Mark has a panel discussion with four of his patrons. This episode is sponsored by the patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast who supposed this podcast via www.patreon.com/starkreflections. Matty Dalrymple Alyssa Kuron Kathy Mac Faye Whyte The round-table discussion focuses mainly on the following topics: Digital/virtual versus real-world/in-person connections POD and bookstore returns Mark also gives out a coupon code for $100 off of for first-time attendees of Superstars Writing Seminars (Colorado Spring, CO), for Feb 2023. Use STARKSSWS2023 to get $100 off if you register before June 1, 2022. Links of Interest: EP 216 - Podcasting for Authors with Matty Dalrymple EP 166 - Wording Around with Kathy Mac EP 108 - Silver Linings with Talena Winters 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   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 Annaliese Morgan, an author, traveller, a solo mum of two boys, and an award winning Advanced Veterinary Surgical Nurse, about writing, her book STAY WILD, and her passion for inspiring young adults and young readers through fiction. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation, Mark and Annaliese talk about: Annaliese's entrance to writing in the 1990s after her extensive veterinary work Those veterinary related books, and how that led to a successful blog of autobiographical vignettes The way that real life elements can be incorporated into her fiction Annaliese's first novel, STAY WILD, an urban fantasy story set in present day London Her imprint, Black Daisy Press, and her plans for it The importance of inspirational fiction, particularly for younger readers Advise that Annaliese would offer to beginning writers And much more... After the interview Mark reflects on a couple of things Annaliese said about there being no half-way when you're a writer, as well as big decisions and small decisions.   Links of Interest: Annaliese Morgan's Website Superstars Writing Seminars James A. Owen's Website Findaway Voices Chirp Listing for Canadian Werewolf series The Canadian Mounted 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   Annaliese Morgan is an author, traveller and solo mum of two boys... Max an actor and Woody, a gamer, You Tuber and aspiring chef. Originally from Yorkshire but based in London the three are rather like the three musketeers; they have a Basset hound called Pineapple, but he is more meh than musketeer. Formerly, and in a different life, Annaliese was an award winning Advanced Veterinary Surgical Nurse in the UK. She co-authored a book on veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia in 1999 for the BSAVA. In 2007 and 2009 she was sought after to write three books (NVQ2, NVQ3 and A-Z for Veterinary Nurses) to help students pass their exams. In 2008 she opened the first pet health spa in the UK and published Desperate Housepets: Become a Chic Pet Owner Without Being a Bitch in 2014, and ran a successful blog of inspiring autobiographical vignettes entitled The Annaliese Journals - terrible title with some dodgy writing in parts but we all start somewhere - thousands loved it and were helped by the blog pieces, which is the bit that matters. Since a child Annaliese has always been a writer and traveller, but after recovery from a near fatal motorbike accident including over eleven operations and learning to walk again, losing her brother to suicide and divorce in 2009, she chucked the burnt boil-in-the-bag rice in the bin and decided to up level. Fast forward a few soul-searching years trekking across the planet and enough rejections professional and personally to defy the law of averages, Annaliese brought her edgy style, love for the supernatural and all things magical, together with her abilities, influence and passion for young people. She started Black Daisy Press, her own publishing company dedicated to young and new adults. She also holds accredited diplomas in symbology, vampirology and Ancient Egyptian magic, and is an expert in the supernatural and mystical worlds. Her mission is to encourage young and new adults to embrace being unique individuals and to stand out in a world of followers, whilst providing enchanting and entertaining material so they never feel alone, she she always did.   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   

This episode goes a bit meta with Mark sharing a recording of Kathy Mac interviewing a group of her students shortly after a virtual talk that Mark gave to them on the opportunities available to authors within the traditional and indie publishing realms. It is a "reflections on a reflective talk" episode. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   Links of Interest: Episode 166 - Wording Around with Prose Episode 226 - Reflective Round Table Dec 2021 Episode 231 - Reflective Round Table Jan 2022 Findaway Voices Chirp Listing for Canadian Werewolf series The Canadian Mounted 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   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.E. Judd about her new novel, TEETH, her writing life, and interacting with her readers. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Elise talk about: The humor that Elise puts in her biography and how it's indicative of the tongue-in-cheek snark in her fiction as well as in her author newsletter Her new novel TEETH, the first in the series, and the creation of the prequel story "reader magnet" How Elise has always loved the werewolf genre, and the werewolf books by Patricia Briggs and Kelley Armstrong Enjoying blood and guts, and action, and monsters The decision to release her books under the "gender neutral" pseudonym E.E. Judd The main character, Danielle Waters, who is a naive werewolf with no idea of the world of the other supernaturals that exist Why Canada is the perfect setting for werewolf novels The dojo she helps her husband run and their theory of "if it's useful learn it; if it's useful, use it" Realistic and realism in fight scenes that Elise writes Deciding upon what parts of the werewolf mythology and to leverage in her novels How much Elise appreciates Brandon Sanderson's "Laws of Magic" The frequency of communicating with her readers via her author newsletter Wanting to write stories since she was a kid How Elise considers NaNoWriMo a gift from the heavens Elise's perspective on how social media is a great way to interact with existing readers The importance of a supportive community for a writer Writing by plotting line by line or writing by exploring how a scene should feel Advice Elise would give to beginning writers And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on Elise's use of her newsletter and social media as a way to engage with and entertain her readers, rather than trying to sell to them. He also talks about her advice on the importance of finishing. Links of Interest: E.E. Judd's Website E.E. Judd on Instagram E.E. Judd on Facebook Findaway Voices Win a Free Audiobook Launch from Findaway Voices Chirp Listing for Canadian Werewolf series The Canadian Mounted 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   E.E. Judd writes badass fantasy. She’s into reading (shocking!), video games, plants, sarcasm, and stories with blood and guts. Her energetic golden retriever, Akamaru, makes sure she moves enough to keep her soft little writer’s body in shape. She majored in Computer Programming in university, and then made good use of that education by deciding to write novels. In her spare time, she helps her husband run a dojo from their home, and knows enough jujitsu to get her in trouble (but not enough to get her out of it).   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 Boito, a screenwriter and novelist about his new novel VALLEY FLIERS, writing screenplays and scripts, and so much more. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and David talk about: What you call the role of a flyer The similarities with the way that a radio controlled model aircraft has with a full scale aircraft How David first got interested in RC controlled aircraft and the nearby Apollo 11 Flight field e inspiration to write a story based on this intriguing locale Initially beginning to write this novel in screenplay format and then later adapting it into a novel David's other script work, including writing an episode of the last 1980s TV sitcom Head of the Class starring Howard Hesseman How, once you have the screenplay you have a solid outline Making the decision to self publish and where David turned (Reedsy) How spying in the Hitchcock "Rear Window" era is significantly different with spying that can be done via modern drones The difference between flying a drone and flying an aviation model aircraft Advice David would offer to authors thinking of writing a novel or screenplay And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the craft skills and IP leverage that can come from creating a screenplay, as well as those manuscripts that stay locked in a drawer. Links of Interest: David Boito Findaway Voices Win a Free Audiobook Launch from Findaway Voices Chirp Listing for Canadian Werewolf series Write for the Win Storybundle TikTok FEAR AND LONGING IN LOS ANGELES Giveaway video The Canadian Mounted 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   David Boito resides with his wife and son in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Los Angeles, near the miniature airfield that inspired Valley Fliers, his debut novel. He is a longtime fan of aviation and always looks to the sky as a plane goes by. David also works as a screenwriter and has authored short stories. He has been published in the UCLA literary journal, Westwind, among others.

Part of series of bonus "Reflective Round Table" episodes that are discussions between Mark and a selection of patrons of the podcast. This episode is sponsored by the patrons of the Stark Reflections podcast who support this podcast at: https://patreon.com/starkreflections In this episode, Mark chats with: Matty Dalrymple Julie Strauss Kathy Mac Linda Hill Talena Winters   Links of Interest: EP 216 - Podcasting for Authors with Matty Dalrymple EP 166 - Wording Around with Kathy Mac EP 108 - Silver Linings with Talena Winters EP 35 - Lessons Learned from the Novel Intensive Workshop (Julie Strauss guest) 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   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 Jacob Hess about character development, world-building and The Hero's Journey. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update, a cautionary tale about making POD titles returnable, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Jacob talk about: Jacob's initial interest in world-building and character development through imaginative play as a child How his love for stories eventually merged with a later love of reading that he developed Describing his fictional world as a mix between Star Wars and Lord of the Rings The passion Jacob has for the Hero's Journey and how that came from his discovery of Shawn Coyne's The Story Grid Having Lord of the Rings read to him as a child, and then enjoying re-reading it as an adult A quote from Tolkien with a unique perspective on story that inspired Jacob The importance of the transformation process and Jacob's desire to want the reader to face the same change that the character in the story faces How, after writing the foolscap page for a novel, Jacob likes to discover a lot of the story by just starting to write it The way that his world-building comes out of his story and the characters having to interact with the world around them The elements of "essential action" and how that works within each scene of a story Thinking of storytelling like chipping away at a slab of marble or clay until it looks the way you've envisioned The short story readers can get for free by signing up on Jacob's website How Jacob manages his time for writing with working a full time job And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of each scene's "essential action" in a story and how he is thinking about it in different ways to help him become a better writer. He also shares an update about the returned-books issue.   Links of Interest: Jacob Hess Instagram Facebook Twitter Findaway Voices Chirp Listing for Canadian Werewolf series Write for the Win Storybundle TikTok FEAR AND LONGING IN LOS ANGELES Giveaway video The Canadian Mounted 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   Jacob Hess grew up in Oregon and became a Christian at a young age. God has continued to display His faithfulness to Jacob throughout his life; a journey deeper and deeper into grace. Jacob received a Master of Divinity from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon and moved to Seattle, Washington with his wife where he works as a minister in the local church. ​ Jacob’s years in school grew his passion for writing and reading, but he has always had a love for stories, whether they're told with pen and page or the rhythms and rhymes of song. He agrees with J. R. R. Tolkien when he writes, “the Pot of Soup, the Cauldron of Story, has always been boiling, and to it have continually been added new bits, dainty and undainty," (On-Fairy-Stories, p. 45). As humans we simply cannot seem to escape a need to tell stories, a desire to reach beyond ourselves and connect to the deeper truths of who we are and what it means to live a life of meaning.   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 interview Michelle Rowen/Morgan Rhodes about her different pen names, the genres she writes, her publishing journey, and her latest novel, ECHOES & EMPIRES. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update that includes devastating news of the loss of a writer friend, along with some good news related to his writing, the results of a recent Chirp audiobook promotion, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Michelle talk about: ECHOES AND EMPIRES, Michelle's new alt-world fantasy under the name Morgan Rhodes Michelle's thoughts on the difference between her Michelle Rowen and Morgan Rhodes pseudonyms and the different genres under each Being inspired by Buffy's drama, action, and humor The "fallen princess" phase or theme that keeps coming up in her writing lately The way the covers properly and effectively highlight the genre similarities and differences Michelle's prolific 4 to 5 books a year era when she was writing her paranormal chick-lit style lighter Michelle Rowen books, and how that changed to 1 book a year working on the Fallen Kingdoms titles The lead time on trad publishing and how it differs from indie publishing Getting her first starred review from School Library Journal The challenge of not revealing the many plot twists in her novels when she talks about them with media Getting rights back on some of her previously traditionally published titles and the steps and work involved in re-launching them, including having to re-edit them based on updated "sensitivity" perspectives Michelle's dreams of being a writer (Romancing the Stone) versus the reality Her discovery of the power of plotting (verses pantsing) Advice Michelle would give to new writers Michelle's take on "write what you know" And more...   After the interview Mark reflects on Michelle's dedication to her fans and her professionalism. Links of Interest: Morgan Rhodes Facebook Twitter Tumblr Instagram Michelle Rowen Twitter Facebook Pinterest Instagram BookBub EP 228 - EP 227 - Publishing Trends & Reflections for 2022 EP 168 - Writing Your Way to Paradise with David Farland Kobo Writing Life Podcast EP 50 - David Farland Findaway Voices Chirp Listing for Canadian Werewolf series Kobo Writing Life Indie Cover Contest WINNER TikTok FEAR AND LONGING IN LOS ANGELES Giveaway video The Canadian Mounted 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   Morgan Rhodes is the New York Times bestselling author of the YA high fantasy Falling Kingdoms series, and loves to write about the epic adventures of the quirky, interesting characters who inhabit her imagination. She also writes as Michelle Rowen, a bestselling and award-winning author of over two dozen novels. A former graphic designer drawn to sparkly objects and fancy handbags, Morgan lives in Ontario, Canada, where she maintains a very healthy belief in all things magical. Her latest novel is Echoes and Empires, a young adult alt-world fantasy published by Razorbill 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   

