghtmare where she features short, dark stories and interviews creators in the industry. She lives on a farm north of the city with her husband, daughter, horses, cows, far too many cats, and a Potcake rescue dog. Her very first sale was to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. You can find her work in DreamForge, Allegory, The School Magazine, and two Third Flatiron anthologies. “The Last of the Gen Xers” is a 2022 Tangent Online Recommended Read. Her writing groups include the Wulf Pack and The Dreamcasters.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Alexandria Brown from Rising Action Publishing about her role in acquisitions and works with sub-agents on subsidiary rights. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their discussion, Mark and Alex talk about: Alexandria starting off doing lifestyle and other non-fiction publications such as Thought Catalog from New York Her first two books that focus on dating and romance, and mental health and traveling the world Getting her PhD at the University of Gloucestershire The focus on how to write trauma in fiction in Alex's PhD (How cross-cultural characters and trauma can impact fiction and bind people together) How Alex got involved in starting up Rising Action Publishing with a co-owner she met in Humber College The tremendous value, uniqueness, and diversity that independent publishers can bring to the market that traditional publishes often aren't able to Their partnership with Black Bird Books from South Africa Why it's really important for independent publishers to be part of a supportive and collaborative community How Alex and Tina did a lot of freelance editing in order to generate enough capital to get their publishing business started Leveraging subsidiary rights for things like audio rights to help bring in money for publishing expenses How the publishing partnership between Alex and Tina is very much like a marriage The types of fiction and non-fiction that Rising Action Publishing is looking to acquire The difference between domestic suspense and thrillers The wonderful challenge and problem of getting so many great submissions as a publisher Some of the errors that some writers have made when making submissions A few of the books that Rising Action will be releasing Advice that Alexandria would offer to writers near the beginning of their journey And more...   After the interview, Mark reflects on a few of the things that Alexandria talked about and goes into detail explaining how the big traditional publishers of today have a lot more in common with indie authors than at first meets the eye.   Links of Interest:   Rising Action Publishing Submissions Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Alex Brown has over ten years of experience in marketing and creative writing. Alex has a Bachelor’s in Communications with a major in Public Relations, a Master of Fine Arts - Creative Writing from the University of Gloucestershire, and is a Creative Writing Ph.D. Candidate currently at the University of Gloucestershire. She has two traditionally published nonfiction books. She’s a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Alex’s primary role is acquisitions and marketing as well as working with sub-agents on subsidiary rights.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Denise Baden, Professor of Sustainable Practice at the University of Southampton, UK, about her eco-themed writing, and the Green Writing Project which she initially set up in 2018. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation, Mark and Denise talk about: Denise's varied background in a number of different areas, including being a sales rep for cookbooks How a work of fiction (the satirical thriller STARK by Ben Elton) was what inspired Denise to become a "Greeny" Teaching in the area of sustainability and how Denise's nature is not necessarily suited to academia How "narrative transporation" allows a reader, when immersed in a story to take on the thoughts and feelings of a character The way that talking about catasotrophy and spreading fear doesn't necessarily inspire people into positive behaviors Studies of how people react to negative/distopian fiction pieces as opposed to ones that focus on positive action or behavior Denise's worry about eco-anxiety The books that Denise has written that include elements of climate solutions How almost 90% of readers adopted at least one of the solutions that were presented through character behavior in the stories The Green Stories Project that Denise first set up in 2018 and the various prizes associated with the free contest Being approached by Herculean Climate Solutions to produce an anthology collaboratively (No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save the Planet) Natural Burial, why it's important and a bit about how it works Looking at existing properties, such as comparing James Bond to Jack Reacher, and the way the two characters behave in significantly different ways in relation to sustainability and high or low carbon behavior How it's not policy or govertment mandates that will get us out of this ecological mess, but that it's the culture and behavior of the average person that will And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the power of fiction to change the world, and shares a personal story of how reading two different novels dramatically changed and impacted his own life.   Links of Interest:   Denise Baden's Website The Green Stories Project Herculean Climate Solutions Snap! The Power (Original Video) Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Denise Baden is a Professor of Sustainable Practice at the University of Southampton, UK. She has published widely in the academic realm and also in fiction. Her eco-themed rom-com ‘Habitat Man’ was published in 2021, followed by ‘the Assassin’ and ‘No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save the Planet’ in 2022. Her most recent research explores the use of storytelling to promote green behaviours, looking at how readers respond to eco-themed stories. In 2018, Denise set up the Green Stories Writing project that challenges writers to embed green solutions in their stories via a series of free writing competitions. These are open to all, and 17 competitions have been run so far, which have resulted in several publications. Denise is listed on the Forbes list of Climate Leaders Changing the Film and TV industry and speaks regularly on how to write for a cause.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Lisa M. Lilly, writer, attorney, and podcaster about story structure and the idea that writers don't need to make full time writing a priority or goal. