Podd: Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

EP 408 - Definitely A Chat With Definitely The Real Alex Lifeson (AKA Tony Binns)

27 mars 2025 | 79 min

Mark interviews Tony Binns, an award-winning stand-up comedian and screenwriter whose feature #ROXY was nominated for 3 Canadian screen awards, 3 Canadian Comedy Awards, and took home Best Feature at the Ampia awards as well as Best Feature for Teens at the Kidscreen awards. Tony is also the man behind the parody profile on Facebook called Definitely The Real Alex Lifeson where he pretends to be a guy pretending to be the real guitarist from Rush.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, which includes a few engagements he'll be speaking at in person and virtually:

IN PERSON: (Brantford, ON) Brantford Public Library (April 2, 2025 from 6 PM to 7:30 PM) – Inside the Writer’s Mind: Mark Leslie Lefebvre on Ghosts and Paranormal Storytelling
VIRTUAL: (Online) The BookFest (April 6, 1:30 PM Eastern). Keynote: Writer, The World Needs You: Why Your Writing Is More Important Than Ever
IN PERSON: (Los Angeles, CA) Writers of the Future. Week of mentoring winning writers and Gala Dinner/Evening celebrating this year's winners on April 10, 2025

Mark then shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by Toronto Indie Author Conference, taking place April 26 & 27, 2025 in Toronto, ON. The schedule appears below

Learn more about Toronto Indie Author Conference 2025 here.

In their chat, Mark and Tony talk about:

How Tony is a multi-faceted nerd who used to tape episodes of SCTV so he could play them back and memorize them
Being big into Monty Python and, of course, Rush
Always thinking that he was going to be an actor and his love of Shakespeare, but always getting the comedic parts
Being a good actor but not being so good at auditioning because he freezes when put in a pressure situation
Founding a comedy sketch troop called Obscene But Not Heard which was partially inspired by his love for Kids In The Hall
Evolving into doing stand-up despite being a shy person
Deciding to leave stand-up comedy around the time that Covid hit
The movie XROXY (a modern tale based on Cyrano de Bergerac) that Tony wrote after he pitched it to some producers he had done some other work for
Having a strength for dialogue but a weakness when it comes to plot
Being brought in to help punch up an episodic YouTube series that was a campy horror flick and make it funnier (TRUCKSTOP BLOODSUCKERS)
Tony's most recent script entitled SAVING MR. CHRISTMAS and how it evolved into a completely different movie than the one that he originally pitched
The "we love this, change everything" thing that happens with movies
Tony's WAITING FOR WAITING FOR GODOT which is a show about two women waiting for a production of the play Waiting For Godot which never happens, and how that play was inspired by the way that days could blur together for people, particularly as we get older and "become that guy"
Being a Rush fan since he first heard "Spirit of Radio"
How Tony was inspired to create a fake Alex Lifeson account on Facebook after he's seen a fake Geddy Lee account
The relation between ADHD and being "all in" on something -- like Rush, Monty Python and Rush for Tony
How, during Covid Tony did a one-man reading of Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Doing a Canadian overdub of Dragonball Z
Adapting a pilot from a Canadian novel called The Smeltdog Man by Frank Macdonald and leveraging the "Deadpool" style of breaking the fourth wall
Advice that Tony would give to the young nerdy Mark and Tony
How Tony used to write sketches even though he didn't have an outlet for them
The Dungeons & Dragons podcast that Tony is a part of called The +2 Rodcast
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a few things that came up in the discussion.

Links of Interest:

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

EP 407 - An Evening With A Drink And A Friend With Kevin J. Anderson

20 mars 2025 | 82 min

EP 406 - How Authors Can Engage With Their Library

14 mars 2025 | 55 min

EP 405 - Ask Not What Your Bookstore Can Do For You

7 mars 2025 | 36 min

EP 404 - Elbows Up, Canada!

5 mars 2025 | 28 min

EP 403 - The Magic of Combining Poetry and Playwriting with Richard Marsh

28 februari 2025 | 58 min

Mark interviews writer, actor and poet, Richard Marsh, the genius behind YIPPEE KI YAY the one-man poetry stage parody of Die Hard.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a brief personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by the Show, Don't Tell Writing Podcast with Suzy Vadori. In this weekly show, Suzy brings you writing techniques, best practices, motivation, inspirational stories from real live authors out there making it in the world, and actionable advice that can help you turn that book you’re writing into the bestseller you know deep down that it can be.

Mark also mentions a free podcast event he'll be on with Suzie on March 7th called NAVIGATING TODAY'S PUBLISHING.

In the interview, Mark and Richard talk about:

How, ever since Richard started poetry, he ended up using it to tell the types of stories that one wouldn't normally think could be told via poems
The poetry rom-com stage show Richard worked on with a good friend
How the procrastination project of writing a Die Hard play told in poetry became a priority when Richard wasn't interested in the play he'd been intending to roll out that had a heavy themes of grief and loss. The Die Hard play was fun and silly and funny and warm, and was more of what the world could use at the time
How focusing on a few elements of what would make Richard himself laugh was a great place to start
The themes in the play of how love and life change through parenthood
The importance to Richard of not just retelling or parodying Die Hard, but to do so much more
How the personal story that Richard weaved into his Die Hard stage show ties in quite nicely to the relationship between John and Holly
Art impacting us differently through various stages in our life
The first time that Richard ever performed the play, which was an active reading in the middle of a crowded bar
The initial public performance of the stage show at The Omnibus theatre in London in March of 2022
Taking the show on the road beyond the UK by touring the US during Christmas 2023
Additionally touring in Australia and Canada
A little bit about the play Richard DIRTY GREAT LOVE STORY that Richard co-wrote and performed with Katie Bonna was created and launched
How the people who go to poetry events are some of the most loveable weirdos in the world
The various plays that Richard has published
Working with producer James Seabright to produce Yippee Ki-Yay
The numerous complex elements of staging Yippee Ki-Yay, including movement and physicality, puppet show aspects, props, finger guns, and more - and the importance of the collaborators that helped with this
The two-hander stage show WINGMAN which is a type of romantic comedy between a father and son, which has been optioned for both US and UK television
The numerous things Richard has written that ultimately end up as an "elaborate PDF" on his PC
The moment when Stephen E. de Sousa co-writer of Die Hard, went to see Richard's play at the London Action Festival
The musical Richard is working on which is based on the movie SON OF RAMBOW
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a few things that came up in the conversation.

Links of Interest:

Richard Marsh is a writer (film, TV, theatre, to-do lists). Actor (stage, radio, social events). CEO of the MCU (Marsh Connected Universe). He will rhyme for money (write poems on commission). You can find him online at: https://www.richmarsh.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

EP 402 - The Visible Author Method of Marketing with Laurie Cooper

21 februari 2025 | 44 min

Mark interviews Laurie Cooper, an award-winning speaker, and an author coach and marketing expert, who helps fiction authors go from struggling, feeling invisible and not knowing what to do next, to finding and connecting with their ideal readers.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about Toronto Indie Author Conference 2025 here.

In their conversation, Mark and Laurie talk about:

The round-about way that Laurie got into the role of becoming a marketing coach for authors
Starting off as a virtual assistant, then moving on to more marketing-related and coaching for authors
It being 11 years since Laurie started working with authors
Some of the ways the marketing landscape and promotion strategies have changed over the years
Laurie's "The Visible Author Method" that authors can enroll in, but only after a discovery call with Laurie and an invitation
The idea that coaches need coaches and therapists need therapists
The most important aspect of what writers want, which is ways to connect with their readers, and having their books read
How "Niching Down and Branding" is at the core of everything Laurie offers to authors
How positioning, or establishing a positioning statement is one of the most taxing endeavors for an author
The way that working with a coach can help an author with being able to see themselves and their writing in a new light/different way is important
The tiny roadblocks that can stop us from moving forward, and the importance of getting over them
The concept of personalized repeatable systems
Navigating the road map of best practices, and the importance of trial and error and measurable metrics
Some of the differences related to marketing for traditionally published authors versus self-published authors
An example of working with a traditionally published author that took some extra effort but worked nicely in the end
Some resources that Laurie recommends
The three questions that you should always be answering for your readers 1) What can they expect 2) Why should they care? (What makes it special) 3) What they can/should do next
The importance of the idea of "my brand equals my promise to my readers"
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on how the the same process/procedure might work differently for different authors, as well as the importance of being able to pivot when unexpected elements clash with your plans and goals.

Links of Interest:

Award-winning speaker, Laurie Cooper, launched her online business, Pub-Craft: Marketing for Books and Brands, in October 2013. She helps fiction authors go from struggling, feeling invisible and not knowing what to do next, to finding and connecting with their ideal readers. In her first year of business, Laurie went from 1 to over 200 clients and helped 100+ authors hit the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Lists. While she works as a marketing coach with authors from around the world, Laurie calls Ottawa, Canada her home. Learn more about Laurie and her course,The Visible Author Method. Connect at www.Pub-Craft.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

EP 401 - Reflections From the Road: Superstars Writing Seminars 2025

14 februari 2025 | 32 min

EP 400 - Community Reflections

7 februari 2025 | 70 min

EP 399 - Post Publishing Marketing with Deborah Kevin

31 januari 2025 | 56 min

EP 398 - Multiple Outlets For Storytelling with Denise Baden

24 januari 2025 | 50 min

EP 397 - In It For The Creativity and Compassion with Ron Vitale

17 januari 2025 | 53 min

EP 396 - Waubgeshig Rice on Community, Publishing, and The Creative Journey

10 januari 2025 | 72 min

Mark interviews Waubgeshig Rice, an author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation, and the author of four books, most notably the bestselling novels Moon of the Crusted Snow and Moon of the Turning Leaves.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments, a personal update and word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by Superstars Writing Seminars: Teaching you the business of being a writer which takes place Feb 6 through 9, 2025 in Colorado Springs, CO.

Use code: MARK1592 to get $100 off your registration.

In their conversation Mark and Waubgeshig talk about:

Waub's interest in high school with English classes but still feeling like there was no strong connection and that not many of the books and stories being taught in Ontario in the 1990s were all that relatable
Being shown books by indigenous authors via his Auntie that weren't being studied in school -- books by authors such as Richard Wagamese, Lee Maracle, Louise Erdrich -- and how that blew his world wide open and included thoughts such as maybe he could do that himself some day
The Grade 12 Writing Course taught by Tom Bennett at Parry Sound High School that helped Waubgeshig in shaping stories
Being side-tracked from creative writing by studying and beginning a career in journalism
The benefit of getting to know writers and artists in the Toronto area in the early 2000s
Applying for his first writing grant from Canada Council for the Arts in 2004
Waub's first book, Midnight Sweat Lodge, a connected short story collection
How things really changed when Waubgeshig's Moon of the Crusted Snow first came out in 2018
Leaving full time journalism employment at CBC to become a full-time writer in 2020
The Northeast Blackout of 2003 and how his experiences being back home at Wasauksing First Nation near Parry Sound when it was all going down is what inspired Waubgeshig in writing Moon of the Crusted Snow
Coming to the realization that home was the best place to be if this were actually a world-ending electricity blackout
The stereotypes and mythologies about what life on a reservation is, and how, during that dark moment, it was a reminder of the resources and the beauty that place could actually be
Expressing the heartfelt spirit of community that has withstood a lot of violence historically, and how that helps a group of people survive this latest major crisis
Deciding to set the story in a location that a little further removed from Southern Ontario than where Waubgeshig actually grew up
Waub's approach in writing the sequel and wanting it to take place several years after the events in the first novel and how that came to happen
How the second novel explores the way the people of the community are able to live more autonomously on the land as Anishinaabe people
The interesting publishing path that Waubgeshig's first novel took in landing at ECW Press
Working with acquiring editor Susan Renouf and how great an experience that was and the wonderful suggestions she made to improve the raw manuscript
The speculative fiction elements of a post-apocalyptic novel and Waub feeling so accepted in the SF/F community
How the success of Moon of the Crusted Snow led Waub to getting agent representation by Denise Bukowski
The path that led to Penguin Random House offering the contract for the sequel Moon of the Turning Leaves
The new project that Waub is working on now
Advice that Waub would offer to other writers
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on several different things he was thinking about during and after the conversation.

Links of Interest:

Waubgeshig Rice is an author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation.

He’s written four books, most notably the bestselling novels Moon of the Crusted Snow, and Moon of the Turning Leaves.

He graduated from the journalism program at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2002, and spent most of his journalism career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a video journalist and radio host.

He left CBC in 2020 to focus on his literary career.

In addition to his writing endeavours, Waubgeshig is an eclectic public speaker, delivering keynote addresses and workshops, engaging in interviews, and contributing to various panels at literary festivals and conferences.

He speaks on creative writing and oral storytelling, contemporary Anishinaabe culture and matters, Indigenous representation in arts and media, and more.

He lives in Sudbury, Ontario with his wife and three sons.

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

EP 395 - Rants and Reflections From The Road

3 januari 2025 | 57 min

EP 394 - Centerfold Stories with Charlotte Kemp

26 december 2024 | 68 min

Mark interviews author and former Playboy Playmate Charlotte Kemp about her book CENTERFOLDS.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by Superstars Writing Seminars: Teaching you the business of being a writer which takes place Feb 6 through 9, 2025 in Colorado Springs, CO.

Use code: MARK1592 to get $100 off your registration.

In the interview Mark and Charlotte talk about:

Charlotte adjusting her last name Helmkamp into Charlotte Kemp when she first began modeling
Being Playmate of the month December 1982 and the cover model for the October 1983 issue of Playboy
Interviewing about 40 women in order to get the 20 stories that she included in the book
Being blocked from publishing her book when she'd first started by Hugh Hefner
Using the title "Centerfolds" for her book because she wasn't able to use the term "Playmate" as the trademark is owned by Playboy
How Charlotte decided which of the stories ended up making it into the book
The backstory of how Charlotte became Playmate of the Month at the age of 19
Charlotte's self-appointed bodyguard, Lance, who sat outside the Green Room and kept her safe from any men looking to take advantage of an innocent younger "girl next door"
How the payment works for Playboy models, which is pay for the first photo shoot but no residuals for re-use of those photos in other issues
Learning how to read when she was two years old and the voracious reading she's been doing since she was young
What Charlotte is reading now
The type of short stories that Charlotte likes to write
Charlotte being the first Playmate to ever have a license from Playboy for the running team that she created
The Playmates with a Purpose running group fund-raising and brand-raising Charlotte was passionate about
Charlotte's experience with the Playboy brand in Japan and how the associated merchandise was all high end
How more women have found their voices in recent times and own more of their own properties instead of letting men control them
Prince's role in taking back his name, and helping female artists with similar strategies, being a strong champion of women
Stories from the book such as one from Cynthia Myers and how she narrowly evaded a fateful event with Charles Manson
Charlotte's strong feelings about ensuring she preserved the voices of the people she interviewed for Centerfolds
How the women Charlotte interviewed were able to open up and share their experiences
The way that a person could feel "owned" by Playboy
The short story collection that Charlotte is working on releasing
Charlotte's Howard Cosell story
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on his own history as a Playboy magazine reader and writer, as well as a few things Charlotte shared in the interview.

Links of Interest:

Charlotte Kemp was Playboy’s “Miss December 1982” and Playboy’s cover model in October 1983. She also appeared in many ads and calendar photos for Playboy. She was the first Playmate ever given a license for “The Playboy Running Team” in 1993 and had ten Playmates on the team who successfully raised money for many charities. Her first book was For My Eyes Only, which includes poetry, prose and short stories. During her working years with Playboy, she was the first to hold the titles of “Miss Budweiser” and “The Best Breasts in the USA.” She has starred and appeared in several commercials and movies, including a top 25 B-Horror film of all time, Frankenhooker. She has appeared on Inside Edition, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and many radio shows all over the country. She has appeared in fourteen foreign editions of Playboy and lived for a time at the Playboy Mansion.

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

EP 393 - Book Adjacent Strategies with Jody Swannell

19 december 2024 | 51 min

EP 392 - Pillars of Author Success with Emma Dhesi

12 december 2024 | 51 min

EP 391 - Networking for Authors with Dale L. Roberts

6 december 2024 | 57 min

EP 390 - Author Accounting Made Simple with D.F. Hart

29 november 2024 | 52 min

EP 389 - "Now You've Gone" with Cathy Rankin and Ken K. Mary

22 november 2024 | 66 min

Mark interviews Cathy Rankin and Ken Mary about Cathy's new single "Now You've Gone."

On October 29, 2024, Cathy Rankin released her debut single “Now You’ve Gone,” featuring renowned musicians David Ellefson (formerly of Megadeth) Ken Mary (formerly of Alice Cooper) and John Ronson. The emotional track, inspired by deeply personal experiences, reflects on themes of love, grief, and ultimately hope.

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 the 2024 Novel Writing Storybundle - Only available until the end of November 2024.

In the interview, Mark, Cathy, and Ken talk about:

Cathy's various family members who are musicians, her first exposure to music when she was young and how that impacted her creative life
Getting into theatre, and acting, when she was little, but not having the confidence in music itself
The first time Cathy had to perform a singing scene when she was acting in a film
The difference between being a performing musician and being a live host
Ken's background as a musician having toured with various different artists over the years
How being the lead singer might be one of the more difficult positions to be in, since the majority of the audience focus is on them (rather than, for example, the drummer)
The concept of the instrument choosing the musician rather than it being the other way around - and how that's the way it was for Ken and playing the drums
How playing drums was never "work" for Ken no matter what type of band he was in
The great producers that Ken has worked alongside over the years
The way that Cathy and Ken first met and started to work together (When Jon Ronson asked Cathy to interview Ken about his most recent album)
Cathy showing some of her poems to Ken and getting some feedback on the option to produce one of them into a song
How everything in this production unfolded organically and the chemistry of Cathy and the musicians in producing the song
The delightful lyrical and musical Easter Eggs that appear in the song
The connection between Neil Peart's loss of his daughter and the loss of Cathy's nephew Christian and why the song is a tribute to both their memories
What people who want to support the musical artists can do to help out

After the interview Mark reflects on three different things that came up in the conversation, including the magic of organic creativity, the concept of playing a character when on stage, and the value of art, music, poetry, and prose in expressing deep emotion and forging connections.

Clips from "Now You've Gone" have been used with permission.

"Now You've Gone" is performed by: Cathy Rankin - Vocals, Lyrics Ken Mary - Drums/Percussion David Ellefson - Bass John Bronson - Guitar Produced and Mixed by Ken Mary/Sonic Phish Studios with contribution by Thomas Laufenberg

Links of Interest:

One look and listen at Cathy Rankin and her stellar high notes, and you know she was born to entertain. Whether on stage, on camera, or in any crowd, Rankin brings a strong female voice to her music on every level. Never one to take a backseat, this force-to-be-reckoned-with doesn’t just move fans with her powerful vocals, but also proudly reps the girls while holding her own with the guys. And, in Cathy's case, it's not just any ordinary "guys" that are part of her project, its renowned rockers David Ellefson, bassist (Kings of Thrash, Dieth, formerly of Megadeth), Ken Mary, Drummer/Composer/Producer (Flotsam and Jetsam, Great White, Fifth Angel, formerly of Alice Cooper and House of Lords), and guitarist John Bronson. This formidable line-up is on display on her new single, "Now You've Gone," with more music arriving soon.

Cathy’s natural inclination for music and performance was evident from an early age when she vowed she would be a singer and actor, and her dream never wavered. Her grandfather first influenced her love of music. An accomplished professional big band musician, he played saxophone, clarinet, flute, piccolo and piano, primarily by ear, practicing in his music room with Cathy paying close attention. This exposure, along with her grandmother, one of the first female violinists in the Scottsdale Symphony, and guidance from her big sister who played drums in the popular 80s metal band, Whiskey Blu, formed the musical foundation that would be a lifelong passion for this songstress. While Cathy’s influences were wide-ranging, her original work is deeply rooted in classic rock woven with elements of blues, a touch of prog and at times even country, taking listeners on a journey reminiscent of the iconic frontwomen that defined female rock, such as Nicks, Wilson and Benatar.

As a member of popular cover bands, Superhero and Daisy Train, Cathy spent years performing full time for thousands of audiences on countless stages, from Superbowl Fanfest, to corporate events, festivals and the Vegas Strip. Cathy is also co-host of the Metal Hall of Fame with Eddie Trunk (That Metal Show, Trunk Nation), and host of the annual Bubba Bash honoring Neil Peart. And through in-depth interviews with award-winning artists such as John Waite, Geoff Tate, Lita Ford, KIX, Winger, Fifth Angel, and more, Cathy has been able to share that education and inspiration with countless other passionate music fans.

Ken K. Mary is an American musician who has worked as a drummer, producer, engineer, and record executive on over thirty-five albums. He has worked in genres from heavy rock to choral music. Mary is best known for his work with acts such as Accept, Fifth Angel, Chastain, TKO, Impellitteri, House of Lords, Bonfire and Alice Cooper, and is currently the drummer of Flotsam and Jetsam and Jack Russell's Great White

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

EP 388 - Unconditional Boundaries with Andy Lidstone

14 november 2024 | 68 min

EP 387 - Rambling Reflections From The Disappointing Aftermath

8 november 2024 | 35 min

EP 386 - Inside Every Poem, a Raging Sea of Writerly Advice with Liz Worth

1 november 2024 | 48 min

EP 385 - Rambling Reflections From The Road: Go West Not So Young Man

24 oktober 2024 | 31 min

EP 384 - Rambling Reflections From The Road: World Fantasy Con 2024

17 oktober 2024 | 44 min

EP 383 - 20 Haunting Years

10 oktober 2024 | 75 min

EP 382 - From Page to Platform: How to Succeed as an Author Speaker

4 oktober 2024 | 68 min

Mark interviews Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn about their new co-authored book From Page to Platform: How to Succeed as an Author Speaker.

Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor

This episode is sponsored by the Fall 2024 Novel Writing Storybundle.

In their conversation, Matty, Michael, and Mark talk about:

A bit of a refresher/background for both Matty and Michael
Dale L. Roberts being the person who connected the two of them together
How they got the idea for the book when both at a Writer's Digest conference together
The process of going about writing the book together
The flight instructor term of the "awkward exchange of control"
Why a writer might be interested in getting into speaking
A look at the importance of fleshing out your goals from speaking
How speaking can open up new opportunities for a writer
Some of the key strengths that can be brought to a speaking engagement, such as storytelling or making a talk feel more like a conversation
The "dress for the job that you want" aspect for speakers
Ideas for how to get started particularly if you're nervous about speaking to a large group of people
Some of the do's and don'ts for doing panels, author readings, keynotes, etc
Advise for authors who are on a panel
The concept of stepping up if necessary if the moderator isn't performing the job as well as they should
Matty's concept of the two different bios - the "speaker application bio" and the "brief speaker introduction" bio
Tips for professional behavior and things author speakers should consider doing
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a couple of things from the interview and also shares a special offer for Patrons related to the aforementioned Storybundle.

Links of Interest:

Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels and Suspense Shorts. She also podcasts, writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage as The Indy Author. Her articles have appeared in Writer’s Digest magazine, and she serves as the Campaigns Manager for the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Michael La Ronn is the author of over 100 science fiction & fantasy books and self-help books for writers. He writes from the great plains of Iowa and has managed to write while raising a family, working a full-time job, and attending law school. Michael runs the award-winning YouTube channel “Author Level Up,” and Michael serves as the Outreach Manager for ALLi.

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

EP 381 - Showcasing Independent Bookstores, Publishers, And Authors with Andrew Snook

27 september 2024 | 59 min

Mark interviews Andrew Snook about his writing and editing work as well as Canadian Independent Publishers magazine, which is celebrating its first anniversary.

Prior to the interview Mark welcomes new Patrons, shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor

This episode is sponsored by FROM PAGE TO PLATFORM by Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn. You can learn more about the book at https://theindyauthor.com/platform.

In their conversation, Mark and Andrew talk about:

Celebrating the first year of publishing Canadian Independent Author
Andrew's first ventures self-publishing many many ago
Some of the early novels and novellas that Andrew released
Moving to Ottawa to become a newspaper reporter so that he could write full time
Moving back to Mississauga and getting a role in the Business-to-Business magazine business
Starting up his own company in 2019
The six issues per year of Canadian Independent Publishers Magazine
How the magazine is still a cost center and is not yet generating a profit - and how the goal is to have the magazine at least pay for itself
The gig Andrew got going to local hockey games and covering them and how that led to an internship with Metroland (who owned the paper), and eventually a job with a local newspaper
The form for Canadian authors interested in advertising their books in this magazine
The flash fiction contest Andrew is running to help Canadian authors in showcasing their work
When Mark and Andrew first met at Hamilton Comic Con several years ago
The small reader fee for submitting to this contest, which is $25
How Mark is offering for any Canadian authors listening who are interested in submitting to this flash fiction contest that Mark will pay the entry fee for the first 4 who contact him (form link)
The two books in the Remy series Andrew wrote
The dice rolling interactive gamebook Andrew published
The introductory chapter book Andrew published partially as a way to provide content for his daughter and other similar readers who were interested in the chapter book format, but with slightly longer chapters
The impact that working on and producing this magazine has had on Andrew's writing time
How Andrew used to work around his family and work schedule to get his writing done
Andrew's experience teaching young kids creating writing and how that led to going back to further his post-secondary education
Mistakes Andrew has made as a writer
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a couple of things from his chat with Andrew and then shares how Canadian writers can participate in the promotional ad opportunity as well as in the flash fiction contest.

Links of Interest:

https://www.canadianindependentpublishers.ca/

Andrew Snook has been working as a professional writer and editor for 15 years. He started his writing career as a newspaper reporter in the Ottawa area before moving to Toronto to take on various roles as a magazine editor and feature writer for a variety of business publications. In 2019, he founded his content creation company, Snookbooks Publishing.

In his spare time, Snook is an avid fiction writer and reader. He has published four works of fiction to date: Remy’s Dilemma (2015); Remy’s Dilemma: Special Delivery (2019); Dungeon Jest: The Ruby of Power (2022); and The Snookie-Cookie Crew and the Cranberry Cookie Cruncher (2022). Snook’s fiction and business writing have won him a combined 22 national and international awards, which is neat, but he's happier knowing he made someone laugh out loud while reading his books during an inappropriate moment.

Snook is also passionate about promoting independent authors, bookstores and publishers. In 2023, he founded Canadian Independent Publishers Magazine, which is dedicated to offering a platform for showcasing Canadian writers.

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

EP 380 - Passion Project Publishing with Brianna Wodabek

20 september 2024 | 59 min

Mark interviews Brianna Wodabek, Assistant Manager of Digital Marketing at HarperCollins about her lifelong love of reading, books, and writing, and her evolution in the book industry.

Prior to the interview Mark welcomes new Patrons, shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor

This episode is sponsored by FROM PAGE TO PLATFORM by Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn. You can learn more about the book at https://theindyauthor.com/platform.

In their conversation, Mark and Brianna talk about:

How Brianna always loved reading and writing, but also knew that she wasn't interested in journalism
Finding the brand new Creative Writing & Publishing degree program at Sheridan College
Learning improv and how that helped with the overall process involved in publishing pitching
Thinking that she would be focusing more on the writing program when she got involved, but pivoting over to the publishing side of things
Getting an unofficial internship in her first year with a small Canadian publisher in Oakville, Ontario and being able to gain experience wearing multiple hats
Her official internship at Wolsak and Wynn publishing in Hamilton
Having to deliver her valedictorian speech for graduation via video because of the global pandemic
Securing her first job as Digital Marketing Coordinator at Harper Collins US (HTP Books) within 2 months of graduating and then progressing through a series of promotions to other positions
The fact that Harper Collins HTP Books interns are paid
The in-house influencer program called "The Hive" that Brianna and one of her colleagues created
How there's a growing trend of book influencers who collect more than one edition of a book
Brianna's passion project achievement with Voyage of the Damned by Frances White and bringing it to North America despite not being an acquisitions editor
How the role of the gatekeeping in the publishing world is being lowered due to additional influencers even from outside the publishing realm - social media influencers, for example
The way some publishers are reaching out directly to authors via social media DMs
Advice Brianna would share to authors and what she would like them to know about the traditional publishing world
The value of being you and being authentic
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the idea of a new type of reader who collects multiple editions of a book, how Brianna's passion led to a fantastic acquisition, and the importance of authenticity.

Links of Interest:

Brianna Wodabek, an Honours Bachelor graduate in Creative Writing and Publishing, transitioned from independent publishing to her current role as Assistant Manager of Digital Marketing at HarperCollins. In this capacity, Brianna combines her expertise with her passion for storytelling, having notably personally acquiring important books like "Voyage of the Damned" by Frances White and collaborated with authors such as Colleen Hoover, Mary Kubica, Chelsea Devantez, Eve, and more to enhance their brands.

Apart from her professional endeavors, Brianna's written works have been featured in publications like the Journal of Applied Social Science, PAUSE. Magazine, and The Mighty. With her industry experience and creative drive, Brianna is devoted to crafting compelling narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.

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

EP 379 - Simplifying Your Life & Work with Dre Baldwin

13 september 2024 | 57 min

Mark interviews Dre Baldwin the CEO and Founder of Work On Your Game Inc. about his books and his experience helping others in finding their own paths to success.

Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor

This episode is sponsored by FROM PAGE TO PLATFORM by Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn. You can learn more about the book at https://theindyauthor.com/platform.