In this episode, Mark looks back at his 2021 goals and achievements, outlining the successes, the failures, and the unexpected. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and also shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. A high level overview of Mark's 2021 Goals Stated 2021 Goals 1 - Publish FEAR AND LONGING IN LOS ANGELES (Completed Feb 2021) (In addition - Pub'd FRIGHT NIGHTS BIG CITY 2 - Publish WIDE FOR THE WIN (Completed March 2021) - had to push pub date back from Jan 26 to March 16 3 - Publish LOVER'S MOON (novelette/novella) (Didn't do it) 4 - Stark Publishing Solutions - Unnamed book for writers (Completed Aug 2021) 5 - Stark Publishing Solutions - Unnamed book 2 for writers (Didn't do it) 6 - Publish SCREAMING SKULLS X (Didn't do it) 7 - Publish GHOSTLY GANANOQUE X (Didn't do it) 8 - Considering another anthology (Didn't do it) 9 - Expanding Stark Publishing into something bigger - Author A - One book (Sarah Kades - Kiss Me in the Rain) - Author B - Delayed until 2022 - Author C - still a work in progress 10 - Special un-named project (Planes, Trains and Automobiles) (Didn't do it) Mark also shares some of the high level %'s of his 2021 eBook income, including % of sales at Amazon, Kobo, Apple, B&N, Google, and other places.   Links of Interest: EP 225 - Writing Personal Experience in Fiction with Ami Sands Brodoff EP 226 - Reflective Roundtable December 2021 EP 227 - Publishing Trends & Reflections for 2022 Findaway Voices Findaway Voices Blog: What You Can Control The Canadian Mounted 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   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 reads from a 2000 word article he wrote when asked to discuss publishing trends for 2022. Prior to the main content, Mark, using an AI voice double (Overdub) from Descript to speak the words he has typed, explains why he is using a voice double for the interstitial parts of the podcast, and also shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   Links of Interest: The Top Eight Publishing Trends for 2022 - Article by Clayton Noblit from Written Word Media EP 148 - Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn The Canadian Mounted 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   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 

The first in a new series of "Reflective Round Table" discussions between Mark and a selection of patrons of the podcast. This episode is sponsored by the patrons of the Stark Reflections podcast who support this podcast at: https://patreon.com/starkreflections In this episode, Mark chats with: Matty Dalrymple Shari Decter Hirst (writing as Sherilyn Decter) Jeff Elkins Kathy Mac In their conversation Mark, Matt, Shari, Jeff, and Kathy talk about The importance of a strong narrative question/theme for a book and/or series Different planning processes as we hurtle toward 2022 Timelines/stressors/deadlines where editorial input is shortchanged  And a few other things in between   Links of Interest: Matty Dalrymple Shari Decter Hirst (writing as Sherilyn Decter) Jeff Elkins Kathy Mac The Dialogue Doctor The Indy Author The Canadian Mounted 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   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 Ami Sands Brodoff, the award-winning author of three novels and two story collections about her latest book, The Sleep of Apples and the stories and books she has written over the years. Prior to the main content, Mark discusses recent comments, welcomes new patron Jared Nelson, shares a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation Mark and Ami talk about: Ami as a "late-bloomer" writer who had worked on a number of short stories for years before working on a novel The encouragement, including a nomination for The Pushcart Prize that happened early on with Ami's first published story Being invited to The Algonquin Hotel in New York for lunch with some editors Asking herself is this the career I want to be doing no matter what The related anchor job that Ami had for guaranteed writing money coming in while she did freelance work Adapting real-life circumstances into her first novel, Can You See Me? How the stories in The Sleep of Apples are linked by a neighborhood, whereas in a previous collection, it was a theme that unified the stories The concept of neighborhoods in cities like Montreal and New York The amazing critical acclaim for The Sleep of Apples and how publicist can snowball Various workshops that Ami has lead over the years Tapping into the stories that other people want to share and tell Advice Ami would have for beginning writers And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the idea of how publicist can snowball, or how a lot of hard work can lead to those "viral" things.   Links of Interest: Ami Sands Brodoff Website EP 223 - Love, Only Better with Paulette Stout The Canadian Mounted 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   Ami Sands Brodoff is the award-winning author of three novels and two story collections. Her latest novel-in-stories, The Sleep of Apples, centres on 9 closely-linked characters confronting crises related to mental illness, mortality--sooner rather than later--and gender identity. Ami's novel, In Many Waters, grapples with our world-wide refugee crisis. The White Space Between, which focuses on a mother and daughter struggling with the impact of the Holocaust won The Canadian Jewish Book Award for Fiction. Bloodknots, a volume of thematically-linked stories was a finalist for the ReLit Award. Ami leads workshops for teens, adults, and seniors. She has taught writing to formerly incarcerated women and to people grappling with mental illness. Ami has been awarded fellowships to Yaddo, the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Ragdale Foundation, and St. James Cavalier Arts Centre for Creativity (Malta). Ami lives in Montreal with her partner, children and high energy Brittany Spaniel Xeno.   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 Heather Campbell co-founder and publisher at Latitude 46 Publishing, and owner of a brand-new indie bookstore in Sudbury, Ontario. Prior to the main content, Mark shares some recent comments, a personal update, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation Mark and Heather talk about: Heather's long love of reading and books, and her engagement in the Sudbury, Ontario writing community Deciding to start Latitude 46 when Scrivener Press decided to close shop How Heather got into learning about publishing, distribution, and self-publishing twelve years ago by helping a friend out with her book Celebrating Latitude 46's 7th anniversary on March 22, 2022 How often a regional/local publisher has to start off doing it part time and with funding support from arts councils, etc The average number of submissions rec'd versus books published The way that Heather, as a publisher, seeks to have a collaborative relationship with her writers Advice for authors looking to submit to Latitude 46 The mandate to publish authors either from or with strong ties to Northern Ontario and mid-Northern Ontario Heather's decision to open up a downtown independently operated bookstore as part of a 4 month opportunity by the city called "Zero Vacancy" to help revitalize the downtown core Some of the other artisan and local artist merchandise carried in the store An imprint from Latitude 46 that Heather uses when the title doesn't have a literary bend to it Authors who have come in to sign books and the store as well as forthcoming planned author visits Heather's thought that writers could benefit from going and working in a bookstore, even briefly, to understand what that experience is like The question of "is this publishable" that publishers often ask when a manuscript is presented Toni Morrison's long term "teamwork" based relationship with her editor After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of understanding a publishers vision and mandate as well as the idea of how writers can benefit from in person bookstore experience.   Links of Interest: Latitude 46 Publishing Facebook Page Instagram Twitter EP 189 - From Stage to Page Then Back to Stage with Rod Carley EP 223 - Love, Only Better with Paulette Stout The Canadian Mounted 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   Heather Campbell has spent over 25 years in communications and freelance writing, specializing in issues relevant to Northern Ontario communities. A graduate of York University (BA Sociology ’92), she has combined her education, experience and ‘need to initiate’ by starting a local chapter of the Professional Writers Association of Canada and the Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival. Joining forces with another local writer to start a new publishing house for the North is a natural extension of how she can contribute to creating a thriving literary scene in Northern Ontario.   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 author Paulette Stout about her new novel Love, Only Better. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a recent comment, a personal update, thanks new patron Jo-Ann Carson, and shares a word and update about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Paulette talk about: Why Paulette chose to fictionalize the taboo subject matter of the novel How this novel can help some women realize that they're not alone in this experience Taking a really difficult topic and making it a beach read The importance of approaching a deeply personal and emotionally difficult topic with humor The process of deciding to write this novel Reaching out to agents with queries for this book Learning about indie publishing and how it suited this book with what many publishers saw as a taboo topic Scribbling at the alter of Joanna Penn Writing a prequel as an author newsletter giveaway Getting a BookBub Feature New Release on her first time asking for one Using NetGalley and getting more than 300 downloads for the book while it was up for preorder How initially positioning the book as romance rather than women's fiction resulted in a few mis-matches on reader expectations Deciding to change a great cover for a different great cover based on those reader expectations Paulette's desire to "up" the level of intimacy within women's fiction Sales so far of the book in print and eBook Segmenting her list into two groups: people who open and people who don't open her newsletters Working on Book 2 for NaNoWriMo 2021 so she can get it to editors in December for a spring 2022 release Advice Paulette would offer to beginning writers or writers who want to write a book about a more taboo topic And more... After the conversation Mark reflects on the business decision Paulette made to re-do her covers (see below) and also on how (and why) authors are so hard on and so down on themselves. Links of Interest: Paulette Stout's Website Facebook Author Page Twitter Instagram PR By The Book Findaway Voices Books A Million Announcement EP 154 - Reflections on T S Paul The Canadian Mounted 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   Paula Stout is the fearless author of Love, Only Better, a contemporary novel and bedroom rallying cry for women everywhere. Born in Manhattan, Paulette is the gold-star wordsmith and owner of her content marketing agency, Media Goddess Inc., where she crafts content for her list of global clients. Prior to MGI, Paulette led content and design teams at several tech companies, and one educational publisher where her elimination of the Oxford comma caused a near riot. Paulette’s prior career as a media buyer/planner in New York earned her three industry awards, including a MediaWeek All-Star. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Cornell University and her MBA in Marketing from the Lubin School of Business, Pace University. You can usually find Paulette rearranging words into pleasing patterns while wearing grammar t-shirts.   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 Brittany Fichter about writing happily ever after endings, clean romance, and taking the time to care for her readers. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update, thanks new patron James S. Aaron, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Brittany talk about: Writing clean, sweet, and wholesome romance Living and writing with OCD, Tourettes and free-floating anxiety The Writing Gals Podcast and their outline of the various levels of heat in romance fiction How the outline for Brittany's last book was 50,000 words The way that clean romances can still deal with heavy concepts and deep emotions Writing fairy tales that are full fantasy, much like the darkness to light moment in The Lord of the Rings Brittany's childhood love of fairy tales and her desire to what to know the characters beyond the tropes Stephen King's writing prompt to write a story you'll never share with anyone, and how Brittany used that to write a story inspired by Beauty and The Beast that she published in 2015 Revising covers, and the fact her first book (Beyond Beauty) has gone through four covers already Getting writing done with young children Making YouTube music playlists for every book that she writes as a way of triggering her brain that it's time to write The push that leads a lot of writers to writer burnout The Happy Planner brand Writing and publishing a chapter a week on her blog to keep her readers happy while they're waiting for the next book Why Brittany has a "Fun and Games" section on her website and why she avoids political discussion in her reader groups and author page How her writing is all about light overcoming dark The way that 2020 had us on social media and on our phones a lot, instead of being with and understanding others Advice Brittany would give to new writers And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of attending to the needs of your readers. Links of Interest: Brittany Fichter's Website Facebook Author Page Facebook Reader Group Instagram Writing Gals: What Makes Clean Romance Clean 20BooksVegas Website 2021 Video Playlist of 162 Videos (YouTube) Killing it on Kobo Wide for the Win Apple Books Panel Findaway Voices The Canadian Mounted You Play with Your Balls a Lot (Lipsync) The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle 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 Brittany Fichter lives with her Prince Charming, little fairy, and little prince in a decently clean castle in whatever kingdom the United States Air Force has most recently placed them.   