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a thank you to those who support this podcast at patreon.com/starkreflections During their conversation, Mark and Lisa talk about: The mysteries and supernatural thrillers that Lisa writes, the non-fiction books for authors, and the podcast that she hosts How Lisa continues to practice Law, but is no longer doing it full time Writing not having to be a full-time thing, and Lisa's latest book "Fiction Writing as Your Second Career" The kind of Law that Lisa practices The "floating around" that Lisa did when she had too much free time when completely away from the responsibilities of the "day job" Lisa's "Awakening" series which is described as a cross between Rosemary's Baby and The Davinci Code How sometimes a small plot or story idea might be inspired by a real-life case Lisa has worked on or heard about Lisa's book "Super Simple Story Structure" and how it related to her passion and knowledge of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and that led to the basis for her podcast Things Lisa learned about doing the podcast weekly the first year, then every second week during the second year The decision of whether to quit doing a thing or to try doing it a different way Considering your writing as a 2nd career rather than as a "hobby" The powerful impact of allowing yourself to "daydream" Advice that Lisa would offer to authors who is balancing their full time work, a busy personal life and their writing If you can't set a habit by day or time, then add some other sort of habit to help trigger your brain that it's "time to write" What's next for Lisa And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the important perspective that not all writers need to aspire to writing full time, as well as the passion behind creative projects (which seems to be a recent common theme in his world). Links of Interest:   Lisa M. Lilly's Website Buffy and the Art of Story Podcast Writing as a Second Career (Website) Book: Fiction Writing as a Second Career Book: Super Simple Story Structure Book: Buffy and the Art of Story (Season One) Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   An author, attorney, and podcaster, Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the Q.C. Davis mysteries and the bestselling four-book Awakening supernatural thriller series. Writing as L. M. Lilly, her books on writing include The One-Year Novelist: A Week-By-Week Guide To Writing Your Novel In One Year, Super Simple Story Structure: A Quick Guide To Plotting & Writing Your Novel; and Fiction Writing As Your Second Career. She also hosts the podcast Buffy and the Art of Story.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0   

Mark interviews Johnny B. Truant, the author of the Fat Vampire novels adapted by SyFy as "Reginald the Vampire" starring Spider-Man's Jacob Batalon. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During the interview Mark and Johnny talk about: How Mark and Johnny have known one another for more than 10 years Young Johnny who had always wanted to be a writer and convinced his high school newspaper to allow him to write a column for them Orbiting the same circles as Sean Platt and how the two met via working via places like Copyblogger and the Blog World Conference How The Self Publishing Podcast came from Johnny wanting to interview (and talk and learn from) Sean Platt and David Wright about the co-authoring and self-publishing they were doing Where the spark for the idea of "Fat Vampire" came from (the old "after-show" podcast they did called "Better Off Undead" for horror fans Johnny wanting to explore the "sameness taken to the extreme" in Reginald, the fat vampire How not being exclusive to Amazon actually led to Johnny selling the option and license for FAT VAMPIRE to become the TV show "Reginald the Vampire" The expression "enthusiasm is free" What it was like watching the TV show "Reginald the Vampire" based on Johnny's novels Prepping for releasing a companion podcast to the TV series Spending three days on the set of the recording of the television program Johnny's views on the power of story and how they can help break through those psychological walls and the blocks that someone might put up to a different perspective by introducing readers to a "maybe they're just like me" train of thought And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of storytelling in creating connections between people and empathy, sharing a few quotes from an articile in Discovery magazine, as well as the reality of when an author's work is adapated for media. Links of Interest:   Johnny B. Truant's Website Fat Vampire to Reginald the Vampire: The Journey so Far Sterling and Stone Website Discover Magazine Article: How Reading Fiction Increases Empathy... Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Johnny B. Truant is the bestselling author of Fat Vampire, adapted by SyFy as "Reginald the Vampire" starring Spider-Man's Jacob Batalon. His other books include Pretty Killer, Pattern Black, Invasion, The Beam, Dead City, and over 100 other titles across many genres.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews his partner Liz Anderson about her work as a Principal within education, as the better half of a writer, and also as a fellow procrastinator and creative collaborator. This episode is sponsored by the awesome Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast who support this podcast and receive additional audio, video, and text content.   During the interview, Mark and Liz talk about: The elements of procrastination that bond the two of them together How Liz has learned to embrace procastination as a way to get the creativity flowing Liz's long-time practice of producing videos and short movies The "Last Minute Productions" Liz makes, leveraging the "L" and "A" of her initials into the branding The "show" (Isolation Station) that Liz started for the staff at her school during the pandemic and how that evolved into "Distance Daily" How these virtual shows allowed the staff to connect in a way that they never had been able to do before Mark's participation in Liz's "Distance Daily" show for a while during the time when she was without a Vice Principal The ongoing daily "Flair Fun" video announcements segment that initiated during the pandemic but continue to this day at Liz's school The value of the particupation from the entire school community in these daily videos that allows for a deeper sense of connection and being seen and heard and part of something bigger The way Liz practices the role of being an elementary school Principal The important revelation during a Grade 8 graduation that was an eye-opening moment for Liz The difference between being an auditory learner and a visual learner What it's like for Liz living with Mark the writer The "spies" Liz has watching for Mark to not engage in particular activities on social media How while Liz had long been creative and producing vidoes, it was a long time before she felt comfortable getting in front of a camera Mark and Liz's first creative collaboration, doing the "Stuck in This House Here with You" parody of the Steelers Wheel song "Stuck in the Middle with You" The way that we "paint" and fill spaces with things that tell a story or prompt people to see a space differently The decision fatigue that can happen for a reader and how Liz appreciates being able to just keep reading the next book in a series Liz's love of Joanna Penn's J.F. Penn thrillers and Kevin J. Anderson's "Dan Shamble" zombie P.I. novels Some of the creative endeavors Liz is interested in exploring this coming summer Then Liz turns the tables on Mark and asks him some reflective questions.   