During the interview, Mark and Dre talk about:

The importance of the simplification process as a great place to begin
The 80/20 rule and the less-than-smooth ways we have of not being able to drop the 80%
How, over time, Dre has accumulated little pieces of wisdom that have ended up being part of the training and coaching that he does
The first question that Dre often asks which is: What is your goal?
The challenge of being inundated with so many messages which results in trying to work on more than one priority
How Dre has always been a big reader and a bit of a closet computer geek
The appeal of self-generated media and being able to articulate his ideas
Putting videos on YouTube about the basketball he was playing professionally and how other players began to take advantage of his advice and coaching
How even people who weren't playing sports could benefit from those basketball videos, which led to Dre recognizing he could help people beyond athletes
How a lot of Dre's mindset stuff started to come out around 2009/2010
Blogging his ideas and starting to put out his books
How discipline is the most important hallmark of the professional
The way people can fall off their structure and the importance of finding the structure that works best for you
Coaches being one of the ways that people can find/apply the proper structure
How a true professional holds themselves accountable to a structure
Shortcuts as something that can come from the right coach
The way that a coach can KEEP a professional athlete good
Human beings doing better work when accountability is involved
The importance of showing yourself the same respect you would show to a "boss" or some other supervisor or superior you report to at work
How the two golden questions related to your goal (What do you want and why do you want it?) help you build that bridge to the structure that can get you there
Knowing that he had always wanted to write a book and combining that with the fact he knew he already had an audience via his YouTube channel
The reason Dre didn't really pursue traditional publishing and decided to publish it himself in 2010
Dre's book Buy Me A Game (which is available as a free download)
Publishing about 19/20 books between 2010 and 2017
Doing an in person speaking gig in Atlanta all on his own dime and what opportunities that led to, including a New York publisher (McGraw Hill) who was interested in publishing a book for him. That book was Working on Your Game
Why Dre wasn't interested in reliving that experience again without the right offer/contract in place
Adapting part of the traditional publishing editing process into his own procedure for self-publishing his books
Why Dre prefers to have direct sales of his books on his own website
How in business the most valuable thing you have is your customer list
Dre's book The Third Day: The Decision That Separates The Pros From The Amateurs
How a professional shows up and delivers even when they don't "feel like it" - that's what makes them a professional
The fact that most people don't hear something you say - repeating it or exploring it in different ways can help
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on several of the points Dre brought up in the conversation, including re-leveraging your own IP by exploring a single topic into further detail and the fact that a professional always shows up.

Links of Interest:

Dre Baldwin is CEO and Founder of Work On Your Game Inc. He has given 4 TEDxTalks and has authored 35 books.

Dre’s content has been consumed over 103 million times. His daily Work On Your Game MasterClass has amassed over 2,900 episodes and over 7.3 million listeners.

Dre had a 9-year professional basketball career, playing in 8 countries. Dre’s framework is the "roadmap in reverse" for professional Mindset, Strategy, Systems & Accountability.

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

EP 378 - Multimedia Storytelling with Dominician Gennari

6 september 2024 | 62 min

Mark interviews Dominician Gennari, a writer, storyteller, composer, and musician about his multimedia book and novella opus, The War for Ascension.

Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, a word from this episode's sponsor, as well as a word about a previous episode sponsor.

One Hand Screaming: 20 Haunting Years - Kickstarter

NEWS: Please note that the Feb/March 2025 Writers Retreat at Sea from Cruising Writers has been cancelled.

During their conversation Mark and Dominician talk about:

How Dominician's creative and artistic voice started with music at about the age of 13/14
Discovering Tolkien about six or seven years later
How, when writing, Dominician was imagining the accompanying soundtrack and the way the process became inseparable
Learning from one of the most incredible music teachers
Dominician's Italian heritage and how his family would gather in the kitchen and, while cooking together, would sing works like the music from Madame Butterfly and other classical sources
How that learning is layered and added in to the other styles and genres of music that Dominician composes and plays
The way that Richard Wagner would compose music with the elaborate use of leitmotifs (musical phrases associated with individual characters, places, ideas, or plot elements)
Dominician picking ten of the key moments in his story to hit really hard with his own compositions
The various members of the local musical community who participated in the recording
About the 2nd track, "Light of the Hydroverse"
Advice that David Farland, a mentor who worked with Dominician, offered in relation to this project
Being told by Dave Farland that Dominician reminded him of Gene Wolfe
Unpacking numerous languages in order to re-package them into the original language he created for this universe
The Kenorian greeting in the language Dominician invented which says "may serenity follow you"
Working with producers on a script adaptation of The War for Ascension but coming to irreconcilable differences that resulted in an end to that project
How Dominician connected with Dave Farland via a course he took online from Writers of the Future
Turning down what could have been millions of dollars on that cancelled Hollywood project
How people can get ahold of the accompanying soundtrack
The process that Dominician uses when writing the stories and composing the music
What's next for Dominician
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the idea of creating in the kitchen and the power of that type of collaboration, as well as the integrity to say no to a huge opportunity if it crosses the line of what is deemed as acceptible.

Links of Interest:

Dominician Gennari grew up in the rough western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in the 80's after his migrant parents fled war-torn Europe after WW2. As a young child, he would fantasise about imaginary creatures living in his backyard and he would dream of magical worlds.

As the years unfolded, Dominician's creative spirit flourished, giving birth to his mythical world, Númaria. This world, meticulously crafted, boasts a rich history and a complex ecosystem, providing the perfect backdrop for the vast timeline of his unfolding story called The War for Ascension.

Submerging himself in the fields of forbidden archaeology, esoteric wisdom, USAPs of the US government, and ancient warfare, a great awakening occurred as the veil of secrecy was lifted from his eyes. After learning humanity's obscured past was stranger than fiction, his desire to create a truthful and artistic message through fiction arose. This acquired knowledge segued into writing his epic fantasy series The War for Ascension and the sequential standalone series The Ascension Archive.

Having spent 3 years working alongside renowned Hollywood producers, Dominician garnered invaluable knowledge of screen craft and storytelling. But due to unforeseen events, he chose an alternative path to pursue his dream of writing wholesome fantasy stories.

Guided by fantasy author and genius, David Farland, Dominician is set to expand his grand mythology, The War for Ascension into a multimedia book and novella opus, along with accompanying soundtracks of epic music.

Dominician is also the producer of the epic industrial metal band Ark of Light, and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor and National Champion. He currently lives in Melbourne, Australia.

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

EP 377 - Pivoting Your Publishing Dreams with Denise Massar

30 augusti 2024 | 48 min

Mark interviews Denise Massar, a writer, an adoptee, and a mom via birth and adoption about her new memoir MATCHED and the ten-year journey she took getting it published.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from a recent episode, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by Cruising Writers.

During their conversation Mark and Denise talk about:

How Denise had been "big five or die" when it originally came to her publishing dream and how and why that changed over the years
Some of the feedback that Denise's agent got back on submission of her memoir in 2020 and how they fueled her in a positive way
Denise's agent coming up with a strategy to change the title, to wait a year as publishing shifts and movements within editorial departments would naturally occur, then to try to send it out on sub to the market again
Some of the limitations within traditional publishing that happen with titles that might be perceived by some as "somewhat similar"
How memoir from an "unknown" person is one of the hardest things to sell
Prince Harry's penis
Having run the course with her agent on this book, and the respectful mutual decision to part ways
Submitting the book to a number of university presses without her agent
The sudden health scare that turned out to be a benign lump that Denise had to have surgery to remove
Resetting those initial big dreams that she had about what would happen when her book was finally published
The importance of her kids seeing her "finish this book" that she'd been working on for 10 years
Deciding to take the indie publishing approach which allowed her several freedoms, including changing the title back to MATCHED, working with the cover designer artist that she knew and liked, among other things
Leveraging 60 different ARC readers for her memoir
The power of hearing readers say things like "me too" - and "I never knew that anybody else went through that" and other ways a writer can come to feel that their writing resonates with readers
Writing about her own adoption and realizing that for the first six months of her life, before she was adopted, that she must have been in foster care
Altering the names of some of the people in the book in order to preserve their privacy
How the eight different birth mothers Denise was in contact with via the course of adopting her son who ended up changing her life
Advice Denise would give to her younger self as well as advise she'd give to beginning authors
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on just how significant it is when an editor provides any sort of feedback beyond a form/token "not for us at this time" rejection, as well as an agent that's willing to "re-package" a book in order to try to put it out on submission for a second round. He also reflects on how nothing can stop a determined writer.

Links of Interest:

Denise Massar is a writer, an adoptee, and a mom via birth and adoption. Her essays have been published in HuffPost, Writer's Digest, Mutha Magazine, Raise Magazine, An Injustice!, and she’s a recurring guest blogger for Jane Friedman. Denise’s memoir, Matched, is about the nine months she spent obsessively searching for a baby to adopt, the nine potential birth moms she met on that journey, and how, in a twist of fate, her son’s birth mom led Denise to the one person she thought she’d never meet: The woman who gave birth to her. You can find Matched anywhere you buy books, and you can read the first ten pages right now, and get Denise’s Top Ten Memoir Recommendations on her website, http://www.denisemassar.org/

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

EP 376 - Dianne Scott on Writing Historical Mysteries

22 augusti 2024 | 66 min

Mark interviews bestselling and award-winning author Dianne Scott about her Christine Lane Mystery series which is set on Toronto Island in the 1960s.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from a recent newsletter he sent out asking writers to share their thoughts on the collective noun for a group of editors, a personal update (including the launch of his new Kickstarter campaign), and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by Cruising Writers.

During their conversation Mark and Dianne talk about:

How, after writing a creative writing piece in University that was supposed to be a research essay, Dianne's teacher suggested that she switch her major over to English
The teaching that Dianne has done for the past 30+ years
Other writing that Dianne has worked on and published
Dianne learning from her father, how he, as a police officer, used to patrol Toronto Island, and the spark of that into some ideas for her novels
Deciding to make her main character a female officer in that place in the 1960s
Preparing the final and 5th book in the series, FINAL LOOK, for publication in June 2025
Pitching and submitting her work to various Canadian markets
The innate conflict that was part of the first novel in Dianne's Christine Lane series
The "old VS new" conflict that happens in the stories in this setting
Dianne's first two years in self/indie publishing
Some of the volunteer work that Dianne does within her realms of expertise
The importance of literacy
The different types of creativity that can fulfill that internal desire
Advice Dianne would give to other writers
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the research Dianne had to do as well as the concept of being creative in different ways.

Links of Interest:

Dianne Scott lives a short ferry ride from Toronto Island, which is the setting of her mystery novels. She is the award-winning author of the Christine Lane Mystery series. The first book, Final Look, was a #1 Amazon bestseller, Kobo Emerging Writers Award nominee and winner of the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award. The second book, Missing, was a Finalist for the CWC Excellence in Writing Award. Lost and Found and Sabotage are the third and fourth books in the series.

When Dianne is not writing, she is walking Toronto’s neighborhoods, coffee klatching with friends and cuddling her Bichon Poodle. She also teaches literacy skills and is working on her Erne in pickleball. For more information about Dianne, visit her website at diannescottauthor.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

EP 375 - One Hand Kickstarting

15 augusti 2024 | 26 min

EP 374 - WMG Publishing Editor Round Table

8 augusti 2024 | 41 min

EP 373 - Musings on Getting a Masters and Getting Married

2 augusti 2024 | 44 min

EP 372 - Getting Paid For Authors Interviews and Book Reviews with Rick Hipson

25 juli 2024 | 64 min

Mark interviews Rick Hipson, author of the new book A REVIEWER'S GUIDE TO WRITING BOOK REVIEWS: AND HOW TO GET PAID FOR THEM.

Prior to the interview, Mark thanks Patrons and Buy Me A Coffee buddies, welcomes new patron Kevin J. Anderson, shares comments from recent episode, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In the interview Mark and Rick talk about:

Rick getting his first stint at writing (A ginger man story) back in Grade 2 or Grade 3
Catching the horror bug first when reading "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" when he was about nine years old
Getting into vampires and reading stories about them at a young age
Starting off writing for publication (fiction, interviews, and reviews) for a magazine called Insidious Reflections
Rick's first author interview with Jack Ketchum and how it's one of the most memorable interview and one of his absolute favorites
How Jack was a true gentleman who was gracious and so supportive of so many other people in the horror industry
Rick interviewing Brian Keene through tweets
Some of the struggles with transcription
The way that Rick likes to conduct interviews
Rick's podcast of interviews with horror authors and the various articles that he writes based on the context from those interviews
Rick's interview with Frank Darabont of The Walking Dead, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Interview advice that Frank Darabont offered to Rick
Leveraging one's non-fiction interview assets in as many ways possible
Rick's book, which launched July 26, 2024, A Reviewer’s Guide to Writing Book Reviews: And How to Get Paid for Them
Deciding to go with a publisher (Crystal Lake Publishing) instead of self-publishing this title, and why
The way that Rick worked his way through having his non-fiction pieces published in various horror markets
A horror story Rick shares about his first review
The importance of meeting people in person
The single conference Rick will go to every single year and why
A bit about Rick's podcast, Dark Bites
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on Rick's reasoning to go with a publisher as well as the long-term marketing effect of a reviewer feeling like they "owe" an author.

Links of Interest:

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

EP 371 - Rambling Reflections From The Road July 2024 Edition

19 juli 2024 | 30 min

EP 370 - Questioning & Reflecting with Becca Syme

11 juli 2024 | 75 min

Mark interviews Becca Syme, an author and a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach who has been helping writers with coaching success alignment for more than a decade.

Prior to the interview, Mark thanks Patrons and Buy Me A Coffee buddies, shares comments from recent episode, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In the interview Mark and Becca talk about:

How Becca deals with unexpected situations such as someone being late for a virtual meeting (Mark was 20 minutes late getting to this interview) and how this aligns with her strength of "Arranger"
The Clifton Strengths personality metric and how Becca uses it to help writers
Mark's top 5 strengths and Becca's top 5 strengths
The pros and cons that come with a strength such as Empathy
How emotions can have residue - that emotions are not false just because they're fictional
Becca first taking the Clifton Strengths in 2005 and then immediately wanting to become certified and to figure this out; which is when her coaching began
The "Dear Writer"/"Question The Premise" books that Becca has written to help writers
How Becca's first book "Dear Writer You Need to Quit" has become a running joke, especially from people who have never read the book and have only heard the title
The challenge related to the new place Becca lives and trying to get audiobooks recorded
People who are pressure-prompted and the leveraging external motivation VS internal motivation
A look at home office versus having an office space separate from the home and how that can work better for some people
How our visions of ourselves are not correct because so much of it is based on impressions we were fed before we were able to effectively grasp a more pure vision of ourselves
Being able to look at what's often seen as a weakness as a strength
How even the more benign moments and experiences in childhood can have a dramatic life-long impact upon us
The way that Becca questions almost everything, including the thoughts and feelings that she has
Being an intuitive writer verses writing a book to outline
How 100% of the things that "everyone says" are for everyone, are definitely NOT for everyone
That most people are not lying to you, but they are lying to themselves, often because they just don't understand
How a person who NEVER questions themself is a major red flag
The "reach for my phone" game that Becca plays when she's traveling or out in public
The 12-Hour Walk
Becca dating someone who was comfortably disconnected from their phone, rarely ever reaching for it, but just being in the moment
The problem with interrupting the thought cycle and being able to get all the way to the bottom of the cognitive process
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a handful of things that came up in their conversation, which he felt was a lot of good therapy for him.

Links of Interest:

Becca Syme (MATL) is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and has been coaching success alignment for more than a decade. She is the author of the Quitbooks for Writers series and the popular Write Better-Faster course. She also writes mystery novels in her spare time and lives on one of the thousand lakes in Minnesota.

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

EP 369 - The DIY Author With Kaye Lynn Booth

5 juli 2024 | 46 min

Mark interviews Kaye Lynn Booth about her writing life and her new book The DIY Author.

Prior to the interview, Mark thanks Patrons and Buy Me A Coffee buddies, as well as a word from this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In the interview Mark and Kaye Lynn talk about:

Kaye having written since 1994 and selling her first poem in 1996
Having always wanted to take a DIY approach to her creativity
Signing up for a booth at a local fair without having anything to sell and how that led to a creative way of selling her poems
Kaye's poem "Voices" and the perfect painting she found to use with it that was also called "Voices" and how that led to another collaborative poem and painting
The early blog-related writing that Kaye had done when the internet was still "young"
Creating the Writing to be Read brand on her blog/website and writing reviews for books she had read
How Kaye's blog remains her biggest marketing tool
The blog team that Kaye has writing specific content for her site
Getting degrees in genre fiction and screen-writing and then going back with the concentration in publishing
Kaye's perspective on what the harder part of writing and publishing is
The long-term outlook that Kaye has taken when it comes to creating and building an audience with her blog
The breakdown and sections of Kaye's book THE DIY AUTHOR
Kaye's first poetry collection: Small Wonders
The children's books that Kaye has written
The various genres that Kaye writes in as she follows her passion
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects making do with what you have and the creativity that can come when you find you've painted yourself into a corner.

Links of Interest:

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary 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

EP 368 - Written Word Media with Clayton Noblit

28 juni 2024 | 55 min

EP 367 - Amazing Stories, Fanzines, and Community with Lloyd Penney

21 juni 2024 | 55 min

Mark interviews Lloyd Penney, the editor of Amazing Stories magazine about his work on Amazing Stories, his forty years of engagement with the fanzine community, and more.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In the interview Mark and Lloyd talk about:

Meeting Robert J. Sawyer when they both attended Ryerson University in Toronto
Lloyd's first and only published science fiction story (which Rob was responsible for)
Getting involved in science fiction fanzines
Forty years of experience being engaged with fanzines from Canada, the United States and all over the world
The definition of what a fanzine is
How the common community ends up talking about almost anything else once they've established their commonalities in related to things they are fans of
How the production of fanzines have changed over the years, from mimeographs, to photocopies, to digital
Starting off his experience in engaging with fanzines by writing a letter of comment
The letter column being the heart of a fanzine
Social media having replaced the fanzine in a lot of ways, but how that has reduced the more nuanced, well-thought out responses and behavior
The "reaction" of social media verses the "responses" in fanzines
An example of a recent fanzine that Lloyd recently received
The first issue of Amazing Stories coming out in 1927
A fan, Steve Davidson, who, about 2008, wondered what happened to the copyright on the name Amazing Stories, found it was available and secured them
How Spielberg needing to purchase the rights to the name for a TV show helped pay for the production of the first few issues of the new version of the magazine
How Lloyd got involved with Amazing Stories in 2018 and then became the editor in chief of the magazine
The magazine being (at the time) an online magazine, with no current print issues available
The Patreon and merchandise that's available to help support the magazine's operation
Running two Kickstarters - one of which funded, and the other, which didn't fund
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the value of getting involved with such a prestigious magazine brand as Amazing Stories, as well as the strong sense of connection and engagement with readers that can happen within the fanzine community.

Links of Interest:

Amazing Stories Website
- Store (Includes Amazing Selects imprint of books)
- Submissions
efanzines.com
EP 366 - Bolts of Fiction
EP 365 - An Interview That's A Hug With Gail Carriger
DropCap Marketplace
- Use coupon STARK20 to get 20% off
Cruising Writers
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
- How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds
An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
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
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard

Lloyd Penney is a Canadian science fiction writer, science fiction convention organizer and a dedicated fan who took his long time science fiction interest and turned it into a career recently - as the editor-in-chief of Amazing Stories one of science fictions longest running magazines. He had previously written extensively for science fiction fanzines.

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

EP 366 - Bolts of Fiction with Daniel Willcocks and Samantha Frost

15 juni 2024 | 27 min

Mark interviews Daniel Willcocks and Samantha Frost about their flash fiction anthology BOLTS OF FICTION and the unique engagement they created and managed through the month of February 2023 to inspire the writing community throughout the entire month.

In February 2023, the Activated Authors community embarked on an ambitious project: to respond to daily prompts and produce a flash fiction story by the next day.

The result was an outpouring of over 500 unique and imaginative pieces, from which the very best were meticulously curated for their anthology.

From heart-wrenching tales of love and loss to whimsical adventures in fantastical worlds, each story promises to transport you, even if just for a moment, into a different reality. Whether you have a minute or an hour, you'll find stories that will intrigue, inspire, and leave you yearning for more.

Featuring stories from:

Quenntis Ashby, Ara Bell, Amy Bulauski, Tracey Byrnes, S.F. Claymore, Cassi Emerson, Geoff Emberlyn, B.A. Ferguson, Michelle L.M. Gale, Renée Gallant, Megan L. Garner, Robert Gelik, Debbie Gravett, Karla Hailer, R.P. Howley, Jacqueline James, Claire Ladds, Arin Laney, Mark Leslie, Daisy Lythe, S.W. Millar, Kiz Moncrieff, Andrew Murray, Laura Nettles, Kymba Nijuck, Carolyn O'Brien, Leila Murton Poole, Karin Redclift, C.M. Simpson, K.T. Tate, and Karen Wicks.

In this interview, Mark, Dan, and Sam talk about:

June 15th being National Flash Fiction Day
What flash fiction is
The inspiration for this project
The tight deadlines involved
Creating daily prompts to inspire writers
The blind submission/reading process
And more . . .

Links of Interest:

Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author, award-winning podcaster, author coach, and speaker. Dan writes non-fiction for authors and creatives, as well as dark fiction for the twisted reader, spanning the genres of horror, post-apocalyptic, and sci-fi.

Sam Frost a.k.a. "Mastress of None," is a video-editor, poet, writer, painter, actor and creator. Based in the south of England (but not born there, that's an important distinction), Sam is passionate about helping creatives while battling the will of a medium sized human and the "affectionate" sneezes of a smaller sized pug.

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

EP 365 - An Interview That's A Hug with Gail Carriger

14 juni 2024 | 80 min

Mark interviews Gail Carriger about her writing life, her journey through publishing, analytics, the careful curation of her author brand, being a hybrid author and so much more.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In the interview Mark and Gail talk about:- How honored Mark is to learn that Gail listens to the Stark Reflections Podcast

Gail's branding phrase of "Gail Carriger writes books that are hugs" and the various experiments she's done with that over the years
Always being a person who wrote, or had a passion for writing
Reading The Lord of the Rings as a child and deciding to craft her OWN ending for the story
Growing up in a "commune" environment with a bunch of poets
Gail's career as an academic when her first traditionally published book (Soulless) came out and took off
The challenge/dare to herself of wanting to write a genre-blending/cross-genre tale of something that she would enjoy as a reader
Negotiations taking a long time because Gail dug in her heels on specific contract clauses
Her agent investigating a back-door deal with another publisher who offered her 3X the deal the first was looking at and was willing to adjust the right of first refusal clause
The vision that the publishers had that Soulless was the beginning of a series (despite Gail believing, when she first wrote it, that it was a stand-alone)
Having a two-book contract and then writing a cliffhanger at the end of the 2nd book in order to grease the wheels of a contract for other books
Gail's love-affair with spreadsheets and the fact she reads all 56 pages of her royalty reports
One of the main reasons she became an indie author was her ability to have direct access to data about her sales and her readers
Gail's cautionary note to authors that with a "right of first refusal" a publisher is allowed to take their time with that offer, which can significantly delay an author's forward-movement plans
The possible "rights grab" that a publisher might do even if it's not something within their regular publishing plans
How growing up Gen-X and being a non-native to computers and the internet has resulted in an abundance of caution about digital, computers, the world wide web, how she is presented on the internet, etc.
Gail's recommendation to test the waters in self-publishing with short stories first
Nerding out with Mark about the "old days" of self-publishing and podcasting
Being a social scientist by training and loving analytics and spreadsheets
Pinging her rabid fan base and testing things all the time
Gail's A/B testing on whether it's better to put a newsletter signup link at the front of a book or the end of the book, or both
Ensuring that her author brand is not diluted with author business stuff that she's known for from other authors and industry insiders
Talking to her readers constantly to continue to stay in the loop on insights
The importance, when communicating to your readers to use the same language that they're used to
Learning that her readers tend to not have a distinction between libraries and bookstores - that many of them see them under the same umbrella of a place they go to see what books are on display
Confirming the reports that "word of mouth" is, by a landslide, the way that most readers find out about new books and new authors to read
The value of a recommendation from another author in a newsletter or on social media
The challenges of book blurbs
A podcast that Gail recommends: Reading Glasses - and that authors should subscribe and listen to it in order to understand the language that readers use
The deliberate curation and creation of the Gail Carriger persona, including her love of wearing retro outfits
The side benefit of being able to be a fan at conventions, etc when "out of uniform" and how she's rarely recognized when not sporting that specific "look"
A little bit about Gail's book THE HEROINE'S JOURNEY
The next book for writers that Gail is working on called GOING HYBRID, structured to help established and existing traditionally published authors to learn the indie publishing landscape
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on several different topics that came up in the conversation, including contract clauses, being incognito, and Gails's suggesting for testing the self-publishing waters.

Links of Interest:

Gail Carriger writes books that are hugs, mostly comedies of manners mixed with steampunk, urban fantasy, and sci-fi (plus cozy queer joy as G. L. Carriger). These include the Parasol Protectorate, Custard Protocol, Tinkered Stars, and San Andreas Shifter series for adults, and the Finishing School and Tinkered Starsong series for young adults. Also nonfiction: The Heroine’s Journey. She is published in many languages, has over a million books in print, over a dozen New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, and starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus, and Romantic Times.

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

EP 364 - 40 Years of Rubes® Cartoons with Leigh Rubin

6 juni 2024 | 59 min

EP 363 - Greatness Together with Sarah McVanel

30 maj 2024 | 67 min

Mark interviews Sarah McVanel, a recognition expert, professional speaker, coach, author, recovering perfectionist, and movement maker about her books, speaking, and her the new podcast she co-hosts with her daughter.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In the interview Mark and Sarah talk about:

What Sarah has been up to since Mark last had her on the podcast
How Sarah is an expert-based author rather than a "traditional" author
The difference between writing for a keynote as a speaker and writing a book
The various books that Sarah has previously written and how she went about putting them together, including FLIPSIDE OF FAILING
The research and legwork done in order to send hand-signed copies and hand-written notes to medical/health-care leaders for Sarah's book ROCKSTAR: Magnify Your Greatness in Times of Change for Healthcare Leaders
Providing space in the back of a specially printed edition of her book ROCKSTAR: Magnify Your Greatness in Times of Change for Women Leaders for conference organizers to put their own messaging in
The needless bloating in some non-fiction books; something which Sarah strives to not do
Satisfaction that's felt when you finish reading a book
How companies, publishers, and authors often bundle products together and how it might affect the reader
How we earn the right to be read as authors
Participating in physical bundles with other speakers as part of a conference
The way the most special readers deserve something special
The new podcast (The Greatness Together Podcast) that Sarah has started with her daughter and which runs every other week
Various topics related to the human dimension that mother and daughter Sarah and Simonne talk through
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on Sarah's perspective on the author needing to ensure that they deliver on their promise and that after earning the reader's attention, they need to keep it by delivering on that promise in the content. He also reflects on the incredible value Sarah brings as a greatness recognition expert.

Links of Interest:

Sarah McVanel is a recognition expert, professional speaker, coach, author, recovering perfectionist, and movement maker. She created F.R.O.G. Forever Recognize Others’ GreatnessTM to invigorate companies so they can see their people as exceptional and, together, create a scrumptious, thriving culture where everyone belongs.

Sarah has 25+ years of experience training, coaching, and leading teams. From her senior leadership role, she founded her boutique firm Greatness Magnified. Proclaimed as the “Frog Lady,” she can be found freaking out perfect strangers (in a good way) by handing out squishy frogs and asking them, “Have you been frogged lately?” and then acknowledging their greatness.

She’s a Certified Senior Organizational Development Professional (CSODP), Professional Certified Coach (PCC), and Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL). She is one of 700 Certified Speaking Professionals (CSP) worldwide. She has a BA in Psychology, MSc in Family Relations, and Diplomas in Human Resources and Healthcare Administration.

You can catch her kayaking in the summer and snowshoeing in the winter with her husband, or cooking a feast (while listening to an audiobook on double speed). She’s a die-hard carb-ivour, amateur hip hopper, and TikTok embarrasser to her two kids.

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

EP 362 - The Book To Read Before Giving Up On Your Writing Dreams with Todd Fahnestock

29 maj 2024 | 50 min

EP 361 - The Author Wheel with Greta Boris and Megan Haskell

23 maj 2024 | 61 min

Mark interviews Greta Boris and Megan Haskell of The Author Wheel.

Prior to the interview Mark shares a brief personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and a word about this episode’s sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by ScribeCount (affiliate link). Spend less time logging in to multiple platforms and crunching numbers, and more time writing and marketing your books thanks to ScribeCount’s handy all-in-one interface.

In the interview Mark, Greta, and Megan talk about:

How Megan started writing as a creative outlet when she was working for a major accounting firm
The writing done on the train on the way in to work in Los Angeles and the blogs she had written
Continuing writing after having her daughter in 2012 and then publishing her first book before her second child was born
Greta's magazine background (her father was an editor and publisher of some major magazines back in the day)
The writing she did for a number of magazines over the years and the various genres and topics she took on
Being inspired by interviewing a bunch of fiction authors, including Joanna Penn
How Greta got her first publisher doing a Twitter pitch
Twitter pitches being really good for writing log lines
Megan and Greta's "meet cute" at the Southern California Writer's Conference in 2014
Pitching a course to that conference at a later date so they could attend it again without having to pay which got turned into a book (Publish: Take Charge of Your Author Career)
How they started The Author Wheel courses, podcast, and other resources
The metaphors for The Author Wheel
The way they try to break topics down into the smallest bits possible to simplify people
Why it's helpful to recognize that authors are all at different places and there are so many different paths and choices an author can make
Their course Trope Stacking and Other Genre Magic which is a companion to a quick-guide Understanding Your Genre
Greta's pioneering with writing a book she felt was a "Cozy Horror" novel
Strategies for mixing and layering in genres that are complimentary to one another while creating something unique
How writing to an outline made Megan feel like her creativity was being stifled
The way that Megan and Greta collaborate in their writing, the podcast, the social media, and the courses
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the idea of the "Twitter pitch" and the benefit of having to craft writing that has tight restrictions as well as the importance of understanding that there's no one-size-fits-all solution, and that there's no single right way for authors to do things.

Links of Interest:

Greta Boris is a USA Today Bestselling mystery and thriller author. Megan Haskell is an award-winning fantasy adventure author. Together, they founded The Author Wheel, publishers of books, courses, and a podcast to help writers overcome roadblocks and keep their stories rolling.

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

EP 360 - Foreign Rights Licensing with Roseanne Cheng of DropCap

17 maj 2024 | 49 min

Mark interviews Roseanne Cheng, an award-winning author, ghostwriter, and book marketer who is passionate about educating authors and publishers about the power and opportunity of having their books elevated to the international market.