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 three short audio excerpts from the November 2021 20BooksVegas conference. 20Books Vegas 2021 is by far the biggest and best of the 20Books shows (there have been ten so far). It is the biggest show in the world focused on self-publishing although there is something for every author, traditional or indie. The 20Books mentality is that everyone deserves a chance to succeed if they take the knowledge and experience and apply it to their author business. With up to 20 authors making seven figures a year and hundreds making a full-time living, there will be something for everyone. Be warned, no one is going to carry you and make you an overnight sensation. You have to do that for yourself by applying what over 100 guest speakers have to offer. Are you ready to excel, reap the rewards of your good work? Then take control of your author career.   Prior to the main content, Mark shares recent comments, a personal update, thanks new patron Michael Howell and shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. The three clips (each approximately 10 minutes) are: Mal Cooper - Finding and Keeping Fans https://youtu.be/qlqdlrgGXCQ (Full video) Caroline Peckham - Starting and Growing Your TikTok Platform https://youtu.be/dBiIPaeYUmk (Full video) Kevin McLaughlin - The Five Pillars of Indie Publishing https://youtu.be/yFXZAoi02sk (Full video)     Links of Interest: 20BooksVegas Website 2021 Video Playlist of 144 Videos (YouTube) Findaway Voices Findaway Voices Blog - Spotify EP 218 - John Gaspard on Business, Magic, and Writing The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle 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   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 Vikrant Shaurya, CEO and Founder of Bestsellingbook.com. Prior to the interview, Mark shares an extremely brief personal update with crappy audio from a Vegas hotel room and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation Mark and Vikrant talk about: The story of how Vikrant got started in writing Spending more time in the college library than in classe Starting a company, making a number of mistakes, and being left with no money and being forced to shut down the business Discovering self-publishing and working hard to write and go through the publishing process Creating a "done for you" publishing company to help entrepreneurs and speakers Who Vikrant's ideal client is and the detailed customized process of ensuring their book is written using their insights/knowledge/experience in their unique voice The packages and costs of making the book a bestseller on Amazon The process of the angel writers who work closely with clients Going through the book chapter by chapter with the client with unlimited revisions Potential opportunities for writers to work for Bestselling Book as angel writers And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the various needs and pathways for different types of writers and where a service like Bestsellingbook.com might fit in to that. Links of Interest: BestsellingBook.com Findaway Voices 20BooksVegas SelfPubCon 2021: The Writing Craft Conference (ALLI) - The Craft of Writing Short Books The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle 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   Vikrant Shaurya is the CEO & Founder of BestsellingBook.com, #1 Bestselling Author, sought-after Book Launch Manager, and an internationally recognized Digital Publishing Expert. He has helped thousands of entrepreneurs and first-time authors actualize their dreams by joining them in their self-publishing journeys through his courses, coaching, and done-for-you services.   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 Chris Racknor about his Shawn Ronin mystery series, about science fiction and about his experiences in both traditional and indie publishing. 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 work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation Mark and Chris talk about: The report card snapshot from the first grade indicating Chris had an affinity for writing The serialized blog stories on Chris's blog early on in the advent of digital reading The 2004 goal Chris set related to writing a novel, and how that came to pass in 2020 Heading into the science discipline and wondering if it was for the science or for making the science-fiction more believable How Chris's mother, concerned that he was reading too many comic books, handed him a copy of a Robert B. Parker novel How science-fiction is about asking questions, while mysteries are about searching for answers Chris's experience of working with a publisher and coming to realize the sub-par work they had done on his novel The podcasts that Chris regularly listens to related to the business of self-publishing Preparing and launching the first three books in his mystery series via the indie route A bit of a background on the series and the main character Some of the personal situations from Chris's own life that have factored into the novels Strategies for launching three books at once, such as immediately making the first book in that series free Advice that Chris would give to his younger self And more... After the interview Mark reflects on Chris's determination to not give up despite the challenges he faced with his first book, but instead, to take a different approach. He also talks about the importance of asking and how you miss 100% of the shots you never take. Links of Interest: Chris Racknor's Website Findaway Voices Universal Book Links Now Include Print (Announcement) Haunted Hospitals The Relaxed Author SelfPubCon 2021: The Writing Craft Conference (ALLI) - The Craft of Writing Short Books The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle 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   Chris Racknor has a Ph.D. in physics and lives in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. He has been an astronomy teacher, physicist, motorcycle owner, competitive strongman, varsity rugby player, and stay-at-home dad. He is a family man, Data Scientist, sci-fi nerd, professional kilt-wearing tree thrower, Transformers toy collector, and sumo wrestling aficionado with plenty more stories to tell.   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 John Gaspard about his mystery novels, his decision to move from traditional publishing to indie publishing, and other behind the scenes business decisions about his life in writing. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a brief personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation Mark and John talk about: John's journey to traditional publishing and the process of getting his rights back and checking out indie publishing Working with an agent Some of the research John has done to find a publisher What a "right of first refusal" clause in a contract is Offering his publisher money to get out of the contract he was in The writing John was doing as full time work that was NOT writing novels Writing a mystery in novel form compared to writing it for the screen John's early introduction to film making that led to film-making projects through high school The two $30K feature films John worked on in the late 80s The combo book/behind-the-curtains podcast John has created and the plan behind wanting to launch it And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the business decision and investment John made in himself.   Links of Interest: Eli Marks Website Eli Marks Podcast John's Books Film Books All of John's Books Findaway Voices Universal Book Links Now Include Print (Announcement) Haunted Hospitals The Relaxed Author SelfPubCon 2021: The Writing Craft Conference (ALLI) - The Craft of Writing Short Books The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle 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   John Gaspard is the author of the Eli Marks mystery series as well as four other stand-alone novels, "The Greyhound of the Baskervilles,” “A Christmas Carl,” "The Sword & Mr. Stone," and "The Ripperologists." He also writes the Como Lake Players mystery series, under the pen name Bobbie Raymond. In real life, John’s not a magician, but he has directed six low-budget features that cost very little and made even less – that’s no small trick. He’s also written multiple books on the subject of low-budget filmmaking. Ironically, they’ve made more than the films. John lives in Minnesota and shares his home with his lovely wife, several dogs, a few cats and a handful of pet allergies. 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 has a conversation with Sarah Kades and Adrienne Kerr about how their relationship as a writing and editing team, about Sarah's recent release, Kiss Me in the Rain and about their pathways into the writing and publishing world. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor: Stark Publishing and his books for writers. In their conversation, Mark, Sarah, and Adrienne talk about: How Sarah got into writing and how Adrienne got into editing The first book that Adrienne edited and the intriguing story behind it Sarah's first experience with a nurturing editor and how that led to a positive experience ensuring she stuck with writing The importance of having a solid connection and relationship with an editor who understands your goals How Adrienne and Sarah first met and the huge faux pas Sarah made trying to connect with Adrienne The airport pickup story and how Sarah and Adrienne bonded in the car on the way to the conference hotel The way the two helped one another at mutually critical junctures in their lives A bit about the novel Kiss Me in the Rain and the elements Sarah likes to include in her novels How the setting in Kiss Me in the Rain is a character in the novel Earning your right to criticize as an editor Sarah's writer voice and confidence growing stronger by working with Adrienne Keeping in mind a book in a series as a stand-alone story for readers of that book as well as the readers of the entire series And more... After the conversation Mark reflects on the importance of a solid writer/editor relationship as well as the value of being specific when offering both positive and negative feedback.   Sarah's Website Adrienne's Website Kiss Me in the Rain Mark's Books for Writers Findaway Voices SelfPubCon 2021: The Writing Craft Conference (ALLI) - The Craft of Writing Short Books The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle 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 Sarah Kades writes action adventure thrillers with strong environmental themes as Sarah Kades and socially responsible narrative nonfiction as Sarah Graham. She is passionate about culture, landscapes, knowledge accessibility, the arts and Momma Earth. She loves writing books that remind us of the natural nature within each of us, a re-wilding to our true, authentic, best awesome self! She has studied in the United States, Canada and Scotland, and for the last twenty years her day job has been as an archaeologist and Indigenous Knowledge studies and engagement facilitator. In 2020, she received her first literary arts grant and was a two-time Energy Futures Lab Banff Summit storyteller. When she is not writing you can find her running, bumping into her next adventure or trying to figure out where in the garden to put the makeshift wood fired pizza oven.   Adienne Kerr has more than twenty years of experience in book publishing, with expertise in retail, sales, acquisitions, and editing. As Senior Editor at Penguin Random House Canada from 2009 to 2015, she acquired and edited thirty national bestsellers and in 2011, The Canadian Booksellers Association named her Editor of the Year. ​Since 2016 as a freelance editor Adrienne has worked with publishers, literary agents, and private clients. She speak at events such as the Surrey International Writers' Festival, Calgary's When Words Collide, and the Ontario Writers' Conference and lectures on publishing topics at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.     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 Matty Dalrymple about her new book THE INDY AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO PODCASTING FOR AUTHORS. 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 work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation Mark and Matty talk about: Matty's celebration of the 100th episode of her podcast and the ongoing celebratory series of 7 episodes featuring Orna Ross The workshop that Matty and Mark collaborated on for the 2021 Alliance of Independent Authors Self Publishing Conference talking about the craft of writing short fiction The drabble writing assignment that Matty and Mark offer as part of their workshop. (A drabble is a short story that is exactly 100 words) Matty's new book The Indy Author's Guide to Podcasting for Authors that includes podcasting itself as well as being a good podcast guest The downloadable Captain's Log resource that Matty has made available Matty turns the table and asked Mark why he started the Stark Reflections Podcast Matty's thoughts on whether or not a podcast is going to help an author sell books, as well as her own experience as both a podcast host and a podcast guest The concept of how a podcast guest might be temporarily bringing their own fans as listeners to someone else's podcast Leveraging a podcast as a way to connect with people that you're interested in connecting with and learning from Some of the technology, software, and assets required to record, produce, and distribute a podcast The amount of time that it takes Matty per week for her podcast Struggling with transcription and using Descript for that How the transcript for a podcast episode serves a particular portion of the audience Use of feature affiliates, Patreon and "Buy me a Coffee" for The Indy Author podcast And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on consistency in author branding, intrinsic motivation, and thinking long term.   