Links of Interest: Parody Videos Stuck In This House Here With You (Parody Music Video with Liz) Kay-Tell Presents: Isolation Parody Songs (Parody Music Video with Liz) The 2022 Aurora Awards Opening Sequence (Hosted by Liz and Mark) The Full 2022 Aurora Awards Ceremony Mark's Tavern: Where Everybody Shares Your Name - Pilot (Cheers Parody) Mark's Tavern: Dad Jokes Matter Mark's Tavern: Tension Mark's Tavern: Mister Bright Side Mark's Tavern: Death by Coffee Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark celebrates the 300th episode by sharing reflections from listeners, past guests, and other podcast hosts. The guest reflections, in order and with links: Edwin Downward Edwin's website Stanley B. Trice Stanley's website Sacha Black The Rebel Author Podcast EP 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel EP 155 - Rebellious Reflections with Guest Host Sacha Black Johnny B Truant Sean Platt Sterling and Stone Reginald the Vampire (Fat Vampire) Honoree Corder Honoree's Website EP 198 - Multiple Prosperous Wins in Marketing and Publishing Connor Whitely Connor's Website Brian Cohen & H. Claire Taylor Sell More Books Show Podcast EP 240 - Character, Story, and Industry Alignment with Claire Taylor EP 241 - Indie Publishing Has a Creep Problem EP 254 - Best Pages, Ads, and Newsletters with Bryan Cohen Kevin J Anderson & Rebecca Moesta WordFire Press Superstars Writing Seminars EP - Writing Through Change, Tragedy, and Trauma with Kevin J. Anderson Joanna Penn The Creative Penn EP 2 - Living the Health Writer's Life with Joanna Penn EP 148 - A Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn EP 212 - A Conversation with Joanna Penn on Co-Authoring The Relaxed Author J. Thorn J. Thorn's Website EP 21 - Real-World Connections in a Digital World with J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon Kaye Booth Writing to be Read EP 277- Live Chat with Ask the Authors 2022 Kevin Tumlinson Kevin's Website EP 15 - The Process of a Writer's Life EP 82 - D2D Ask Us Anything - Part 1 of 2 EP 83 - D2D Ask Us Anything - Part 2 of 2 EP 86 - D2D Marketing Questions EP 93 - D2D Ask Us Anything Aug 2019 Matty Dalrymple The Indy Author EP 116 - Taking the Short Tack EP 216 - Podcasting for Authors EP 226 - Reflective Round Table - Dec 2021 EP 231 - Reflective Round Table - Questions that Should be in a Writing Course EP 258 - Reflective Hangout Highlights Lindsay Buroker Lindsay's Website 6 Figure Authors Podcast Ron Collins Ron Collins Julie Strauss Julie's Website Best Book Ever Podcast RSS Feed   Links of Interest: Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Kerrie Flanagan and Cary Bergeron from CraveBooks. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During the interview, Mark, Kerrie and Cary talk about: A bit of a background about Kerrie's writing, publishing, and industry experience, including her multiple previous appearances on the Stark Reflections podcast Cary's experience running a marketing agency and how CraveBooks was initially a side project that grew into something bigger The challenge with many of the promo sites and the fact they don't "save" or "keep" the details from an author of previous promotions What CraveBooks.com is and how it works as a marketing platform tool for authors How CraveBooks owns and operates about eight of those sites, but also has connections via third party promotion sites How Kerrie and Cary met and started working together Where Mark and Kerrie first met The "Version 2" of CraveBooks, AKA, CraveBooks 2.0 and the bells and whistles that will be included in that How you have a free author profile on CraveBooks vice about marketing in general And more... After the interview Mark reflects on a couple of different things from the conversation. Links of Interest: CraveBooks (affiliate link) Other episodes featuring Kerrie Flanagan EP 209 - Growing Sales, Subscribers, and Twitch Marketing with Kerrie Flanagan & Chuck Harrelson EP 117 - Multi-Layered Collaboration with Kerrie Flanagan, Chuck Harrelson, and MacLeod Andrews EP 45 - Co-Authoring with the Writers Behind C. K. Wiles EP 31 - Writing and Selling Magazine Articles with Kerrie Flanagan Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Crave Books is a full-service eBook site and daily email service that gives readers free and bargain eBooks and connects readers and writers. The site also offers a variety of book promotional opportunities and service for authors to raise their profiles and reach new readers.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Sudbury area writers Matthew Del Papa and Vera Constantineau. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a few listener comments reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During the interview, Mark, Mat and Vera talk about: Vera and Mat's backgrounds as writers How humor is always going to show up in almost anything that Vera writes Haibun Poetry, which is a form that combines haiku and with prose poem Mat's very first book of "railroad stories" and how a lot of his work is focused on his home town of Capreol, Ontario What's funny about disability? How humor can be a coping mechanism for dealing with frustration Vera's love of poetry and fascination with Japanese forms of writing How poetry is a way of giving the shortest word picture imaginable The uniqueness of Latitude 46 Publishing, the publisher releasing both of these books in the spring of 2023 The way large publishers commonly make "we just published a book like that" restrictions Mat and Vera billing themselves as the "Rolling Writers" when promoting these books How small presses can be a really great resource for writers A focus on what is unique about writers from Northern Ontario and the mutual respect and understanding in the local writing community The benefits and drawbacks of being a writer in a northern community as opposed to a larger city A bit about Sudbury Wordstock, a fantastic literary festival that is celebrating its 10th year in 2023 A look at the geography and physical breadth of Canada and how one has to really hustle and really "want it" in order to be successful as a performer in Canada The term "criplit," the divisiveness in the use of the term among disabled writers and why that writing is important How the use of Zoom during the pandemic has been a boon for folks who have mobility issues and difficulty getting out and about Dealing with the inability to travel for book promotions Vera becoming a Poet Laureate of Greater Sudbury the day the pandemic started, but how that helped her bring Sudbury to the world How the pandemic taught a lot of able bodied people the concept of "not being able to do something you want to be able to do" And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the important of community, the uniqueness of the Sudbury writing community, and an element from Mat's email signature that he finds inspiring.   