Write Now! Workshop Podcast: Write A Book, Change The World

EPISODE 213I Today's guest is debut author, https://amandacoxwrites.com/ (Amanda Cox). Her novel, https://amzn.to/3l0AOr6 (The Edge of Belonging), came out in September and completely captured my heart! Amanda tells us how, while in the process of getting an editor's attention and selling her novel, she took a story told in a single timeline and changed it to become two linked stories in their own timelines that come together in the end. She also explains how she dug deeper into her characters using some of the questions and techniques she used to use with clients when she was a therapist. I found this brilliant and asked her to repeat it! Altogether, another fun conversation about writing and sharing writing tips. You can find out more about Amanda and her upcoming books at her website, https://amandacoxwrites.com/ (https://amandacoxwrites.com/), and across social media as amandacoxwrites.

EPISODE 212I Joining us today is bestselling romance author, Roxanne St. Claire. Rocki's latest book, https://amzn.to/2RUDWrX (Man's Best Friend), releases September 25, 2020, the day after this episode airs. If you like romance and fun and dogs, you'll love this book! Rocki started her career in traditional publishing, first with Pocket Books at Simon & Schuster, and then also writing for Harlequin, Random House, and Grand Central Publishing. When she was offered her biggest contract, though, there was a clause she was unwilling to accept, so she said no. Going indie was the best business risk she's ever taken. She has more creative freedom than ever before, more joy, and more money. She works hard - it is a full-time job - but it's the best thing she's ever done as a writer. Rocki shares her experiences so you can decide if indie publishing might be right for you. You can find out more about Rocki and all of her books at her website, http://www.roxannestclaire.com/ (http://www.roxannestclaire.com/). If

EPISODE 211I Our guest today is https://www.jenniferdornbush.com/ (Jennifer Graeser Dornbush), screenwriter, author, international speaker, and forensic specialist. Her father was a medical examiner with a home office, so Jennifer grew up around death. She participated in her first fatality investigation when she was eight years old, and she's been involved in writing about crime ever since. Jennifer explains how she found a crime that she couldn't stop thinking about so she decided to write about it. That book, https://amzn.to/2DLBzUW (Hole in the Woods), was just released in August 2020. She shares how she decided what facts to keep in the story, what parts she wanted to change, and why. If you're at all interested in writing crime fiction - or nonfiction - this is the episode for you! Learn more about Jennifer, her books - including https://amzn.to/35lrUQo (Forensic Speak), a guide to writing about forensics accurately - and her speaking availability at https://www.jenniferdornbush.com/ (her website), http

EPISODE 210E Our Encouraging Words episode today is about reaching out when you need a word of encouragement. I posted on Facebook last week saying I need some encouragement and the response overwhelmed me! It made me think that we all need a reminder that there are a lot of people out there willing and ready to encourage you in whatever you're going through - if only they knew you needed it. So reach out! And read between the lines of your friends, ask yourself if maybe they need a little encouragement, and be proactive. We'll all have more strength to make it through this tough year. Hang in there! You can do it!

EPISODE 209I Today's guest is https://leighduncan.com/ (Leigh Duncan), author of Hallmark's first contemporary romance series. The first two books are already available, https://amzn.to/32ucEO6 (A Simple Wedding) and https://amzn.to/3jkWUDW (A Cottage Wedding), set in the town of Heart's Landing. A Waterfront Wedding will be released in April 2021. She tells us how she got started with https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/hallmark-publishing (Hallmark Publishing) - and how you can, too! Sweet romance is more than just no sex. Leigh explains what Hallmark is looking for in their books. There is so much great advice here if this is a publisher you want to pursue! This is an episode you'll want to listen to with a notepad and pen. You can find out more about Leigh and her books at her website https://leighduncan.com/ (https://leighduncan.com/) and she's on social media as leighduncanbooks. Leigh loves to hear from readers and writers, so reach out!

EPISODE 208I Today's guest is https://www.lizjohnsonbooks.com/ (Liz Johnson), author of the brand new https://amzn.to/31RQaq5 (A Dazzle of Diamonds), final book in the Georgia Coast Romance series. Liz shares her fun story about beginning to write stories at age 7 and selling her first novel at 27. We talk about the fun of research and how to find just the right elements from a research trip to add into your books. It's a great conversation with a lot of helpful nuggets of advice for writers, as well as laughs and inspiration. You can find Liz everywhere on the Internet as "Liz Johnson Books" - including her website https://www.lizjohnsonbooks.com/ (https://www.lizjohnsonbooks.com/) and all of her social media accounts.

EPISODE 207E After eating some of the most delicious strawberries since last summer, I got to thinking about harvests - how grateful I am for the harvest of fruit in its natural season rather than that grown off-season in a greenhouse - and about the harvests in our own lives. In order to have a harvest, you need to plant. What am I planting in my life, and what will that yield in the end? In my personal life, the thoughts I plant - or let someone else plant - become beliefs, and those lead to a harvest of behaviors. In my professional life, I need to plant by writing books, water the plants by publishing them, and harvest the plants by marketing and selling the books. What do we want to harvest? In order to see if we'll get what we're hoping for, we need to look and see what we're planting and tending in our gardens.