Links of Interest: Matty's Websites: The Indy Author Episode 098 - Redefining Indy Success through Short Fiction with Ran Walker Matty Dalrymple Findaway Voices SelfPubCon 2021: The Writing Craft Conference (ALLI) - The Craft of Writing Short Books The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle 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   Matty Dalrymple podcasts, writes, and speaks on the writing craft and the publishing voyage as The Indy Author. She is the host of THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST and the author of THE INDY AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO PODCASTING FOR AUTHORS. She is also the co-author, along with Mark Leslie Lefebvre, of TAKING THE SHORT TACK: CREATING INCOME AND CONNECTING WITH READERS USING SHORT FICTION. Matty is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors. You can connect with The Indy Author via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. ​ Matty is also the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers ROCK PAPER SCISSORS, SNAKES AND LADDERS, and THE IRON RING; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels THE SENSE OF DEATH, THE SENSE OF RECKONING, THE FALCON AND THE OWL, and ​A FURNACE FOR YOUR FOE; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts, including CLOSE THESE EYES and WRITE IN WATER. Matty is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Brandywine Valley Writers Group. You can connect with Matty via Facebook and Twitter. ​Matty lives with her husband and three dogs in Chester County, Pennsylvania.   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 Patricio X. Maya, who writes in both English and Spanish. They talk about his writing, his essays, his first novel, Reggaetón Cruise, which has been called "a techno-beat The Great Gatsby" about cultural exile, multiculturalism, and so much more. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update, thanks Patreon supporters and shares a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. - What drew Patricia to writing in the first place, and those early teenage poems written in Spanish Being inspired by Columbian writer Gabriel García Márquez Patricio's move to the United States when he was 13 and his introduction to the English world Writing prose in English and poetry in Spanish Patricios's first book, a collection of essays and philosophies The theme of cultural exile in Patricio's second book Cherished early memories and defining half of his life from the age of 13 The origin of the poem "80 Miles Per Hour" The stylized American circus that's a part of Patricio's novel The Reggaetón Cruise and how it explores the contemporary moment of American culture where horror and entertainment marry and fuse Patricio's publishing partnership with Grady Miller Books that allows mutual growth together The media manager that Patricio works with for promotional appearances Thoughts about multiculturalism and super-multiculturalism in the US, Canada, the UK and other places What is the cost of becoming cosmopolitan? And more... After the interview Mark reflects on a few things the conversation made him think about. Links of Interest: The Reggaetón Cruise Findaway Voices Announcing Marketplace Self-Publishing Insiders Chat with Will Dages (YouTube) The 2nd Annual Online Sci-Fi & Fantasy Writers Conference (Oct 16, 2021) Business Bootcamp for Authors - Paths to Publication: Alternatives to Traditional Publishing (Panel) - (Oct 19, 2021) SelfPubCon: The Writing Craft Conference (ALLI) - The Craft of Writing Short Books The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle 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   Patricio X. Maya was born in Quito, Ecuador, and moved to California at age 12. He writes in English and Spanish. His first book, Walking Around with Fante and Bukowski, is made up of 21 essays grouped into sections about art, politics, and autobiography. His second book, 80 MPH, is a collection of eighty powerful poems written in Spanish. His first novel, Reggaetón Cruise, has been called "a techno-beat The Great Gatsby." Some of the novel's themes are globalization, viral fame, and hyper-reality. The narrative plot is complex and the characters from all over the world. Though the novel touches upon immigration, terrorism, exile, and murder, parts of it are humorous, while others have been called thought-provoking, and even unnerving. Too Much Sweetie, his second novel, is about René, a young Ecuadoran artist trapped between a moneyed upbringing and his current down-and-out North American reality. René's tense world view collapses when he falls for Meaw-Meaw, an ambitious Thai masseuse who loves him for all that he wants to leave behind. Too Much Sweetie, that strangest of things -a sensual novel of ideas- is set to be published later this year under the Hollywood publisher Grady Miller Books, which has also published the writer's previous books. Along Miller, Maya has gathered the collected poems of Aldo Tambellini for publication. He has also acted as editor-in-chief of 80 MPH Anthology, which showcases the work of various Hispanic and American writers. Maya holds an M.A. in Arts Journalism from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University and a B.A. in English from CSULA. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the CalArts' Aesthetics and Politics program and a poetry lecturer at the Los Angeles Public Library Summer Lecture Series.   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 Carol Van Natta about the collaborative author PETS IN SPACE series. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update, recent comments, and shares an audio clip of Will Dages from Findaway Voices, this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Carol discuss: How, back in high school, Carol and a bunch of her friends wrote a great deal of fan fiction Pitching her first co-written book to publishers, and then experimenting with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) The different series novels that Carol has written and released The origin of the Pets in Space anthology series and the charity it raises funds for "Pigs in Space" from the Muppet Show and how the anthology is meant to be a fun one that doesn't take itself too seriously Each release of the anthology being limited so that the rights can go back to all the individual authors Carol being in numerous editions, then becoming the editor of Pets in Space 6 The curation involved in creating the anthology Cross promotion opportunities for the 11 authors involved in this project How the giant anthology (Approximately 400,000 words) is only produced in eBook and not print (mostly for logistical reasons) The pros and cons of the anthology only being available for a limited time Writing with music, and the "Pets in Space" playlist Susan Smith's song that she wrote and produced How writers interested in being considered for this anthology series can reach out to Carol The fact that other writers are not competition for one another Advice Carol would give her younger self: Outlining is a good thing And more...   After the interview, Mark reflects on how easy misunderstandings can happen over different groups in the author and publishing communities using words to mean different products (such as "anthology") and the power of author collaborations. Links of Interest: Carol Van Natta's Website Pets in Space Raia's Song by S.E. Smith The 6 Figure Author Podcast (Episode 102 - How to Keep Yourself from Stressing Out as an Author While Still Achieving Your Goals) Findaway Voices Announcing Marketplace Self-Publishing Insiders Chat with Will Dages (YouTube) The 2nd Annual Online Sci-Fi & Fantasy Writers Conference (Oct 16, 2021) The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle 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   Carol Van Natta is a USA TODAY bestselling and award-winning science fiction and fantasy author. Series include the Central Galactic Concordance space opera series that starts with Last Ship Off Polaris-G, Overload Flux, and Minder Rising, and the Ice Age Shifters® paranormal romance series that starts with Shifter Mate Magic and Shift of Destiny. She is also the editor of the Pets in Space 6 science fiction romance anthology. She shares her Fort Collins, CO home with just the right number of mad-scientist cat   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 has a conversation with Canadian author Valerie Francis, a literary editor, podcaster, story nerd, and the bestselling author of the steamy romance, Masquerade (think Bridgerton for the 21st century). Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update, recent comments, thanks Patrons and offers a few words about this episode's sponsor regarding their forthcoming marketplace. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Valerie talk about: - Valerie's introduction to becoming a StoryGrid editor in 2015 when she had finished her first novel, a middle-grade fantasy she had written on instinct The New York trip Valerie took to a two day workshop and how her writing took a quantum leap from that How, despite learning the intricacies of story and breaking elements apart, Valerie hasn't lost her love of story The different tools that writers can use when crafting a story The concept of the "potato chip length" chapter The origin of Valerie's 12 part serialized novel Masquerade The tagline for Masquerade: "What would you do if you knew you wouldn't get caught?" The designs that Valerie commissioned for the print book version Defining the target audience for Masquerade and how it was designed specifically as an escape for them Creating a romance with protagonists in their 40s The five different plot lines involved in the Masquerade story How the entire project of Valerie's novel Immortal came about Learning how to create a story within a story, multiple story lines and a non-linear structure Challenges that come with having to hook your audience multiple times with multiple story lines Throwing away the entire first draft of her manuscript after 18 months of work The fact there are 57 million books on Amazon right now and what that means for authors And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on Valerie's long-term hard work ethic of writing the best books she can and really understanding her target audience.   Links of Interest: Valerie Francis' Website Valerie's Book Club Love Stories for Busy Women Psychological Thriller: Immortal Middle Grade Fantasy Books for Writers Episode 104 - Living the Editing & Writing Life with Valerie Francis Episode 199 – Chelle Honiker & Chrishaun Keller-Hanna of Indie Author Magazine Episode 128 - Healthy Home Workspaces with Roland Denzel Findaway Voices Announcing Marketplace The 2nd Annual Online Sci-Fi & Fantasy Writers Conference (Oct 16, 2021) Brantford Public Library Online Workshop: Writing True Ghost Stories (Oct 6 and 7, 2021) 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   Canadian writer, Valerie Francis, is the bestselling author of the steamy romance, Masquerade (think Bridgerton for the 21st century). She's also a literary editor, podcaster, and story nerd so obsessed with the craft of storytelling that she's started an online book club featuring stories by, for and about women. Valerie is currently writing her first thriller, Immortal. It's like Gone Girl meets Dracula.   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 and Joanna Penn talk about collaborating on the writing and release of their co-authored book THE RELAXED AUTHOR: Take the Pressure Off Your Art and Enjoy the Creative Journey. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from a recent episode, thanks Patrons and offers a few words about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Joanna talk about: How pretty and beautifully designed the book turned out to be Where the idea for this book came from and why they decided to write it Knowing one another both personally and professionally for so long and the inherent trust and understanding they had getting into this project How to determine that a potential opportunity is with the right partner The contract that Joanna and Mark signed as part of this agreement/collaborative publishing The logistics behind publishing the book under Curl Up Press, Joanna's imprint How they divided up the responsibilities for the overall book project Use of Draft2Digital's payment splitting for the eBook and the other ways the book is being published in different formats as well as available to purchase direct from Joanna Their different approaches to outlining and writing a non-fiction book How each chapter of the book includes both of Joanna and Mark's voice in answer to specific topic areas The different tools that each of them enjoy using, such as Google spreadsheets, Dropbox, Scrivener, ScribeCount Creating the original draft of the book in audio first via a series of conversations Some of the challenges and frustrations of the re-writing and editing of the work in a collaborative manner that they encountered The relaxed approach Joanna and Mark are both taking in the launch of the book Why they both admitted to not always being relaxed as an important thing to include in the book How the practices that Mark and Joanna talk about help prepare them for the long-term author journey The way that the things they shared in this book aren't all that different than the things they've shared in their previous books for authors, but that the focus is "the relaxed author" so it's more of a concise and narrowed down focus on that topic The inclusive way that their suggestions for being a relaxed author include "do X, or don't" How an author's writing should be where they can turn to for solice and comfort, not for stress And more... After the conversation Mark reflects on just how lucky he is that he got to work on a collaborative project like this with Joanna. He then asks listeners to reflect on their own experience around being, or trying to be a relaxed author.   Links of Interest: Joanna Penn's Website The Creative Penn Podcast The Books and Travel Podcast Joanna's Books The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Related YouTube Videos The Relaxed Author (Sample Excerpt) Video of the Conversation in this Episode Episode 203 - A Rand on Unprofessional Author Behavior Episode 002 - Living the Healthy Writer's Life with Joanna Penn Episode 148 - AI Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn Episode 164 - Reflections on The Creative Penn Podcast Episode 517 Publishing Pitfalls for Authors Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   Joanna Penn is an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers under J.F.Penn and also writes non-fiction for authors. She's an award-winning creative entrepreneur and podcaster. You can learn more about Joanna at www.thecreativepenn.