They talk about her writing life, her author mentoring life, and about how DropCap Marketplace is a great bridge between indie authors and the licensing foreign language rights through traditional agencies and book scouts.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In their interview Mark and Roseanne talk about:

Roseanne's background and passion for helping writers
The first book Roseanne published (The Take Back of Lincoln Junior High) back in 2013 when she was teaching full-time and how it will always have a special place in her heart
Working with Wise Ink Creative Publishing and the great respect that Roseanne has for the women who run that business
The various lessons learned with writing and publishing a book and how you can turn the things that you learned (via various mistakes you've made) into positives by helping others on their own journeys
Taking on the role of Marketing Director at Wise Ink by leveraging her own experiences to help shepherd other writers through the process of releasing a new book
Working with authors to create their own custom marketing plans based on their goals
Meeting and connecting with a dear friend, Josie, and teaching one another things they were each good at
Creating an online school with Josie called Evergreen Authors in about 2019
How the pandemic ended up helping these courses and various other online teaching and Roseanne's ghostwriting business to really take off
The genesis of her first book, The Take Back of Lincoln Junior High
Reading the novel after taking a long break (focusing on the endless work and much sleeplessness of raising small children) and recognizing that it was really good
How Roseanne's role as a teacher helped prepare her for the work she does in helping authors
The co-authored book BUZZ: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BOOK MARKETING
Roseanne's books THE EVERYGREEN AUTHOR: MASTER THE ART OF BOOK MARKETING and PORTABLE MAGIC
The importance of asking your readers: "Where do you buy books?"
The WIDE FOR THE WIN message of being in as many places as possibly and opening as many doors as possible and how it really resonated with Roseanne
Getting involved in the "Rights" side of publishing and the entire distribution network that she had not yet been tapped into
A story about the first time Roseanne received an email from a foreign publisher who reached out because they were interested in the foreign language rights to her work
The creation of DropCap Marketplace as a match-making service between indie authors/small publishers and agents and book scouts
The various other marketing resources available for authors on the DropCap site
How DropCap marries technology with relationship resources within the industry
The special coupon code for Stark Reflections listeners. STARK20 - to get 20% off the listing at DropCap marketplace
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflections on Roseanne's passion for helping writers and the importance for indie authors of recognizing where they can DIY and where they might be better off leveraging experts in a particular area of publishing.

Links of Interest:

Roseanne Cheng is an award-winning author, ghostwriter, book marketer, and Director of Business Development DropCap Rights Agency. A lifelong reader and writer, she began her work in book publishing as a Marketing Director for an indie publishing house based in Minneapolis and eventually co-founded Evergreen Authors, an online school teaching authors the business of writing and marketing their creative work. In her current role with DropCap, she has the unique pleasure of matching global rights buyers with titles that have the potential to positively impact their communities. She is passionate about educating authors and publishers about the power and opportunity of having their books elevated to the international market.

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

EP 359 - Capturing the Flow with Aaron Palmer

9 maj 2024 | 72 min

Mark interviews author, songwriter, musician, and podcaster Aaron Palmer.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In their interview Mark and Aaron talk about:

Aaron being tested at an early age and it being determined that he had perfect pitch
Picking up a guitar for the first time around 6th grade
The first big concert he saw when he was in 5th grade was Van Halen - and he was convinced he wanted to do that
A time in life when ambitions outweighed abilities
How playing the guitar came pretty naturally to Aaron
Being a pretty avid reader when he was growing up, consuming almost anything he could get his hands on
The writing of Michael Crichton and the very cinematic way he had of writing prose
Being in college and having a professor suggest he change his major to English
Beginning to write short fiction shortly after that
Aaron's podcast Native Tongues and the theme for the show
Dealing with ADHD and also regularly multi-tasking
How Aaron works through writing down log lines and concepts that are streaming through his mind to return to later to flesh out
Finding out that Dave Grohl does something similar
The initial concept of the podcast first coming out about five years ago, then beginning to develop the ideas for it in about August of 203 for a January 2024 launch
Starting off with a concept or idea and then later fleshing out the characters and character development
The idea of spending more time developing characters once you fully understand the world that they're in
Reaching to the darker, more speculative or fantastical elements in storytelling out of a relatively mundane, safe, and normal existence
Not taking himself very seriously as a writer or creative person
Gravitating toward 12-year-old Bacoo rum
Loving live music in multiple venues and forms
How Aaron's podcast is helping to tie multiple creative aspects together
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on capturing the endless flow of ideas that can come to a creative person and the value of putting a creative work out into the world instead of just holding onto it.

Links of Interest:

Aaron Palmer has been described as this generation's Ernest Hemingway. Not because he can write majestic prose, but because he equally loves to drink lots of rum. Aaron enjoys writing screenplays in the horror and thriller genres in which he has an encyclopedic knowledge of. He hosts the podcast Native Tongues, where he talks to writers and musicians about where they came from and how that influenced their voice. He also plays guitar, is into fitness, travel and loves to read. Oh, and he's got a wife and kids he likes.

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

EP 358 - The Way of the Parable Writer with Donn King

2 maj 2024 | 55 min

EP 357 - 50 Years of Short Stories with Kevin J. Anderson

26 april 2024 | 50 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Kevin J. Anderson about his writing and the new approach he is taking to incorporate Kickstarter into the launch strategies for some of his indie-published titles.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In their interview Mark and Kevin talk about:

How Kickstarter has completely upended (in a good way), Kevin's book release strategies
Kevin's first novel coming out in 1988 and all the various publishers he has worked with over the years
The "Perfect Storm" that was brewing in the book industry when indie publishing became a realistic and viable option
Starting to publish his own books (mostly backlist titles he got the rights back to) in 2009 after founding WordFire Press with his wife Rebecca Moesta
Kevin's belief that this is the best time to be a writer
How Kevin does a little bit of everything. He has a New York literary agent, he works with several major publishers, he indie publishes, and he continues to explore new opportunities that digital publishing offer
The way that Kickstarter didn't just open a new door, it completely blew it down, along with a few walls too
Dean Wesley Smith's perspective that helped to change Kevin's mind about what Kickstarter was all about
Kevin's "Adams Family meets The Naked Gun" series of Dan Shamble Zombie PI novels, and the history of how it started off as a series with a major publisher, flopped, then Kevin got the rights back and did something truly stunning with it once he applied Kickstarter
Kevin's first Dan Shamble Kickstarter which brought in 23 times the intial amount he was asking for, and that it paid him more than 6 times the advance he'd rec'd from a major publisher for the last Dan Shamble book he'd done with them
The Dragon Business (The Princess Bride meets Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) Kickstarter that brought in 20 times what he'd been asking for
The Persephone Kickstarter that Kevin did with Writer/Director Jeffrey Morris
Kevin's latest Kickstarter which is a 7 Volume Set of over 130 of his published short stories published over 50 years
Writing his first short story when he was 8 years old
Publishing his very first short story when he was 14
The personal introductions that he wrote for every one of the stories in this 7 book collection
The various levels and Kickstarter rewards he is planning for this Kickstarter
The remarkable fact that, despite having published 180 novels with 58 of them being international bestsellers, no publisher would ever even consider publishing a 7 volume hardcover set of Kevin's complete short stories. That he can do this via Kickstarter is a significant paradigm shift
How Kickstarter can replace the old "advance" model from traditional publishing
The special thing Kevin is doing for all the backers of this latest Kickstarter
The Kickstarter will be going live on April 30th for 3 weeks and 2 days
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on Kevin's use of short, effective and very clear log lines to describe two of his series.

Links of Interest:

Kevin J. Anderson has published more than 180 books, 58 of which have been national or international bestsellers. He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes, as well as the unique Clockwork Angels steampunk trilogy with legendary Rush drummer Neil Peart. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series, the Wake the Dragon and Terra Incognita fantasy trilogies, and humorous Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series and The Dragon Business series.

He has edited numerous anthologies, written comics and games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs. Anderson is the director of the graduate program in Publishing at Western Colorado University, and he and his wife Rebecca Moesta are the publishers or WordFire Press.

He worked on the recent films Dune Part One and Part Two from Legendary Entertainment, as well as the forthcoming Dune TV series from MAX, and other films in development, including Persephone and Karousel.

He has 24 million copies in print in 34 languages. His most recent novels are Bats in the Belfry, Skeleton in the Closet, Persephone, and Princess of Dune (with Brian Herbert).

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

EP 356 - The Midlist Indie Author Mindset with T. Thorn Coyle

18 april 2024 | 50 min

Mark interviews T Thorn Coyle about writing, community, and their new book The Midlist Indie Author Mindset.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Cruising Writers - 7 Day Western Caribbean Cruise - Feb 22 to Mar 1, 2025

Featured Guest Speakers: Erin Wright and Mark Leslie Lefebvre

More details at: Cruising Writers

In the interview, Mark and Thorn talk about:

Getting into writing when they were 5 years old - and the variety of types of writing they did
Thorn jokingly torturing fiction and deciding to write non-fiction until a few characters showed up and knocked on their door
Writing mostly fantasy-tinged fiction
How most of Thorn's non-fiction guides have been about spiritual practice, but that this latest one is their first non-fiction business of writing book
Thorn's author tagline: "Magic is real. And justice is worth fighting for."
The way that Portland is such a fascinating city and how Thorn can find magic anywhere
An appreciation of Charles de Lint
Thorn's forthcoming book: The Midlist Author Mindset
The massive mindset shift that comes from being curious about business the way one is curious about writing
Value that came with learning what worked for Thorn, as opposed to things that work for other writers
The numerous streams of income that Thorn has been developing over the years
Looking at long-term sustainability by thinking of it like cultivating a garden instead of seeking out short-term dramatic spikes
Some of the roadblocks that Thorn encountered on the way to establishing the Midlist Author Mindset
Understanding that for Thorn marketing was about connection with readers
How asking "Does social media sell books?" is the wrong question to ask
The Kickstarter for the book and related materials and exclusive content that runs April 16, 2024 to May 7, 2024
A little bit about Thorn's fiction series books
Thoughts and current approach to audiobooks
Thorn's final words of advice that they would want to leave with writers
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on the concepts of sustainable, long-term, and burn-out as well as the important question of what is practical for you and your life and goals.

Links of Interest:

T. Thorn Coyle worked in many strange and diverse occupations before settling in to write full time. Buy them a cup of tea and perhaps they’ll tell you about it.

Author of The Witches of Portland, the Seashell Cove Paranormal Cozy Mysteries, the Pride Street Paranormal Cozy Mysteries, The Steel Clan Saga, and The Panther Chronicles, Thorn’s multiple non-fiction books include Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists & Other Creatives, Crafting a Daily Practice, Kissing the Limitless, and Evolutionary Witchcraft. Thorn's work also appears in many anthologies, magazines, and collections.

An interloper to the Pacific Northwest U.S., they pay proper tribute to all the neighborhood cats, and talk to crows, squirrels, and trees.

You can find them at thorncoyle.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

EP 355 - Scribbling Pen Publishing with Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn

11 april 2024 | 62 min

Mark interviews Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn about their work writing and publishing together under the Scribbling Pen Publishing brand.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

Cruising Writers - 7 Day Western Caribbean Cruise - Feb 22 to Mar 1, 2025

Featured Guest Speakers: Erin Wright and Mark Leslie Lefebvre

More details at: Cruising Writers

In the interview, Mark, Melanie, and Heather talk about:

How Heather got started in writing before Melanie, who started a year later
Writing independently for a while before they got into mutual support and collaboration
The two books they've published by doing round-robin style writing a couple of paragraphs at a time
The plotting VS pantsing struggle that they would sometimes find themselves in
The thrill of writing a book without knowing who the bad guy was the entire time until the idea of who it was struck both of them at the same time
The process they use when writing, editing, and re-writing
How the two of them think of the reader experience when the writer (as related to the Disney Customer Experience training)
Leveraging the cats that they made to draw people in which is a great ice-breaker getting them to the books
Thinking about the "writing companions" for the books
Leveraging crafted book bags in the same way to generate interest - ie "Where did you get that cool book bag?"
Determing what scented candle or wax melt varieties would go well with the different books
Something special they did to celebrate the "12 Days of Christmas" that they could provide to all of their fans - cover reveals, sample chapters, recipes, music, other books, etc
The benefit of personal touches in the newsletter including the fun that started with Griffin the furry manager
How their cats and dogs are the ones explaining what's going on in their writer newsletters and their website store
How their main goal isn't to sell books but to ensure that the people who visit their table are having a good time
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on the way the sisters leverage conversational items to draw people to their in person table, their focus on creating a genuinely memorable and entertaining experience (rather than focusing on selling books), and providing intriguing entertainment in their newsletter leveraging their pets' perspectives.

Links of Interest:

Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn in their own words:

We grew up in the lovely state of Michigan. We lived in a small town in the country, one of those towns where everyone knows everyone. When we graduated from high school, we went to the same college along with our triplet sister. Our younger sister joined us a couple years later. We’re all really close and that has influenced how we write characters who are siblings.

Somehow, we both ended up in Wisconsin a few miles from each other (and even our triplet sister). We now live together and it’s a blast! Wisconsin isn’t too different from where we grew up, so it hasn’t been a big change to live here instead of in Michigan. The only down side to being here is the large lake between us and our family (and Melanie’s in-laws). Going around the lake makes traveling longer, but at least we’re not states away from family. Family is really important to us.

Scribbling Pen Publishing was originally Melanie’s idea. Like Melanie’s other idea about writing a co-written book, it took Heather some time to warm up to the idea. Heather is more of a “think it over” personality while Melanie is a “sounds good, let’s do it” personality. Together, we balance each other out.

Working together has been amazing. We each have strengths where the other has a weakness. Together we accomplish more than we did apart. Our brands are so similar, it only made sense to combine the work to share our love of books with 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

EP 354 - Lydia and David Sherrer on Power Couple Publishing

5 april 2024 | 58 min

Mark interviews Lydia and David Sherrer about their company Chenoweth Press and the books and games they produce and publish collaboratively.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by the awesome supporters of this podcast who provide their supprt via Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee.

With special thanks to Nikki Guerlain for the recent huge BUY ME A COFFEE donation.

In the interview, Mark talks to Lydia and David about:

How Lydia's role as a writing is part of a biological imperitive
Growing up reading everything in sight and also being into Lord of the Rings by the time she was five years old
Always telling herself stories and writing some of them down over the years
Finding out that what she studied in college wasn't a good career fit and then following her father's example of being an entrepreneur
Publishing her first two books around 2012/2013
Lydia and David setting a ten-year plan that by then David would be able to quit his full-time job
David enjoying playing Magic The Gathering card game when he was young
Getting invited to a gaming store that was in his town and becoming enamored with it
Opening up his own gaming store when he graduated from highschool
The technical engineering background that David had and how he applied those skills to ads and marketing
Getting frustrated with his job at about the time that Lydia was starting to earn good money from her writing
Deciding that he wanted to turn his gaming hobby into a career by starting with a spreadsheet
How playing cards are one of the easiest and most flexible mediums to make a game in
The game Cat Magic taking roughly twenty minutes of calculations and figuring to get the first draft of the game started
The catch-phrase for Love, Lies, and Magic
Book 8 in that series releasing March 1, 2024
How Cat Magic the novel was the best of Lydia's books that had an existing audience for creating the first game of David's game design career
David's role in being an alpha reader and providing Lydia with early feedback on her writing
The Kickstarter campaign they ran to get the Cat Magic game off the ground
The important Give 90% of the time, ask 10% of the time rule with communities you are engaged in
The years of behind the scenes hard work and constantly giving and sharing with the community that built up the success seen in recent Kickstarters
80% of their sales coming from direct sales versus sales from retailers
Storing 15,000 copies of Lydia's books in their basement
Hiring a college student to help with some of the menial tasks like packaging up books for direct sale orders
The various logistics of their shipping operation
Hiring a nanny to keep their kids close and at home, but allowing them the freedom to get their work done during the day
Their five-year-old discovering capitalism, entrepreneurship, and wanting to become a part of their business
Advice that David and Lydia would offer to other couples interested in running a business like this
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on the concept of building the kind of life that you want as well as the community-giving focus as an authentic way to connect and offer something of value.

Links of Interest:

Lydia Sherrer is an award-winning and USA Today-bestselling author of snark-filled adventures creating stories you love to love, and hate to leave. She is the author of the bestselling urban fantasy Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus universe of books featuring several series, which have sold over half a million copies world-wide. Most recently she has released the TransDimensional Hunter series with NYT bestselling author John Ringo. Lydia subsists on liberal amounts of dark chocolate and tea, and hates sleep because it keeps her from writing (though she needs it because she has kids to wrangle). Due to the tireless efforts of her game-designer husband and her fuzzy overlords—i.e. cats—she remains sane and even occasionally remembers to leave the house.

David Sherrer is a born storyteller and has been an obsessive gamer ever since he was seduced by Magic the Gathering at the tender age of fourteen. He has alternately owned a gaming store, street performed for a living, and survived eleven years in the soul crushing world of telecommunications. He lucked out by marrying a force of nature who was determined to making living off writing, and has since escaped his 9-5 to become the Marketing Director and Lead Game Designer of Chenoweth Press.

His most fond achievements include being Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006—there’s a story there, just ask him—and that time he made his entire DnD party cry at the end of a campaign. In addition to his work, he wrangles his growing family and a herd of feline supervisors, while secretly plotting how to add to the mountain of board games that he swears to his wife he actually plays.

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

EP 353 - Tao Wong on the Toronto Indie Author Conference

29 mars 2024 | 39 min

Mark interviews Tao Wong about his writing, LitRPG, entrepreneurship, and the Toronto Indie Author Conference that is coming in May 2024.

Prior to the interview, Mark forgoes the usual brief personal update, or comments, and skips right to this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by the Toronto Indie Author Conference.

The Toronto Indie Author Conference is a two-day event tailored exclusively for Canadian independent authors. Do you dream of transforming your passion for writing into a thriving author business? Don’t miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of Canadian indie publishing’s first author business conference.

www.torontoindieauthorcon.com

In their interview, Mark and Tao talk about:

How Tao has always been writing and telling stories, and how luck played a bit part in it
Starting off writing LitRPG when he was living in the Yukon when it was night/dark all the time
Writing a few novels and stories for fun, but then discovering Kristine Kathryn Rusch's blog about the business of publishing and how authors were beginning to leverage digital publishing to do it themselves
Learning about indie publishing industry, but not being in a place where he thought he would pursue traditional publishing
Beginning to put his LitRPG titles up on Amazon in 2017 at a time when it was just starting to become hot (He caught the 2nd wave of Western LitRPG authors)
Not having to do any marketing in those early days because he was still working a full-time job running a business, but still bringing in a hearty income from his self-published books
Tao's experience doing marketing in selling board games online
Flipping between the two hats he wears. 1) The writer hat of getting the book done and 2) the marketer hat of having to sell the things that are written
Realizing he was a "scenic route" author, according to Becca Syme's author structure talks and courses
Getting to a point where he started to hire staff to help him with some of the tasks
Being burnt out from the constant churn in hiring and training staff and them leaving within about two years
Joking that being an indy author is the "easy mode" of being an entrepreneur because the cost and minimum setup is a lot less than what he had to do for his business before
Laughing at the cost of a $200 cover design bill because not that long ago, he had a single bill from Canada Post that was over $100,000
Working with about 5 active co-authors but realizing that he didn't want to be a publisher
Starting the Toronto Indie Author Conference initially out of spite and to bring something useful to Canadian authors who might not be able to afford to travel so far to several US based conferences
The importance of not having only 6-figure authors doing the presentations at the Toronto Indie Author Conference
Some of the speakers who will be at the Toronto Indie Author Confernce and the various topics they'll be covering
The significant amount of time and energy Tao had to invest into this conference
The Kobo sponsorship of an accessibility fund for the conference where they'll be giving out 10 to 15 pre-paid seats
A discount code STARK10 that members can use to get $10 off their ticket registration for the conference
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of those people who see gaps and step up to make a difference. It's a common theme from the past several interview episodes. He also reflects on just how easy it can be for authors as entrepreneurs when you factor in just how little an author has to invest when it comes to money, to get started, particularly in a world that has so many great free resources.

Links of Interest:

Tao Wong is a full-time author in the scifi and fantasy genres, writing predominantly in the LitRPG and xianxia sub-genres. A multiple times international Amazon bestseller, he is best known for the System Apocalypse and A Thousand Li universes, with over 40 full-length novels and numerous shorter works published. Tao was a finalist for the Kindle Storyteller UK Award in 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

EP 352 - Being The Hero of Your Own Story With No Margins Agency

22 mars 2024 | 55 min

Mark interviews Katie Nelson, Mari Dietz, and Brandon Winn about No Margins Agency, which offers stock photography of underrepresented and marginalized people.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update, and then plays a few words about this episode's sponsor.

No Margins Agency offers stock photography of underrepresented and marginalized people, because everyone deserves to be the hero of their own story.

In the interview, Mark, Katie, Mari, and Brandon talk about:

Katie's background writing when young, then getting back into writing science fiction with queer characters later in life shortly after reading a traditionally published book that disappointed her
Meeting Mari at a conference in Fort Collins, Colorado and being introduced to Superstars Writing Seminars a little later
How Mari has wanted to write her whole life, and the way her mom used to type out her poems when she was very young and post them on cupboards and elsewhere in the house
Stopping writing for a while, but then picking it up again in 2011, with a focus on writing fiction that featured plus-size people
Brandon feeling isolated during the pandemic along with feeling like his voice and wanting to see characters that were more representative of his own experiences
Being aghast at what was available in typical stock image sites when searching for "plus size" models for example
The often overlooked value of having to meet people where they're at, rather than assuming everyone is in the same place. A rising tide can only float all boats if people are in boats to begin with
How not everyone has a visible marginalization or disability
Getting in contact with them via [email protected]
Allowing models to bring and wear things that they are comfortable with and to be free with who they are
The unofficial mantra of the company being "take up as much space as you want"
How the galleries on their website is broken down
One of the biggest challenges is convincing people that they don't have to have the confidence or "look" of a "model" in order to model for No Margins Agency
Scheduling a photoshoot when they're together in Colorado Springs in Feb 2024 at Superstars Writing Seminars
How they are starting to do reviews of books by more diverse and marginalized authors
The way they are managing the overhead costs by doing things like scheduling only a single photo shoot per month
The value and importance of finding the right community that can be there for you and support you
And more . . .

After the interview Mark shares a reflection about how this type of supportive community inspires him. He also makes an offer to listeners of the podcast (thanks to the help of those who support this podcast at patreon.com/starkreflections) with some of the services that No Margins Agency provides.

Links of Interest:

No Margins Agency is a company dedicated to helping marginalized people reach their audience, tell their stories, and drive sales.

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

EP 351 - Feverish Sore Throat Reflections

15 mars 2024 | 17 min

EP 350 - Infinite Resources with Jeff Krehmer

8 mars 2024 | 41 min

Mark interviews engineer and author Jeff Krehmer about his new book Infinite Resources: How to Sustainably Develop the Arctic, by Supplying Green Hydrogen, Fresh Water, and Healthy Food to the World.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women's equality. Collectively we can all #InspireInclusion.

Learn more about International Women's Day and find resources at: InternationalWomensDay.com

In the interview, Mark and Jeff talk about:

Jeff's background in various disciplines, including mechanical engineering, project management, software, computer sales
Sitting on the vision for this current book project for more than ten years, and how having a heart attack two years ago prompted the idea that he should get that work out into the world
The basic premise of the book in that the arctic can create a sustainable solution if we leverage it in the right way
"If global warming is the problem, then shouldn't we be maximizing global cooling?"
The boiling temperature of different liquids, such as propane
Some of the coldest temperatures ever recorded on earth
How the book has numerous possible target audience readers, depending on which of the world's problems they are looking to solve (or the economics they want to reap benefits from)
What people can do to help
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the fact that, in the same way that humans have had an impact on the world, and Jeff is reminding us of the positive impact we can have if we learn and we act, we have an impact on one another. This is a reminder to authors of the powerful impact that they can have with the words they write and share.

Links of Interest:

Jeff Krehmer is a professional mechanical engineer and the author of “Infinite Resources.” He is president and chief engineer at Big Time Engineering Corp.

During his engineering career, Jeff has worked as a salesperson, technical support technician, estimator, project manager, product designer and engineering manager. He has more than a decade of experience designing equipment for the oil and gas sector and is a Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP).

Jeff has volunteered with and received awards for his volunteer work with the Canadian Ski Patrol System, Big Brothers, Big Sisters and APEGA, the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.

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

EP 349 - Edward Willett of Shadow Paw Press

1 mars 2024 | 56 min

Mark interviews author, podcaster, and publisher Edward Willett about his writing, his podcast, Kickstarter campaigns, and some bold new ventures he is pursuing with his publishing company Shadow Paw Press.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by ScribeCount (affiliate link). Spend less time logging in to multiple platforms and crunching numbers, and more time writing and marketing your books thanks to ScribeCount's handy all-in-one interface.

In the interview, Mark and Edward talk about:

The very first short story Edward wrote at the age of 11, "Caster Glaz, Hyper Ship Test Pilot"
Working as a newspaper reporter for about eight years while he continued to write - Selling his first short story
Making reference to Canadian historical figures like John Diefenbaker and The Arrogant Worms, which non-Canadians might not understand. (Thank goodness for Google)
Publishing a science fiction short story "Strange Harvest" in an agricultural magazine based on his reporting of oddly shaped plants. And how that story was adapted into a nationally broadcast CBC Radio drama and might just beward's most popular short story
Becoming a full-time freelance writer more than thirty years ago
The twelve novels that Edward has released with Daw Books
The radio broadcast work that he did for seventeen years as a freelancer
Why Edward started the Worldshapers Podcast
The anthologies Edward released that tie in with the novel as well as the Kickstarters Edward has run for them
The evolution and growth of Edward's Shadow Paw Press
How in 2024 Edward is taking on a huge number of new and innovative products, including books by notable Canadian authors like Dave Duncan and Robert J. Sawyer
Working with an actual sales force and distribution network like LitDistCo
The ins and outs of grant writing and investments involved in trying to get real distribution
Helping other authors with their self-publishing needs
Advice Edward has for authors thinking about being a publisher as well as for writers in general
And more....

Mark then reflects on the value of a publisher with actual distribution and the difference between that and what any indie author can do in digital publishing.

Links of Interest:

Edward Willett (Website)
Shadow Paw Press
The Worldshapers Podcast
Endless Sky Books
Crowdfundr For Shadow Paw Press
ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link)
EP 348 - Amanda Byrd on Direct Sales and AuthorsGoDirect
Coast to Coast AM with George Noory (Mark featured guest on March 1, 2024/March 2, 2024)
- Mark's Past Appearances on Coast to Coast AM
Mark's YouTube Channel
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
- How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds
An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
- Smashwords Link (eBook 57% Off until end of Feb 2024)
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
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard

Edward Willett is an award-winning author of more than sixty books science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction for both children and adults. He's also host of the Aurora Award-winning podcast The Worldshapers: "Conversations with science fiction and fantasy authors about the creative process." (http://www.theworldshapers.com). He successfully Kickstarted and edited a new anthology, Shapers of Worlds, featuring authors who were guests during the first year of the podcast.

Among his novels are twelve published by DAW Books, one of the premier publishers of science fiction and fantasy publishers: Lost in Translation, Marseguro (which won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author), and its sequel Terra Insegura (a finalist for the 2010 Aurora Award); Magebane (written as Lee Arthur Chane); the Masks of Aygrima fantasy trilogy for DAW Books, written as E.C. Blake; the stand-alone science fiction novel The Cityborn. His Worldshapers series began with Worldshaper ("a rollicking contemporary fantasy," Publishers' Weekly said in a starred review), and continued with Master of the World and The Moonlit World. His latest is The Tangled Stars, a humorous far-future space-opera adventure. Willett is also the author of The Shards of Excalibur modern-day YA fantasy series for Coteau Books, I Tumble Through the Diamond Dust, a collection of science fiction and fantasy poetry published by Your Nickel's Worth Publishing, and Paths to the Stars, a collection of his short fiction; Blue Fire a YA fantasy written as E.C. Blake, and Star Song, a YA science fiction novel that was a finalist for the Aurora Award for Best Canadian YA Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel, all published by Shadowpaw Press

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

EP 348 - Amanda Byrd on Direct Sales and AuthorsGoDirect

22 februari 2024 | 45 min

Mark interviews Amanda Byrd about her writing, direct sales, and the new platform she has launched called AuthorsGoDirect.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, welcomes new patrons Rob Johnson, Jennifer Brinn, and Rasana Atreya and then shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by ScribeCount (affiliate link). Spend less time logging in to multiple platforms and crunching numbers, and more time writing and marketing your books thanks to ScribeCount's handy all-in-one interface.

In the interview, Mark and Amanda talk about:

How Amanda started writing non-fiction as a kind of joke back in 2015
Writing in car journals since she'd spent much of her life around cars
Amanda's flagship female serial killer novels
The new series that'll feature taking different historic female public figures and turning them into serial killers - starting with Amelia Earheart
Describing her fiction as "Dexter meets American Psycho, but female"
Recognizing a hole in the industry related to author newsletters
Coming up with BooksGoDirect.com as a direct-sales only newsletter where the author provides the coupon code and the link
The importance of owning all the data related to your readers/customers
The ability for indie authors to add all kinds of bonus materials and direct-purchase swag related to their books
How BooksGoDirect is currently a weekly newsletter that will eventually evolve into a daily send to readers
The concern related to what happens with your writing when you spent so much time focusing on a tool that's helpful to writers
Advice Amanda would offer to authors interested in learning more about selling direct
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on authors who see a gap in the market or a hole that needs to be filled and, instead of sitting back, they step up and do something about it. He also reflects on a few other things that he can't remember as he's typing up these show notes. But that happens sometimes. He can't even remember what he had for breakfast earlier today. (Does anyone even read these shownotes anyway?)

Links of Interest:

Amanda Byrd is obsessed with fictional serial killers. From Patrick Bateman to Dr. Hannibal Lecter to Dexter Morgan and every butcher in between, Amanda loves figuring out what drives fiction’s deadliest monsters. When she’s not busy writing, Amanda can be found reading, playing video games, or watching shows and movies like Mindhunter, Hannibal, and Dexter. She lives in Florida with her bloodthirsty, flesh-eating cat.

BooksGoDirect is a new paid promo (think Free/Bargainbooksy or BookBub) for authors and their direct stores to reach readers who want/enjoy buying direct. Retailer links are not allowed and affiliate marketing is nonexistent. I put out all costs up-front and use the fees from authors for advertising/cost recoup (does this part matter so much? I wonder now that I put that in here lol) Readers never pay to sign up. Currently there are 6 available genres and 3 spots per genre that send out once weekly (with a resend to non-openers later in the week.) There's also a page on BooksGoDirect.com where This Week's Books can be found.

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

EP 347 - Library Advocacy Support with John Chrastka of EveryLibrary

16 februari 2024 | 56 min

Mark interviews John Chrastka, the executive director of EveryLibrary, the first nationwide political action committee for libraries, and the EveryLibrary Institute, a nonprofit research and training organization focused on the future of library funding.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, reads comments from recent episodes, and says a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores.

You can get the book online, order it through your local bookstore, or ask for it as your local library.