Links of Interest: Matthew Del Papa's Website Vera Constantineau's Website Latitude 46 Publishing EP 224 - Being an Independent Publisher and Bookseller with Heather Campbell EP 189 - From Stage to Page and Back to Stage with Rod Carley Sudbury Writers Guild Findaway Voices Submit YOUR reflections for Episode 300 Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Matthew Del Papa lives in Capreol. He joined the Sudbury Writers’ Guild in 2009 and served two years as president. A voracious reader, Matthew has written for local newspapers and websites, contributed to magazines, and together with Lisa Coleman-Brown co-authored a fund-raising novella entitled Nightmare at the North Pole for the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum & Heritage Centre (Greater Sudbury’s #3 tourist attraction). Having self-published ten titles, either as author or editor (and sometimes both), Matthew always has a project or two on the go. The majority of his work is humorous and focused on Northern Ontario, specifically his home town. His titles include: The Legend of Capreol Red: And Other Stories From a Railroad Town; Nursing Doubts: The Miss Hattie Mysteries; Green Eyes Through Capreol: More Stories From a Railroad Town; Creepy Capreol: Chilling Tales From a Railroad Town; Captivating Capreol: Thoughts From a Railroad Town; Creepy Capreol, Jr.: Chilling Tales From—and For—Young Minds; Capreol At Bat: The Fastball Years; Creepy Capreol, Jr. 2: Too Many Zombies; and Merry Capreol: Christmas Stories From a Railroad Town. Matthew’s first essay collection, Jerry Lewis Told Me I Was Going to Die, is being released May 6th, 2023 by Latitude 46 Publishing.   Vera Constantineau lives in Copper Cliff, ON. She served a two-year term (2020-2022) as poet laureate of Greater Sudbury. The pandemic arrived on the scene the day her appointment was affirmed forcing her to rethink the role, which was very community oriented. She spent a good part of her two years on zoom and travelled around the world to workshops and poetry events. Her podcast, The PL Pod, gathered a following that included regular listeners in the UK, Ireland, Japan, Sweden and Australia as well as the US and Canada. Her poetic focus is the Japanese forms of haiku, senryu, tanka and haibun. In addition to her interest in poetry, Vera writes both fiction and nonfiction. In 2019 her essay Options was included in an anthology, Against Death—35 Essays on Living, published by Anvil Press of Vancouver. In 2020 her haiku placed third in the Martin Lucas Award for Haiku in England. Vera’s early writing coered a ten year span as a humour columnist. Her weekly column appeared in several Northern Ontario Community newspapers. Vera is the author of Daisy Chained, a collection of short fiction, three lines at a time, a chapbook of haiku that has gotten excellent reviews. Vera is the Haiku Canada Regional Representative for Ontario and a member of the Haiku Society of America, a member and past president of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild as well as a member of NOWW Thunder Bay. Her poetry collection, Enlightened By Defilement was published in April of 2023 through Latitude46 Publishing of Greater Sudbury. The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Jo Buer, a gothic suspense and literary fiction author from New Zealand who describes herself as a sucker for the supernatural, time travel, and all things woo-woo.  Prior to the interview, Mark reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.   You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In their conversation, Mark and Jo talk about: The many different ways that Jo is "bookish" Being able to go back all the way to when she was five years old, and how Jo fell in love with her school's library Writing about a gift she was given when she was six years old and the belief she had, even then, that her writing was stellar and would capture the attention and praise of her teacher The devastation and determination that early experience left her with as an author Publishing her first book, a collection of short stories in 2020 Finding herself in a really dark place with a significantly negative impact on her self esteem, and how that determined voice of herself at 6 years old kicked in Being too hard on herself by trying to measure up to the productivity of a full time author while being a part-time author with another full time job Jo's podcast Alchemy for Authors Her role as a teacher and how that might tie back to her own experience having her enthusiasm squashed as a six year old The challenge of hosting a podcast while being such an introverted person How overthinking and looking for the "perfect" solution can often get in an author's way Jo's experience working at Chapters and Indigo when she lived in Canada One of the most heart-breaking and frustrating things about seeing how bookstores deal with mass market paperback returns Her experience working in a library, including speaking to the various people who came in there How, if you're an introvert, for example, you've sometimes got to "fake it" Advice that Jo would give to her younger self And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the "fake it" approach as well as Jo's advice about leveraging a photo of your younger self. Links of Interest: Jo Buer Website Instagram Facebook Jo's Podcast: Alchemy for Authors Instagram Alchemy for Authors Newsletter Brandon Sanderson's Response to WIRED article Mark's Patron Post with audio of that article and his reflection Findaway Voices Submit YOUR reflections for Episode 300 Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Joe Buer is a gothic suspense and literary fiction author living in New Zealand. She is a sucker for the supernatural, time travel, and all things woo-woo. From an early age she came to realize that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. She lives in an ordinary house in an ordinary town with her husband and feline familiars, Atlas, Gaia, Zeus, and Hades. When not doting on her cats, devouring self-help books or gorging on chocolate, she writes slightly dark, sometimes scary, often ghostly stories with a smattering of romance. Jo is also the host of the Alchemy for Authors podcast - a podcast to transform and supercharge your writing life.