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 Marty Essen, the author of several non-fiction and fiction titles, and a much sought after public speaker. Prior to the main content, Mark thanks Patrons to the podcast, shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Marty talk about: How Marty's first book tour experience evolved into compelling storytelling rather than dry readings from his book Differences involved in moving from writing short articles for newspapers and magazines to writing a book The eye opening experience of working with an editor Winning an award at Book Expo America in NYC Marty's experience working at radio stations The newspaper interview that resulted in being invited to write an article about his Amazon Rainforest exploration How Marty's show is a pre-scripted show that is exactly the same. Why he does that and how he keeps himself motivated repeatedly delivering the same content The research Marty does in terms of researching colleges to pitch to for his talks How this work resulted in Marty representing other talents through his company/agency (Encante Entertainment) A tip Marty has used to combat stage fright Doing virtual talks during the pandemic and the pros and cons of that How Marty found his first editor and deciding to self-publish The two different covers on one of his books Setting up distribution through Midpoint Trade The huge number of print copies that Marty has sold in print Doing full color printing for a recent book that required using a printer in China to keep the costs down How a common theme in all of Marty's books are about protecting the environment and protecting human rights Marty's experience at writing and releasing three novels (satirical science-fiction/political) An idea Marty has for a Kickstarter style project And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the idea of turning a weakness into a strength, and the idea of authenticity in scripted/rehearsed performance.   Links of Interest: Marty Essen's Website Video excerpts of some of Marty's talks Marty's Books Empire Builder's Summit The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors Patreon for Stark Reflections 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 Marty Essen began writing professionally in the 1990s as a features writer for Gig Magazine. His first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, won six national awards, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune named it a "Top Ten Green Book." His second book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico, won four national awards. His novels, Time Is Irreverent, Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again! and Time Is Irreverent 3: Gone for 16 Seconds, have all received rave reviews. Hits, Heathens, and Hippos is Marty's sixth book, and like all of his books, it reflects his values of protecting human rights and the environment—and does so with a wry sense of humor. Marty is also a popular college speaker, who has performed the stage-show version of Cool Creatures, Hot Planet on hundreds of campuses in forty-five states.   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

A keynote from Morgan Rhodes (Michelle Rowen) about her writer journey and facing creative block. The keynote is from the When Words Collide August 2021 Virtual Conference. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   Links of Interest: Morgan Rhodes Michelle Rowen Video of WWC Keynote Talks (Que'd to Morgan's talk) Empire Builder's Summit The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors Patreon for Stark Reflections 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     Morgan Rhodes is a psuedonym for Michelle Rowen. Under Morgan Rhodes she has published 6 books in the Falling Kingdons series, and her Razorbill (Penguin Teens) novel Echoes and Empires, comes in January 2022. Michelle Rowen is the bestselling and award-winning author of over two dozen novels. She has written for Penguin, Grand Central, Harlequin, Dorchester, and Bloomsbury. A former president of Toronto Romance Writers, Michelle lives in Mississauga, Ontario, where she refills her creative well by watching trashy reality TV and drinking a lot of delicious coffee.   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 Chuck Harrelson about collaborating on multiple genres under two shared pseudonyms, growing global sales, increasing author newsletter subscribers, and experimenting with marketing through Twitch. Prior to the interview, Mark welcomes new patron Malcolm Coon, shares a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   During their conversation, Mark, Kerrie, and Chuck talk about: The origin of how Kerrie and Chuck started writing together under multiple pseudonyms The books that they are working on under the names C.G. Harris (The Judas Files - Urban Fantasy; The Rax - Science Fiction) and C.K. Wiles (Romance) Their experimentation with going exclusive on their eBooks with KDP Select and how it failed and they returned to publishing wide Dedication to getting more subscribers and moving from 55 to over 3000 people on their list How focusing on Facebook ads was helpful in the newsletter subscription Apple success that came from Apple putting The Nine (book one in The Judas Files) on their "Free First in Series" page Using ScribeCount to measure their wide sales and the difference that a few months made How they work together in terms of the writing process as well as the logistics of publishing and handling the finances The way they are budgeting out their ad spend The experimentation they did with sponsoring a Twitch stream to talk about their The Judas Files books Learning about the unsustainable nature of rapid releases And more...   Mark then reflects on the experimentation and iteration that Kerrie and Chuck continue to do, trying new things, changing their approach, exploring new marketing opportunities, and not giving up.   Links of Interest: C.G. Harris Website Judas Files The Rax C.K. Wiles Website Twitch Stream Content from Fellowship of Awesome: Full Stream (Starts about 11 minutes in) Talking about The Nine Reading excerpt in Canadian accent Reading excerpt in sexy romance voice Episode 31 - Kerrie Flanagan on Writing and Selling Magazine Articles Episode 45 - Co-authoring with the Writers Behind C.K. Wiles Episode 117 - Multi-Layered Collaboration with Kerrie Flanagan, Chuck Harrelson, and Macleod Andrews The Relaxed Author Publishing Pitfalls for Authors Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   C.G. Harris is an award winning science-fiction and fantasy author from Colorado who draws inspiration from favorites, Jim Butcher, Richard Kadrey and Brandon Sanderson. For nearly a decade, Harris has escaped the humdrum of the real world by creating fictional characters and made-up realities. When not writing, Harris spends time collecting the illusive arcade token, from the golden age when Dig Dug and Frogger were king. Harris knows the value of such a collection will only be seen in the confused faces of those family members left behind long after C.G. Harris is gone. ​ C.G. Harris is the combined persona of writers Kerrie Flanagan and Chuck Harrelson.   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 Deborah Levison, a multi award-winning author, freelance writer, publicist and the author of THE CRATE: A Story of War, a Murder, and Justice - a true crime story with echoes of the Holocaust. Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and talks about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   During their conversation, Mark and Debbie talk about: How much of a bookworm Debbie was from an early age, and that she'd always dreamed of being an author One of the earliest essays she had to write for school about her, her mother, and her grandmother going to visit the bears at dusk at the local garbage dump Debbie's lonely childhood growing up spending summers in the Muskoka region of Ontario, and how that helped fuel her imagination and love of fictional characters from books Her work as a professional writer (a journalist, publicist, etc) Debbie's true crime book, The Crate, which was about a very grizzly and gruesome crime that personally impacted her family Family history that includes paralleling evil from the past (Debbie's parents being Holocaust survivors) with evil in the present The surreal 2010 life-changing phone call Debbie received from her brother informing her about this crate he discovered hidden under the crawl space of their family cottage The challenge and experience of reaching out to the victim's mother and sister and learning about who she was -- which was the focus of the second half of the book How the media painted the situation in a very "blame the victim" manner The "memoir" elements in the structure of this book The process of pitching the book, and the first agent she'd reached out to who graciously spent time and energy helping Debbie make the book better for her pitch, and then recommended her to another agent How Canadian publishers are heavily subsidized by the Canadian government, which led to them passing on Debbie's book because she was no longer a Canadian resident (those publishers only get grant money when they publish books from Canadian authors) The third agent Debbie worked with who found a publisher in Colorado that worked quickly to get the book out The cover promotional blurbs Debbie got from Lee Child and James Rollins after connecting at ThrillerFest in New York Some of the logistics about the research and writing of this book The numerous live events she has done talking about The Crate, and what Debbie is working on now   Links of Interest: Deborah Levison's Website Episode 206 - No One Will Believe In You More Than You, with Steena Holmes Episode 204 - Overcoming Self Doubt with Tessa Smith McGovern Episode 203 - A Rant on Unprofessional Author Behavior Episode 191 - Insights from the Immersive Media & Books 2020 Consumer Survey The Relaxed Author Publishing Pitfalls for Authors Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   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

This solo episode features a recording of a talk Mark gave at When Words Collide 2021. Prior to the talk, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   Links of Interest: Episode 99 - Getting Your Book into Libraries Episode 191 - Insights from the Immersive Media & Books 2020 Consumer Survey Episode 177 - Author Insights from Youth Services Librarians Episode 110 - A Conversation About Working with Bookstores and Libraries Episode 87 - You, Your Book, and Bookstores Episode 193 - Showcasing Indie Author Books in an Indie Bookstore Episode 167 - Bookseller Insights with Laura Hayden The Relaxed Author Publishing Pitfalls for Authors Patreon for Stark Reflections 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     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

This episode features a 2021 When Words Collide Keynote given by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Steena Holmes. The talk was recorded on Friday August 13, 2021. After the talk, Mark shares a couple of reflections and thanks patrons of the podcast who support it at patreon.com/starkreflections. He also shares that the presentations he gave at When Words Collide will be shared in video and audio formats for patrons.   Links of Interest: Episode 17 - Focusing on Your Readers with Steena Holmes When Words Collide The Relaxed Author Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   Steena Holmes is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with over 2 million copies of her titles sold world wide, including The Forgotten Ones, Saving Abby and The Memory Child. Named in the Top 20 Women Author to read in 2015 by Good Housekeeping, she won the National Indie Excellence Award in 2012 for Finding Emma as well as the USA Book News Award for The Word Game in 2015. Steena has been featured in various newspapers and magazines, websites such as Goodreads, BookBub, RedBook, Glamour, Coastal Living and Goodhousekeeping. To find out more about her books and her love for traveling, you can visit her Website: http://www.steenaholmes.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 Simon Lowe, an author with a number of stories published in various magazines, who, after a decade working in book stores, released his first novel (The World is at War, Again) in June 2021 and now writes part time while also performing the role of a stay at home dad. Prior to the interview, Mark welcomes new Patrons Talena Winters, Rachel Amphlett, and Carolyn Stein, reads comments from recent episodes, offers a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their chat, Mark and Simon discuss: Simon's recent release of the speculative fiction novel The World Is At War, Again and how it's about government declaring newer technology to be too much of a threat to be allowed How the novel is set with the world at war without there being a specific single war such as WWII - as a commentary of the ongoing "state" of war Some of the parallels between the content of this novel and the current pandemic world we're living in How the removal of technology also reduces a person's ability to "fake" who they are, in the same way they can behind the filters of social media Conceiving of a world without technology as one of of being able to focus on how people interact directly with one another The impact of external factors on the way people connect and focus Simon's 10 years of experience as a bookseller and the various formats for paperbacks The difference in UK and North American bookshop genre designations such as "Crime" in the UK which is "Mystery" in North America Mark's experience on what people were looking for when they walked into a bookstore and asked for the "non-fiction books" How, for some people, walking into a bookstore can be an intimidating experience The way Simon's experience as a bookseller informed him as a writer and within the business of publishing Decisions on which books to stock, which are based on understanding the marketplace and what is going to sell within that market The importance of not taking it personally when a bookseller or publisher is not interested in your book How thinking of the book in smaller chunks made the process of writing the novel more manageable And more....  After the interview, Mark reflects on the concept of breaking your work/writing into smaller, more manageable chunks as one way to conquer the overwhelm of a large project in front of you.   Links of Interest: Simon Lowe's Website Episode 204 - Overcoming Self-Doubt with Tessa Smith McGovern Episode 203 - A Rant on Unprofessional Author Behavior Original Unedited raw Rant (Patron link) Episode 17 - Focusing on Your Readers with Steena Holmes When Words Collide The Relaxed Author Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   Simon Lowe is a British author. His stories have appeared in various publications, including AMP, Storgy, Ponder Review, EX/POST, Blackwater Review, and elsewhere. After a decade working in book stores he now writes part time as well as being a stay at home dad. His new novel, The World is At War, Again, was released in June 2021.   