Universal Book Link

Smashwords Link (Coupon Discount for Feb/March 2024)

In the interview, Mark and John talk about:

John starting off his career in publishing as a bookseller in a small neighborhood Chicago community bookstore, and how that led to becoming a publishing sales rep
Migrating over to the Ed-Tech realm as the internet came around
Moving on over to The American Library Association from there
What EveryLibrary is: a 501(c)(4) organization that is a political action committee for libraries
How it's more of a network than a membership that is about 330,000 people strong
Telling stories about how libraries are solutions to problems for people and librarians as enactors of those solutions
In about 37 states, public libraries actually have to go to election days to get their funding secured
The four different ways that voters stratify:
- Believers - People who love the library and have a relationship with their library (25%)
- Questioners
- Suspicious Voters
- Never Gonna Vote for you Never (22 to 25%)
The answer for people who question the value of a local library because they "don't do books"
How the library as a source for reading grew from 19% to 24% during the pandemic and the way that percentage is continue to hold in 2024
The way that the isolating of society is not just a library issue but a public health issue
The popularity of book banning in the United States in recent years and the fact that it's easier to censor a book than it is to attack a person or a population
How this censorship and book banning isn't merely a matter of freedom of speech issue, but a matter of human rights
The pernicious nature of using the term "obscenity" and "obscene" to criminalize particular pupulations and to help skirt around First Amendment rights
How libraries are an affordable way to put tax dollars to good use in the way they provide so much to their local communities
The multiple pathways they have to help people move from "aware" to "active"
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on how books are being banned and censored as an underhanded way to strike at specific demographics and populations, and the value in focusing on the "Suspicious Voters" as a brilliant strategy.

Links of Interest:

John Chrastka is the executive director of EveryLibrary, the first nationwide political action committee for libraries, and the EveryLibrary Institute, a nonprofit research and training organization focused on the future of library funding. Since 2012, EveryLibrary has helped 133 library communities with ballot measures for funding, operations and buildings, winning over 80% and securing over $2.8 billion in funding on Election Days. Through its digital platforms, EveryLibrary provides advocacy support to state library associations for legislative issues and direct actions in support of school library program budgets. The EveryLibrary Institute supports the library funding ecosystem through its research, training, publishing, and programmatic agendas.

Mr. Chrastka is the co-author of Winning Elections and Influencing Politicians for Library Funding and Before the Ballot: Building Political Support for Library Funding with Patrick “PC” Sweeney (ALA / Neal Schuman). He has contributed chapters to Planning our future libraries: Blueprints for 2025 (2014), and Re-envisioning the MLS: Perspectives on the Future of Library and Information Science Education (2018). In 2015, he delivered the McKusker Memorial Lecture, “The Accidental Candidate: Updating Voter Nostalgia about Librarians and Libraries on the Campaign Trail” for Dominican University and has written for numerous trade publications and journals, including Library Journal and Library Quarterly. In 2018 he delivered the keynote “Advocacy and Activism” for CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, in Brighton, England, and in 2020 he was invited by EKZ Group in Hamburg, Germany to present a colloquy on advocacy for their members and the profession. He is a frequent keynoter and speaker at state and national library conferences in the United States and abroad, is a sought-after trainer for state libraries, and is a regular guest lecturer for MLS / MLIS programs where he speaks on the topic of "political literacy".

Prior to his work on EveryLibrary, Mr. Chrastka was a partner in AssociaDirect, a Chicago-based consultancy focused on supporting associations in membership recruitment, conference, and governance activities. He was Director for Membership Development at the American Library Association (ALA), was a principal in the education technology start-up ClassMap, and was the founder of the virtual publishers’ sales rep group ReviewCopy, which focused on textbook adoption in the higher education market. In 2014 he was named a Mover & Shaker by Library Journal for his work with EveryLibrary. He was recognized by the Chicago Tribune in 2022 as a Chicagoan of the Year and by Publishers Weekly in 2023 as a Notable for his work opposing book bans and censorship.

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

EP 346 - 4 More Publishing Pitfalls for Authors

9 februari 2024 | 28 min

EP 345 - The Art of Libromancy with Josh Cook

2 februari 2024 | 74 min

Mark interviews Josh Cook, Josh Cook, an author, bookseller and the co-owner at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he has worked since 2004 about his writing, his book The Art of Libromancy and his life as a reader and writer.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, welcomes new patron Jennifer Brinn, thanks Buy Mark a Coffee patron Nikki Guerlain, shares a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by the books The Art of Libromancy and An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores.

Ask for these books via your local indie-owned bookstore or via your local community library.

In the interview, Mark and Josh talk about:

Josh's earliest days really getting into reading and how he had wanted to be a writer since about the age of 16
After post-secondary education, landing in Boston and deciding that working in a bookstore would be a good place for a writer to work
Discovering the "coming soon" and "help wanted" sign on a neighborhood bookstore: Porter Square Books
Continuing to build a freelance writing career, crafting articles, reviews, fiction, and poetry
Getting his first manuscript into the hands of a publisher that he knew well from his role in bookselling, which was the novel AN EXAGGERATED MURDER
The path, via roles such as Online Presence Manager (website and social media) and Marketing Director that led to eventually becoming a co-owner of Porter Square Books
The challenge of the most qualified people to take over owning and running a bookstore, the booksellers, often don't have the necessary money, funding, and resources to do so
The model that has become a bit more common recently that enables employees the option of becoming a vested co-owner or interest sharing participant in a bookstore
The genesis of the book THE ART OF LIBROMANCY
The major reckoning that many people had in 2016 when Donald Trump got elected at trying to understand their place in a world that would allow something like that to happen
The concept of how the book industry (publishing, bookselling) would continue to empower and legitimize the voices of misogyny, white supremacy, other bigoted ideas
How it all clicked after Josh had participated in a virtual event with Biblioasis author Jorge Carrion for the book AGAINST AMAZON AND OTHER ESSAYS
Pitching the book to Biblioasis and how the existing relationship and in-depth knowledge Josh had of their publishing house (and their editor's knowledge of Josh himself) led to an instant acceptance of his book proposal
The importance of relationships and recommendations from people that you already know, like, and trust - and how that plays a significant role in book projects
Elements of human curation that can happen in person within a community, particularly as something that Amazon can't do
The idea of a bookstore as a "third place" that is neither home nor work where someone can go and be a human being with other human beings
A few of the challenges, both expected and unexpected, that happened when Porter Square Books had to adapt into an online and curb-side order facility during the pandemic
How the learned skills of booksellers being able to absorb information and insights about books from publishers, colleagues, and customers, even if they haven't read them, is such an important aspect of a bookseller's role
ARCs (Advance Review Copies) as one of the primary ways Josh has of knowing what is on the way
Christopher Morley's THE HAUNTED BOOKSHOP and the Melville House edition that Josh first discovered which is a love letter to the art of bookselling
How books are great ways to be safely uncomfortable
The paradox of tolerance, as expressed by Karl Popper in THE OPEN SOCIETY AND ITS ENEMIES: If you tolerate the intolerable, your space will eventually become intolerant
A bookseller's role within that paradox of allowing tolerance for voices that seek fresh voices, but prevent those voices whose mandate is to shut-down or not allow diverse voices the ability to be expressed
Josh's perspective of how publishers, authors, bookstores and others within the industry involved in this process are all teammates working together to get books to readers
Strategies authors can use to establish genuine relationships with their local community bookstores
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on walking away from fascinating conversations with a list of books to read, some of the parallels between Josh's journey into bookselling and his own, and how the employee-to-owner situation also parallels the change-of-ownerships of Words Worth Books, a local indie bookstore in Waterloo that Mark adores.

Links of Interest:

Josh Cook on Social Media:
- BlueSky Social
- Instagram
The Art of Libromancy (Biblioasis)
An Exaggerated Murder
Porter Square Books (Cambridge and Boston)
Words Worth Books (Waterloo, ON)
Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad
An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
- Smashwords Link (eBook 57% Off until end of Feb 2024)
Mark's YouTube Channel
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
- How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds
Superstars Writing Seminars
How to Write a Howling Good Story
- Smashwords link
- Patron Coupon for 75% off
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
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard

Josh Cook is a bookseller and co-owner at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he has worked since 2004. He is also author of the critically acclaimed postmodern detective novel An Exaggerated Murder and his fiction, criticism, and poetry have appeared in numerous leading literary publications. He grew up in Lewiston, Maine and lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

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

EP 344 - Eric T. Knight on Fair Pay with StoryFair

26 januari 2024 | 57 min

Mark interviews author Eric T. Knight about his writing and about the origin of StoryFair. net a platform that seeks to pay authors the highest royalty of any other third party platform for their audiobook sales.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, welcomes new patron Rob Johnson, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by ScribeCount (affiliate link). Spend less time logging in to multiple platforms and crunching numbers, and more time writing and marketing your books thanks to ScribeCount's handy all-in-one interface.

In the interview, Mark and Eric talk about:

Eric's youth being way off the grid and in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, which made reading an important aspect
How reading became a gateway for access and connection to the rest of the world
Understanding that if he were to keep working at it, that he really could make it in writing some day
The long and arduous road of submissions of writing to publishers, finding an agent, and pursuing traditional publishing
The fantasy series that Erik had worked on starting back in the 80s
Deciding to put one of his fantasy novels up on Kindle just for fun and how that led to a colleague's wife discovering the book and loving it
Eric's mindset not changing until the year he decided to submit to a total of 50 agents
The power of being able to write the series exactly the way he wanted to
A bit about The Chaos Legacy universe and the various different linked series that take place within those books
The experience of getting his books into audio and beginning to understand some of the barriers that existed within that realm for authors
Beta launching StoryFair in the summer of 2023 and then making the site live in November 2023
How the payment to authors process at StoryFair works
Plans for an affiliate program for authors to send readers to this platform
The challenge of having to scale up their infrastructure so early in the process due to huge interest from some major players
How the StoryFair app is currently only available in the United States (at least for now until some of the legal stuff can be sorted out)
How to set up an account, load your book, and when the monthly payments to authors come in
The way that a good narrator can bring characters and stories to life in ways that you might not be able to imagine
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on that pioneering indie author spirit that leads to providing the market with elements that were previously missing but needed, as well as the value that a library brings to a community.

Links of Interest:

StoryFair.net
EricTKnight.com
Eric's books at Amazon
ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link)
The Author Wheel Podcast - Season 5 Episode 3 - Overcoming Self-Doubt and Mastering Book Marketing with Mark Leslie Lefebvre
Feisty Familiars Anthology
Draft2Digital Self-Publishing Insiders with Jeaniene Frost (Jan 25, 2024)
Matty Dalrymple (Episode Links)
- EP 116 - Taking the Short Tack
- EP 216 - Podcasting for Authors
- EP 236 - Reflective Round Table Feb 2022
- EP 245 - Reflective Round Table March 2022
- EP 258 - Reflective Hangout Highights - June 2022
- EP 300 - Celebrating 300 Episodes with Guest Reflections
Episode that mentions license plate and skeleton thief:
- EP 330 - Book Indexing Made Simple with Stephen Ullstrum
How to Write a Howling Good Story
- Smashwords link
- Patron Coupon for 75% off
Mark's YouTube Channel
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
- How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds
Best Book Ever Podcast
Lovers Moon Podcast
The Relaxed Author
- Buy eBook Direct
- Buy Audiobook Direct
Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
Wide for the Win
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
- This Time Around (Short Story)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York
- Stowe Away (Novella)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
- Fright Nights, Big City
- Lover's Moon
- Hex and the City
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard

Eric T. Knight grew up on a working cattle ranch in the desert thirty miles from Wickenburg, Arizona, which at that time was exactly the middle of nowhere. Work, cactus and heat were plentiful, forms of recreation were not. The TV got two channels when it wanted to, and only in the evening after someone hand cranked the balky diesel generator to life. All of which meant that his primary form of escape was reading.

At 18 he escaped to Tucson where he attended the University of Arizona. A number of fruitless attempts at productive majors followed, none of which stuck. Discovering he liked writing, the author tried journalism two separate times, but had to drop it when he realized that he had no intention of conducting interviews with actual people but preferred simply making them up.

StoryFair is a platform with a mission: Put an end to author exploitation in the audiobook industry

There’s a problem in the audiobook business. A MAJOR problem. Did you know that when you purchase an audiobook on Audible, Amazon keeps as much as 75% of the cover price of the book? The average price of a major publisher/new release audiobook is in the $24 range. That means Amazon keeps at least $18.00… after fees, it’s actually a little bit more.

That leaves very little for the publisher, authors, and narrators to divvy up, and ultimately, it means that readers are by and large paying exorbitant audiobook prices to do one thing above all else… pad Amazon’s pockets.

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

EP 343 - Self-Publishing Lesbian Fiction (or Something Equally Non-Threatening) with Elizabeth Andre

19 januari 2024 | 56 min

Mark interviews Elizabeth Andre (AKA Karen and Victoria) about her/their journey through writing, collaboration, and the new book SELF-PUBLISHING LESBIAN FICTION.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from recent episodes and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by ScribeCount (affiliate link). Spend less time logging in to multiple platforms and crunching numbers, and more time writing and marketing your books thanks to ScribeCount's handy all-in-one interface.

In their conversation, Karen, Victoria, and Mark talk about:

The background of how Karen and Victoria got started as writers, and then about how they met and why they started writing together
Karen's earliest memories coming up with playtime stories with her younger brother that took on a "soap opera" and "serialized" format
The concept of how to earn money that came down to one of two things: Sell drugs, or write porn
Researching the writing of gay male porn by getting magazines and reading through them
Coming up with numerous ephamisms for the male sex organ appendage
How Victoria comes from a long list of writers, including her father and how she wanted to be anything BUT a writer
The two of them each discovering the joy and the magical allure that is journalism
Being one of the many writers who was "Sherry Lovelace" for the UK edition of Penthouse Magazine
Meeting at a Gay Journalist Convention and clicking, but not really having that much in common
Discovering that, despite the "common wisdom" from traditional publishing, money could be made from writing lesbian fiction. That shift, of course, came from the rise of self-publishing
Who the readers of gay male fiction and lesbian fiction are
The origin of the pen name Elizabeth Andre
Some of the logistics of how the two write together
Who the book Self-Publishing Lesbian Fiction is for, with an analogy of an off-the-rack suit and a tailored suit
The tally of the $35 and $45 dollars owed from various publishers and platforms
The term and use of "Sapphic Fiction" and how it is more inclusive of lesbian, bi-sexual, trans, and non-binary
Some of the barriers that arise when writing lesbian fiction
How self-publishing can overcome so many of the barriers within traditional publishing
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on a couple of topics brought up, specifically "serialized playtime stories" and the "tailored" work of writers.

Links of Interest:

Elizabeth Andre has been self-publishing lesbian fiction since 2014. She writes cozy paranormal mystery, lesbian romance, science fiction, and young adult stories. Before turning her hand to fiction, she was a newspaper reporter for many years, and she has the paper cuts to prove it. She has won many writing awards including a Goldie from the Golden Crown Literary Society for fiction and a Peter Lisagor Award from the Chicago Headline Club for journalism. Elizabeth Andre is actually two people, a married interracial same-sex couple (Karen and Victoria) living in the Midwest.

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

EP 342 - Publishing Trend Reflections for 2024

16 januari 2024 | 26 min

EP 341 - Howling It Forward With Wulf Moon

12 januari 2024 | 63 min

Mark interviews bestselling writer, editor, and writing instructor, Wulf Moon, who won the national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards at the age of fifteen, and followed that with winning the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Contest, and Writers of the Future. He leads the Wulf Pack Writers group and is the author of The Illustrated Super Secrets of Writing and How to Write a Howling Good Story.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from previous episodes, shares a personal update, and then says a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by the Stark Publishing book How to Write a Howling Good Story by Wulf Moon.

The book is 25% off at the Smashwords store until the end of Jan 2024.

Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast can get the book for 75% off until the end of Feb 2024.

In their conversation Mark and Moon talk about:

How Wulf Moon might not have been the name that he was born with and how the name "Moon" which he has been called most of his life came from his Ojibwe grandmother
Moonbeam Road, a local road his father named after him when he was growing up
Not having a father who was supportive of his writing, and even having to run away from home when he was younger
Finding an important positive voice as a youngster in a teacher
The additional lengths this one teacher went to support and encourage Moon in his writing
Winning the Scholastic Art and Writing Award at the age of 15, among so many other awards that this teacher helped him find
Getting beat up so often in high school that the only thing he could do was look down as he walked in the hallways - but how he found his power in writing
The importance of finding a way to be who you are and to not allow others to repress you from that
Starting up Wulf Moon's Super Secrets Writing Workshop right after winning Writers of the Future - and offering all this support to other writers for free
The repeated authors who have gone through Moon's teachings and then ended up winning Writers of the Future
The Wulf Pack Writers group that Moon manages
Following the concept of "how can I help you with what I know"
How writers don't understand proper Manuscript Format
The high ranking sales that HOW TO WRITE A HOWLING GOOD STORY has hit since its release in November 2023
Moon's concept of Heart's Desire as the most important principle in a story
Caring that happens in the heart of the reader, which can create the Reader/Hero bond
Getting to a point in his life that was so low that he took risks and was burning bridges behind him and not writing for 10 years
Realizing that he couldn't be happy and couldn't be fulfilled not being a writer
Moon's experience meeting Dean Wesley Smith at the Nebula Awards in Eugene Oregon
The importance of having both the fundamenals of writing and the belief in yourself
The mantra "belief determins reality" that Moon instructs his students to write down
The dedication in Moon's HOW TO WRITE A HOWLING GOOD STORY
Meeting other people "like me" at writer conferences, etc and the incredible value that can bring
Advice Moon would offer to newer writers
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of not denying who you are and not denying the things that bring you pleasure. He also reflects on the concept of finding your people, your Tribe, and the positive impact we can have on one another if we just take the time to listen, to reach out, to others.

Links of Interest:

Wulf Moon is a bestselling writer, editor, and writing instructor. At fifteen, Moon won the national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and followed that with winning the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Contest, and Writers of the Future. He leads the Wulf Pack Writers group. He’s won both Best Author and Best Writers Workshop four years running in the Critters Readers’ Choice Awards, and is the author of The Illustrated Super Secrets of Writing and How to Write a Howling Good Story. www.thesupersecrets.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

EP 340 - Personality, Passion, Presentation, and Persistence with Todd Fahnestock

5 januari 2024 | 73 min

Mark interviews award-winning, #1 bestselling fantasy author Todd Fahnestock about his journey through both traditional publishing and indie-publishing, focusing on the moments for learning, growth, and applying passion and persistence.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

Check out the WIDE FOR THE WIN community and resources.

In their conversation, Mark and Todd talk about:

Todd's first venture into writing back when he was 17 and in senior high school through a year-long IS (Independent Study) program
Thoughts about how it has only been the past six years or so where Todd has really taken his writing seriously, and how things might have been different if he'd done that back in 2003 when signing his first traditional publishing contract
How Todd had two big traditional publishing deals that turned into fantastic proven failures but how he attributes those flops into future successes
The Heartstone Trilogy that was first published with big fanfare in 2003 from Harper Collins
Parting amicably from being represented by Donald Maas
Selling The Wishing World to Tom Dohorty of Tor Books being one of the highlights of Todd's career
Todd's pitch to the publisher that included being able to travel to 50 schools in order to promote this middle grade trilogy
Managing to hit a Colorado best-seller list by visiting 52 different schools in the state of Colorado in the promotion of this book
The concept that "success is the diploma, but failure is the classroom"
How subjective many of the measurements and opportunities in publishing can be
What isn't random is that readers that love what you do love what you do
The various layers that writers need to break-through in terms of getting a book published
The idea of thinking that just making a great product is our job as a writer, but recognizing that it isn't just a product - it's an entire experience
The opportunity that authors have to make their product synonymous with their "personality" and "presentation"
Going full-time as a writer in 2017 and hearing about the 20Booksto50K wave of rapid-release author success, but not being able to get on that wave
The sad reality of earning $1400 in that first year, when his plans were to earn $25,000 in that first 12 months
How Todd's incredibly supportive wife said something to him when he was haunted by the demons of this failed plan that helped turn things around for him
The experience of changing his attitude when it came to being stuck at a table with other Christmas craft vendors and making the best of it
How it is a ton of work, but the joy of knowing that it's something that is in his hands
More than 90% of Todd's sales being from in person bookselling rather than online sales due to leveraging his persona as a storyteller
Todd's experience in 2021 of getting a double booth at Salt Lake City Comic Con
Hitting $5000 in sales at 3 different cons in 2023
The approach of always talking about BOOK ONE by default when doing his sales pitch at the table
A bit of a background on The Eldros Legacy
The pitch Todd uses for The Eldros Legacy
The "ten more pumps" water pump analogy from Jim Butcher
Advice Todd would offer to other writers
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few specific points that came up in the conversation.

Links of Interest:

Todd Fahnestock is an award-winning, #1 bestselling author of fantasy for all ages and winner of the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age Award. He is a founder of Eldros Legacy—a multi-author, shared-world epic fantasy series—two-time winner of the Colorado Authors League Award for Writing Excellence, and four-time finalist for the Colorado Book Award for Tower of the Four: The Champions Academy (2021), Khyven the Unkillable (2022), Lorelle of the Dark (2023), and Tower of the Four: The Dragon’s War (2023). His passions are great stories and his quirky, fun-loving family. Visit Todd at toddfahnestock.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

EP 339 - Romancing the Writing Life with Bobby Hutchinson

28 december 2023 | 61 min

In this episode Mark interviews bestselling author Bobby Hutchinson about her unique journey through traditional publishing and self-publishing.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, welcomes new Patron Skye MacKinnon and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.

Learn more at: https://www.patreon.com/starkreflections

In their conversation, Mark and Bobby talk about:

What prompted Bobby to start writing in 1980 at the age of 40
Leveraging her training for the Vancouver Marathon in order to use that time in her head to decide what to do
Her experience winning a Chatelaine short story writing contest
Researching which books were selling by purchasing and reading 100 Harlequin novels before sending her first manuscript in which sold right away
Selling 17 more of her books after those first two
Signing with a New York agent who was recommended to her by her agent
Writing and selling 40 more novels to Harlequin, and realizing that since she already had the relationship with them prior to signing with her agent, all her agent was doing for her was taking 10% of her cut of those sales
Realizing that her agent was more interested in selling myself than selling Bobby's novels
Giving up writing for a while to start a Bed and Breakfast in Vancouver - which led to a book she ended up writing called How Not to Run a B&B
Hiring a vanity publisher prior to exploring the possibility of DIY self-publishing
Getting the rights back to many of the novels she was written for Harlequin and self-publishing those books directly to Amazon
The importance of writing the stories that she was super-involved in and passionate about writing
"Going Wide" with her publishing through Smashwords in the beginning, but then being drawn into the world of Kindle Unlimited
Accidentally getting screwed over by Amazon and having all of her books taken down from the platform because of a lone title that was still published in some obscure country
Reading Mark's book WIDE FOR THE WIN about a year or so ago, at about the time her Amazon sales were starting to go down
Bobby's recommendation to not take all your books down from KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited overnight
Realizing that at an older age (Bobby is now 83), a person doesn't need nearly as much money as they used to
The Public Lending Right registration (for Canadian authors) that Bobby has registered for
The question, when re-publishing older books, on whether or not an author should update them to include more modern setting, such as adding cell phones, etc into them
Being excited about Artificial Intelligence as a marvelous tool that authors can use
How it's really hard to properly predict what is going to happen with a book when it is published
The way that Harlequin was a fantastic training ground for Bobby
Writing a book about living and traveling in a van (How Not to Vanagon)
Discovering her love of camping and the new memoir (Me and Calamity Jane)
Advice Bobby would offer to authors who want to get started
The value of pretending to be a famous writer in whatever genre you're writing
Why Bobby thinks that writing fast can make you a better writer
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a few things that came up in the conversation with Bobby.

Links of Interest:

Best-selling writer Bobby Hutchinson writes stories about almost everything, as long as everything involves romance, quirky people, outrageous kids, deafness, time travel, or medicine, most of which she's familiar with. (Well, maybe not time travel. But who knows?)

She started writing by making up a short story while training for the Vancouver marathon and reading a book called How To Write Short Stories.

She was celebrating being 50.

Chatelaine magazine was having a contest for the best short fiction in Canada, and she won first prize, $5000 for a 5000-word story called "Pheidippides Was Not A Family Man." She then wrote a romance for Harlequin Superromance, sold it and went on to write about 60 more.

With no real qualifications, she taught night school classes in Romance and Creativity at Okanagan College and a correspondence course at the University of Saskatchewan.

Bored with writing only for Harlequin, she wrote three long romantic comedies and sold them to Dorchester Publishing. She also sold romantic time travel to Avon.

In 2014, she began self-publishing, at first using a ridiculously expensive vanity service and then learning about Amazon.

If there’s a mistake to be made in writing and publishing, Bobby has made it.

She published wide with Smashwords, and when KU started, she withdrew her wide books and became exclusive, accidentally leaving one solitary book up in maybe Angola. Amazon took all her books down. A begging letter to Jeff Bezos got them reinstated. She should have stopped while she was ahead and gone wide again.

A year ago, she came to her senses after reading Wide For The Win, took everything off of KU and began the tedious process of putting 50+ books up everywhere else.

She lives alone in a funky little cottage in Cranbrook, B.C., a small city in the Canadian Rockies. In the summer, she hauls her very small travel trailer, Calamity Jane, to campgrounds. In the winter, she hibernates.

She faints at the sight of blood, although her best-selling medical romance series, Emergency, does have the occasional scene involving bodily fluids.

These days, she still writes mostly romance, with a few short stories and memoirs tossed in for fun. How Not To Run A B&B, a memoir set in Vancouver, was chosen by the Kootenay Library Association as Best Book of the Year, and is now being made into a film. Slowly.

She lives in the land of possibility. And she's writing faster than ever because at 83, who knows when she'll head off to seek the Great Perhaps?

She needs to finish that last book on the last day; as any writer knows, that deadline’s tricky!

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

EP 338 - An Amazing F*cking Pivot into Sh!t-Tons of Money with James Fell

22 december 2023 | 90 min

Mark interviews James Fell, the Sweary Historian, and bestselling author of ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN.

Prior to the interview Mark warns listeners of the adult language used in this episode, reads comments from recent episodes, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

Mark's Stark Publishing Solutions books are 50% off in the Smashwords End of Year Sale. (Ends at the end of day Dec 31, 2023). Patrons will be getting a special coupon to get the titles for only $0.99. Offer good until Jan 31, 2024.

In the interview, Mark and James talk about:

How James is an author who "can't make up his F-ing mind"
Advice James was given regarding how hard it was to make it as a writer and that most science-fiction authors also had other jobs
Starting off writing health and fitness articles and getting columns at the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune as well as a few magazines
The idea of SERVICE vs PRODUCT income
Having the delusions of grandeur that he might one day have one of those books that would "blow up"
The initial Random House deal he got for one book, then, a few years later, a US deal from St Martins Press
How the publishers were interested in James' own platform for helping to sell the book
The way James was crestfallen with the sales results of his first two traditionally published books
Beginning to start a public speaking career just as Covid-19 hit the world
James' background in University studying history
The bike-riding epiphany that first popped into his head (a la the way he describes it in his book THE HOLY SH!T MOMENT) and the daily story about Mae West that was extremely popular and led to an even bigger "holy shit moment!"
Ensuring that he did not miss a single day in posting a well-researched and funny post for two years straight
James hiring a good copyeditor and also hiring Mark to help with his distribution strategy
The more than a million views of his column of articles
How most of the sales came from free daily stories on Facebook - and not really any other PR
James' Substack experience and how he was able to leverage that via paid subscription
The book sales taking off way beyond his expectations
How 90% of the sales of the two versions of ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN have been in print rather than eBook
Receiving a respectable offer from a good mid-sized publisher about 14 months after the first volume was available for sale
His agent being able to leverage that offer to pitch the book to a number of larger publishers
The proposal that James wrote for this that was in the voice he used in the book (instead of in the standard recommended proposal format)
The unexpected bonus of the publisher who bought the rights allowing James to keep the existing books live for almost a full year before their version of the book came out
How James' career took off when he stopped giving a shit about "what the market wanted"
Hearing "the voice is a triumph" from his New York Publisher Editor before she then "ripped the shit out of it"
The pull quotes that were mostly selected from the interior book designer
The fact that James sold more than 52,000 print copies of the book in print when it was entirely self-published
The special arrangement that James had (and still has) with Calgary Indie Bookstore Owl's Nest for the procurement of signed copies
A powerful story about solidarity among writers
The 3 Rules of Marketing for Authors
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the unique method by which James gave away two of his books entirely for free, but in an inventive "self-promotional" way that was blatantly salesy, but also provided incredible entertainment and value.

Links of Interest:

My name is James Fell and I say “fuck” a lot.

Historically, I didn’t write the word fuck that much, because the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, where I authored columns for several years, tend to frown upon such language. I also didn’t swear in my 1996 history master’s thesis, titled Rebellion and the Quest for Social Revolution in Latin America. In that academic work I did manage to get the message across that the CIA are fucking dicks without actually using the words “fucking dicks.”

Anyway, in the spring of 2020, a year I refer to as a fucktacular shitnado of ass, I said what the fuck and began authoring a column titled “On This Day in History Shit Went Down.” To my immense pleasure and no small amount of surprise it’s proven quite popular, with several million readers each month. These columns were turned into two self-published volumes of the same name: On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down, and they sold so many copies that Bantam Books gave me an assload of money for the rights to republished them. The new and Big-Publishing-Company-improved version of Volume I is on sale now.

You can read free samples of my sweary history stories on my Facebook, and you should also subscribe to my Substack. You can get a free subscription or a paid one. I like it when people subscribe to the paid one.

I’m also on Twitter (blarf), and my TikTok channel is called Sweary Historian.

In a previous life I wrote about fitness and motivation. The cool and science-based kind of fitness writing, not the bullshit and/or fat shaming sort. Find my earlier published books here.

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

EP 337 - Collaborative Editing with Erika Steeves

15 december 2023 | 48 min

Mark interviews editor Erika Steeves about her experiences in working with publishers and authors as an editor.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by HOW TO WRITE A HOWLING GOOD STORY by Wulf Moon

You can get this book in eBook, Trade Paperback, and Hardcover editions here.

Between Dec 15, 2023 and Jan 1, 2024, you can get the eBook for 50% off at Smashwords.