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Canadian Epic Fantasy author Richard H. Stephens about finally realizing a life-long dream of writing, about how his fourteen book fantasy series was inspired by hearing an Iron Maiden song in 1982, and about selling print books at in person events. Prior to the interview, Mark reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.   You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In their conversation, Mark and Richard talk about: Richard's epic fantasy writing, which is told in trilogy batches, all within the same universe How the song "Run to the Hills" from Iron Maiden in the early 1980s put the story that became his first trilogy into his head, but also how Richard's serious start in writing didn't start until 2017 How his first novel was called "The River Styx" for the first 33 years that he kept it kicking around in his head Pitching his first novel to an agent, and then realizing this was something he could do for himself Publishing 14 books in the "Soul Forge" universe since 2018 A bit of a background on the reasoning behind retiring from Waterloo Police Service, and how that allowed him to be able to write Richard's analogy of being the race car driver with a fantastic pit crew (his wife, family, and the professionals he works with) that helps him look good Why Richard invests so much into in person and print selling Meeting David M. Kelly at GraphicCon in Sudbury, ON and how Richard learned a lot from David in that type of environment How 2020 was supposed to be their "breakthrough" year The value of what happens when a person browsing at Richard's table realizing they're actually talking to an author The epic-fantasy themed costumes that Richard will sometimes wear when doing an event in person The trilogy discount promotional pricing that Richard can offer Ordering print copies from a local printer (in Toronto) rather than having them shipped from Amazon The trailer Richard has for doing in person events with the book covers on it Richard's advice on not being afraid to engage with people, and don't be shy about sharing the fact that you are the author How, even with a sign that has your photo on them and a "meet the author today" people still don't "get it" that the author is right there The importance of trying different ways and approaches to see what works best for you Making someone's day by offering a woman who was having a bad day the opportunity to name a dragon in one of his books How Richard decides which in person book events are worth it and which ones aren't Advice Richard would give to his younger 1982 self And more...   After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of making it clear, despite when things seem like they're already overtly obvious, as well as how we all tend to focus on our "one star" elements rather than our "five star" ones.   Links of Interest: Richard H. Stephens Printing Legacy (Toronto area Printer) Findaway Voices Submit YOUR reflections for Episode 300 Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Richard H. Stephens began writing circa 1974; a bored child looking for something to do. A trip to a local bookstore saw the proprietor introduce him to the works of Terry Brooks and Stephen R. Donaldson and his writing life was forever changed. Richard worked in a warehouse for 22 years, before going back to school. Graduating with honours, he joined the local Police Service. In 2017, Richard resigned from the Police Service to pursue writing full-time. With the support of his family, he has finally realized his boyhood dream.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark chats with Dharma Kelleher who writes action-driven thrillers that explore the complexities of social and criminal justice in a world that favors the privileged. She is one of the only openly transgender authors in the crime fiction genre. They talk about that and a lot more. Prior to the interview, Mark reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.   You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In their conversation, Mark and Dharma talk about Dharma's "long, torrid" life-long affair with writing, and beginning to write on a manual typewriter in their teenage years What happened in the intervening years, including getting a degree in journalism Coming out as transgender, initially to self in college, and then later on. And the challenges of doing that in the deep south of the US Celebrating 25 years of marriage in 2023 Falling back in love with writing in 2007 thanks to NaNoWriMo Spending eight years focusing mostly on the craft of writing Pitching to 90 agents and then landing a deal with a New York publisher Coming to the realization that the trad pub model wasn't going to work (due to the publisher requiring print book rights even though they weren't planning on publishing beyond eBook) Getting tired of hearing the "we already had a transgender author book this year" from publishers Red Market's release in February 2023 and how Dharma is selling it directly before doing a wide publishing release How you get it early and get more when you buy it direct from the author Switching from a WooCommerce to a Shopify website for direct sales Doing the best they can to deliver their books to any customer wherever they are on the planet Being the first person in Arizona to donate a kidney to a stranger and how that was part of the inspiration for Red Market The Jinx Ballou Crime Thriller series and how crime thrillers, mysteries, etc are often about "justice" Some of the things writers can get wrong when they include transgender characters in their fiction Disclosure (Netflix) - that takes a deep dive into those tropes The importance of giving transgender characters agency in fiction How the tropes can cause real harm, not just hurt feelings Dharma's love of numbers and love of writing being among their biggest passions And more... After the interview Mark reflects on two of the things that came up in their discussion.   Links of Interest: Dharma's Website Queer Women Kick Ass (dot com) Red Market (direct sales link) Trailer for Disclosure (Netflix) Lambda Literary: Three Transgender Crime Writers (Dharma, Robyn Gigl, Renee James) Talk Thrills and Challenges of Writing in the Genre Epic Reads: YA Fiction with Transgender and Non-Binary Characters Goodreads: Novels of Trans Protagonists by Trans authors Findaway Voices Submit YOUR reflections for Episode 300 Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Dharma Kelleher writes action-driven thrillers that explore the complexities of social and criminal justice in a world that favors the privileged. She is one of the only openly transgender authors in the crime fiction genre. Dharma lives in Arizona with her wife and a black cat named Mouse. 