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 Tessa Smith McGovern an award-winning and best-selling author who has taught writing for 22 year. Prior to the interview, Mark says comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   During their conversation, Mark and Tessa talk about: How, during the lockdown and covid-19 pandemic isolation, Tessa had to come face to face with herself while stuck at home The recognition of guilt, misery, and self-doubt that led to self-sabotage Tessa having been an author for thirty years and being traditionally published and indie published Finding herself humiliated in a situation with a writer whose work Tessa quite adored Tessa's experience with teaching writers, and how writers often bring a significant amount of material to those lessons How we have to find the belief in ourselves Lighting the candle for someone else when the flame of inspiration goes out Things we can do to avoid self-sabotage Setting a goal that doesn't end up engaging your ego (which can often introduce self-doubt to the equation) The Westport Writes writers program in Westport Connecticut How love and kindness meditation can improve your focus, your memory and your productivity The importance of creative rest, and recognizing when we need that If you understand your creative process and what works, you can be more in control of it The fifty+ short stories Tessa had from her writing career and how she found particular connections between the stories, based on themes, similar characters, and other factors that can be patterned How the process of linking short stories can be a delightful process Tessa's book Cocktails for Book Lovers The value of a good editor, and how sometimes working with an editor from a traditional publishing house can offer perks that are difficult to buy from freelance editors The way that the right editor can help an author turn something that is good into something that is fantastic And more... Links of Interest: Tessa Smith McGovern's Website Newsletter Signup Free Coaching/Zoom Classes How to Link Stories & Memoirs into a Collection BookGirlTV BookGirlTV on YouTube Episode 203 - A Rant on Unprofessional Author Behavior Original Unedited raw Rant (Patron link) Episode 201 - Building Your Marketing From Day One with Julie Broad of Book Launchers Episode 197 - Rambling Reflections from the Darkness Within Publishing Pitfalls for Authors The Relaxed Author Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   Tessa Smith McGovern has taught writing for 22 years and, for the last ten years, at the Writing Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, NY. She is an award-winning writer whose linked short story collection, LONDON ROAD: LINKED STORIES, received a ‘Featured’ review from Kirkus, is an Amazon best-seller, and a gold medal winner in the 2012 eLit Awards. Her non-fiction book, COCKTAILS FOR BOOK LOVERS (Sourcebooks), is also an Amazon best-seller. Her many publication credits include the Connecticut Review and Equinox, a UK poetry journal archived by the English Arts Council at the Southbank Centre, London. She’s currently writing a contemporary fantasy novel inspired by British mythology and pursuing her MFA in Writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is founder and editor of eChook Digital Publishing. eChook won a silver medal in the 2012 eLit Awards and its stories have been read by thousands of readers in 100+ countries. Tessa is also host, writer and producer of BookGirlTV (BGTV), an award-winning digital channel that promotes books and reading. BGTV has 6 million+ minutes viewed on YouTube and 10,000+ likes on Facebook.   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 a rant about a particular thing he noticed continues to happen related to authors looking for promotional opportunities. Prior to the main content, Mark talks about how this episode was born from content originally sent to patrons of the podcast who responded to his slightly rawer rant on the same topic. For that special episode, he merely turned on the microphone and just let it out. But a number of patrons commented about that rant, suggesting that it would be beneficial to the larger author community to be aware of an author action that can really set off retailers, distributors, and other industry people. Mark reads off the names of the current patrons, thanking them for their support, and for bringing this episode to all listeners. This episode is sponsored by the patrons of the Stark Reflections podcast. Patrons can support this podcast at http://patreon.com/starkreflections for $1, $3, or $5 a month, and gain access to additional content, text, video, and special audio episodes. A common theme to those episodes is "Stark Reflections on Other Podcasts." As of July 29, 2021, there are 75 exclusive backlist patron posts available. Within the main content, or rant, for this episode, Mark talks about all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into finding promotional space for indie authors on the majority of the larger retail platforms outside of Amazon, and the thoughtless way that some authors treat all this hard work.   Links of Interest: A Rant on Unprofessional Author Behavior (Patron link) Publishing Pitfalls for Authors The Relaxed Author Patreon for Stark Reflections 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     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 an early draft excerpt from his forthcoming August 2021 book PUBLISHING PITFALLS FOR AUTHORS. Specifically he talks about Publishers and Predators and the things that authors need to be careful to look out for. Prior to the main content, Mark shares some comments from a recent Patreon only rant episode he recently released talking about unprofessional author behavior and promises to release an edited and slightly modified version into the regular feed in the near future. He thanks his patrons for the feedback on that episode as well as helping him realize that the learning and insights would be valuable to the greater author community. He then shares a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   Links of Interest: A Rant on Unprofessional Author Behavior (Patron link) Publishing Pitfalls for Authors The Relaxed Author Patreon for Stark Reflections 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     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 #1 bestselling author and founder of Book Launchers, Julie Broad. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal upon, an opportunity for listeners to win one of three spots in a full day author boot camp workshop taking place in mid August 2021, and a new opportunity for listeners to win a 1:1 Story Stuck consultation with editor Clark Chamberlain. In their conversation, Mark and Julie talk about: The non-straight-line journey that Julie took to get to her current career in helping authors (which involved real estate, properties, and that world) Being approached by published in 2011 for some book ideas, and the back-and-forth of a book proposal done collaboratively by a major publisher that changed their course/plan at the last minute How Julie's crushed-ego from that rejected led to her self-publishing the book and shepherding the book (More Than Cash Flow) to #1 for over a month The nightmarish horror stories that helped Julie's real estate book sell really well The passion to help authors that drives Julie and is evident in her dynamic Book Launchers videos How Book Launchers has learned that, once an author is past a certain point in developing their manuscript, it might be too late for effectively building those marketing efforts in early Some of the common mistakes authors make such as an ineffective title, and even the TOC and chapter titles How the chapter title "You are Who Google Says You Are" in her book "New Brand You" The reality that Book Launchers only works with about 10% of the people who approach them - because they want to ensure they can truly help the clients they take on The behind-the-scenes of the Book Launchers videos, including about five hours of research and writing that goes into the videos before they even begin to shoot The critical importance of those core supporters and the people who regularly interact and comment Being recognized in public because of the popularity and value of her YouTube channel Some of the things that authors should look out for when it comes to service providers in the self-publishing space How asking for and getting reviews is one of the most important aspects of the business of writing Some of the industry trends that Julie is tracking and paying attention to And more... After the interview Mark reflects on a couple of things that the conversation made him think about.   Links of Interest: Booklaunchers.tv (YouTube Channel) Booklaunchers.com (Main Website) Julie's Video Review of KILLING IT ON KOBO EP 29 - Terry Fallis on Writing with Authenticity, Humor, and Passion EP 200 - Alas, Dear Author, I Reflected for 200 Episodes EP 197 - Rambling Reflections Through the Darkness Within Mark's TikTok #DuetMe Request (Planes, Trains and Automobiles) Mark's YouTube Video of "You Play with Your Balls a Lot" Scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles) Bibliofic Designs The Relaxed Author Patreon for Stark Reflections 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 Julie Broad, founder of self-publishing services firm Book Launchers and Amazon Overall #1 Best Selling Author, knows what it takes to successfully self-publish a book. Julie’s titles include More than Cashflow, which topped Amazon, The New Brand You, and her latest book, Self-Publish & Succeed. An expert on writing a book with marketing in mind, Julie teaches authors how to write a #noboringbook on her popular YouTube channel BookLaunchers.TV. Her advice for authors and investors has also been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur.com, Yahoo! Business, CTV, the Toronto Sun, and Medium.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 reflects on 200 episodes and also shares a reading from a chapter in his book WIDE FOR THE WIN on Quantum Eggs merged with ad hoc musings. Prior to the main content, Mark shares an opportunity for listeners to win one of three spots in a full day author boot camp workshop taking place in mid August 2021, and also shares a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   Mark reflects on why he started the podcast, what he think it offers, then shares a chapter from the book WIDE FOR THE WIN interspersed with pauses and reflective asides. Links of Interest: Link to Entry Form for Full Day Workshop Free Registration to Virtual When Words Collide Conference in August 2021 Episode 192 - Bold Business Strategies for Authors Parody Video: Stuck in This House Here with You Stupid Dad Joke Shorts Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   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 Chelle Honiker and Chrishaun Keller Hanna of Indie Author Magazine. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversion Chelle, Chrishaun, and Mark talk about: Their backgrounds as writers, creatives, geeks, and entrepreneurs Chrishan's "Organzied chaos with style" line and how she has honed and refined her "pitch" over time at cons How writing feels like one dimension of a way that you can tell a story Learning about not being cut out for working FOR other people An aborted attempt at becoming a digital nomad (due to the global covid lockdowns) How an accountability partner/mastermind group led to the origin of Indie Author Magazine The desire to create an unbiased source of trusted information for indie authors The magazine being produced as a monthly digital and a print quarterly How the skill-set for the magazine was based on internal skills, talents, and experience from the team The range of topics and features planned to be covered and updated in each issue The "Indie Annie" column in order to answer questions submitted by readers How authors can get ahold of the magazine online or via the app The way they manage to fit managing this magazine while maintaining their writing commitments And more...   After the interview Mark reflects on the power of priorities, partnership, and collaboration.    Links of Interest: Indie Author Magazine The Relaxed Author Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   The mission of Indie Author Magazine is to inform, educate, and inspire authors at every stage of their careers. Our vision is to be the trusted industry leader for reliable resources and information for indie authors by providing unbiased, well-researched, and articulate content in a timely manner, in the most engaging format possible.   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 Honorée Corder, an executive and strategic book and publishing coach, TEDx speaker, and the author of more than 50 books including You Must Write a Book. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, some recent comments and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversion Mark and Honorée talk about: The way Honorée's business got its start after a discussion with Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series Collaborating with businesses that want to use her books to promote/market their own business and how that has created a win/win/win situation Purposefully writing and marketing books to targeted potential clients with bulk discount rates in mind How people will throw out business cards but are far less likely to throw out a book Researching how to make the process of custom back covers for the same front, spine, and interior with a designer and a printer Ideas for how authors can leverage this type of marketing by offering a potential client a pile of books to give away to their clients Adapting an abundance mindset versus a scarcity mindset The mental hurdles that writers have to overcome in order to face prosperity What makes the difference between a hobbyist and a professional Commitment versus interest The question of "whether or not the person I am tomorrow will be proud of the person I am today" The importance of having downtime, quiet time, and opportunities for recharging our creativity How having a schedule can set you free from not worrying about something that's on your plate The basic principlee behind "The Miracle Morning" (Hal Elrod) and "The Miracle Morning for Writers" (Hal Elrod and Honorée) How, for the most part, you can find 15 minutes in different parts of your day A few things she didn't expect before beginning this journey How writing from a really raw place allowed Honorée to see that the more authentic she has been in her writing, the more readers have liked it and it has helped people And more After the interview, Mark reflects on some of the things that this chat inspired in him, including an idea that sprung from the conversation. Links of Interest: Honorée Corder's website BookBub Blog Post - Chirp Follow Buttons Episode 197 - The Darkness Within Episode 196 - Haunted Walks & Talks with Jim Dean The Relaxed Author Planes, Trains & Automobiles Mark Lip Sync Scene from Planes, Trains & Automobiles Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   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 talks openly about the anxiety, frustration, and darkness that took over as he was trying to prepare for this week's episode. It's an unscripted talk through the things circling his mind, and how he is trying to deal with them. Prior to his introspective rambling, he pauses to share a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. It's not uncommon for writers and creative people to feel a darkness begin to descend over their emotions, to dance and mingle with anxiety and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. Mark tries to talk through those feelings and how he is trying to face them. He does talk about a book he is currently listening to as a re-read: Neil Peart's Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to my Life and Times and the "end of day" treat that has become as part of a mental health/physical activity regimen. Links of Interest: Mental Health Services Canada Depression Hotline Mental Help Dot Net Suicide Prevention Helpline The Relaxed Author The Relaxed Author Survey (Only Open until July 1, 2021) Best Book Ever Podcast Season 1 Ep 9 - Mark talking about EARTH ABIDES Neil Peart - Traveling Music Patreon for Stark Reflections 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     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 Jim Dean, Creative Director of Haunted Walks, Inc. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor . . . This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Jim and Mark talk about: How Glen Shackleton came to found the company via the first haunted walks in Kingston, Ontario in 1995 The early days of the haunted walks and how people reacted to the idea Expanding out into Ottawa and Toronto as well as other nearby locations How ghost stories are a great way to share local history and the local experience in an entertaining format "We create and share extraordinary experiences" How in "normal" or "pre-pandemic" times, tens of thousands of students would come to Ottawa and go on the ghost walks The level of improv that is often required of the tour guides who have to incorporate the scripts into real-life interactive experiences Dealing with the pandemic after just coming off their most successful year and the most trying day of having to lay off almost all of the company's one hundred staff members The "home and bored" haunted packs that they started selling early in the pandemic Asking the question of what Halloween was going to look like in the fall of 2020 The "Save Halloween" Kickstarter Project they launched, which didn't succeed, but led to some other ideas that worked for them, such as the virtual haunted campfires The virtual DIY audio experience that is "The Haunting at Home" How virtual events have opened Haunted Walks, Inc. up to an international audience and customer base Hosting the Haunted Walks Podcast and the types of stories that Jim covers on it Jim's memories of how, in school, when the old movie projector got rolled out and the lights went down and the film came on, the room became an entirely different place How the stories are crafted for the tours and how they evolve over time The special "Fact or Fiction" tours that they sometimes do A couple of unexplainable things that happened on a few of the tours and that Jim experienced And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on his appreciate for Haunted Walks, Inc. and the ways they have helped him personally and as a writer. He then talks about the important of multiple product lines and revenue streams derived from a single source of passion.   Links of Interest: The Haunted Walk Website Ghost Tours Online Experiences Haunted Talks Podcast Episode 195 - Help! I'm An Author With Mal Cooper Episode 194 - Eric Bryan Moore on Audiobook Narration and Pocket Pulp Podcast Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   For 18 years, Jim Dean has been the Creative Director of Haunted Walks, Inc, which runs ghost tours and other paranormal adventures in Kingston, Ottawa, and Toronto, Ontario. He is also the host of the company's popular Haunted Talks podcast which explores dark history and ghost stories from around the world.   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 Malorie Cooper about her writing and the "Help! I'm An Author" that Mal writes with her wife Jill Cooper. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mal and Mark talk about: How long it has been since they saw one another at a conference (November 2019), and how long it has been since in person writer gatherings The fact that Malorie is an extrovert by nature and enjoys hanging out with other authors, whether in person (when possible) or via virtual hangouts The daily five hour springs that Malorie hosts (23 minute springs and 7 minute breaks) which usually involves about 15 authors The music playlist that Malorie has defaulted to most recently The fact that your writing speed and process doesn't necessarily follow a linear path How Malorie deals with continuity in different books/series Tips for how to keep track of details when writing a long series - which includes NOT being too specific about many details, like eye color, etc. What inspired Malorie and her wife Jill to start writing the HELP! books for writers How Facebook ad procedures have changed over the years Some of the other titles in the Help! I'm An Author series The fact that Malorie was a CTO in a previous career and how that impacted the SEO involved in deciding the book titles Multiple experiments Malorie did with various rapid-release models Why consistency is far more important that a rapid release schedule How Malorie works on different co-authored projects The major burn-out and much needed break from writing back in 2019 that Malorie had to take That one month (August 2018) where Malorie wrote 200,000 words despite taking a week-long vacation at Disney How Malorie does her best work and fastest work at the last minute Deciding to not release the Help! My Marketing Plan Sucks book at the beginning of the pandemic and how that ended up splitting off into multiple more specific platform marketing titles How Malorie invests her time when attending a writer's conference The video content that Mal and Jill are working on creating And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the powerful energy that Mal gives off, which he finds inspiring, as well as the mention of getting the best work done quickly and at the last minute.   Links of Interest: The Writing Wives Website M.D. Cooper's Aeon 14 Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   Malorie Cooper likes to think of herself as a dreamer and a wanderer, yet her feet are firmly grounded in reality. A twenty-year software development veteran, Malorie eventually climbed the ladder to the position of software architect and CTO, where she gained a wealth of experience managing complex systems and large groups of people. Her experiences there translated well into the realm of science fiction, and when her novels took off, she was primed and ready to make the jump into a career as a full-time author. Since then, she has sold nearly a million books. In addition to writing her bestselling science fiction series, she has written a book entitled “Help! My Facebook Ads Suck” and regularly presents on advertising and productivity at author conventions. She shares her home with a brilliant young girl, her wonderful wife (who also writes), a cat that chirps at birds, a never-ending list of things she would like to build, and ideas…   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 audiobook narrator Eric Bryan Moore about his work as a voice actor and his new podcast Pocket Pulp. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from this episode's sponsor... This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Eric and Mark talk about: The interesting nature of getting to talk to one another after having previously worked together as author and narrator How listening to audiobooks while he was living in Brazil and wondering what he would do led back to his background in acting and a career in audiobooks The original studio Eric used to have to use before having a home setup to record audiobooks How a unique moment in reading aloud in an English class inspired the teacher to introduce Eric to the theater group Studying writing as a way to help him better understand the work he was doing as a narrator Auditioning a lot and getting 12 rejections before landing his first narrating gig The ratio of about 1 in every 10 books that a narrator works on under the ACX royalty share program that actually earns money for the narrator Eric's romance narrator pseudonym of D.C. Cole The idea of how audiobook listeners might cross-over to discover new writers because of a narrator they enjoy listening to How most of Eric's work has been working with small publishers and indie authors The problem with being a narrator is that you don't get to read for fun anymore (ie, no downtime for pleasure reading) How Eric's work is a combination of repeat clients and doing the occasional audition Eric's going rate of $250 / finished hour which is the minimum rate for SAG-AFTRA The way that a program like Voices Share at Findaway Voices works The additional costs that Eric has to pay someone else to outsource as a narrator (which eats into his existing per/hour fees The new podcast that Eric launched called POCKET PULP How writers can submit stories to Eric's podcast, and the fact they get the audio file in return which they can use however they want The potential things that this weekly podcast can lead to And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the opportunity that exists for writers as well as the unique way Eric is leveraging this new podcast to build up his brand within the specific community where he's hoping to reach more people. Links of Interest: Eric Bryan Moore's Website Pocket Pulp Podcast Pocket Pulp Podcast on YouTube Episode 7 - "Spirits" by Mark Leslie YouTube link for "Spirits" Mark's Books Narrated by Eric Active Reader: And Other Cautionary Tales from the Book World A Murder of Scarecrows Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   Originally a stage actor and Shakespeare fanatic from California, Eric Bryan Moore bounced around the globe for a number of years, including having lived in Japan for six of them, before finally settling down in São Paulo, Brazil. After starting a family, he decided to put his acting degree back to use and kicked off a career in audiobook narration in 2016. He narrates from his home studio and enjoys reading Fantasy, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Mysteries, and Horror. When he's not recording, Eric is busy playing with his daughter, trying to win his fantasy football league, playing chess online, reading for fun, and learning how to make the perfect caipirinha!     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 author Susan Faw who is also the owner and founder of Dragon's Lair Artist Emporium, a physical bookstore in Norther Ontario that showcases books from indie authors. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Susan talk about: Susan's first meeting with group of authors at a library session with the Stratford Writer's Group in about 2012 How long it took Susan to write her first book The actual work-related impetus of Susan writing her first novel Making the move to Northern Ontario from the Niagara region in Southern Ontario The population of the community Susan is in, which is about 6000 people How Susan is keeping busy on the writing side of things with a series she is writing The back story of creating Dragon's Lair Emporium The grant for Northern Ontario women that Susan used to create the store's website Opening the bookstore and then having to shut it down after 6 days due to a Provincial enforced shutdown due to Covid Just how eager customers are to get into the store Collaborative partnerships with the local high school How, at this point in time, Susan is getting most of her stock from Ingram Pricing setup advice and Susan's ability to see it from both the author and bookseller side The fact that Susan is not doing returns, which is typical modus operandi for a bookstore Coming up with creative ways to market books rather than just buying giant piles of books where half of them can be returned A reminder that if an author sets a 55% discount via Ingram Spark, the bookstore actually sees 40% Realizing that specific people who are only interested in discounted prices might not actually be your customer The forms where authors can submit their books for consideration to be carried in the bookstore What authors can do to help support the bookstore that is supporting indie authored books And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the unique customers for print books in local physical bookstores, as contrasted to online shoppers on Amazon. He also reminds authors to consider their own books from the bookstore owner's perspective. Links of Interest: Susan Faw's Author Website Dragon's Lair Artist Emporium Website EP 191 - Insights from the Immersive Media and Books 2020 Consumer Survey The Creative Penn Episode 551 - The Challenges of a First Novel Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's Tavern YouTube Episodes Pilot Episode (6 Min 39 Seconds) Short: Dad Jokes Matter (1 Min 37 Seconds) Short: Tension (1 Min 31 Seconds) Short: Mister Bright Side (3 Mins 47 Seconds) 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   Susan Faw is a Canadian author of young adult fantasy and dystopian fiction. Her debut novel, Seer of Souls was awarded first place for the best young adult mythology of 2016, Chanticleer Reviews, and the grand prize of the Dante Rossetti for best young adult fiction of 2016, Chanticleer Reviews. Dragon's Lair Artist Emporium is the brain child of owner Susan Faw. Frustrated with the lack of venues available to independent authors, she a book store dedicated to authors worldwide, who have chosen a self-publishing career. Dragon's Lair Artist Emporium knows that there are many wonderful books deserving to be seen, and to be read. Dragon's Lair was born to give the independently published author what they have long been denied - space on a physical store shelf. Not only is this space for them, but their business model is built around showcasing the amazing, unrepresented talent that exists in the indie publishing sphere.