In their interview, Mark and Erika talk about:

Meeting at the Waterloo Book Festival
How Erika got involved in the world of writing and editing by starting off as an editorial internship at a regional Canadian publisher on Canada's East Coast
Deciding to become a freelance editor in 2012 taking on academic projects and some book projects
Pivoting over to do more editing on fiction in 2019/2020
Erika's experience reading the slushpile from a publisher and how that exposed her to great manuscripts that she loved but which weren't suited for that publisher's mandates
The difficult task of having to send rejection letters to authors
Being a member of two associations that have directories of editors
How Erika finds new writers to work with
The various types of editing work that Erika takes on
Contuinity editing and the style sheet that Erika likes so much
How the editor's "fresh eyes" can help detect some things that writers might no longer be able to detect in a manuscript that has been re-worked numerous times
Things Erika wished more authors knew about related to editors
How all edits are suggestions and that the writer can decided which suggestions to take, and which ones to ignore
Getting a sense of how many hours an editing project is going to take based on the sample edit that was done
Things that writers should "look out for" in an editor they're looking to work with
Why contracts are important for both parties
Types of writers that Erika is cautious about working with
Ideas for how a writer can find the right editor for them
The "House of Zolo" publishing company that Erika and a number of other writers and editors put together
Advice Erika would offer to writers
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on Erika's perspective related to things that empower and encourage writers.

Links of Interest:

Erika Steeves is a copyeditor and proofreader with a decade of experience editing fiction and nonfiction books. She started out as a publishing assistant for a traditional publisher, learning the ropes from the inside. After that, Erika started her freelance career and founded E.S. Editing! She also works as Editor-in-Chief of the HOZ Journal of Speculative Literature.

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

EP 336 - Coming Out of The Writer Closet with Bradley Charbonneau

8 december 2023 | 58 min

Mark interviews Bradley Charbonneau about his new book PROCRASTINATE and his new "Book in a Weekend" program for writers.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, thanks Patrons, provides a personal update, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In the interview, Mark and Bradley talk about:

Bradley's love of Europe and his first eye-opening experience at the age of fourteen with the continent
His early experience writing extremely long letters to his parents when, several years later, living in France
The importance of the "audience" being yourself when you write
The fact that on no calendar is there a day called SOMEDAY
The concept of Stubborn VS Determined
Bradley's first challenge of writing every single day for the month of November in 2012
A further challenge of posting a YouTube video every single day
The idea of "practice is perfect" (as opposed to "practice makes perfect")
The long-time streak of writing every single day for 2808 days in a row
Being painfully reminded of himself when he hears an author say that they have an idea for a book that they might write "some day"
Avoiding regret by taking action
Bradley's admiration for humor and improv
The program to get your "opposite" book written as a critical step to getting to that larger "massive" project that has always been kept at the horizon
How the humor aspect of writing your "opposite" book can help bring out new elements of creativity and how it can be therapeutic
Bradley's book PROCRASTINATE, which was his "opposite" book project
The "book in a weekend" program that Bradley is running to help other writers overcome the things he had to overcome on his own writing journey
The idea of writing a book every year as a way of creating a "timestamp" of who we are - the same way creating a photo album every year (which his mother used to do) works
The DIY option as well as the interactive "virtual" real-time and "real-life in person" and the "one-on-one" options Bradley is working on
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of adapting "the rules" into something that works in the ways that work for YOU rather than some pre-prescribed notion that doesn't fit. If you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet, maybe it's okay to break or shake up a few rules in order to pave your own path to success.

Links of Interest:

Before Bradley Charbonneau wrote his first book, he had written zero books. He spent years dreaming and wishing, chatting and hoping, but not actually writing. Finally, after years of procrastination, he wrote his first book. Since that first breakthrough, he's written 34 more. QUIZ: how many did Bradley write before his first book?

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 335 - So You Failed NaNoWriMo

1 december 2023 | 29 min

EP 334 - Welcome to the Stupidpocalypse with Brittlestar

23 november 2023 | 56 min

Mark interviews social media funny man Brittlestar (Stewart Reynolds) about his creative work and his new book Welcome to the Stupidpocalypse: Survival Tips for the Dumbageddon.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, welcomes a new patron, and offers a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by Mark's movie trivia guides to Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Die Hard.

In their conversation, Mark and Stewart talk about:

Where the name "Brittlestar" came from
Stewart's background as a musician and how he incorporates that into the parody music his does as part of his video skits
How the music he now does for social media posts has broadly opened up the various styles and genres he can play and play with
Stewart always writing stuff since he was a kid
The way the book came from a series of topics that he wanted to riff on but which might not work as well for a video
Being a fan of music and television and videos and trying to produce content from the perspective of the audience and of things he would like to see
Beginning to do social media content back in 2013
Some of the early viral videos including the "Put Your Finger on the Screen" series and "Summer is Not Over"
How Stewart, his wife Shannon, and their two sons were all involved in the creation of their social media content, and how Disney and that social media business came along in the nick of time to save them
The KFC-branded "Explaining Canada Day to Americans" video that rec'd more than 10 million views than that year's most popular Nike video
The process of how they create these videos, often based on a concept and a punch-line with a bit of winging it
Getting into writing specific scripts for these skits about five years ago, which led into the monologue-style videos
Why their living room is often dubbed the place where ideas go to die
The "The Morning Show Thing" show that Stewart and Shannon started in 2015 - which is returning again in a slightly differen format
Having to convince Shannon to come out in front of the camera
Stewart's new book WELCOME TO THE STUPIDPOCALYPSE: Survival Tips for the Dumbageddon
Some of the differences between writing essays that were 1000 words verses a one and a half minute video
The irreverence that Stewart was able to inject into the text of the book
Being contacted by a literary agency that asked if Stewart was interested in writing a book
The constant mistake humans make in compartmentalizing themselves into boxes such as "left wing" or "right wing" and how we get hung up on those things
The foreword (written by Ryan Reynolds), the middleword (written by Mary Trump) and the afterword (written by Colin Mochrie) which was partially inspired by something Eric Idle put on the cover of one of his books
Stewart's thoughts on the digital umbilical chord
A strategy for dealing with trolls online
The two times in the past ten years of being on social media where responding to negative comments actually worked out okay
Stewart's theory that Canadian cuisine is a defiance
Advice that Stewart would offer to other creatives: "Don't make art for artists."
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the unique opportunity to chat with someone who has inspired you and Stewart's advice about not making art for other artists, but rather for the specific consumers of your product.

Links of Interest:

Brittlestar, a.k.a. Stewart Reynolds, is a bespectacled every-dad who has become a popular online media personality over the past decade. Every week, hundreds of thousands of people watch his videos on various social media channels. Some of Brittlestar’s followers include Henry Winkler, Ryan Reynolds, Ken Jeong, Rex Chapman, Yvette Nicole Brown, and many other politicians and journalists. Brittlestar videos have been viewed more than a combined 600 million times, allowing him to gain a global fanbase, attend speaking engagements all over North America, receive an invitation to the White House, and engage in collaborations with celebrities such as Gordon Ramsay, Alan Thicke, and the Property Brothers.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 333 - 10 Things You Likely Didn't Know About Draft2Digital

16 november 2023 | 38 min

EP 332 - The Art of Noticing with Johnny B. Truant

10 november 2023 | 20 min

EP 331 - Self Publishing Made Simple with April M. Cox

2 november 2023 | 41 min

Mark interviews author, coach & CEO/Founder of Little Labradoodle Publishing April Cox.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal updates and a word about this episode's sponsor, the Authorpreneur Summit 2023.

Transform your passion to profit! Unveil the business behind the book and elevate your business acumen with 35+ industry-leading authorpreneurs at the Authorpreneur Summit.

During their interview Mark and April talk about:

April's background as a former IT consulting geek
Leaving that corporate world to assist authors with their publishing goals and helping to make their dreams come true
How her desire to write a story for her grandkids led to an entirely new and dynamic role and purpose
Recognizing how she could make a huge difference being there to help authors who would normally be easy targets for so many of the predatory outfits looking to take advantage of them
The origin of Little Labradoodle Publishing which was more of a legacy project
How the consultant, programmer, and project manager in April were applied to help authors with navigating the complex world of publishing books for younger readers
Why April puts so much free content on sites like her YouTube channel
April's 12-week course that takes authors through the process of getting a book ready for publishing
The importance of having a network of trusted professionals to work with
Wanting to create a summit that focused more on the business side of publishing, which became the Authorpreneur Summit
Some of the amazing interviews that have been lined up for this summit which takes place for free Dec 4 through Dec 8, 2023
The bonuses April will be releasing for those who sign up for the summit early
Advice April would offer to authors who are receiving numerous rejection letters from traditional publishing
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the value when an author combines their passion with filling in a hole within a particular market.

Links of Interest:

April Cox is an Author, Coach & CEO/Founder of Little Labradoodle Publishing. She has successfully guided over 1,500 authors from manuscript to a high-quality, self-published book through her 90-day signature program, Self-Publishing Made Simple.

April is a passionate teacher and speaker on publishing topics and has personally launched over 400 books.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 330 - Book Indexing with Stephen Ullstrom

26 oktober 2023 | 62 min

Mark interviews writer and indexer Stephen Ullstrom about book indexing and his recent release BOOK INDEXING: A Step-by-Step Guide.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update about a skeleton and license plate theft, as well as word about this episode's sponsor, the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.

In their conversation, Mark and Stephen talk about:

Stephen's long-time interest in writing
How his role working at UBC Press when he was attending university was his first exposure to indexing
Using freelancing doing indexing to help support his writing, but how that freelancing kind of took over much of his career
Still being interested in fiction, but how writing a book about indexing was a good full book-length project to complete
Stephen's book: BOOK INDEXING: A Step-by-Step Guide
His goal to make indexing simple and practical and more entry-level
Why authors should care about indexing
How indexing can become somewhat of a marketing tool
The way an index can bring more value to a book
The pros and cons of a keyword search (as opposed to an index, where the human filtering on what's relevant is being done for you)
How an index can be much more granular than even a layered/multi-leveled table of contents
The way an index works within an eBook
What an embedded index is
Cases where a fiction author might want to use indexing
Considerations on whether or not it's best to do your own index or to hire that work out to a professional indexer
The average length of time it would take Stephen to index a 200 page book (about 20 hours)
The typical price range an author can expect to pay for having a book indexed (For example a trade book that's about 200 pages could cost about $800 to $900 CAD - about $4.00 CAD per page. A scholary book is usually about $6.00 to $6.50 to $7.00 CAD per page)
The steps to go through when creating an index
Stephen's use of the indexing software called Cindex
Remembering that, ultimately, your index is for the READER
How to hire Stephen if you're interested in leveraging his indexing services\
A common misperception authors often have about indexing
And more

After the interview, Mark reflects on the value of indexing as it pertains to some of his non-fiction and even fiction titles.

Links of Interest:

Stephen Ullstrom is an award-winning professional indexer. He believes that the world is a better place with well-written indexes, and is passionate about helping authors, publishers, and the index-curious understand how indexing works.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 329 - Laws of Tenacity with Eriq La Salle

19 oktober 2023 | 66 min

Mark interviews actor/director/producer/writer Eriq La Salle about his latest novel LAWS OF ANNIHILATION and his life-long passion for storytelling.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, thanks Patrons, provides a personal update, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Eriq talk about:

How Eriq had always wanted to be a writer
Joining the high school drama club in junior high with the idea that they'd be able to put on the plays that he would write
Being told by the drama teacher that he had to audition, and how that started the "acting bug" that took him through a multi-decade career acting, directing, and producing
The way the author desire resurfaced about a dozen years ago
The prequel story to The Martyr Maker series (which appears in the end of LAWS OF DEPRAVITY) and why Eriq wrote it
The concept behind The Martyr Maker franchise
Loving movies and television and being inspired by the storytelling conventions there
The way each of the three main characters leads a little bit more in the first three books in the series
Eriq's work as Executive Producer for several years on Chicago PD
Directing and Executive Producing Dick Wolf's first show launched into streaming on Amazon Prime
A minor character in the series (known as "The African") who was fashioned after the Luca Brasi character in The Godfather and who will return in a later book in the series
How it took 10 years to find a publisher, and Eriq's DIY experience self-publishing
The importance of understanding and participating in the grass-roots style marketing as an author
Having to do a lot of marketing work even when you're with a larger publisher
The way that the status of "celebrity" can sometimes work against you
Eriq's respect for each medium and how to re-think, and re-learn in his unique roles within them
The importance of humbling yourself
How the marketing person that Eriq had hired and worked with eventually became his agent
Feeling that he is a better writer of fiction novels than of screenplays, despite his years of experience as an actor, director, and producer
The intention cinematic writing that Eriq did when crafting The Martyr Maker series
Enjoying collecting "useless trivia" and how that can aid in the research aspect of writing a novel
Giving credit to the technical advisors Eriq has worked with on shows like ER and Chicago PD
The various first readers that Eriq works with
Being an old fashioned paper book reader
Eriq's great respect for librarians
The delightful feeling of seeing your book in various bookstores of all sizes, including indie bookstores, big box stores, and airport bookstores
Doing several events in New York for the week the book is launching, including a special "On the Couch with Eriq La Salle"
The importance of listening to the messaging
The understanding that "we are blue collar artists"
Advice Eriq would offer to writers who are working at it and haven't yet found their success
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few of the things Eriq talked about, as well as a subtle, but important way Eriq spoke about the "team" he works with as an author.

Links of Interest:

Actor/director/producer Eriq La Salle is best known to worldwide television audiences for his award-winning portrayal of the commanding Dr. Peter Benton on the critically acclaimed and history-making medical drama ER. Educated at Juilliard and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, his credits range from Broadway to film roles opposite Eddie Murphy in Coming to America and Robin Williams in One Hour Photo and Hugh Jackman in Logan. La Salle has maintained a prolific acting career while at the same time working steadily as a director, taking the helm for HBO, Showtime, NBC, Fox and CBS. He remains a valued member of the Dick Wolf Entertainment camp after 4 years as Executive Producer and director on Chicago PD in addition to directing episodes of Law & Order, and Law and Order Organized Crime.

As a writer, La Salle is the author of several critically acclaimed thrillers published in 2022 and 2023-Laws of Depravity, Laws of Wrath, and Laws of Annihilation. He has also written an episode of The Twilight Zone which made WGA’s list of 101 Best Written TV Series. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 328 - Reflections on A New Season with Terry Fallis

12 oktober 2023 | 77 min

Mark interviews Terry Fallis about his latest novel, A New Season.

A two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, Terry Fallis is the author of nine novels, all of them national bestsellers—including six #1 bestsellers—and all published by McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, welcomes new Patron Nikki Guerlain, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Terry talk about:

Terry's latest novel, A NEW SEASON, and the unique approach he took to his latest book
Retiring from his day job as a communications/public affairs consultant in March 2022
Having wanted to write full time since the release of his first novel fifteen years earlier
The precarious reality of the earnings an author is most likely to make, even if they are a successful author who regularly hits the bestseller lists in Canada
How the novel was derived from fears (something Terry was inspired by John Irving to consider), and from events that unfolded during the pandemic, and the way Terry had to evolve his writing from the usual "bend" of humor he employed in his previous books
Casting off the shackles/tyranny of humor
Some of the "trademark" self-depracating humor of Terry's narrators (Jack McMaster in this one, Daniel Addison in his first couple of novels)
Not being able to believe that he's currently 63 and the experience of writing a narrator (Jack) who is closer to Terry's own age
Terry's experiences playing ball hockey every week and how ball hockey can be a bit of a time machine
Writing the scenes from trying to speech French when in Paris from personal experience
Terry's friendship with Jim Cuddy (of Blue Rodeo fame) via his weekly ball-hockey and how the musician allowed Terry to write him into his novel
The examination of make friendship which is an important aspect of this novel
Terry's history of being a "closeted" singer-songwriter, which he's been doing since he was seventeen years old
The song "More Than The Game" which Terry wrote about the comradarie of his ball hockey league
Laying a few of Terry's songs into the audiobook produced by Penguin Random House
The 42-year-old love song that Terry wrote for his University girlfriend (who he has been married to for 36 wonderful years)
The long-time romantic tradition of Terry singing the love song to his wife on Christmas Eve
Terry's personal connection to Paris and how it, like ball hockey, is a kind of time machine
Writing a scene of the novel at the seat of Hemmingway's favorite table at a Paris cafe
Hailing from the "why use 6 words when 12 will do" school of writing
The saga of Constance Stanley's diaries becoming the final piece that Terry needed to complete the story
How the title A NEW SEASON refers to so many different elements from the novel
The next book that Terry has already started to work on, which has even more intrigue and suspense than two of his previous novels
Advice Terry would have for writers who have long wanted to do it, but haven't yet taken that step
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the idea of writing books from passion and intense interest. He then shares the name of the Patron winner of Joanna Penn's Writing the Shadow.

Links of Interest:

Terry's Website
Terry's Substack
A New Season (PRH Canada)
Terry's previous guest appearances on this podcast:
- EP 029 - Terry Fallis on Writing with Authenthicity, Humor, and Passion
Mentions of Terry on previous episodes:
- EP 189 - From Stage to Page and Back to Stage with Rod Carley
- EP 050 - 5 Things Learned in 50 Episodes
- EP 020 - Lessons Learned on My Writer Journey
EP 146 - Finding Yourself in Our Song with Meaghan Smith
EP 327 - Writing the Shadow with Joanna Penn
EP 326 - Rebranding and Relaunching with E.L. Williams
EP 325 - Reflecting Back: 3 Things That Are Wrong With Indie Publishing
Mark's YouTube Channel
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Best Book Ever Podcast
Lovers Moon Podcast
The Relaxed Author
- Buy eBook Direct
- Buy Audiobook Direct
Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
Wide for the Win
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
- This Time Around (Short Story)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York
- Stowe Away (Novella)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
- Fright Nights, Big City
- Lover's Moon
- Hex and the City
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 327 - Writing the Shadow with Joanna Penn

10 oktober 2023 | 60 min

Mark interviews Joanna Penn about her new book Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness into Words, then associated Kickstarter she launched for it, plans she has to window its release, and much more.

Prior to the main content, Mark thanks Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.

In their conversation, Mark and Joanna talk about:

How it has been a while since Joanna has been on Mark's podcast (she was in episode 212)
The number of years Joanna has been podcasting under The Creative Penn brand (March 2009)
How sometimes there's a book that you really want to write that you're not ready to write yet
The way we can often push the "shadows" down and repress them
The importance of writing the things that fascinate you
What happens when you push a balloon down underwater and try to hold it there
Plato's Chariot and the White and Dark horses and getting them to run together in harmony
The value of addressing what we're repressing and bringing it into the light particularly in your writing
How critical it is for successful fiction to have conflict, which is often derived from the shadow
The common themes in Joanna's writing about helping or saving the family or saving the world
The only way we're going to be able to stand out as human in a crowded market, and, in particular, a market with emerging AI-generated content
How Writing the Shadow and Pilgrimage are "mid-life" books for Joanna as she is addressing that part of her existence and Mememto Mori in those memoir-style books
Exploring how you're being held back by some of those things that you've allowed to be repressed
The shadows in both self-publishing and traditional publishing
How you don't need to be afraid to look into the shadow and perhaps find the gold in that shadow
The Kickstarter that Joanna has launched for Writing the Shadow
The way authors have long focused on the retail websites for sales but how that has slowly shifted into a new phase of direct selling and windowing strategies
Joanna's launch strategy for Writing the Shadow which starts with Kickstarter, migrates to direct selling on her personal websites, and then moves into broader retail and library distribution
The value of standing out as an author, particularly today
How Writing the Shadow is an optimistic book despite the topic and themes explored in it
Building a new author ecosystem and training existing and new readers to engage in that realm
The importance of remembering how the business model will keep changing but what doesn't change is writing the books of your heart and the books that will help you and others
Gifts of the shadow, finding the gold, and the idea of "after the curse comes the gift"
The spiral bound workbook
How thecreativepenn.com/shadowbook will redirect either to the Kickstarter or wherever the books are available in the future
The horror themed storybundle that Mark and Joanna are both in
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few things from the conversation, announces a bonus for his patrons related to a reward from Joanna's Kickstarter, and invites listeners to share their own reflections on this topic.

Links of Interest:

Joanna Penn's Main Website: The Creative Penn
- Writing the Shadow
Halloween/Horror Storybundle (Ends after Oct 31, 2023)
Joanna's Previous guest appearances on this podcast:
- EP 002 - Living the Healthy Writer's Life with Joanna Penn
- EP 148 - AI Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn
- EP 212 - A Conversation with Joanna Penn about Co-authoring The Relaxed Author
- SELECTED OTHER MENTIONS / Appearances
  - EP 164 - Reflections on Other Podcasts: The Creative Penn Podcast Episode 517
  - EP 300 - Celebrating 300 Episodes with Guest Reflections
Mark's YouTube Channel
EP 324 - The Asset of Attention with Joe Solari
EP 325 - Reflecting Back: Three Things That Are Wrong With Indie Publishing
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Best Book Ever Podcast
Lovers Moon Podcast
The Relaxed Author
- Buy eBook Direct
- Buy Audiobook Direct
Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
Wide for the Win
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 326 - Rebranding and Relaunching with E.L. Williams

5 oktober 2023 | 49 min

EP 325 - Reflecting Back: 3 Things That Are Wrong With Indie Publishing

28 september 2023 | 50 min

EP 324 - The Asset of Attention with Joe Solari

21 september 2023 | 64 min

In this solo episode, Mark interviews Joe Solari about his new book May I Have a Moment of Your Attention?

Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and then reflects on the reasons why he canceled a trip he was supposed to take to Florida to attend NINC (Novelist's Inc.)

This episode is sponsored by the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.

In their conversation, Mark and Joe talk about:

Joe's winding experience path, the long journey he has been on, and how there's no way you could possibly train for the job that Joe does
The daily roadblocks that Joe had to overcome as he was beginning to learn about the complex writing and publishing business
The importance of not assuming that the person on stage actually knows what they're talking about
Also not assuming that what you "need" is what you're seeing presented on that "stage"
Joe's very first 20BooksVegas conference (which he has been to since the very beginning of it)
How Joe feels that we're still in the early stages of the entire self-publishing landscape
Understanding different formats, like audio, where the consumers aren't necessarily readers, but do enjoy story
The value of recognizing the assets in your business, which includes the asset of AUDIENCE and the related importance of DEMAND
How ads aren't scaleable, but that audiences are scaleable
Joe's latest book MAY I HAVE A MOMENT OF YOUR ATTENTION and how it's only available to buy direct from Joe
How the book was created, and how, in part of Joe building his brand is NOT just putting the book up everywhere
The audit statements in a survey that Joe asks readers of the book to complete
The way this survey and other assets help the reader get to "know, like, and trust" Joe and then be willing to purchase from him
How traffic to your Amazon page can be one of the worst things you do if that traffic doesn't convert to sales
The value of a customer retention system
The importance of feeling a special part of a brand's community
Focusing on serving your ideal reader rather than trying to sell more books
How author Chris Kennedy allows his fans to incorporate their own fan club about the worlds he has created and written
The way that people who spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on merchandise, cosplay, etc, are not even thinking about how much a book costs
Joe telling authors to try out his author marketing audit survey and to pay attention to it and see how they can steal his ideas for their own branding and marketing efforts
The free 20 minute calls that Joe offers
The critical importance of focusing on your audience, and not on what other authors are doing

After the interview Mark reflects on a couple of the things Joe talked about, including the advice on assumptions made about the person "on stage" offering advice, and on the critical value of focusing on how you can serve your ideal reader rather than focusing on trying to sell more books.

Links of Interest:

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

EP - 323 - Rambling Reflections From The Road - This Old House

15 september 2023 | 37 min

EP 322 - How to Write a Novel with Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy

7 september 2023 | 58 min

Mark interviews Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy about their new online course on How to Write a Novel.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares and reflects on a brief industry update related to Amazon's recent AI-related change, comments from recent episodes, and word about this episode's sponsor.

Reedsy contains an online listing of vetted professionals from across the industry, including editors, cover designers, and marketing experts. Get $20 off hiring a pro through Reedsy using Mark's Reedsy affiliate link.

In the interview, Mark and Ricardo talk about:

Ricardo's persona and image being directly attached to Reedsy
When Reedsy started and what the main idea behind it was, and the value proposition to authors
How only 3 to 5% of the professionals who apply to be on Reedsy actually make it through
The Reedsy online writing tool that you can use to write and export professional looking ePub and print-ready PDF files
Some of the future development plans for the Reedsy writing platform, including collaboration with an editor
Ricardo's HOW TO MARKET A BOOK, which is free in eBook edition
The 2nd book he wrote and released in Jan 2023 called AMAZON ADS FOR AUTHORS which is the 2nd book in the Reedsy Guides series
Some of the reasoning behind why one of the books is free in eBook and the other has a retail price associated with it (hint: it's a marketing tip)
Important marketing information that Ricardo would want authors to know
The new Reedsy course that runs 3 months and helps authors work through the first draft of their novel
The various ongoing cohorts for the course, including one that opens in Sept and another that starts Oct 30th, to co-incide with NaNoWriMo, then the next that'll start in January 2024
The term "Reedsian" which is used to denote Reedsy employees
Tom Bromley, the instructor they hired to teach the How to Write a Novel course
The intial launch price for the course, which is $1000 - and that it'll be going up shortly after the September launch
Ricardo's previous attempts to try to write a novel and how this course might be one that he himself can benefit from
Some of the things that surprised Ricardo about Reedsy since it's launch nearly 10 years ago
How to find Reedsy and Ricardo
What Ricardo is looking forward to about the future of our industry
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects the overall supportive nature of the publishing industry

Links of Interest:

Reedsy
- Reedsy's How to Market a Book Online Course
Subscriptions for Authors
Episode 018 - Finding The Right Professional with Ricardo from Reedsy
Episode 006 - What's Wrong with Indie Publishing (Mark's "10-year-olds playing soccer" analogy)
Mark's Wide for the Win Update Page
YouTube Video: OH NO! Is Amazon Anti AI?
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Best Book Ever Podcast
Lovers Moon Podcast
The Relaxed Author
- Buy eBook Direct
- Buy Audiobook Direct
Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
Wide for the Win
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard

Ricardo Fayet is one of the four founders of Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors to the world's top publishing talent--from editors to cover designers, book marketers, or literary translators. He's the author of two books on marketing for authors, and a regular presenter at several prestigious writers' conferences: NINC, 20BooksVegas, and The Self Publishing Show Live, among others.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 321 - Capitalizing on the Creator Economy with Ream Stories

31 augusti 2023 | 64 min

Mark interviews Emilia Rose and Michael Evans of Ream Stories, a subscription platform built by authors for authors.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes, and word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In the interview, Mark, Emilia, and Michael talk about:

Emilia's Wattpad experience which resulted in one of her books becoming very popular on that platform
Michael's love of distopian fiction and discovery of the magnitude of the indie author realm, and his interest in the creator economy
How Emilia and Michael first met
What Ream (which launched in May 2023) is and how it works
How authors can choose to make their book free or paid on Ream, and release it serialized or all at once
The purposeful lack of exclusivity and onerous contract terms that Ream offers
The fact that it's free for authors to use and Ream keeps 10% plus a credit card processing fee, resulting in authors keeping about 85% of the revenue
Taking all the aspects of the various reading and serialzied platforms and merging them together to create Ream
Creative things that authors have done that have surprised them since launching Ream
The popularity of "author notes" and asking readers questions along the way on Ream
Advice they would offer to other writers
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a number of things, including how a small gesture can make a big difference, the value of bringing the best of the best of multiple platforms together into a single place, and the importance of treating readers like real people rather than objects to sell to.

Links of Interest:

Ream is the subscription platform by fiction authors for fiction authors.

The platform allows writers to build communities around their stories and charge a monthly fee that rewards your readers with early access to your stories, bonus content, access to new stories and your backlist, and even perks like signed books and merchandise.

Emilia Rose is a steamy romance author of 30 novels with over 30 million story reads online and six figures in annual subscription revenue. You can learn more about her here: https://www.emiliarosewriting.com/

Michael Evans is an author of 12 sci-fi thrillers + 2 nonfiction books for authors, serial creator economy founder, and a student at Harvard. You can learn more about him here: https://mevansinked.com/

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 320 - Maximizing Your Creative IP with Reenita Malhotra Hora

24 augusti 2023 | 65 min

Mark interviews Reenita Malhotra Hora, an award-winning screenwriter, novelist and audio producer.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

Learn more about SciFidea and the awesome Dyson Sphere Sci-Fi Writing Contest.

In the interview, Mark and Reenita talk about:

How Reenita has been writing her entire life and her love of storytelling in varous forms
The manner in which life can be more fun when we are creating and when we don't always take life so seriously
Focusing for a long time on how she could help her clients get THEIR stories out there
The decision, in mid-pandemic, to begin to take her writing career in her own hands and developing her own IP
The release of her book OPERATION MOM, which was released by Harper Collins India initially in 2011
Buying the rights back for the book in the rest of the world (ie, outside India), as well as for the subsidiary rights for film, TV, etc
The publisher's belief that the Western world isn't at all interested in reading a book set in Mumbai
Reenita's own screenplay adaptation of the novel (written in the last year) which she decided to set in Hoboken, New Jersey
How the story and the comedy in the screenplay remains the same but how the specific details and specific jokes have been modified and adjusted for the different market
Just how much Reenita has been learning about publishing in the past few years
The way that working with a smaller, boutique publisher can be a good experience, but how an author self-publishing it can potentially work a bit better because of the control they have
Winning the Santa Barbara International Screenplay Award and being a finalist for the New York International Screenplay Award
The unique approach Reenita took with her newer book Shadow Realms and the multiple formats she has created it in
The importance of understanding the business of storytelling
The two active podcasts Reenita has created, including the True Fiction Project, which explores the journey of story from non-fiction to fiction
The different opportunities for various sponsorships in these two different podcasts
Diversity being so important, but the fact that it has become such a recent "buzzword"
The interesting compromise of the diversity of a community like Hoboken (which has shades of similarity to Mumbai and offers a window into the Indian-American community)
How it can be fun to play with stereotypes and tropes and to turn them around
Reenita's passion about bringing the experience of South-Asians to an American audience
Describing her experiences as being akin to a street-food in Mumbai
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few things from the conversation, including the narrow way many New York publishers look at setting in a novel, which hasn't changed all that much since the early 1990s, and the dynamic way Reenita has explored storytelling in creative ways, while patiently learning more about the industry.