Learn more about Dharma and her work at https://dharmakelleher.com.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Jeff Adams and Michele Lucchini about their new book, CONTENT FOR EVERYONE: A Practical Guide for Creative Entrepreneurs to Produce Accessible and Usable Web Content. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.   You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In their conversation, Mark, Jeff, and Michele talk about: Their new book, released March 1, 2023 entitled CONTENT FOR EVERYONE and who the book is for Their backgrounds working at Useablenet and how it relates to this new release Jeff's Big Gay Fiction Podcast, which has been going on for eight years now Pioneering digital accessibility with UseableNet Thinking about accessibility as an opportunity or a basic expectation It being hard for Jeff and Michele to not notice accessibility issues out there on the net The genesis of the book and how it became a collaborative effort between the two of them Conveying a message in the widest way possible so that the widest number of people can consume it The importance of color contrast for people with low vision Considering the different ways different users interact with a web page A good rule is "do not rely on a single sense when you communicate" A theme running through the entire book: Being true believers in that if you know WHY you have to do something, you'll be a lot more committed in doing it An approach to consider if it feels too overwhelming to take on the task of making one's work more accessible Accessibility is about reaching as many potential customers as possible All of the conditions that might be creating a temporary disability How the only wrong thing to do is to do nothing The oddness of the situation where someone who requests something in a more accessible format is asking a favor rather than just laying out a fundamental expectation The idea of thinking of an accessible format as an "extra task" rather than a basic and fundamental task The importance of progress over perfection And more... After the interview Mark reflects on a few specific learnings he took away from it and ways he can grow and improve/expand upon his mindset related to accessibility.   Links of Interest: Content for Everyone UseableNet WebAIM's Contrast Checker Jeff Adams (& Will Knauss)- Big Gay Author Podcast Jeff & Will on Draft2Digital Self-Publishing Insiders Live (Blog)(YouTube) Episode 293 - The Capacity to Unlearn and Relearn with Diane Devenyi Findaway Voices Submit YOUR reflections for Episode 300 Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Jeff Adams is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals. As the Accessibility Operations Director for UsableNet, a company focused on making the digital world more accessible and usable, he consults with clients around the world about digital accessibility. In addition, Jeff’s a creative entrepreneur as an author of queer romance and queer young adult fiction and co-host of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast. Michele Lucchini is the Vice President of Delivery and Accessibility Operations for UsableNet and oversees the teams responsible for ensuring client’s success in their digital accessibility program. Michele’s background is rooted in software development first and moving to team and operation management later. Thanks to experience gathered in over two decades, Michele is an expert and helping companies, from the largest to the smallest, making their digital experiences accessible.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

In this episode Mark interviews Diane Devenyi, a former tax lawyer who shifted her focus to education reform, and her new book Dear Genius, Harness the Hidden Power in your ABCs. Prior to the main segment, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, invites listeners to submit reflections for forthcoming episode 300 welcomes new patrons and shares a few words about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their chat, Mark and Diane talk about: Diane's start in a non-creative realm, with the belief she was going to be a tax lawyer Publicly announcing at an educational meeting that she was there to re-vamp education on the planet back in 1999 Universal design: AKA "Learning for everyone" How the current education system was built to support an earlier century of humans -- ie, creating workers rather than thinkers The Alvin Toffler Quote: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." Working on ways to shift things when it comes to education How easy it is to resolve some issues when you know what underlying element you're looking for The way Diane's book "Dear Genius" helps How to make Diane's method work in larger sized classroom settings, including doing it with 80 campers at one time in a summer camp setting Going to get her Masters of Education and how that led to having to put the summer camp on hold The concept of having families experience this together in an immersive setting Part of the process of actually learning/relearning the letters of the alphabet using clay Deciding to take on partner dancing later in life and how that completely changed her life A Grade 4 experience that taught Diane that they don't want to know what her best is, but they wanted her to be the best at what they wanted her to do Why, even if a person uses a typewriter and never hand-writes letters, how going back to the foundation of properly printing letters can make a significant difference From your hand, through your heart, and into your head Gaining a sense of resilience from unlearning and relearning something The March 2023 2-Day Boot Camps Diane is running online When your curiosity in life gets a kickstart And more... After the episode Mark reflects on the importance of unlearning and relearning regardless of your age or how much you believe you might already have learned, and how he is planning on doing that to continue to grow as a writer and a person.   