EPISODE 206I Today's guest is Quinton Litchfield, https://malmo.church/ (pastor of C3 Church) in Malmö, Sweden, and 2-time burnout survivor. Quinton talks freely about how he hit the wall, and things we can do if we find ourselves approaching the same point. He reminds us that no one is going to thank us for working so hard that we burn out. Some periods of life require sacrifice of time and energy, but when that sacrifice becomes a lifestyle, we need to step back and take stock of our life and where it's headed. He shares a great analogy for creativity that he heard - it's less like an elephant that you hang every idea on and more like a nest of sea turtle eggs that you watch to see which ones make it to the ocean. Quinton suggests dumping all of your ideas into a folder on your phone or your computer. Write it all down and get it out of your head because it's stressful to try to remember everything. Remember, too, isolation only makes things worse, so make sure you talk about your feelings with your spous

EPISODE 205I Today's guest is http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/authors/melissa-kosci/3318 (Melissa Kosci), co-author of the new suspense book, https://amzn.to/303Slpu (A Dream Within a Dream), cowritten with http://www.nappaland.com/mikenappa/ (Mike Nappa). Melissa tells us how she came to be cowriter of a series that already had two books in it, and what it was like to help finish telling the story. (I read book one of the Coffey & Hill series, Annabel Lee, and didn't realize A Dream Within a Dream was the end of the same series. Exciting! I loved https://amzn.to/3fzLbju (Annabel Lee)!) MIke Nappa is a big Edgar Allen Poe fan, as you can tell in the book titles. We talk about the cowriting process, similarities and differences to how Melissa writes on her own, writing under a pen name, and much more. You can find her website and her social media accounts under the name Melissa Koslin. http://melissakoslin.com/ (http://melissakoslin.com/)

EPISODE 204E In this weird world we live in with a pandemic going on around us, restrictions on our movements coming and going, and too many terrible things happening and crowding the news, it can be really difficult to find balance in your life. I share my own experiences and what I've been doing to try to keep practicing living a more balanced life. I hope it encourages you as you do the same.

EPISODE 203I In today's episode, we hear from http://jeremydronfield.com/ (Jeremy Dronfield), author of https://amzn.to/2Zyu5LM (The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz), and many other titles. Jeremy tells us how he got involved with writing this story, the research he did, how he had to work to convince the survivors to trust him with their story, and the path to publishing the book - twice. Along the way, he gives us a lot of writing tips and advice. Jeremy builds scenes visually in his head before writing them down. Then he tries to get the reader to see what he's seeing. The result with this book is the sometimes stark, sometimes heartwarming story of a family living in Vienna during Hitler's takeover. Jeremy's writing style sucks you into their lives, offering both beauty and tears as you relive this private history with the people who were there. Jeremy talks about the process of publishing, writing proposals that work, submitting to agents, his work in ghostwriting and co-writing other books, a

EPISODE 202I Today's guest is https://susiefinkbeiner.com/ (Susie Finkbeiner), author of the new novel, https://amzn.to/2Yb2jp7 (Stories That Bind Us). We have an interesting discussion on when writing can be a healthy escape for us, and when it's an avoidance tactic keeping us from dealing with our own issues. Writing is a great way to process life, and we want to help our readers do the same. Susie talks about the difference between vulnerability and weakness, saying it's okay to be sensitive. After all, we're trying to make our readers feel, so of course we need to be able to feel our emotions too. We want our words to not only thrill our readers, but impact their lives. In this way, writing fiction can be a noble pursuit. To learn more about Susie and her books, visit her website at https://susiefinkbeiner.com/ (https://susiefinkbeiner.com/) and follow her on https://www.instagram.com/susie_finkbeiner/ (Instagram) and https://www.facebook.com/SusieFinkbeiner/ (Facebook).

EPISODE 201E I read this amazing book last year called https://amzn.to/2Yd0EhY (The Hidden Life of Trees) by Peter Wohlleben about how trees that are connected to each other can help and protect each other through their connections, and how a single tree off by itself doesn't have the same protections. There are so many hidden things happening in people, too. We can have a tiny effect on a lot of people, and those effects can build and build in a domino effect. The very small kindnesses we do for each other -- a smile, a nod, opening a door -- can make the world a better place. The prayers we say for each other -- friend or stranger -- can have unknown positive effects. Just because we don't know if our efforts will bear fruit doesn't mean we shouldn't try. I hope you find these encouraging words food for thought today.