Links of Interest:

Reenita Malhotra Hora is an award-winning screenwriter, novelist and audio producer. Based partly in San Francisco and partly in Los Angeles, her experiences are akin to 'Bhel Puri,' the street food of Mumbai, her native place — a delectable mix of tastes (and preferences), meshed together with a bug or two for good measure. Passionate about storytelling the Indian narrative, Reenita writes characters and themes that reflect the South Asian experience whether set in South Asia or in the Western world.

As a writer she has contributed to Reuters, South China Morning Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Times of India, Rolling Stone, National Geographic Kids, Cartoon Network Asia, Disney and more. As an on-air news reporter, writer, and producer, she has contributed to Bloomberg, RTHK Radio 3, Monocle Radio and the BBC. She has two active podcasts - 'Shadow Realm' (narrative fantasy fiction) and the 'True Fiction Project' (unscripted to scripted).

Her female-driven comedy, 'Operation Mom' is a Santa Barbara Screenplay Awards winner, a Chanticleer International Book Awards GrandPrize winner and an Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize winner. Her YA fantasy screenplay, ‘Shadow Realm’ is a Script2Comic and Launchpad Prose finalist, a Screencraft quarterfinalist, and a selected nominee for the New Media Film Festival.

She is a limited partner in the How Women Invest fund which specifically invests in women owned companies. She is working on her next novel and has recently launched Chapter by episode, a digital publishing platform for immersive chat fiction stories with diverse themes.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 319 - Father and Daughter Collaborations with Ron and Brigid Collins

17 augusti 2023 | 66 min

Mark interviews the creative daughter/father team of Brigid Collins and Ron Collins about their collaborative writing.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes, and word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In the interview, Mark, Brigid and Ron talk about:

The last time they saw one another (Feb 2020, just prior to the world "shutting down" for the pandemic)
Ron's entry into the world of professional speculative fiction writing in the mid 1990s
Why Ron feels that non-fiction can be a lot of fun to write
Ron's latest book On Creating (And Celebrating!) Characters
Brigid growing up and being witness to the dedication her father Ron had for his pursuit of writing
Singer, the first book Brigid wrote, which evolved into the four books of The Songbird River Chronicles in response to her father's prompting
Brigid's appreciation of having good parents at all the various stages of her youth and adulthood
The importance of being able to accept the other person's methods and style of writing as well as their ideas which can be totally different
Learning one's own writing styles from engaging with the other person's work
The incredible amount of fun that can happen with the right collaborations
The logistics of how they co-author together, for both short stories as well as a newco-authored book project
Finding the middle-ground between planning and discovery writing
Merging the worlds of the fairie realm with the baseball world based on the idea of a baseball diamond being built on top of a fairie ring
The fun of merging the tropes of these two types of worlds
The way the split of writing has evolved and gotten more complicated as part of writing the next books in the series
Leveraging Google doc and folders for the collaborations
Using Draft2Digital's payment splitting option for publishing
A collaboration that Ron is doing with his brother merging science fiction and the world of music
Advice they would offer to writers interested in getting into writing collaborations
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the "2+2 equally more than 4" awesomeness that can happen in a powerful collaboration.

Links of Interest:

Brigid Collins is a fantasy and science fiction writer living in Michigan with her wonderful wife and her irritating cats. (Just kidding, the cats are pretty wonderful, too.) Her fantasy series The Songbird River Chronicles and Winter’s Consort, her fun middle grade hijinks series The Sugimori Sisters, and her dark fairy tale novella Thorn and Thimble are available wherever books are sold. Her short stories have appeared in Fiction River, Feyland Tales, and Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar anthologies.

Ron Collins is a best-selling Science Fiction and Dark Fantasy author who writes across the spectrum of speculative fiction. With his daughter, Brigid, he edited the anthology Face the Strange. His short fiction has received a Writers of the Future prize. His short story “The White Game” was nominated for the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s 2016 Derringer Award. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and has worked to develop avionics systems, electronics, and information technology before chucking it all to write full-time.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 318 - Rambling Reflections from the Road - Part 3

11 augusti 2023 | 32 min

EP 317 - Rambling Reflections from the Road - Part 2

3 augusti 2023 | 17 min

EP 316 - Free Your Inner Non-Fiction Writer with Johanna Rothman

27 juli 2023 | 49 min

Mark interviews Johanna Rothman about her latest book FREE YOUR INNER NON-FICTION WRITER.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Mark's new book Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard.

In the interview, Mark and Johanna talk about:

Why Johanna is often called The Pragmatic Manager
The thirty-years of consulting that Johanna has experience with
The fact that she is not a "natural writer"
Beginning to write in 1997 because she realized that speaking only wasn't a great way to market her business as a consultant
Advice Johanna received from Gerald Weinberg
How Johanna began to write short fiction in 2016
Being involved in the early days of "Agile" development
Why Johanna recommends writing in 15 minute chunks for non-fiction
Who the idea reader is for Johanna's book FREE YOUR INNER NONFICTION WRITER
How to keep a business-related blog interesting
How writing non-fiction includes universal story elements: "a person in a situation with a problem"
The "write fast to write well" concept
The importance of maintaining your voice
Why Johanna writes a question of the week on her blog
The book Obliquity by John Kay and how detours might help us better in the long run
Advice Johanna would offer to writers for getting better at their own non-fiction writing
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of your author voice as well as the divergent ways you sometimes find your way to your destination.

Links of Interest:

Johanna Rothman, known as the “Pragmatic Manager,” offers frank advice for your complex problems. She helps leaders and teams learn to see practical alternatives that help them achieve more agility in their work. With that knowledge, they can choose what—and how—to adapt their product development.

For almost three decades, Johanna has helped her clients experiment with agile and lean alternatives for every piece of their product development. As a result, her clients create more management agility which translates to better business results.

A prolific writer, Johanna is the author of 18 books and hundreds of articles about many aspects of product development. She uses her trademark practicality and humor to focus on what people can do—and not take herself too seriously.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 315 - Rambling Reflections from the Road - Part 1

21 juli 2023 | 48 min

EP 314 - Defeating Writer's Block Using Penspyre with David Olive Jr.

13 juli 2023 | 51 min

Mark interviews David Olive, Jr (AKA David Grimdark) author and one of the engineers behind Penspyre a tool to help writers tackle writer's block and productivity.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes, and word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In the interview, Mark and David talk about:

David's love of reading as a young child and his love of fantasy novels
Begining to read eBooks on a dedicated reader, and reading Webnovels
Starting to write when interning in University
Putting some of his work up on Wattpad
The Systems Design Engineering program David recently graduated from at University of Waterloo
The final year project that David and his fellow engineering students put together, which resulted in Penspyre
The procedural documentation of identifying problems related to the writing process
Reaching out to local writers from the Cambridge Writer's Group as part of their research and investigation
Learning the Google Spring method
How Pensypre offers up AI-generated writing prompts to help a writer with their productivity
The research they'd done with writers leading them to believe they didn't want a tool that would give them something they'd take word for word but that they needed something to help "get the ball rolling."
The metrics they looked at for their research with how writers engaged with the tool
Their study's results showing that writers typically wrote 15% more in a 20 minute writing sprint using the tool than when not using the tool
How Pensyre is a tool David wanted to make as much for himself as for other writers
The "Continue the Story" option where you can focus on action, dialogue, or inner thoughts of the characters with various styles or moods
The "Link the story" feature for briding two different scenes or moments or actions together
The "Describe" function that allows you to draw upon one or more of the five senses
Penspyre's availability as a Google Docs extension
How writers during the test kept the prompts unedited about 15% of the time
The element of the software that suggests the level of "originality" score to the prompt
Advice David would offer to beginning writers
David's thoughts on why writers shouldn't be afraid of this new technology

After the interview Mark shares a few of his own reflections, thanks Patrons for their support and reminds them there'll be a video walk-thru of Penspyre available for them at www.patreon.com/starkreflections.

Links of Interest:

David Olive Jr is a recent graduate from the University of Waterloo, Canada who has a passion for reading and writing fiction. As an aspiring writer he and some classmates decided to try and tackle writing productivity as their final year design project. The result was Penspyre, a tool that utilizes AI to give the writer contextualized writing prompts and help them be more productive.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 313 - Pioneering In Digital Indie Publishing with Peter M. Ball

6 juli 2023 | 60 min

Mark interviews author, publisher and RPG gamer Peter M. Ball who has been engaged in experimental and digital publishing since the very beginning of its appearance in the book industry.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In the interview, Mark and Peter talk about:

Peter being a night owl who is most comfortable starting to write at about 10 PM at night and working through the night
How, through necessity with a regular life schedule, Peter will get the writing done first thing in the morning
Peter having wanted to be a writer since he was quite young
The way that most of the work he has taken on in his life has been somehow affiliated with the writing world
Describing the Gold Coast of Australia as Miami with slightly less charm
The undergraduate degree focus which mostly avoided genre fiction
How you can never escape poetry once you've done it, even years later being introgued as "Peter the Poet"
How in the early 2000s Dungeons and Dragons open-sourced their rules, allowing people to provide material within their realm
Getting involved in DriveThruFiction back in 2005
The hunger for content that came out in that time period
How changes in the RPG industry that happened were later echoed a few years later in the eBook fiction publishing space
The issues Peter recognized in 2006 in creating role playing game material where somebody else held the licensce for it
Challenges of submitting fiction to markets from a country like Australia
Spending six weeks at an Australian branch of the Clarion Writers Workshop and how that dramatically changed the perspective forced on him from his university education
Continuing to submit his fiction to the traditional markets but paying attention to what was going on in the self-publishing, digital publishing, and indie publishing space
Launching Brain Jar Press in 2017 largely as a vehicle for publishing his backlist
Why cutting your teeth in short fiction can be great
Having a plan to indie publish his own books for about ten years, make all the mistake on his own books, rather than someone elses, and getting solid learning and experience from it to benefit his press
Working with Kathleen Jennings on a poetry collection right at about the time her first book with Tor went huge
The idea for a series of short chapbooks with four or five essays per writer in order to bring these remarkable articles the authors had already written back into availability
Borrowing the cultural capital of all the people they're publishing so that they can grow and eventually launch new writers
How Peter fell in love with print quite accidentally
The requirement of having to have an online store for the press
The joke that it's cheaper to get things to Narnia than it is to get them to Australia
The thought exercise Peter does regarding how many books he has to sell to make it to $100
Understanding the market base that you're likely selling to as a small specialized indie press
Peter's impatience for just replicating what midlist are publishing is doing in the face of such wonderful, free, and dynamic digital tools when one can be breaking the model, expanding, and forming new ideas and new products
ether Peter has been doing much of his own writing since launching Brain Jar Press 2.0
The flash fiction writing Peter has been able to do during a few 8 minute breaks at work
What Peter is most optimistic about with what's happening in the publishing world now
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on Peter working in publishing and writing related realms, the value of connecting with others in the industry, and Peter's thirst for innovation and experimentation within digital publishing.

Links of Interest:

Peter M. Ball is an author, publisher, and RPG gamer whose love of speculative fiction emerged after exposure to The Hobbit, Star Wars, David Lynch’s Dune, and far too many games of Dungeons and Dragons before the age of 7. He’s spent the bulk of his life working as a creative writing tutor, with brief stints as a performance poet, gaming convention organiser, online content developer, non-profit arts manager, and d20 RPG publisher.

Peter’s three biggest passions are fiction, gaming, and honing the way aspiring writers think about the business and craft of writing, which led to a five-year period working for Queensland Writers Centre as manager of the Australian Writers Marketplace and convenor of the GenreCon writing conference. He is now pursuing a PhD in Writing at the University of Queensland, exploring the poetics of series fiction and their response to emerging publishing technologies.

He’s the author of the Miriam Aster series and the Keith Murphy Urban Fantasy Thrillers, three short story collections, and more stories, articles, poems, and RPG material than he’d care to count. He’s one-half of Brain Jar Press with his partner, Sarah, publishes his own work under the Eclectic Projects imprint, and resides in Brisbane, Australia, with his wife and two very affectionate cats.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 312 - The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Know With Jeff Elkins

30 juni 2023 | 65 min

Mark interviews Jeff Elkins about his writing, about dialogue and character voice, about his new book The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now, and more . . .

Prior to the interview, Mark shares the winners of the complimentary tickets to BookMARCon, the surprise winners of complimentary pizza, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation Mark and Jeff talk about:

Jeff's "nickname" as "The Dialogue Doctor" as well as his background as a writer
What Jeff has seen in the past eight years that he has been involved in the indie author space
The latest novel Jeff released in March 2023 co-authored with J.P. Rindfleisch called NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services which is described as "Ghostbusters meets The Office"
The first collaboration Jeff had done with his best friend years ago
Wanting to reengage in and looking for a way to give back to the author community in 2020
Adapting what he does professionally, training professionals in difficult conversations, and leveraging that to help authors apply those skills to their writing
Doing more than 200 1:1 sessions since 2020 with authors to help them with their dialogue
Liking helping writers perhaps more than he even likes writing
The Dialogue Doctor community that seems to operate as a problem-solving community
Jeff's book The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now, coming July 1, 2023
The structure of the book, which is hear the problem, learn the philosophy and the strategy for fixing it, then do a reading challenge, then a writing challenge
The emotional journey a character goes on and the emotional shape of stories
How you can have all the right plot points but not have the right emotional journey and the reader will disconnect from it
Replacing the words hero, alley, and villain with terms like vehicle (the point of view character), the engines (characters who help move them forward), the anchors (those who weigh the vehicle down or bring out the worst versions of the vehicle)
If you need the character to struggle, put them in scenes with their anchor
If you want a big emotional moment where the character has to make an emotional choice, have the character enacting upon the influence of the anchor, then introduce the engine into that scene
How when we talk about dialogue we're really talking about overall character interaction
Building a character voice and ways of building a dynamic cast around a character where they can all build upon one another
The difference between segments and scenes
Jeff's "Apple a day" style advice for writers
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on dialogue being one important aspect of overall character interaction, the readers emotional journey, and the value in helping other authors.

Links of Interest:

Jeff Elkins coaches authors and podcasts as the Dialogue Doctor. Since launching the Dialogue Doctor in 2020, he's held over 200 1-on-1 coaching sessions with authors focused on helping them improved their dialogue. In addition to 12 novels, Jeff is the author of The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now: How to Write Dialogue and Characters Readers Will Love -- a primer on how to write great dialogue, dynamic character voices, and powerful casts of characters.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 311 - Being A Career Self-Publishing Author with Lindsay Buroker

22 juni 2023 | 47 min

Mark interviews Lindsay Buroker, a full-time independent fantasy and science fiction author who has written over a hundred novels, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list, and has been twice nominated for a Goodreads Readers' Choice Award.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares an extremely short personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation Mark and Lindsay talk about:

Lindsay's first appearance on the Stark Reflections Podcast, back in December 2018
The last time they saw one another in person, back in Vegas at 20BooksVegas a few months prior to the global pandemic
Lindsay's start in self-publishing, which started just prior to Christmas in 2010
How she had been about to hit the publishing button for her first book when she received an offer back from an agent - and she decided to just go ahead and hit that "publish" button
Using Podiobooks to release the first three books in audio for free
Doing a Kickstarter to pay for the audiobook production back in 2012
What it was like self-publishing back in 2010 through 2013
Writing in different genres, the various experiences of doing that, and the surprising number of readers who willingly follow her on this journey
Listening to her fans, but actually responding more to sales than to requests from her readers
The writing, editing, proofreading, betareading, publishing process Lindsay loops through
Always being aware of the possibility that the sales and consistent income might not always be there
Launching books to her fans "direct" via Patreon prior to pushing them into KDP Select
How an introvert like Lindsay can deal with being in such high demand from the author community and the reader community
Pseudo-retiring the weekly schedule of The Six Figure Author Podcast and considering doing an episode once every quarter
Books that Lindsay would recommend new readers might want to start with
Advice Lindsay has for authors who prefer to "follow the muse"
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few things about Lindsay's unique journey as well as how much he enjoyed returning to her books as a reader.

Links of Interest:

Lindsay Buroker's Website
- Lindsay on Twitter
- Lindsay on Facebook
- Sinister Magic (Book 1 in Death Before Dragons)
6 Figure Authors Podcast (new episode June 20, 2023)
Episode 54 - Personable Publishing with Lindsay Buroker
- Mentions/apperances of Lindsay on Stark Reflections
Findaway Voices
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Best Book Ever Podcast
Lovers Moon Podcast
The Relaxed Author
- Buy eBook Direct
- Buy Audiobook Direct
Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
Wide for the Win
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Lindsay Buroker is a full-time independent fantasy and science fiction author who loves travel, hiking, tennis, and vizslas. She's written over a hundred novels, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list, and has been twice nominated for a Goodreads Readers' Choice Award.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 310 - Book Marketing and BookMARCon with Dana Claire

15 juni 2023 | 57 min

Mark interviews Dana Claire, an award-winning author and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Book Brush about her writing, about Book Brush, and about the virtual BookMARCon conference.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can find out more about BookMARCon at https://bookbrush.com/bookmarcon/

During their conversation, Mark and Dana talk about:

Dana's background as a creative person as a writer, including the influence of her mother, an English teacher, and her college experience
Joining forces with her mother who wanted to write a children's book, and Dana who wanted to write an adult book - and the resulting young adult book they decided upon
Losing her mother unexpectedly, and then honoring her mother's memory by releasing the book the had planned on
Some of the issues and errors Dana made when publishing her first book (The Connection)
Dana's experience and background doing marketing and promotions for major companies
Being an author who has both traditionally published and self-published
Dana's belief in conferences and how important that has been to her author career
Pitching her novel to fourteen different publishers at a conference, and how it got picked up because of this
What Book Brush is - online software to make promotional images for books, including 3D versions of the books, within thousands of images that place it in specific settings and environments
How Book Brush is updated weekly and there's always something new available for writers to take advantage of
The way Book Brush can be very community driven so that authors don't feel so lonely
What BookMARCon is (a three day virtual event - August 11 through 13, 2023), the origin of it, and how that MAR stands for MARKETING. (Book Marketing Con)
The agent pitches that will be a part of this virtual conference
The importance of the "personality fit" that can happen between authors and agents
Self-publishing a book that her agent didn't want to pick up, and how that led to it winning an award and also being involved in a few things Dana isn't yet able to publicly talk about
Her novel Sideliners being optioned for TV because Hunterland was optioned for television
How self-published titles can help sell more of an author's traditionally published titles and vice versa
More about the various topics that'll be covered during BookMARCon
Heart-felt advice that Dana received from an agent during a meeting where the book she'd pitched was rejected and how that stayed with her and kept her motivated
The $199 USD registration fee for this conference
The Early Bird special registrants can get at the price of $149 until the end of July
How you can get $50 off the conference registration using code MARK50
Advice that Dana would offer to other writers
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of conferences to a writer's career, particularly from the networking and connections made there, Dana's great advice for writers, and the unique way that Dana signs her emails to authors as the company's COO.

Links of Interest:

Dana Claire is an award-winning author and also serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Book Brush, overseeing the company's daily operations, spearheading strategic initiatives, and expanding the platform's offerings. With her experience as an author, Dana brings a unique perspective to Book Brush, enabling her to empathize with the needs of the community and provide tailored solutions. With nearly two decades of experience in marketing and sales, she is well-equipped to bridge the gap between traditional marketing and the literary world. Dana currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, California with her biggest fan, her husband.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 309 - From Zero to Four Figures with Paul Austin Ardoin

8 juni 2023 | 57 min

Mark interviews Paul Austin Ardoin about his new book From Zero to Four Figures: Making $1,000 a Month Self-Publishing Fiction.

Prior to the interview, Mark welcomes new patrons, shares comments from recent episodes and a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation Mark and Paul talk about:

How Paul has wanted to be a novelist since he was six years old
University being all about literary fiction, and never finishing that "great American novel" he kept trying to write
The way that writing a genre he was passionate about (mystery) was what made the major difference for Paul
Paul's wife giving him a great idea for a main character, a former nurse who becomes a county coroner
The fact that there are distinct seasons in Milwaukee
Paul being a pantser, or discovery writer
How literary fiction didn't gell with Paul's writing style
What is really meant by the "write what you know" advice from writing
Some mistakes that can be made related to missing some of the important tropes in one's writing
How Paul always approaches writing mysteries as a "pantser" or "discovery writer"
One of the pitfalls of "pantsing" a mystery novel
Making a lot of mistakes in the past five years, and being sure to include that in his new book for writers
The definite plan that Paul believes that many authors can put into place to get to $1000 a month
How Paul approached writing this book as something that just didn't seem to exist for writers, offering them a way they could approach it, including an important mindset shift
The value of series to a reader not having to go through the process of "finding something to read next"
The importance of setting a more reachable goal such as $1000 a month rather than the commonly shared much higher revenue goals often pushed on writers
Reader expectations and why it's such an important element for writers to pay attention to
The marketing pitfall authors can fall into when they believe their book is unique and "defies" genre
Sharing the many mistakes Paul has made as an author in this book
The important question about how readers are going to find your books
Paul's "Costco" analogy of book marketing
Focusing on the entry point novel
How the "freebee seekers" are a part of the business
The timeline that Paul lays out for this author journey
Thinking about your first book as an advertisement rather than as your baby
A few of the elements that are a part of this book that are mostly lacking in many of the books out there for writers
The power of being able to make changes
Advice Paul wish he'd had when he was first starting out
And more . . .

After the interview Mark shares a few reflections about things that came up in the conversation.

Links of Interest:

Paul Austin Ardoin is the USA TODAY bestselling indie author of The Fenway Stevenson Mysteries and The Woodhead & Becker Mysteries. He holds a B.A. in creative writing from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an M.B.A. in marketing from the University of Phoenix. His book Zero to Four Figures: Making $1,000 a Month Self-Publishing Fiction was published in June 2023.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 308 - Historical Fiction Inspired by Real People with C. C. Humphreys

6 juni 2023 | 54 min

Mark interviews, actor and writer C. C. Humphreys about his new novel Some Day I'll Find You.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During the interview Mark and Chris talk about:

Chris's new epic romance saga novel Some Day I'll Find You and how it's partly based on his own parents
Having to imagine his parents in their early 20s in the precarious situations they found themselves in
How this novel related to Chris's previous historical novel from the same era, Chasing the Wind
The common theme of "characters in peril" in Chris's novels
The consistent question of "what would I have done" during this significant era of history as well as in situations taking place around the world even today
How the spark for a novel always begins with story and characters
The various ways that Chris conducts research for different historical periods that he writes about
The book All the Fine Young Eagles: In the Cockpit with Canada's Second World War Fighter Pilots by David L Bashow which contained beautiful details about Canadian fighter pilots
The playlist Chris compiled related to songs that were a part of the research he did into that era
The book launches Chris will be doing when in Toronto (June 7th at Noonan's Pub) and Perth (June 9th at 7 PM at The Book Nook), then at Book Warehouse (Vancouver) on the 14th, as well as the free stage show in Toronto
Tips Chris would provide for authors who are preparing to do a reading of their work
How Chris enjoys doing launches at pubs and the live reading Chris did from the 5th oldest pub in England in the summer of 2022
A potential additional novel idea set in this same universe that Chris has been noodling over
Chris's fascination with the ambiguity of war
Advice that Chris would offer to beginning writers
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on those historic moments when people had to take a stand, as well as the idea of hosting a book-related event at a pub or other typically non-bookish locale.

Links of Interest:

Chris (C.C.) Humphreys - born in Toronto, raised in London - has played Hamlet in Calgary, a gladiator in Tunisia, waltzed in London’s West End, conned the landlord of the Rovers Return in Coronation Street, patrolled the Sun Hill beat in The Bill, commanded a starfleet in Andromeda, voiced Salem the cat in the original Sabrina, and is a dead immortal in Highlander. He is also a playwright, audiobook narrator, creative writing teacher and award-winning author of historical fiction and fantasy. He has written twenty two novels including The French Executioner, The Jack Absolute Trilogy, Vlad-The Last Confession, A Place Called Armageddon, Shakespeare’s Rebel, Chasing the Wind and his recent modern thriller, One London Day. Plague won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel. He has been translated into thirteen languages. His fantasy work includes The Runestone Saga and the recently published high epic series Immortals’ Blood beginning with Smoke in the Glass. His other fantasy series, The Tapestry Trilogy, has just been re-launched beginning with The Hunt of the Unicorn. This Summer sees the publication of his WW2 thriller, Someday I’ll Find You. He lives on Salt Spring Island, BC. Visit him at: https://www.authorchrishumphreys.com/

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 307 - Autism, ADHD, Neurodiversity, and Divergent Realms with Ridley Odell

2 juni 2023 | 48 min

Mark interviews Riley Odell, an autistic writer of horror, humor, and bizarro stories. As an autism/neurodiversity advocate, Riley is working on a speculative fiction anthology about neurodiverse characters written by neurodiverse writers called Divergent Realms: Speculative Stories About Neurodiversity.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Riley talk about:

How Riley first started off writing by creating silly comic strips back in the third grade, moving to prose fiction by the time he was about twelve years old, and has pretty much been writing ever since
Years of working on various unfinished projects, but having found a groove just a few years ago
The ways in which his wife has helped Riley with his writing
Riley's two short story collections (Vile Visions and Odd Ordeals) and his novella entitled My Weird Nightmare Baby
How landing on the title Vile Visions felt perfect
Being drawing to writing speculative fiction because Riley has long been a reader of those genres
Inspiration from the world for writing horror and the types of horror that appear in Vile Visions
How comedy and horror work on two different sides of the same coin
The anthology Riley is reading for and publishing, Divergent Realms, and how it was inspired
Why a call for neuro-divergent writers only is important
The honor system for submissions that include a cover letter explaining how neurodiversion applies to them
The types of stories Riley is hoping to receive for the anthology
The submission window (June 1, 2023 until the last day of August 2023), the story length requested (2000 to 5000 words)
Where, online more can be found out about this anthology (horrortree.com) and the email to send submissions to ([email protected]) and what payment will be offered for submissions
Riley's connection to the Odell Brewery in Fort Collins, CO (which Mark nerds out on)
How Riley will be doing a bit of work with Melissa Dalton-Martinez of The Book Break
The expected timeline for the release of the anthology, which is spring 2024
How writing with Autism and ADHD is never made easier, but can sometimes be made easier, including strategies like taking a lot of basic writing advice with a grain of salt
How forcing yourself to write when you're not ready to write can create a negative association with writing which makes things worse
Advice Riley would offer to other writers
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on Riley taking a solid DIY ethic to fix a hole in the publishing world, as well as the importance of adapting advice into something that works best for YOU in your particular situation.

Links of Interest:

RIley Odell is an autistic writer of horror, humor, bizarro and stories about autism. He is the author of the books Vile Visions, Odd Ordeals and My Weird Nightmare Baby. As an autism/neurodiversity advocate, Riley is working on a speculative fiction anthology about neurodiverse characters written by neurodiverse writers called Divergent Realms: Speculative Stories About Neurodiversity.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 306 - Finding Markets for Short Fiction with Angelique Fawns

25 maj 2023 | 57 min

Mark interviews Angelique Fawns about her writing as well as the intel she provides on short fiction markets for other writers.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their discussion, Mark and Angelique talk about:

Angelique's background in freelance writing, journalism and her 25 years working in corporate television
What Global TV is, for the benefit of non-Canadians
Her preference for not having to be constrained by the truth, which led to her passion for fiction over non-fiction/journalism
Some of the logistics of doing promotional short videos for Global TV
The silver lining of shattering her ankle and how it led to finally sitting down and writing fiction
Entering the fiction world in 2018 and not being able to find markets for selling short fiction
Writing in active present tense because of her background in broadcast
The work Angelique does finding and sharing information about markets for short fiction for other writers
The Guide of All Guides market listing that Angelique has published based on the research she has done
"Re-printing" her short fiction via her "Read me a Nightmare" podcast
How working with an editor (Scott from DreamForge) helped Angelique revise a good story into a great story
Balancing working a full time job, managing a farm, and having an active family life along with writing
Not buying the idea that there's no money in short fiction
The fickleness of luck in a writer's life and how the harder you work and the more lightning rods you plant, the more likely the right luck will happen
The consistent message of "I think I'm successful because I didn't give up" from many of the world's most known and successful writers
How what looks like success often doesn't show the numerous rejections and failures behind the scenes
What Angelqique would advise to writers who are frightened of rejection
A true and very cautionary tale about a writer who had impressed a series of editors and quit just when he was at the verge of that "breakthrough" submission
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few of the things Angelique spoke about, as well as the way she has adapted her "day job" skills into her writing.

Links of Interest:

Angelique Fawns is a journalist and speculative fiction writer. She began her career writing articles about naked cave dwellers in Tenerife, Canary Islands, and hosting a radio show in Mooloolaba, Australia. Now she works full-time making television commercials for Global TV in Toronto. She writes fiction for fun and uses her journalism skills to promote editors, publishers and authors. She has her own podcast, Read Me A NIghtmare where she features short, dark stories and interviews creators in the industry. She lives on a farm north of the city with her husband, daughter, horses, cows, far too many cats, and a Potcake rescue dog. Her very first sale was to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. You can find her work in DreamForge, Allegory, The School Magazine, and two Third Flatiron anthologies. “The Last of the Gen Xers” is a 2022 Tangent Online Recommended Read. Her writing groups include the Wulf Pack and The Dreamcasters.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 305 - Rising Action Publishing with Alexandria Brown

18 maj 2023 | 60 min

Mark interviews Alexandria Brown from Rising Action Publishing about her role in acquisitions and works with sub-agents on subsidiary rights.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their discussion, Mark and Alex talk about:

Alexandria starting off doing lifestyle and other non-fiction publications such as Thought Catalog from New York
Her first two books that focus on dating and romance, and mental health and traveling the world
Getting her PhD at the University of Gloucestershire
The focus on how to write trauma in fiction in Alex's PhD (How cross-cultural characters and trauma can impact fiction and bind people together)
How Alex got involved in starting up Rising Action Publishing with a co-owner she met in Humber College
The tremendous value, uniqueness, and diversity that independent publishers can bring to the market that traditional publishes often aren't able to
Their partnership with Black Bird Books from South Africa
Why it's really important for independent publishers to be part of a supportive and collaborative community
How Alex and Tina did a lot of freelance editing in order to generate enough capital to get their publishing business started
Leveraging subsidiary rights for things like audio rights to help bring in money for publishing expenses
How the publishing partnership between Alex and Tina is very much like a marriage
The types of fiction and non-fiction that Rising Action Publishing is looking to acquire
The difference between domestic suspense and thrillers
The wonderful challenge and problem of getting so many great submissions as a publisher
Some of the errors that some writers have made when making submissions
A few of the books that Rising Action will be releasing
Advice that Alexandria would offer to writers near the beginning of their journey
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few of the things that Alexandria talked about and goes into detail explaining how the big traditional publishers of today have a lot more in common with indie authors than at first meets the eye.