Links of Interest: The Learning Force (Diane's website) 7 Figures Podcast - How to Successfully Sell Wide (beyond Amazon) with Mark Lefebvre (YouTube) The Creative Penn - Global Wide Self-Publishing with Mark Leslie Lefebvre (YouTube) BookBub Blog - 10 Tips for Growing a Wide Global Audience Findaway Voices Submit YOUR reflections for Episode 300 Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Diane Devenyi, LLB, MEd, is a former tax lawyer who shifted her focus to education reform when she became deeply troubled by learning struggles she observed in her children’s classrooms. This has become her life-long passion. With more than 20 years in the field, she is sharing her observations about literacy and learning in a "Dear Genius" series of books, with "Harness the Hidden Power in Your ABCs!" being the first. Her hope is that children and adults everywhere can finally find relief and the freedom to soar in their own zone of genius.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Oskar Söderberg, a thirty-five year old husband, father of two, and full-time IT employee about his writing life and the process leading up to publishing his debut novel, The Broken Pyromancer, coming in March 2023. Prior to the main segment, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and a few words about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their chat, Mark and Oskar talk about: Oksar's long-held perspective of how cool writers were, with the romanticized images he always had Writing and self-publishing a book back in 2017, which did not work out well, and which he ended up taking down His main takeaway from that experience His first novel, which is with an editor as the interview was being conducted and is coming out in 2023 What the Sweden Amazon site is like How Kindle Unlimited is not available in Sweden What platforms are not available to authors in Sweden The different genre Oskar is writing in for this new book Teaching himself programming in order to build a game for IOS and Android that is like a "choose your own adventure" interactive horror adventure (Gray Sojourn: Wandering Souls) Learning more about the world of self-publishing from listening to a number of podcasts (especially The 6 Figure Author Podcast) The expected/planned release date of the new novel, entitled The Broken Pyromancer Why Oskar decided to publish his books wide, and his understanding that the process can take a lot of time A look at the similarities and differences of advice for an author from Sweden versus an author in the US How eBooks aren't really a thing for readers in Sweden Oksar being the only person he knows who owns an eBook reader The popularity of audiobook apps and platforms like Storytel Oskar's learning about the reader magnet process and how it helped him go through the process and learning all the pieces of it, including testing the waters The proliferation of rookie mistakes that are so easy to find, despite all the great content, information, and resources for writers After the interview, Mark reflects on a few things Oskar mentioned and thanks Patrons of the podcast.     Links of Interest: Oskar's Website Novella: Eldspark Academy The Game 6 Figure Authors Podcast EP 291 - The Importance of a Hero Who Looks Like You with Alicia Mccalla BookBub Blog - 10 Tips for Growing a Wide Global Audience Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Working full time in IT, Oksar Söderberg is a 35 year old father of two tiny terrorizing girls trying to squeeze enough time in to become an author by any means necessary’s. He is a reader, writer, and lover of fantasy (and some horror), with debut novel, The Broken Pyromancer, coming early 2023. Stay tuned!   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews writer, narrator, and creative Alicia McCalla about her work creating thrilling stories of courage, bravery and strength featuring kick-ass Black women leads in SciFi, Fantasy & Romance. Prior to the main segment, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, thanks new Patrons, shares a personal update, and a few words about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their chat, Mark and Alicia talk about: How Alicia is two different versions of a superwoman and the way her brand is quite powerful Courage, bravery, and strength The strong women in Alicia's life, and her legacy Sharing badass, strong, and powerful black women who use their spunkiness, brains, and abilities Recognizing the power of a black Star Trek captain Dressing up in cosplay as a Starfleet captain when going to get a Covid booster shot How ground-breaking Nichelle Nichols' role in the original Star Trek was, and what happened when she wanted to quit The importance of having a superhero who looks like you, and Alicia's husband's experience with wanting to go to school for Halloween as Spider-Man, but being told by another child he couldn't be Spider-Man because he was black How the Civil Rights Movement could really be understood as a Women's movement Some of the differences between White Feminism and the approach to feminism taken by Black women The difference between Feminism and Female Empowerment The Miles Morales Into the Spiderverse movie The toxicity and racism that exists within science-fiction fandom Alicia's experience sitting on a panel at Dragon Con with a white male participant who claimed they didn't "see" the differences between white and black people and that "race" doesn't matter Crying unabashedly when seeing the Black Futurism in the movie Black Panther The experience of Alicia and her husband giving away their Black Panther and Wonder Woman watches to children in Ghana How selling direct can be both empowering and terrifying The exclusive audio available only via Alicia's website for those dedicated fans who really want it Having an international audience of readers all over the world and how the public library of South Africa is a place that many readers seem to be consumed her books Not being able to finish a book project because of a character who was deeply based on her grandfather who Alicia lost Narrating under the pen name Alicia Speaks   After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of understanding how something that seems normal or just "fits" for one person, might not be experienced in the same way for another. Case in point: Both Mark and Alicia's husband dressed up as Spider-Man when they were children, but Mark wasn't told that he couldn't because of the color of his skin.   