EPISODE 200!! Today’s guest is the wonderful https://www.thecreativepenn.com/ (Joanna Penn), author, podcaster, speaker, and all-around lovely lady! When I asked myself who, in my wildest happy dreams, I would like to be a guest on my 200th episode, Joanna was my first thought. And lucky me, she said yes! :-D I asked Joanna to start by taking us on a quick tour of her journey, how she started, how she learned about publishing, and how she earned and then surpassed the good salary she'd been earning in her day job. Joanna urges listeners to consider the long-term game, and practice persistence. If you quit too soon, you might think you were failing only because you didn't realize the road was longer than you'd realized. You also need to keep in mind that you don’t have to do everything, and you don't have to follow the path of those around you. Everyone will have a slightly different journey. You need to find what makes you happy and is sustainable. How do you want to live? There is an abundance of information

EPISODE 199I Today's guest is first-time author, https://suereynolds.net/ (Sue Reynolds). In her debut book, https://amzn.to/2Xbm0Nl (The Athlete Inside), Sue tells how at age 60 she lost 200 pounds and began her journey toward finishing sixth at the World Triathlon Championship. She tells us how one day her "why" changed - that she stopped thinking about her weight in terms of others' expectations of her, but in terms of her changing expectations of herself. And that was the beginning of a new life. We talk together about her insecurity in calling herself an athlete, and later a writer, and how that mirrors what many of us feel. She talks about learning to trust a coach, and how finding an accountability partner was not a sign of weakness or admitting you can't do it alone, but instead it was one of the most helpful parts of her journey. Throughout this inspiring talk, Sue and I point out the many parallels of how finding an athlete inside is similar to finding there is a writer inside. She shares her best t

EPISODE 198 Today's guest is the multi-bestselling humorous women's fiction author, Kristan Higgins. Her newest book, https://amzn.to/3bPKEqH (Always the Last to Know), releases on June 9, 2020. Kristan's books tend to be funny and heart-warming, with gut-wrenching difficulties, laugh-out-loud moments, and immensely satisfactory endings. Interviewing her was a very similar experience. She talks about getting started, how her career progressed, and the strange reader emails she's gotten. We discuss how she creates different characters for every book even though they are mostly everyday people like you and me. It's a conversation much like her books - laughing about life's funny/weird moments, discussing the seriousness of the problems we all face, and mostly feeling like you're now friends by the times it ends. To learn more about Kristan and her books (and then feel like you know her as a friend), visit https://www.kristanhiggins.com/ (her website) (https://www.kristanhiggins.com/ (https://www.kristanhiggins

EPISODE 197I Today’s guest is the lovely https://diannmills.com/ (DiAnn Mills), bestselling author of the brand new romantic suspense novel, https://amzn.to/2zEP9Y0 (Airborne). The story of that novel coming out now is one of several great ones DiAnn tells during the interview. She starts with the story of how her husband challenged her to stop saying she was going to write a book some day and just do it. She quit her job, studied the how-to books and the bestsellers, and wrote her first book – which was sold and published the next year! So begins how one author started with the end in mind, the idea that this would be her business, and worked to make the dream a reality. The story of how https://amzn.to/2zEP9Y0 (Airborne) came to be is equally enthralling! The exact sort of people DiAnn needed to talk to in order to research the book kept coming out of the woodwork, giving her heaps of information of the exact kind she needed. Not only that, but at the time the book was ready to be released – something simil

EPISODE 196 Our guest today is http://seebethanywrite.com/ (Bethany Turner), author of the hilarious new https://amzn.to/3fyAxKf (Hadley Beckett's Next Dish). If you like romantic comedies, or if you love celebrity chefs and their cooking shows, you'll love this book! Bethany and I talk a lot and laugh a lot, but there's a lot of little things to pick up and consider for your own writing. For instance, you may be wondering when to use popular culture and current events in your stories, and how to know whether it will make the book dated. Bethany gives us her take on that since pop culture references are a trademark of her writing. She tells us the unusual story of how she got started writing and how she published her first book, and we talk about writing amidst chaos. Since we're fiction writers, we also lied to each other about not gaining any weight during the current lockdown or when researching cooking shows. :-D I hope you enjoy the crazy amounts of laughter in this episode! Like her books, it's a feel-

EPISODE 195E In this Encouraging Words episode, I talk about how even though right now we are forced to stay at home and keep away from each other when we're out, we are still part of the larger body of humanity. We are connected even if we feel it less than ever. We are finding new-normal ways of doing things together, and some of those just might be great things we can continue in the future when we go back to some semblance of our old lives. If you need someone to encourage you, make you feel less alone, please reach out to a friend! And if you haven't heard from one or more of your friends recently, text or call them and make sure they're doing okay, that they aren't feeling depressed or anxious, that they have what they need. The human contact will make you both feel better!

EPISODE 194 We hear a lot about being authentic, our true selves, but what does that mean? I think of my heart as both strong and vulnerable, something that is big enough to share with others but also often in danger of being hurt. So I have a protective fence around my heart, but the type of fencing used changes. Do you have a tall steel fence around your heart? A big hedge? A split-rail fence? (That's the type I couldn't remember the name of in the episode! Haha!) How do you know if your fence is too big, cutting you off from real relationships with others? What can you do about it? That's the conversation I have with you today. I hope it gives you food for thought - when we're all physically apart from each other, and in general as you choose how vulnerable you want to be with your readers.