Links of Interest:

Alex Brown has over ten years of experience in marketing and creative writing. Alex has a Bachelor’s in Communications with a major in Public Relations, a Master of Fine Arts - Creative Writing from the University of Gloucestershire, and is a Creative Writing Ph.D. Candidate currently at the University of Gloucestershire. She has two traditionally published nonfiction books. She’s a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Alex’s primary role is acquisitions and marketing as well as working with sub-agents on subsidiary rights.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 304 - Narrative Transportation with Denise Baden

12 maj 2023 | 57 min

Mark interviews Denise Baden, Professor of Sustainable Practice at the University of Southampton, UK, about her eco-themed writing, and the Green Writing Project which she initially set up in 2018.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Denise talk about:

Denise's varied background in a number of different areas, including being a sales rep for cookbooks
How a work of fiction (the satirical thriller STARK by Ben Elton) was what inspired Denise to become a "Greeny"
Teaching in the area of sustainability and how Denise's nature is not necessarily suited to academia
How "narrative transporation" allows a reader, when immersed in a story to take on the thoughts and feelings of a character
The way that talking about catasotrophy and spreading fear doesn't necessarily inspire people into positive behaviors
Studies of how people react to negative/distopian fiction pieces as opposed to ones that focus on positive action or behavior
Denise's worry about eco-anxiety
The books that Denise has written that include elements of climate solutions
How almost 90% of readers adopted at least one of the solutions that were presented through character behavior in the stories
The Green Stories Project that Denise first set up in 2018 and the various prizes associated with the free contest
Being approached by Herculean Climate Solutions to produce an anthology collaboratively (No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save the Planet)
Natural Burial, why it's important and a bit about how it works
Looking at existing properties, such as comparing James Bond to Jack Reacher, and the way the two characters behave in significantly different ways in relation to sustainability and high or low carbon behavior
How it's not policy or govertment mandates that will get us out of this ecological mess, but that it's the culture and behavior of the average person that will
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the power of fiction to change the world, and shares a personal story of how reading two different novels dramatically changed and impacted his own life.

Links of Interest:

Denise Baden is a Professor of Sustainable Practice at the University of Southampton, UK. She has published widely in the academic realm and also in fiction. Her eco-themed rom-com ‘Habitat Man’ was published in 2021, followed by ‘the Assassin’ and ‘No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save the Planet’ in 2022. Her most recent research explores the use of storytelling to promote green behaviours, looking at how readers respond to eco-themed stories. In 2018, Denise set up the Green Stories Writing project that challenges writers to embed green solutions in their stories via a series of free writing competitions. These are open to all, and 17 competitions have been run so far, which have resulted in several publications. Denise is listed on the Forbes list of Climate Leaders Changing the Film and TV industry and speaks regularly on how to write for a cause.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 303 - Writing as a Second Career with Lisa M. Lilly

5 maj 2023 | 62 min

Mark interviews Lisa M. Lilly, writer, attorney, and podcaster about story structure and the idea that writers don't need to make full time writing a priority or goal.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a thank you to those who support this podcast at patreon.com/starkreflections

During their conversation, Mark and Lisa talk about:

The mysteries and supernatural thrillers that Lisa writes, the non-fiction books for authors, and the podcast that she hosts
How Lisa continues to practice Law, but is no longer doing it full time
Writing not having to be a full-time thing, and Lisa's latest book "Fiction Writing as Your Second Career"
The kind of Law that Lisa practices
The "floating around" that Lisa did when she had too much free time when completely away from the responsibilities of the "day job"
Lisa's "Awakening" series which is described as a cross between Rosemary's Baby and The Davinci Code
How sometimes a small plot or story idea might be inspired by a real-life case Lisa has worked on or heard about
Lisa's book "Super Simple Story Structure" and how it related to her passion and knowledge of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and that led to the basis for her podcast
Things Lisa learned about doing the podcast weekly the first year, then every second week during the second year
The decision of whether to quit doing a thing or to try doing it a different way
Considering your writing as a 2nd career rather than as a "hobby"
The powerful impact of allowing yourself to "daydream"
Advice that Lisa would offer to authors who is balancing their full time work, a busy personal life and their writing
If you can't set a habit by day or time, then add some other sort of habit to help trigger your brain that it's "time to write"
What's next for Lisa
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the important perspective that not all writers need to aspire to writing full time, as well as the passion behind creative projects (which seems to be a recent common theme in his world).

Links of Interest:

An author, attorney, and podcaster, Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the Q.C. Davis mysteries and the bestselling four-book Awakening supernatural thriller series. Writing as L. M. Lilly, her books on writing include The One-Year Novelist: A Week-By-Week Guide To Writing Your Novel In One Year, Super Simple Story Structure: A Quick Guide To Plotting & Writing Your Novel; and Fiction Writing As Your Second Career. She also hosts the podcast Buffy and the Art of Story.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 302 - Fat Vampires, Storytelling, and Empathy with Johnny B. Truant

3 maj 2023 | 57 min

Mark interviews Johnny B. Truant, the author of the Fat Vampire novels adapted by SyFy as "Reginald the Vampire" starring Spider-Man's Jacob Batalon.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During the interview Mark and Johnny talk about:

How Mark and Johnny have known one another for more than 10 years
Young Johnny who had always wanted to be a writer and convinced his high school newspaper to allow him to write a column for them
Orbiting the same circles as Sean Platt and how the two met via working via places like Copyblogger and the Blog World Conference
How The Self Publishing Podcast came from Johnny wanting to interview (and talk and learn from) Sean Platt and David Wright about the co-authoring and self-publishing they were doing
Where the spark for the idea of "Fat Vampire" came from (the old "after-show" podcast they did called "Better Off Undead" for horror fans
Johnny wanting to explore the "sameness taken to the extreme" in Reginald, the fat vampire
How not being exclusive to Amazon actually led to Johnny selling the option and license for FAT VAMPIRE to become the TV show "Reginald the Vampire"
The expression "enthusiasm is free"
What it was like watching the TV show "Reginald the Vampire" based on Johnny's novels
Prepping for releasing a companion podcast to the TV series
Spending three days on the set of the recording of the television program
Johnny's views on the power of story and how they can help break through those psychological walls and the blocks that someone might put up to a different perspective by introducing readers to a "maybe they're just like me" train of thought
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of storytelling in creating connections between people and empathy, sharing a few quotes from an articile in Discovery magazine, as well as the reality of when an author's work is adapated for media.

Links of Interest:

Johnny B. Truant is the bestselling author of Fat Vampire, adapted by SyFy as "Reginald the Vampire" starring Spider-Man's Jacob Batalon. His other books include Pretty Killer, Pattern Black, Invasion, The Beam, Dead City, and over 100 other titles across many genres.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 301 - Procrastinating Partners Collaborating with Liz Anderson

27 april 2023 | 71 min

Mark interviews his partner Liz Anderson about her work as a Principal within education, as the better half of a writer, and also as a fellow procrastinator and creative collaborator.

This episode is sponsored by the awesome Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast who support this podcast and receive additional audio, video, and text content.

During the interview, Mark and Liz talk about:

The elements of procrastination that bond the two of them together
How Liz has learned to embrace procastination as a way to get the creativity flowing
Liz's long-time practice of producing videos and short movies
The "Last Minute Productions" Liz makes, leveraging the "L" and "A" of her initials into the branding
The "show" (Isolation Station) that Liz started for the staff at her school during the pandemic and how that evolved into "Distance Daily"
How these virtual shows allowed the staff to connect in a way that they never had been able to do before
Mark's participation in Liz's "Distance Daily" show for a while during the time when she was without a Vice Principal
The ongoing daily "Flair Fun" video announcements segment that initiated during the pandemic but continue to this day at Liz's school
The value of the particupation from the entire school community in these daily videos that allows for a deeper sense of connection and being seen and heard and part of something bigger
The way Liz practices the role of being an elementary school Principal
The important revelation during a Grade 8 graduation that was an eye-opening moment for Liz
The difference between being an auditory learner and a visual learner
What it's like for Liz living with Mark the writer
The "spies" Liz has watching for Mark to not engage in particular activities on social media
How while Liz had long been creative and producing vidoes, it was a long time before she felt comfortable getting in front of a camera
Mark and Liz's first creative collaboration, doing the "Stuck in This House Here with You" parody of the Steelers Wheel song "Stuck in the Middle with You"
The way that we "paint" and fill spaces with things that tell a story or prompt people to see a space differently
The decision fatigue that can happen for a reader and how Liz appreciates being able to just keep reading the next book in a series
Liz's love of Joanna Penn's J.F. Penn thrillers and Kevin J. Anderson's "Dan Shamble" zombie P.I. novels
Some of the creative endeavors Liz is interested in exploring this coming summer

Then Liz turns the tables on Mark and asks him some reflective questions.

Links of Interest:

Parody Videos
- Stuck In This House Here With You (Parody Music Video with Liz)
- Kay-Tell Presents: Isolation Parody Songs (Parody Music Video with Liz)
- The 2022 Aurora Awards Opening Sequence (Hosted by Liz and Mark)
  - The Full 2022 Aurora Awards Ceremony
- Mark's Tavern: Where Everybody Shares Your Name - Pilot (Cheers Parody)
  - Mark's Tavern: Dad Jokes Matter
  - Mark's Tavern: Tension
  - Mark's Tavern: Mister Bright Side
  - Mark's Tavern: Death by Coffee
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Lovers Moon Podcast
The Relaxed Author
- Buy eBook Direct
- Buy Audiobook Direct
Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
Wide for the Win
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 300 - Celebrating 300 Episodes with Guest Reflections

20 april 2023 | 59 min

EP 299 - Marketing and Promo Stacking with CraveBooks

13 april 2023 | 46 min

EP 298 - Honesty, Humor, Poetry, Essays, and Disability with Matthew Del Papa and Vera Constantineau

6 april 2023 | 65 min

Mark interviews Sudbury area writers Matthew Del Papa and Vera Constantineau.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a few listener comments reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During the interview, Mark, Mat and Vera talk about:

Vera and Mat's backgrounds as writers
How humor is always going to show up in almost anything that Vera writes
Haibun Poetry, which is a form that combines haiku and with prose poem
Mat's very first book of "railroad stories" and how a lot of his work is focused on his home town of Capreol, Ontario
What's funny about disability?
How humor can be a coping mechanism for dealing with frustration
Vera's love of poetry and fascination with Japanese forms of writing
How poetry is a way of giving the shortest word picture imaginable
The uniqueness of Latitude 46 Publishing, the publisher releasing both of these books in the spring of 2023
The way large publishers commonly make "we just published a book like that" restrictions
Mat and Vera billing themselves as the "Rolling Writers" when promoting these books
How small presses can be a really great resource for writers
A focus on what is unique about writers from Northern Ontario and the mutual respect and understanding in the local writing community
The benefits and drawbacks of being a writer in a northern community as opposed to a larger city
A bit about Sudbury Wordstock, a fantastic literary festival that is celebrating its 10th year in 2023
A look at the geography and physical breadth of Canada and how one has to really hustle and really "want it" in order to be successful as a performer in Canada
The term "criplit," the divisiveness in the use of the term among disabled writers and why that writing is important
How the use of Zoom during the pandemic has been a boon for folks who have mobility issues and difficulty getting out and about
Dealing with the inability to travel for book promotions
Vera becoming a Poet Laureate of Greater Sudbury the day the pandemic started, but how that helped her bring Sudbury to the world
How the pandemic taught a lot of able bodied people the concept of "not being able to do something you want to be able to do"
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the important of community, the uniqueness of the Sudbury writing community, and an element from Mat's email signature that he finds inspiring.

Links of Interest:

Matthew Del Papa lives in Capreol. He joined the Sudbury Writers’ Guild in 2009 and served two years as president. A voracious reader, Matthew has written for local newspapers and websites, contributed to magazines, and together with Lisa Coleman-Brown co-authored a fund-raising novella entitled Nightmare at the North Pole for the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum & Heritage Centre (Greater Sudbury’s #3 tourist attraction).

Having self-published ten titles, either as author or editor (and sometimes both), Matthew always has a project or two on the go. The majority of his work is humorous and focused on Northern Ontario, specifically his home town.

His titles include: The Legend of Capreol Red: And Other Stories From a Railroad Town; Nursing Doubts: The Miss Hattie Mysteries; Green Eyes Through Capreol: More Stories From a Railroad Town; Creepy Capreol: Chilling Tales From a Railroad Town; Captivating Capreol: Thoughts From a Railroad Town; Creepy Capreol, Jr.: Chilling Tales From—and For—Young Minds; Capreol At Bat: The Fastball Years; Creepy Capreol, Jr. 2: Too Many Zombies; and Merry Capreol: Christmas Stories From a Railroad Town.

Matthew’s first essay collection, Jerry Lewis Told Me I Was Going to Die, is being released May 6th, 2023 by Latitude 46 Publishing.

Vera Constantineau lives in Copper Cliff, ON. She served a two-year term (2020-2022) as poet laureate of Greater Sudbury. The pandemic arrived on the scene the day her appointment was affirmed forcing her to rethink the role, which was very community oriented. She spent a good part of her two years on zoom and travelled around the world to workshops and poetry events. Her podcast, The PL Pod, gathered a following that included regular listeners in the UK, Ireland, Japan, Sweden and Australia as well as the US and Canada. Her poetic focus is the Japanese forms of haiku, senryu, tanka and haibun.

In addition to her interest in poetry, Vera writes both fiction and nonfiction. In 2019 her essay Options was included in an anthology, Against Death—35 Essays on Living, published by Anvil Press of Vancouver. In 2020 her haiku placed third in the Martin Lucas Award for Haiku in England. Vera’s early writing coered a ten year span as a humour columnist. Her weekly column appeared in several Northern Ontario Community newspapers.

Vera is the author of Daisy Chained, a collection of short fiction, three lines at a time, a chapbook of haiku that has gotten excellent reviews.

Vera is the Haiku Canada Regional Representative for Ontario and a member of the Haiku Society of America, a member and past president of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild as well as a member of NOWW Thunder Bay.

Her poetry collection, Enlightened By Defilement was published in April of 2023 through Latitude46 Publishing of Greater Sudbury.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 297 - Enthusiasm, Encouragement and Alchemy for Authors with Jo Buer

30 mars 2023 | 56 min

Mark interviews Jo Buer, a gothic suspense and literary fiction author from New Zealand who describes herself as a sucker for the supernatural, time travel, and all things woo-woo.

Prior to the interview, Mark reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Jo talk about:

The many different ways that Jo is "bookish"
Being able to go back all the way to when she was five years old, and how Jo fell in love with her school's library
Writing about a gift she was given when she was six years old and the belief she had, even then, that her writing was stellar and would capture the attention and praise of her teacher
The devastation and determination that early experience left her with as an author
Publishing her first book, a collection of short stories in 2020
Finding herself in a really dark place with a significantly negative impact on her self esteem, and how that determined voice of herself at 6 years old kicked in
Being too hard on herself by trying to measure up to the productivity of a full time author while being a part-time author with another full time job
Jo's podcast Alchemy for Authors
Her role as a teacher and how that might tie back to her own experience having her enthusiasm squashed as a six year old
The challenge of hosting a podcast while being such an introverted person
How overthinking and looking for the "perfect" solution can often get in an author's way
Jo's experience working at Chapters and Indigo when she lived in Canada
One of the most heart-breaking and frustrating things about seeing how bookstores deal with mass market paperback returns
Her experience working in a library, including speaking to the various people who came in there
How, if you're an introvert, for example, you've sometimes got to "fake it"
Advice that Jo would give to her younger self
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the "fake it" approach as well as Jo's advice about leveraging a photo of your younger self.

Links of Interest:

Joe Buer is a gothic suspense and literary fiction author living in New Zealand. She is a sucker for the supernatural, time travel, and all things woo-woo. From an early age she came to realize that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

She lives in an ordinary house in an ordinary town with her husband and feline familiars, Atlas, Gaia, Zeus, and Hades. When not doting on her cats, devouring self-help books or gorging on chocolate, she writes slightly dark, sometimes scary, often ghostly stories with a smattering of romance.

Jo is also the host of the Alchemy for Authors podcast - a podcast to transform and supercharge your writing life.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 296 - Powerful in Person Print Book Marketing with Richard H. Stephens

23 mars 2023 | 59 min

Mark interviews Canadian Epic Fantasy author Richard H. Stephens about finally realizing a life-long dream of writing, about how his fourteen book fantasy series was inspired by hearing an Iron Maiden song in 1982, and about selling print books at in person events.

Prior to the interview, Mark reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Richard talk about:

Richard's epic fantasy writing, which is told in trilogy batches, all within the same universe
How the song "Run to the Hills" from Iron Maiden in the early 1980s put the story that became his first trilogy into his head, but also how Richard's serious start in writing didn't start until 2017
How his first novel was called "The River Styx" for the first 33 years that he kept it kicking around in his head
Pitching his first novel to an agent, and then realizing this was something he could do for himself
Publishing 14 books in the "Soul Forge" universe since 2018
A bit of a background on the reasoning behind retiring from Waterloo Police Service, and how that allowed him to be able to write
Richard's analogy of being the race car driver with a fantastic pit crew (his wife, family, and the professionals he works with) that helps him look good
Why Richard invests so much into in person and print selling
Meeting David M. Kelly at GraphicCon in Sudbury, ON and how Richard learned a lot from David in that type of environment
How 2020 was supposed to be their "breakthrough" year
The value of what happens when a person browsing at Richard's table realizing they're actually talking to an author
The epic-fantasy themed costumes that Richard will sometimes wear when doing an event in person
The trilogy discount promotional pricing that Richard can offer
Ordering print copies from a local printer (in Toronto) rather than having them shipped from Amazon
The trailer Richard has for doing in person events with the book covers on it
Richard's advice on not being afraid to engage with people, and don't be shy about sharing the fact that you are the author
How, even with a sign that has your photo on them and a "meet the author today" people still don't "get it" that the author is right there
The importance of trying different ways and approaches to see what works best for you
Making someone's day by offering a woman who was having a bad day the opportunity to name a dragon in one of his books
How Richard decides which in person book events are worth it and which ones aren't
Advice Richard would give to his younger 1982 self
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of making it clear, despite when things seem like they're already overtly obvious, as well as how we all tend to focus on our "one star" elements rather than our "five star" ones.

Links of Interest:

Richard H. Stephens began writing circa 1974; a bored child looking for something to do. A trip to a local bookstore saw the proprietor introduce him to the works of Terry Brooks and Stephen R. Donaldson and his writing life was forever changed.

Richard worked in a warehouse for 22 years, before going back to school. Graduating with honours, he joined the local Police Service. In 2017, Richard resigned from the Police Service to pursue writing full-time. With the support of his family, he has finally realized his boyhood dream.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 295 - Body Brokers, Vital Organs, and Selling Direct with Dharma Kelleher

16 mars 2023 | 63 min

Mark chats with Dharma Kelleher who writes action-driven thrillers that explore the complexities of social and criminal justice in a world that favors the privileged. She is one of the only openly transgender authors in the crime fiction genre. They talk about that and a lot more.

Prior to the interview, Mark reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Dharma talk about

Dharma's "long, torrid" life-long affair with writing, and beginning to write on a manual typewriter in their teenage years
What happened in the intervening years, including getting a degree in journalism
Coming out as transgender, initially to self in college, and then later on. And the challenges of doing that in the deep south of the US
Celebrating 25 years of marriage in 2023
Falling back in love with writing in 2007 thanks to NaNoWriMo
Spending eight years focusing mostly on the craft of writing
Pitching to 90 agents and then landing a deal with a New York publisher
Coming to the realization that the trad pub model wasn't going to work (due to the publisher requiring print book rights even though they weren't planning on publishing beyond eBook)
Getting tired of hearing the "we already had a transgender author book this year" from publishers
Red Market's release in February 2023 and how Dharma is selling it directly before doing a wide publishing release
How you get it early and get more when you buy it direct from the author
Switching from a WooCommerce to a Shopify website for direct sales
Doing the best they can to deliver their books to any customer wherever they are on the planet
Being the first person in Arizona to donate a kidney to a stranger and how that was part of the inspiration for Red Market
The Jinx Ballou Crime Thriller series and how crime thrillers, mysteries, etc are often about "justice"
Some of the things writers can get wrong when they include transgender characters in their fiction
Disclosure (Netflix) - that takes a deep dive into those tropes
The importance of giving transgender characters agency in fiction
How the tropes can cause real harm, not just hurt feelings
Dharma's love of numbers and love of writing being among their biggest passions
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on two of the things that came up in their discussion.

Links of Interest:

Dharma Kelleher writes action-driven thrillers that explore the complexities of social and criminal justice in a world that favors the privileged. She is one of the only openly transgender authors in the crime fiction genre. Dharma lives in Arizona with her wife and a black cat named Mouse.   Learn more about Dharma and her work at https://dharmakelleher.com.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 294 - Content for Everyone with Jeff Adams and Michele Lucchini

9 mars 2023 | 60 min

Mark interviews Jeff Adams and Michele Lucchini about their new book, CONTENT FOR EVERYONE: A Practical Guide for Creative Entrepreneurs to Produce Accessible and Usable Web Content.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark, Jeff, and Michele talk about:

Their new book, released March 1, 2023 entitled CONTENT FOR EVERYONE and who the book is for
Their backgrounds working at Useablenet and how it relates to this new release
Jeff's Big Gay Fiction Podcast, which has been going on for eight years now
Pioneering digital accessibility with UseableNet
Thinking about accessibility as an opportunity or a basic expectation
It being hard for Jeff and Michele to not notice accessibility issues out there on the net
The genesis of the book and how it became a collaborative effort between the two of them
Conveying a message in the widest way possible so that the widest number of people can consume it
The importance of color contrast for people with low vision
Considering the different ways different users interact with a web page
A good rule is "do not rely on a single sense when you communicate"
A theme running through the entire book: Being true believers in that if you know WHY you have to do something, you'll be a lot more committed in doing it
An approach to consider if it feels too overwhelming to take on the task of making one's work more accessible
Accessibility is about reaching as many potential customers as possible
All of the conditions that might be creating a temporary disability
How the only wrong thing to do is to do nothing
The oddness of the situation where someone who requests something in a more accessible format is asking a favor rather than just laying out a fundamental expectation
The idea of thinking of an accessible format as an "extra task" rather than a basic and fundamental task
The importance of progress over perfection
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few specific learnings he took away from it and ways he can grow and improve/expand upon his mindset related to accessibility.

Links of Interest:

Content for Everyone
UseableNet
WebAIM's Contrast Checker
Jeff Adams (& Will Knauss)- Big Gay Author Podcast
Jeff & Will on Draft2Digital Self-Publishing Insiders Live (Blog)(YouTube)
Episode 293 - The Capacity to Unlearn and Relearn with Diane Devenyi
Findaway Voices
Submit YOUR reflections for Episode 300
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Best Book Ever Podcast
Lovers Moon Podcast
The Relaxed Author
- Buy eBook Direct
- Buy Audiobook Direct
Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
Wide for the Win
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Jeff Adams is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals. As the Accessibility Operations Director for UsableNet, a company focused on making the digital world more accessible and usable, he consults with clients around the world about digital accessibility. In addition, Jeff’s a creative entrepreneur as an author of queer romance and queer young adult fiction and co-host of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.

Michele Lucchini is the Vice President of Delivery and Accessibility Operations for UsableNet and oversees the teams responsible for ensuring client’s success in their digital accessibility program. Michele’s background is rooted in software development first and moving to team and operation management later. Thanks to experience gathered in over two decades, Michele is an expert and helping companies, from the largest to the smallest, making their digital experiences accessible.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 293 - The Capacity to Unlearn and Relearn with Diane Devenyi

2 mars 2023 | 54 min

In this episode Mark interviews Diane Devenyi, a former tax lawyer who shifted her focus to education reform, and her new book Dear Genius, Harness the Hidden Power in your ABCs.

Prior to the main segment, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, invites listeners to submit reflections for forthcoming episode 300 welcomes new patrons and shares a few words about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their chat, Mark and Diane talk about:

Diane's start in a non-creative realm, with the belief she was going to be a tax lawyer
Publicly announcing at an educational meeting that she was there to re-vamp education on the planet back in 1999
Universal design: AKA "Learning for everyone"
How the current education system was built to support an earlier century of humans -- ie, creating workers rather than thinkers
The Alvin Toffler Quote: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
Working on ways to shift things when it comes to education
How easy it is to resolve some issues when you know what underlying element you're looking for
The way Diane's book "Dear Genius" helps
How to make Diane's method work in larger sized classroom settings, including doing it with 80 campers at one time in a summer camp setting
Going to get her Masters of Education and how that led to having to put the summer camp on hold
The concept of having families experience this together in an immersive setting
Part of the process of actually learning/relearning the letters of the alphabet using clay
Deciding to take on partner dancing later in life and how that completely changed her life
A Grade 4 experience that taught Diane that they don't want to know what her best is, but they wanted her to be the best at what they wanted her to do
Why, even if a person uses a typewriter and never hand-writes letters, how going back to the foundation of properly printing letters can make a significant difference
From your hand, through your heart, and into your head
Gaining a sense of resilience from unlearning and relearning something
The March 2023 2-Day Boot Camps Diane is running online
When your curiosity in life gets a kickstart
And more...

After the episode Mark reflects on the importance of unlearning and relearning regardless of your age or how much you believe you might already have learned, and how he is planning on doing that to continue to grow as a writer and a person.

Links of Interest:

Diane Devenyi, LLB, MEd, is a former tax lawyer who shifted her focus to education reform when she became deeply troubled by learning struggles she observed in her children’s classrooms. This has become her life-long passion. With more than 20 years in the field, she is sharing her observations about literacy and learning in a "Dear Genius" series of books, with "Harness the Hidden Power in Your ABCs!" being the first. Her hope is that children and adults everywhere can finally find relief and the freedom to soar in their own zone of genius.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 292 - Learning by Doing and Baptism by Pyromancy with Oskar Söderberg

24 februari 2023 | 57 min

Mark interviews Oskar Söderberg, a thirty-five year old husband, father of two, and full-time IT employee about his writing life and the process leading up to publishing his debut novel, The Broken Pyromancer, coming in March 2023.

Prior to the main segment, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and a few words about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their chat, Mark and Oskar talk about:

Oksar's long-held perspective of how cool writers were, with the romanticized images he always had
Writing and self-publishing a book back in 2017, which did not work out well, and which he ended up taking down
His main takeaway from that experience
His first novel, which is with an editor as the interview was being conducted and is coming out in 2023
What the Sweden Amazon site is like
How Kindle Unlimited is not available in Sweden
What platforms are not available to authors in Sweden
The different genre Oskar is writing in for this new book
Teaching himself programming in order to build a game for IOS and Android that is like a "choose your own adventure" interactive horror adventure (Gray Sojourn: Wandering Souls)
Learning more about the world of self-publishing from listening to a number of podcasts (especially The 6 Figure Author Podcast)
The expected/planned release date of the new novel, entitled The Broken Pyromancer
Why Oskar decided to publish his books wide, and his understanding that the process can take a lot of time
A look at the similarities and differences of advice for an author from Sweden versus an author in the US
How eBooks aren't really a thing for readers in Sweden
Oksar being the only person he knows who owns an eBook reader
The popularity of audiobook apps and platforms like Storytel
Oskar's learning about the reader magnet process and how it helped him go through the process and learning all the pieces of it, including testing the waters
The proliferation of rookie mistakes that are so easy to find, despite all the great content, information, and resources for writers

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few things Oskar mentioned and thanks Patrons of the podcast.

Links of Interest:

Working full time in IT, Oksar Söderberg is a 35 year old father of two tiny terrorizing girls trying to squeeze enough time in to become an author by any means necessary’s. He is a reader, writer, and lover of fantasy (and some horror), with debut novel, The Broken Pyromancer, coming early 2023. Stay tuned!

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 291 - The Importance of A Hero Who Looks Like You With Alicia McCalla

17 februari 2023 | 63 min

Mark interviews writer, narrator, and creative Alicia McCalla about her work creating thrilling stories of courage, bravery and strength featuring kick-ass Black women leads in SciFi, Fantasy & Romance.

Prior to the main segment, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, thanks new Patrons, shares a personal update, and a few words about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their chat, Mark and Alicia talk about:

How Alicia is two different versions of a superwoman and the way her brand is quite powerful
Courage, bravery, and strength
The strong women in Alicia's life, and her legacy
Sharing badass, strong, and powerful black women who use their spunkiness, brains, and abilities
Recognizing the power of a black Star Trek captain
Dressing up in cosplay as a Starfleet captain when going to get a Covid booster shot
How ground-breaking Nichelle Nichols' role in the original Star Trek was, and what happened when she wanted to quit
The importance of having a superhero who looks like you, and Alicia's husband's experience with wanting to go to school for Halloween as Spider-Man, but being told by another child he couldn't be Spider-Man because he was black
How the Civil Rights Movement could really be understood as a Women's movement
Some of the differences between White Feminism and the approach to feminism taken by Black women
The difference between Feminism and Female Empowerment
The Miles Morales Into the Spiderverse movie
The toxicity and racism that exists within science-fiction fandom
Alicia's experience sitting on a panel at Dragon Con with a white male participant who claimed they didn't "see" the differences between white and black people and that "race" doesn't matter
Crying unabashedly when seeing the Black Futurism in the movie Black Panther
The experience of Alicia and her husband giving away their Black Panther and Wonder Woman watches to children in Ghana
How selling direct can be both empowering and terrifying
The exclusive audio available only via Alicia's website for those dedicated fans who really want it
Having an international audience of readers all over the world and how the public library of South Africa is a place that many readers seem to be consumed her books
Not being able to finish a book project because of a character who was deeply based on her grandfather who Alicia lost
Narrating under the pen name Alicia Speaks

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of understanding how something that seems normal or just "fits" for one person, might not be experienced in the same way for another. Case in point: Both Mark and Alicia's husband dressed up as Spider-Man when they were children, but Mark wasn't told that he couldn't because of the color of his skin.

Links of Interest:

Alicia McCalla is a creative entrepreneur who writes, narrates and creates merchandise for readers and customers who love thrilling stories of courage, bravery and strength featuring badass, spunky and smart Black women main characters. If you are a Blerd or Nerd who loves talking about strong Black women and female empowerment in SciFi, Fantasy, Romance and sometimes Horror then join in on Alicia's blog discussions or follow her on social media.