Links of Interest: Alicia McCalla's Website The Publishing Blues Brothers (YouTube) Weird Al's Song "One More Minute" (YouTube) Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Alicia McCalla is a creative entrepreneur who writes, narrates and creates merchandise for readers and customers who love thrilling stories of courage, bravery and strength featuring badass, spunky and smart Black women main characters. If you are a Blerd or Nerd who loves talking about strong Black women and female empowerment in  SciFi, Fantasy, Romance and sometimes Horror then join in on Alicia's blog discussions or follow her on social media. Alicia began writing and self-publishing professionally in 2012. In the beginning, she wrote part-time while she worked full-time as a School Media Specialist. Tragedy struck and her only child, an officer in the US Navy was lost at sea. This single event changed everything. With the overwhelming intensity of her grief brain, she had to re-learn how to live fully while honoring her son’s legacy (he was one of her largest supporters and champions. He even produced a theme song for her work). She often takes the time to acknowledge her grief journey in her blog posts. Now, Alicia is a full-time writer, audiobook narrator & merchandiser sharing stories and products of courageous, brave and strong Black women warriors.  She enjoys writing kick-ass sistas with skills, swords & superpowers. Alicia is Black Girl Nerd and regularly Cosplays strong female superheroes, warriors and maybe even a fairy. Because of her love of fan merchandise and desire to see Black women represented in SciFi and Fantasy Merchandise, she launched her shop  Alicia McCalla’s Emporium featuring superheroines, vigilantes, huntresses and much more.  Alicia's influences include Octavia Butler, LA Banks, Faith Hunter, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Patricia Briggs. She is an activist in the movement towards diversifying Science fiction and Fantasy (#diversityinSFF). She created the first "State of Black Science Fiction 2012" blog tour, is an active member in the State of Black Science Fiction FaceBook group and has a Pinterest account where she actively curates topics related to Black Warrior Women, Black Science Fiction, Fantasy and more. Alicia writes for adults with her brand of Black superheroes, dark fantasy, Urban Fantasy, paranormal, and horror.  She is a former Women Marine-Reservist and a decorated war veteran. Alicia is a native Detroiter who currently resides in metro Atlanta with her loving husband and many nieces and nephews. Sign-up  on www.aliciamccalla.com for free reads, updates, sneak peeks, and merchandise coupons.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0   

In this solo episode, Mark reflects on how continues to be inspired by teacher, mentor, and friend Jim Turcott. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor segment. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Malcolm Coon about his plans for overcoming the "back-burner" state of his writing projects, why he doesn't plan on giving up should his writing income ever get to "that" level, his goal of completing a short story every month this year, and more. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update inside of the word about this episode's sponsor segment. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Malcolm talk about: Malcolm's full time work in tech while simultaneously having wanted to write since 1997 A falling out Malcolm had with a partner in his tech business and how that led to working on a tech thriller that he worked on, but abandoned after about a month His long-time love of reading fantasy, which led to deciding to write fantasy Getting serious about his writing in about 2011, discovering various writing podcasts, and realizing that this was something he could do How the writing would regularly go on hold because of the fluctuations of the work-life Changing his tact a little and deciding to write a short story every month in order to create a story collection that would act like a prelude to the unfinished trilogy he'd been working on The challenge of being an entrepreneur in tech while also balancing being an authorpreneur The strategy of doing the writing first thing early in the morning for about thirty minutes BEFORE opening the email browser, which usually leads to getting sucked into work for the entire day Attempting to do a little bit, no matter how small, every day, because once he misses a day it's easy to miss a second day How the process of just trying to cram a large word count out with inserted notes about research to do for later insertion can often lead to a section of bad writing with additional work to do on it The way his current writing are based upon a world that Malcolm and his brother created when they were teenagers playing Dungeons & Dragons The parable storybook Malcolm created called The Greatest Writer in the World (in the style of "The Greatest Salesman in the World) that he published to Amazon, but then took down after a year upon realizing he hadn't invested the proper time in polishing and editing it Malcolm's goal of ultimately wanting to make a living of his writing, but to never give up the entrepreneurial tech business work that he loves Becoming less concerned with words per minute than with creating quality How Malcolm has found it far more difficult to manage himself in the writing roadmap plan compared to the way he very effectively manages developers for his entrepreneurial work The idea of that breakthrough moment of what it will take to get over that hurdle of getting the books done and published The importance of figuring out what works for us as writers, which is always going to be unique How the 25 words a day goal can be like a "just one more potato chip" methodology Malcolm's overall plan for getting this writing project back on track Mark's threat of holding Malcolm accountable for his stated goals by having him return to the podcast to share an update After the interview, Mark reflects on false starts in writing, the importance of reasonable goals, and adapting the advice offered into one's own unique circumstances and preferences. Links of Interest:   The Writing Show Podcast (Apple) - "Getting Published with Mark Leslie" Series Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 Episode 9 Episode 10 Episode 11   Superstars Writing Seminars (Save $100 with code: STARKSSWS2023 Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Malcolm Coon is an author who works in tech full time as an entrepreneur. He doesn't yet have a website, and Malcolm will be returning to future episodes.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0