In this episode, recorded from a live video chat, Mark interviews James Kademan, owner of Calls On Call, a shared receptionist service, Draw In Customers Business Coaching, and the author of The BOLD Business Book. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In this live chat, Mark and James talk about: James' background as an entreupreneur, which started in 2006 The multiple businesses that James has created, and the numerous mistakes he has made along the way in order to find success The infinite number of ideas that you have compared to the actual implementation How most entrepreneurs, like most authors, can be overly optimistic The implementation of "Whatever Blooms" an automated online flower-ordering business to save people time Riding the "hope train" and the comfort in complacency James' decision to self-publish THE BOLD BUSINESS BOOK Releasing the book in hardcover, paperback, eBook, and Audiobook How James never anticipated that you have to practically "claw your way" to get people to leave reviews for your book The way that people often don't value time The importance of "done" and finishing something How important "inbox zero" is for email management And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the value of getting work done and how he is adapting the "Inbox Zero" strategy. He also shares some info about a free workshop he is doing with James at When Words Collide in August 2021, as well as the full day workshop... Authoring Boot Camp Basic Training (Full Day Workshop) Want to take your author career to the next level? Business Coach James Kademan and Author Consultant Mark Leslie Lefebvre team up to help authors define and achieve their goals, from shaping-up their writing practice and effective scheduling, to publishing and marketing strategies, Mark and James unpack Authoring and help authors understand how they can create their own plan. Author Sarah Kades Graham joins as moderator, as well as prototype—hear how the Authoring Boot Camp has changed her career! Links of Interest: Draw in Customers Business Coaching Calls on Call James' Business Books "Inbox Zero" YouTube Video When Words Collide Full Day Authoring Boot Camp Workshop Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   James Kademan has been an entrepreneur since 2006. He owns several businesses, including Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service for those ready to outsource, and Draw In Customers Business Coaching where he helps entrepreneurs achieve more time, more money and more fun, while enjoying what they do. James is the author of The BOLD Business Book, A Strategy Guide to Start, Run, and Love Your Soon to Be BOLD Business. He is a Certified Business Coach and Professional Speaker and continues to release blogs, podcasts and videos at his website www.drawincustomers.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 Dr. Rachel Noorda and Dr. Kathi Inman Berens about the Immersive Media & Books 2020 Consumer Survey conducted by the Panorama Project and Portland State University. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from this episode's sponsor (which includes a sample from the first narrator that Mark ever used through Findaway Voices). You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. Mark then shares comments from recent episodes and also a personal update. In his discussion with Dr. Noorda and Dr. Berens, the three discuss: Dr. Rachel Noorda's background at Portland State University directing the Masters book publishing program there and her route into the academic world The student-run press that publishes several trade books every year, giving the students a hands-on experience in publishing Dr. Kathi Inman Berens' undergrad work within publishing and her later long-term academic experience within open access publishing, digital pedagogy and related projects How there isn't a lot of book publishing research out there that's not proprietary in nature The origin and evolution of The Panorama Project Behaviors related to "engagement" with books that don't necessarily include buying or reading them How the survey was made up of people who "engaged with a book" at least once in the past 12 months An OverDrive study and a 2019 PEW research study and that both estimate between 75% and 85% of people have engaged with a book in the previous year How books are a very durable 500-year success story, according to Dr. Berens, that people have incredibly powerful feelings and emotions about Some of the research that revealed surprising results How the stats show that the suspected "show-rooming" of bricks and mortar stores that result in online (ie, Amazon) purchases is actually more of a 50/50 split. Sometimes people find books in bookstores and buy those same books online. Other times, people find the books online then buy them in bookstores. It's a two-way street How, while the biggest single realm of book discoverability (20%) is from friends, that 80% of the time people are finding books from a multitude of other means The difficulty of measuring or finding the typical 6 touch points a person needs to have with a book before they decide to purchase/read it All of the things that happen in purchasing behavior that we (as authors and publishers, and even as consumers) are not aware of How the Immersive Media report does have a specific section for authors The high relevance of "genre" and "favorite author" when it comes to deciding to buy a book How readers are often expecting some kind of "online access" to authors The "literary citizenship" that Jane Friedman talks about in her book THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER And more... After the interview Mark shares a couple of reflections about the conversation and then thanks Patrons. Links of Interest: The Panorama Project Immersive Media & Books 2020 Consumer Survey The March 2021 Webinar EP 187 - Business-Minded Creative Marketing with Diana Wink EP 188- A Gritty & Real Adoption and Publishing Story with Denise Massar EP 189 - From Stage to Page and Back to Stage with Rod Carley EP 190 - The Episode Where Shit Went Down with Sweary Historian James Fell The Write Stuff Storybundle (Until May 25, 2021) Eric Bryan Moore's Website Pocket Pulp Episode 7 - Spirits by Mark Leslie Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   Dr. Rachel Noorda is Director of Publishing and Assistant Professor of English at Portland State University. Dr. Noorda holds a PhD degree in Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling and has published peer-reviewed research on various book publishing projects including book subscription boxes, independent publisher mission statements, the Portland Book Festival, and online book blurbs. She is currently writing a book (contracted with Cambridge University Press) about entrepreneurship in twenty-first century US book publishing. She has been very involved with the industry, including analyzing data and writing industry reports for PubWest, the Independent Book Publishers Association, the Book Industry Study Group, Literary Arts, and Publishing Scotland. Dr. Kathi Inman Berens, Associate Professor of English at Portland State University, has published peer-reviewed research about digital humanities, book publishing, and digital literature. A Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, Dr. Berens conducted grant-supported research for IBM when she was faculty and a Fellow of the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California. Dr. Berens studies immersive environments and transmedia experiences, consulting with Portland companies on VR medical therapies, immersive storytelling, and mobile web interface design. In her book publishing consulting and scholarship, two years of survey work provide foundational data for insights about consumer behavior at the Portland Book Festival. She is advisory council for arts non-profits Literary Arts, NW Film Center, and Oregon Storyboard.   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 James Fell, Sweary Historian, about his latest book On This Day in History, Sh!t Went Down. Warning to listeners: In this episode, adult language goes down. A lot. If you are offended by swearing and adult language, please do NOT listen to this episode. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments, from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation, Mark and James discuss: His experience writing as a freelance investigative journalist within the diet and fitness industry for the LA Times and Chicago Tribune How James' literary agent compared his previous book The Holy Shit Moment as a combination of Malcolm Gladwell's Blink with Jen Sincero's You Are a Badass The way that The Holy Shit Moment was a book with a bit of a scientific analysis on "how shit works" and learning that you can't make those "holy shit" moments happen, but you can set up the groundwork for making it more likely to occur The way that the book The Holy Shit Moment flopped and what that meant for James' career despite all the media attention and support Being in a tough and tight headspace where he wasn't sure what was going to happen with his career, with a book flop, Trump looking like he was going to be re-elected, a Covid-19 pandemic lockdown The way that exercise can be an important part of paving the way for an epiphany moment The long bike-ride James was on that led to the idea for this new book and shift to his writing focus over to history The idea of the "this day in history" posts to share to Facebook How the 2nd post about May West "blew up" on social media (5 million views within a month) and prompted people to suggest he should convert these types of posts into a book The way James would decide on what to write for any specific day The more than 1000 variations of the word "Fuck" that appears in the On This Day in History Shit Went Down A future book that James has been working on called Greedy Sexist Religious Bigots Who Hate Science The move James made to Patreon with his daily history post content and his weariness about whether or not it would work. But how, within a few hours, he was already well into a few thousand dollars How, within 3 months, James was in the top 30 of all writers on Patreon Moving over to Substack and how they encourage people to provide content for free to create an audience, while also having some content behind a paywall The deep and meaningful connection that people can feel towards writers they respect and admire The generosity shown to sci-fi author John Varley via a health crisis and GoFundMe campaign How, even though people can read the entire content of the book for free, sales of On This Day In History Shit Went Down are exploding The print book significantly outpacing the eBook sales on this title despite doing no advertising or marketing outside of sharing free content from the book on social media The importance of a blatant and direct CALL TO ACTION to "get the book And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the change in writing focus James took as well as his fully embracing both traditional publishing and indie publishing options to fully leverage his IP to his greatest benefit, as well as his combination of nimble indie author marketing tactics combined with a progressive business-oriented approach. Mark then thanks Patrons of the podcast offering them one of two opportunities to win one of two free download codes for an awesome new writing bundle from Storybundle called "The Right Stuff Storybundle" (which is only available until May 25, 2021.   Links of Interest: James Fell's Website Body for Wife / Books On This Day in History Shit Went Down James Fell Facebook Page James Fell on Substack Episode 60 - The Holy Shit Moment and Other Sudden Insights with James Fell Episode 2 - Living the Healthy Writer Life with Joanna Penn Episode 138 - Cash Flow for Creators with Michael W Lucas Episode 148 - A Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn The Write Stuff Storybundle (Until May 25, 2021) Kevin Closs Music Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   About James Fell My name is James and I say "fuck" a lot. It is possible for me to not swear. I was a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune for many years. I think the LA Times let me get away with “hell” twice. I’ve also been a columnist for Chatelaine and AskMen, and written for TIME Magazine, the Guardian, NPR, Women’s Health, Men’s Health, and many others. You can see a sample of my published articles here. Additionally, I’ve had countless radio and TV appearances and never uttered a profane word a single time. Go me. I began as a health and fitness writer and have published two books. The first is Lose it Right: A Brutally Honest 3-Stage Program to Help You Get Fit and Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind published by Random House Canada in 2014. The second is about the science of the life-changing epiphany titled The Holy Sh!t Moment: How Lasting Change Can Happen in an Instant published by St. Martin’s Press in 2019. Yes, I wrote a book with a swearword in the title. Both are heavy on the science, containing no bullshit. I also have a popular blog that has millions of readers where I have written on a wide variety of subjects that include fitness, diet, and motivation, but certainly isn’t limited to that. The blog is very sweary. Here is my recipe for “motherfucking lasagna.” Covid-19 changed my career arc.   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, director, playwright and actor, Rod Carley and they talk about his new novel Kinmount. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update as well as a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation, Mark and Rod talk about: How, when he was young, Rod would come home from school every day and work on a picture book Joining a musical as part of the chorus in grade 9 Theater offering a sense of collaboration and inclusion Having Canadian poet bpNichol as a creative writing instructor in university, and how this legendary writer was a huge influence The work Rod did adapting and editing Shakespearean scripts into modern settings by finding more recent historic parallels to moments, themes, and events from the original plays Writing musicals based on the history of Northern Ontario An overview of the premise and setup for Rod's first novel, A Matter of Will Rod's latest novel, Kinmount, which is about a theater director trying to put on a Shakespeare play (Romeo & Juliet) in a small town The common mis-perception of Romeo & Juliet as a romantic story rather than a tragedy How Romeo & Juliet is, in many ways, a tragedy of toxic masculinity Balancing humanity with hilarity in the writing of this book The subtle elements of magic realism in Kinmount and A Matter of Will and how it has to come from an organic place in the story One of the things Rod has done when directing MacBeth ("the Scottish play") to break the curse/spell associated with that play How the first week of July in North Bay there is a massive shadfly infestation Launching a novel during the 2020 Pandemic Pivoting to a virtual book launch, and hiring a small local marketing firm to assist with that One of the pros of having a virtual book launch, which allowed for attendees from afar Getting onto the long-list for the Stephen Leacock Medal and the support Rod received from Terry Fallis Some of Rod's influences that include Robertson Davies, Mordecai Richler, David Sedaris, Kurt Vonnegut, and more How Rod prepares for doing a live (or virtual) reading of his work The way Rod's work in theater has informed his ability to compose dialogue Modern adaptation (what Rod calls "responsible adaption") of Shakespeare's society and how, back in Shakespeare's day, people were used to speaking and listening a lot more rapidly, so a typical Shakespeare play wasn't as long in duration as a modern version And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the adaptations that can happen with creative work and how authors might consider their own work re-adapted to different formats.   Links of Interest: Rod Carley's Website Instagram Twitter Facebook Kevin Closs Music Episode 29 - Terry Fallis on Writing with Authenticity, Humor, & Passion Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour Patreon for Stark Reflections 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   Rod’s first novel, A Matter of Will, was a finalist for the 2018 Northern Lit Award for Fiction. His non-fiction short story, A Farewell to Steam, was featured in the anthology, 150 Years Up North and More. His literary fiction short story, Botox and the Brontosaurus, is featured in Cloud Lake Literary’s inaugural online review. Rod is also an award-winning director, playwright and actor, having directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions to date including fifteen adaptations of Shakespeare. He is the Artistic Director of the Acting for Stage and Screen Program for Canadore College and a part-time English professor with Nipissing University. Rod was the 2009 winner of TVO’s Big Ideas/Best Lecturer competition. KINMOUNT is his second novel.   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