Alicia began writing and self-publishing professionally in 2012. In the beginning, she wrote part-time while she worked full-time as a School Media Specialist. Tragedy struck and her only child, an officer in the US Navy was lost at sea. This single event changed everything. With the overwhelming intensity of her grief brain, she had to re-learn how to live fully while honoring her son’s legacy (he was one of her largest supporters and champions. He even produced a theme song for her work). She often takes the time to acknowledge her grief journey in her blog posts.

Now, Alicia is a full-time writer, audiobook narrator & merchandiser sharing stories and products of courageous, brave and strong Black women warriors. She enjoys writing kick-ass sistas with skills, swords & superpowers. Alicia is Black Girl Nerd and regularly Cosplays strong female superheroes, warriors and maybe even a fairy. Because of her love of fan merchandise and desire to see Black women represented in SciFi and Fantasy Merchandise, she launched her shop Alicia McCalla’s Emporium featuring superheroines, vigilantes, huntresses and much more.

Alicia's influences include Octavia Butler, LA Banks, Faith Hunter, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Patricia Briggs.

She is an activist in the movement towards diversifying Science fiction and Fantasy (#diversityinSFF). She created the first "State of Black Science Fiction 2012" blog tour, is an active member in the State of Black Science Fiction FaceBook group and has a Pinterest account where she actively curates topics related to Black Warrior Women, Black Science Fiction, Fantasy and more.

Alicia writes for adults with her brand of Black superheroes, dark fantasy, Urban Fantasy, paranormal, and horror. She is a former Women Marine-Reservist and a decorated war veteran. Alicia is a native Detroiter who currently resides in metro Atlanta with her loving husband and many nieces and nephews. Sign-up on www.aliciamccalla.com for free reads, updates, sneak peeks, and merchandise coupons.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 290 - Thanks for the Inspiration, Jim Turcott

9 februari 2023 | 47 min

EP 289 - Accountable Author Journey with Malcolm Coon - Part I

2 februari 2023 | 52 min

Mark interviews Malcolm Coon about his plans for overcoming the "back-burner" state of his writing projects, why he doesn't plan on giving up should his writing income ever get to "that" level, his goal of completing a short story every month this year, and more.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update inside of the word about this episode's sponsor segment.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Malcolm talk about:

Malcolm's full time work in tech while simultaneously having wanted to write since 1997
A falling out Malcolm had with a partner in his tech business and how that led to working on a tech thriller that he worked on, but abandoned after about a month
His long-time love of reading fantasy, which led to deciding to write fantasy
Getting serious about his writing in about 2011, discovering various writing podcasts, and realizing that this was something he could do
How the writing would regularly go on hold because of the fluctuations of the work-life
Changing his tact a little and deciding to write a short story every month in order to create a story collection that would act like a prelude to the unfinished trilogy he'd been working on
The challenge of being an entrepreneur in tech while also balancing being an authorpreneur
The strategy of doing the writing first thing early in the morning for about thirty minutes BEFORE opening the email browser, which usually leads to getting sucked into work for the entire day
Attempting to do a little bit, no matter how small, every day, because once he misses a day it's easy to miss a second day
How the process of just trying to cram a large word count out with inserted notes about research to do for later insertion can often lead to a section of bad writing with additional work to do on it
The way his current writing are based upon a world that Malcolm and his brother created when they were teenagers playing Dungeons & Dragons
The parable storybook Malcolm created called The Greatest Writer in the World (in the style of "The Greatest Salesman in the World) that he published to Amazon, but then took down after a year upon realizing he hadn't invested the proper time in polishing and editing it
Malcolm's goal of ultimately wanting to make a living of his writing, but to never give up the entrepreneurial tech business work that he loves
Becoming less concerned with words per minute than with creating quality
How Malcolm has found it far more difficult to manage himself in the writing roadmap plan compared to the way he very effectively manages developers for his entrepreneurial work
The idea of that breakthrough moment of what it will take to get over that hurdle of getting the books done and published
The importance of figuring out what works for us as writers, which is always going to be unique
How the 25 words a day goal can be like a "just one more potato chip" methodology
Malcolm's overall plan for getting this writing project back on track
Mark's threat of holding Malcolm accountable for his stated goals by having him return to the podcast to share an update

After the interview, Mark reflects on false starts in writing, the importance of reasonable goals, and adapting the advice offered into one's own unique circumstances and preferences.

Links of Interest:

The Writing Show Podcast (Apple) - "Getting Published with Mark Leslie" Series
- Episode 1
- Episode 2
- Episode 3
- Episode 4
- Episode 5
- Episode 6
- Episode 7
- Episode 8
- Episode 9
- Episode 10
- Episode 11
Superstars Writing Seminars (Save $100 with code: STARKSSWS2023
Findaway Voices
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Best Book Ever Podcast
Lovers Moon Podcast
The Relaxed Author
- Buy eBook Direct
- Buy Audiobook Direct
Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
Wide for the Win
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Malcolm Coon is an author who works in tech full time as an entrepreneur. He doesn't yet have a website, and Malcolm will be returning to future episodes.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 288 - Edo van Belkom on Re-Adapting and Re-Inventing Your Writer Self

26 januari 2023 | 65 min

Mark interviews Canadian author Edo van Belkom about his life in writing, and the January 2023 the Paramount+ TV series adaptation of his Silver Birch Award-Winning Novel WOLF PACK by Jeff Davis and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a brief personal update, welcomes new Patron Dharma Kelleher, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Edo talk about:

An old picture of the two of them at a "Sci-Fi Saturday" multi-author event from the late 90s where Mark was one of the managers (Attendees were David Shrogryn, Edo van Belkom, Carolyn Clink, Robert J. Sawyer, Douglas Smith, Andrew Weiner, Mark Leslie, Sally Tomasevic, Marcel Gagne)
Edo's journey as a writer, beginning with his first published short story being published in an annual "Year's Best" anthology
Writing about six or seven novels before his first one sold, and writing books that weren't published until more than twenty-five years later
Working on gaming-tie-in related novels
Landing his agent after having a short story appear in one of Jeff Gelb's "Hot Blood" anthologies
Following his wife's advice to write a YA novel, which became the award-winning novel Wolf Pack and how that book was sold over a telephone pitch/proposal
Having a couple of his mass market paperback novels (Scream Queen and Blood Road) be optioned for films
Some of the silly things that writers hear when speaking to non-writers at parties such as "why don't you write a bestseller?"
What being nominated for the Silver Birch Award did for that book
Winning the Silverbirch Award
Going from selling 10,000 copies of the first book in the series to only about 1,000 or so copies of the 2nd and 3rd books in that series
How the greatest part of winning the Silver Biirch Award was the live event at a small stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario
Winning the Bram Stoker Award for a short story ("Rat Food") that he co-authored with David Nickle
What it was like co-authoring a story well before the days of the internet
Edo's short story collection Death Drives a Semi and how, when looking for places to market it, he found a trucker magazine that he ended up writing a series of stories in for fifteen years
The "Mark Dalton: Owner, Operator" series of stories
Converting a one-day workshop for truckers about fuel efficient driving practices into a novel
Details and experiences related to the ice roads in Canada's Northwest Territories. (Ice roads are seasonal winter roads built over frozen bodies of water. The ice roads in Canada are about 400 KM (250 miles) long and are built over 64 frozen lakes
The story behind how Wolf Pack got turned into a new Paramount+ television series
What it was like seeing a teaser trailer for "Wolf Pack" after a year of hearing nothing about the option deal that had been signed
How the book "Wolf Pack" got into the hands of Jeff Davis
What it was like to be in Los Angeles for the premiere of the series, including walking the red carpet
Seeing his name in the show's opening credits "Based on the novels by Edo van Belkom"
Some of what's planned for the home-town showing of the first episode in the series in Brampton, Ontario
Why, if he can help it, Edo plans on not doing any more soul-crushing in store book signings any longer
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on three different things.

Links of Interest:

Edo van Belkom, a former reporter on the sports and police beats for newspapers in and around Toronto, arrived on the horror scene in 1990. His first short story sale, Baseball Memories, was selected for the prestigious Year’s Best Horror Stories edited by Karl Edward Wagner. The story was also nominated for Canada’s prestigious Aurora Award and appeared side-by-side with work by authors such as Mordecai Richler and W. P. Kinsella in The Grand Slam Book of Canadian Baseball Writing.

Van Belkom hasn’t looked back since. Some 150 short stories have sold to a variety of top magazines and anthologies in the sf, fantasy, horror and mystery genres. He has twice won the Aurora Award, taken home the Bram Stoker Award and his YA novel WOLF PACK won Ontario’s prestigious Silver Birch Award.

In January 2023, that same 2004 novel and the other three books in the series was adapted into an American supernatural teen drama on Paramount+ starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and produced by Jeff Davis, known for creating the drama series Criminal Minds and the TV series "Teen Wolf."

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

EP 287 - Vulnerability in Writing, Performance Art, and Tarot Readings with Liz Worth

19 januari 2023 | 59 min

Mark interviews Liz Worth, a professional tarot reader, a poet and author.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their chat, Mark and Liz talk about:

The many things that Liz "slings"
Satisfying that craving Liz and her husband have to be surrounded by "vintage things" via owning an antique shop
The importance of helping take something inherited off someone's hands in a meaningful way and to someone that will find use in it
How Tarot, the occult, and writing have always been a part of Liz's life, and her mother's influence in this area
Growing up going to psychic fairs, learning astrology and card reading
Being draw to punk and goth culture in the 90s in high school
Making her own goth zine (Last Breath Escapes), photocopying it, and making it available through a local record store
Doing something similar for her poetry
How zines were a precursor to the niche market ability of eBook digital publishing nowadays
The first book projects Liz worked on
How "Punk" is an entire ecosystem of creativity and not just a style of music and dress
Liz's work not only doing Tarot readings but teaching others how to do a Tarot reading
The things Liz would do during her performance poetry that she would never do in other professional aspects of her life
How, logically, Tarot is a thing that shouldn't work
The vulnerability and expectations that a person has going into a Tarot reading
How you're always going out on a limb when you're interpreting and giving a Tarot reading
Looking for narratives and story in the images and how do things make sense
Some of the intangible things about Tarot that are difficult to explain
Things that Hollywood, Television, and writers often get wrong about Tarot readings
The importance of running with something in a creative way rather than feeling like everything had to be so "tamped down"
Liz's latest vampire novel, The Mouth is a Coven
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on that importance of letting one's creative license work its magic.

Links of Interest:

Liz Worth is the author of eight books. Her newest novel is called The Mouth is a Coven, published through Manta Press. She has been nominated twice for the ReLit Award for Poetry, and her writing has also appeared in FLARE Magazine, Chatelaine, and the Globe and Mail. She works as a professional tarot reader by day.

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

EP 286 - Investment, Compromise, and Evolution with Juliette N. Banks

12 januari 2023 | 69 min

Mark interviews Juliette N. Banks, a bestselling, wide author who writes steamy contemporary and paranormal page-turning romances.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares recent comments, welcomes new patron Dharma Kelleher, and shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Juliette talk about:

Juliette always believing that some day she would be a published author, but it was something she never chased
Juliette's marketing background at a book she wrote in 2012 that was published by Random House in 2013
The significant and tight Covid related lock-downs in New Zealand
Juliette's adaptation to reading a lot of eBooks during the pandemic
The incredibly expensive cost of print books in New Zealand
Writing an archangel series and a vampire series
Launching her books and reader magnet in Jan and March of 2021
Working a full time job squeezed into 4 work days per week while writing all these novels
The roughly 200 people Juliette was sharing her works with for free before she even published her first book (and how they've maintained their loyalty as readers to this day)
Launching a new contemporary billionaire romance series at the beginning of 2022
The parallel between the vampire characters and the billionaire characters
Training herself to think very American in terms of her largest readership base
Calculating the value of going to book signings, particular in the cost of flying from New Zealand to somewhere in the US
The process Juliette works on with editing and publishing
Having had five BookBubs in 2022
The steady stream of releases and the stress that comes from that, particularly when illness like Covid occurs to throw a monkey wrench into it
Where Juliette has been focusing in her initial goal to get to the 5 figures she needed in order to quit her corporate job
Spending time on learning what she has to do to make her books "BookBub Worthy"
Why she doesn't separate "indie" and "traditional" - you're competing in a store with suppliers of all sizes
The pricing strategy that Juliette uses
How only 10 of her books are creating income right now. The other 10 are things like reader magnets
The way Juliette plans and maps out her writing business
The importance of knowing what your skills and abilities and weaknesses are
The value of professional coaches and taking some action upon those meetings/sessions
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the investment Juliette made by engaging for a long period and in detail with a group of 200 readers.

Links of Interest:

Juliette N. Banks is a bestselling, wide author who writes steamy contemporary and paranormal page-turning romances with alpha heroes who fall for sassy heroines and a healthy dose of action and suspense.

Juliette has a vast background in consumer marketing and previously published with Random House. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand with Tilly, her Maine Coon kitty, and is now a full-time author.

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

EP 285 - Written Word Media's Top 10 Publishing Trends for 2023

5 januari 2023 | 40 min

EP 284 - Collaborations in AI with Elizabeth Ann West

30 december 2022 | 71 min

Mark talks with Elizabeth Ann West about her writing and using AI tools such as Sudowrite for intriguing new types of collaborations.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation Mark and Elizabeth talk about:

Elizabeth's start in indie publishing back in the "early days" of self-publishing
The Jane Austin Fan Fiction that Elizabeth writes for a living
The panic in the writing community with the dropping of chatGPT (GPT = Generative Pre-trained Transformer)
What Public Domain content is and a look at the grey area of AI generated content and copyright
Changes to Public Domain and copyright law related to Disney and Mickey Mouse
How Public Domain is really important to culture
Some of the areas where AI has already been integrated into the tools we use as writers and just in general
AI as a robotic co-writer that you can lean on as an author
Sudowrite and how it's based on a UNIX command called "Super Do" and not "pseudo" making you the super user
How as the human in this equation, you are the "creative director" still responsible for all of the final writing, the research, the voice, etc
How prompts work within Sudowrite and the way authors can be very specific with them
The importance of authors being unique and creative when creating their prompts
How the AI works within the context of the most recent segment of the document an author is working within
The idea that's in development of performing something like a "fine tune"
A bit of the tech about how "tokens" work within the technology
Playing within "Open AI Playground"
How much time a tool like Sudowrite can help writers with outlining and summarizing a chapter
Simulating readers reacting to a piece of writing
The process of interviewing an AI character
The cost structure for using Sudowrite
How Elizabeth has written and released three books since Nov 2021 with the assistance of AI
The re-write function in Sudowrite that performs a "show, don't tell" on a sentence
Feeling like a writer with super-powers by having access to these types of tools
How Elizabeth teachers her online classes for learning how to collaborate with AI
The $99 fee that gives people access to all of Elizabeth's "Learning AI" classes and recorded live sessions past, present, and future
Elizabeth's thoughts for writers who are nervous, anxious, or worried about the disruption that AI will bring to writing
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few things Elizabeth said. He then shares his own recent experiment with creating a book description using chatGBT.

Links of Interest:

A Jane-of-all-trades, mistress to none! Elizabeth Ann West is the author of 12 novels and 11 novellas, 22 of which are story variations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Her books have won reader conference awards and hit the Historical Bestseller lists on Amazon, Kobo, and the iBooks stores multiple times. A lover of all things geeky, Elizabeth codes websites, dabbles in graphic design, and is always looking for new technology to learn and master. She teaches authors at conferences like 20Booksto50KVegas, RWA Nationals, on topics of technology and business in the digital publishing 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

EP 283 - Doing LSB (Laughter, Stretch, and Breathe) with Amy S. Peele

23 december 2022 | 60 min

Mark has a chat with Amy S. Peele, an Amazon best-selling and award-winning author. They discuss her medical mystery series, her healthcare background, comedy, laughing yoga, and so much more.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a question from recent a episodes, an update regarding looking for guests (especially newer writers) for the podcast, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Amy talk about:

Having been an RN since 1974 and the life-long friends she has maintained her entire life
Leveraging the "two best friends" theme in her mystery series as the two main protagonists
Spending thirty-five years in organ transplants
Deciding to kill people she didn't like in real life as fictional characters in her novels
Writing the three murder mysteries after she retired in 2014 because she still had "transplants" that she needed to get out of her system
The next book she is working on, a romantic comedy
Amy's training with Second City Player's Workshop in Chicago because of her need to have some levity outside her day job work
How Amy got started with where and how to publish her first mystery novel and how she found her agent
The importance of relationships in the publishing world
Why Amy values local independent bookstores, including her local bookstore, Book Passage
The process of getting her books made into audio
Self-care for writers and why it's important
Laughter yoga and hand yoga
How, especially lately, we've been in fight or flight mode and the fact that people are not breathing
L.S.B. (Laughter, Stretch, and Breath)
Why deep breathing and laughter is so valuable
Advice Amy would offer to beginning writers
And more...

After the interview Mark shares a reflection.

He then welcomes new patrons Lizbeth Meredith, Stephanie Tallent, and Angela Grit Landau and thanks all patrons.

Links of Interest:

Amy S. Peele was born and raised in the Chicago area. Having graduated from South Chicago School of Nursing (SCCH) in 1974, Amy discovered her passion for organ donation and transplantation when she started as a transplant coordinator at the University of Chicago in 1976. She enjoyed a 35-year career in Transplantation retiring from University of California San Francisco in 2014. As President of the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization (NATCO), she was a guest on the Phil Donahue talk show as well as national and local radio stations, discussing the National Organ Transplant Act, which was passed in 1984.

Amy has a love for comedy and improv and graduated from Second City Players Workshop in 1985 in Chicago. She has also studied Improv at BATS (Bay Area Theatre Sports) in San Francisco. Amy’s sense of humor comes through in all her writing.

Amy met her architect husband, Mark Schatz, through his mother who was her student at a transplant coordinator course. They were married in 1987 and have two children. Gracie is a butcher, fishmonger, and chef living in Eugene Oregon. Bennett works in the digital sound industry in San Francisco, enjoys building bikes, and playing music.

Amy now lives in Marin County where she has been writing creatively since 1988. With CUT, Amy infuses her passion for transplantation into her murder mysteries and brings a fresh, knowledgeable, and humorous new voice into the world of mystery novels.

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

EP 282 - Random Reflections

16 december 2022 | 35 min

EP 281 - Reflection on Other Podcasts: Stop Making Yourself Miserable

13 december 2022 | 21 min

EP 280 - J.C. McKenzie and Jo-Ann Carson on the 2023 JoZie Planner for Authors

8 december 2022 | 69 min

Mark interviews J.C. McKenzie and Jo-Ann Carson, a mother and daughter team of Vancouver Island authors who share a strong desire to organize their hectic writing lives and have created the JoZie Planner for Authors by Authors.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes and patreon, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark, J.C. and Jo-Ann talk about:

How J.C. was indoctinated into the writing world via her mother, Jo-Ann being a creative person and writer
Returning to Canada from New Zealand and how a combination of reading a lot and some vivid dreams led to the first book she wrote
Looking at the first two books she wrote which she considers were a "hot mess"
SHIFT HAPPENS, J.C.'s third book, and first published book, and the other 6 books that were published by The Wild Rose Press
Jo-Ann's initiation into the world of writing, how she didn't start taking writing seriously until she retired, and the long-term view she has taken for her writing career
How storytelling has always been important to Jo-Ann her entire life.
J.C. writing locations that she doesn't often see represented, as well as the way she likes to drift back to urban fantasy with her writing
Jo-Ann also enjoying writing about witches and vampires, and having a good time injecting more humor into her fiction
Despite writing in similar genres, and critiquing one anothers' work, the fact they have not collaborated on any fiction projects yet
The JoZie 2023 Planner, and how the name was created from a combination of their two names
About the planner itself, and the binding (spiral bound) which allows it to lay flat
Where this idea came from and why they feel this planner is important to writers and a writer's needs
Their desire for more feedback to continue to improve the planner for 2024
The option of hole-punching the pages from the binder each year and keeping previous year pages in a binder
The current floral pattern of the planner, and their interest in looking at different styles for future years
Tips for writers who have never actually used a planner before
And more...

After the interview, Mark shares a couple of reflections, Mark welcomes new patrons and reminds them of their chance to indicate their interest in winning one of four copies of the 2023 JoZie Planner for Authors.

Links of Interest:

J.C. McKenzie and Jo-Ann Carson are a mother and daughter team of Vancouver Island authors who share a strong desire to organize their hectic writing lives. Some would call it an obsession. Together they’ve created the JoZie Planner for Authors by Authors.

J.C. McKenzie is a book loving, gumboot-wearing, unapologetic science geek. She predominantly writes urban fantasy and post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasy with strong romantic elements. When she’s not spinning tales, she’s in the classroom sharing her passion for science and mathematics while secretly warping the young impressionable minds of our future to carry out her evil plans for world domination. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.

Jo-Ann Carson is an award-winning Fantasy author of 31 books who loves the magic of storytelling. She places unique characters, in fast-paced plots, to tell tales about love, friendship, and family. Recently a critic likened one of her main characters to, “… Stephanie Plum with magic.”Jo-Ann’s last four series are the Dial Witch trilogy, Perfect Brew trilogy, Ghost & Abby Mysteries, and Gambling Ghosts novellas. Buy links for all her books can be found on her website.

A firm believer in the magic of our everyday lives, Jo-Ann loves watching sunrises, walking beaches near her home in the Pacific Northwest and reading by a crackling wood fire.

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

EP 279 - The Writer's Manifesto With Michael La Ronn

1 december 2022 | 46 min

Mark interviews Michael La Ronn, the author of over 80 science fiction & fantasy books and self-help books for writers.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Michael talk about:

How long it has been since Mark and Michael saw one another
Michael getting back on the travel circuit and being one of the guest speakers for Superstars Writing Seminars in Feb 2023
How Michael got extremely ill in 2012 with an extreme case of food poisoning combined with a hospital infection he acquired, and how that laid him up for a full month
Taking the time to realize, while he was stuck in the hospital how he'd been working in a dead-end job and not being the writer he wanted to be
Having a beautiful vision of being a successful published writer, and the feeling of happiness that came from that
Learning about self-publishing from the Alliance of Independent Authors and The Creative Penn
The more than 80 books Michael has written while working full-time, raising a family, and going to law school at night
The "secret weapons" that Michael relies on for his writing goals
Writing using Scrivener on the MAC and the Scrivener app on his iPhone as well as using dictation
Getting writing done using dictation while walking the dog
Being a pantser (or "discovery writer")
Michael's writer manifesto
The different pseudonyms Michael uses for fiction VS his books for writers
Michael's role as ALLI's outreach manager
The two estate planning books Michael has. One for writers and the other for a writer's heirs
Loving his day job and not wanting to give it up despite how successful and prolific his writing career has been
The enjoyment of challenging himself
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the prioritizing of finding every available small moment for getting just a few extra words in and how that all adds up. He also considers Michael's thoughts on "balance."

Links of Interest:

Michael La Ronn is the author of over 80 science fiction & fantasy books and self-help books for writers. He writes from the great plains of Iowa and has managed to write while raising a family, working a full-time job, and even attending law school classes in the evenings. You can find his fiction at www.michaellaronn.com and his videos and books for writers at www.authorlevelup.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

EP 278 - So I Married a Thrill-Seeker with Danielle Kaplan

24 november 2022 | 49 min

Mark interviews Danielle Kaplan about her new book I Married a Thrill-Seeker.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Danielle talk about:

Danielle's background before she decided to write her new book
The irony of doing a thesis in brain-injury, with most of them involving motorcycle accidents
How Danielle, who was considered a moderate who "followed the rules" first met her "wild and crazy" husband Steve back in university
Moving to Toronto, Canada to start her life with him and continuing her career in the medical field
Having written for medical publications prior to this first book
Steve's life as an adventure rider on his Harley Davidson motorcycle when on a trip in the Yukon
Keeping all her correspondence and personal journals during the tragic events following her husband's accident
Showing the original manuscript to a good friend who is a script/screen-play writer who asked her if this was going to be a personal document for her family, or for public consumption and how that question changed everything
The dramatic lows and highs that Steve went through since the accident
The various audiences that the book is likely to appeal to
Where Danielle found support through this entire journey
Working with Rebecca at re:books on the release of the book in Nov 2022
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on how Danielle was able to use all the details she recorded and stored, not because she was going to write a book about it, but for other reasons.

Links of Interest:

Danielle Kaplan is a speech-language pathologist and movement specialist. She grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa and holds a master’s degree in Speech Pathology.

She and her husband Steve emigrated to Canada, where she spent twenty years working in acute teaching hospitals, in Neurology, Neurosurgery, and spinal injury.

Danielle gained a certification in Pilates and then went on to train further in movement while achieving her Personal Training certification (CanfitPro), Ballet Barre for fitness training and then received her Rehab Exercise Specialization Certification.

The mother of two, she lives with her husband Steve and their two fur babies in Toronto, Ontario. I Married A Thrill-Seeker is her first book.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 277 - Live Chat with Ask The Authors 2022

17 november 2022 | 72 min

EP 276 - Embracing Imagination with Diane Floyd Boehm

11 november 2022 | 59 min

Mark interviews Diann Floyd Boehm, an award-winning author of children’s books who writes stories to inspire readers to be kind, like themselves, and Embrace Imagination!

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update, recent comments and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Diann talk about:

How Diane started off as a teacher - from 4 year olds all the way up to 8th grade
Becoming one of the self-taught tech-knowledgable teachers in the system early on, falling in love with computers, and realizing how much she could help students
Enjoying and preferring writing long-hand despite being comfortable with and adept at using a computer
The process of developing and writing children's books and the parallel inspiration for both children and adults that can exist within them
The beauty of what can happen when people open their minds, expand their horizons and learn and work together
The power of stories in sharing ideas and preventing people from putting up walls
The hybrid publisher (OC Publishing) that Diane uses
Diane's new book CHARLIE AND THE TIRE SWING
Recognizing that we're all storytellers, even if we've never written anything, and exercises Diane likes to share to help people realize this
The online story garden that Diane created on YouTube, creating safe, clean-cut and wholesome stories for families
What Diann wish she'd known when she first started out
Diann's publicist, Mickey Mikkelson of The Creative Edge
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the innate creativity we all have, and then talks in detail about the idea of "hybrid" publishing companies, and his default suspicion about them. He then goes to explain why OC Publishing is a legitimate business with very transparent and clear business practices and why a company like that which is honest and demonstrates integrity might be a good fit for some authors.

Links of Interest:

Diann Floyd Boehm is an award-winning international author of children’s books and has published a young adult historical fiction. In addition, Diann writes books to inspire readers to be kind, like themselves, and Embrace Imagination! You can find all her books on Amazon.

Diann’s Story Garden YouTube Channel lets children hear different children’s authors read their stories.

Diann continues to be involved in various humanitarian projects with multiple organizations.

Diann was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to the parents of George M. Floyd and Mabel Adella Harris Floyd. She moved to Texas at about 18 months and her two brothers. Over time the Floyd family grew, and Diann had five brothers, Chris, Danny, Mike, Larry, and Bryan. Diann is a wife and mother of three grown children and one grandson. She has traveled extensively to many parts of the world and has lived in the Philippines and Dubai. She and her husband now reside in Austin, Texas.

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

EP 275 - Samantha M. Bailey on Unreliable Narrators and Unrelenting Authorship

4 november 2022 | 62 min

Mark interviews Samantha M. Bailey, the author of WOMAN ON THE EDGE, a USA TODAY and #1 national bestseller, and WATCH OUT FOR HER, an instant #1 national bestseller about her twenty-year writing journey.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Samantha talk about:

How long Mark and Samantha have known one another and how long it has been since they've chatted, and Samantha's previous guest spot on this podcast
Samantha's latest thriller WATCH OUT FOR HER and the 13 weeks it spent on the Globe and Mail bestseller list in Canada
The book's presence on numerous indie and chain bookstores as well as non-bookstore locations across Canada including Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart, and Costco, where it was a buyer's pick
How everyone in the retail space was so good to Samantha
The twenty years Samantha worked at writing before this huge wave of success
Her previous book (Woman on the Edge) being released just prior to the pandemic starting
Samantha's rock star agent, Jenny Bent of The Bent Agency and how Samantha found her twenty years earlier
Nita Prose, author of The Maid, a New York Times bestseller, who is the editor of both Samantha's novels
Getting her first rejection for a story that she wrote and submitted to a publisher at the age of ten
Being able to wallpaper her house with the amount of rejections she has received for her books over the years
Why Samantha never gave up after collecting enough rejection slips to wallpaper her entire neighborhood
The common "yellow raincoat" motif that appears on both of her books despite them being stand-alone novels completely unrelated by anything except the genre and the author
Why Samantha loves the concept of an unreliable narrator
How, when reading a thriller, Samantha never trusts anyone at all, ever
The two performers who read the audiobook version of WATCH OUT FOR HER
Being a very visual person, particularly as a reader
What Samantha tries to do with every book she writes, and a little bit about the book she is working on now
Advice Samantha would have given to her younger self
The various genres and types of book she has loved reading and writing over the years
Taking all the risks in writing while taking very few risks in life
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the concept of unreliable narrators and the idea of letting fear hold you back.

Links of Interest:

Samantha M. Bailey is the author of WOMAN ON THE EDGE, a USA TODAY and #1 national bestseller; her second novel, WATCH OUT FOR HER, was an instant #1 national bestseller. Her books have sold in eleven countries to date. Samantha is a journalist and freelance editor; her writing has appeared in NOW MAGAZINE, THE VILLAGE POST, THE THRILL BEGINS, and THE CRIME HUB, among other publications. She lives in Toronto, where she can usually be found tapping away at her computer or curled up on her couch with a book.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 274 - The 42 Minute Hour with Michelle Oucharek-Deo

28 oktober 2022 | 54 min

Mark interviews Michelle Oucharek-Deo, a writer, speaker and art therapist about her fiction writing journey, creative therapy, and her time management philosophy of the 42 Minute Hour.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Michelle talk about:

How Michelle became an art therapist 28 years ago, working with people from 3 to 103 years old
Using art and the process of art-making as a process for healing
A memory from Grade One involving being in the library and dreaming of one day being a writer
Being a creative writing major in university and how that didn't align with Michelle's vision
Sitting down to do some writing in her mid-30s and then again in her 40s; then diving in to engage in fiction writing
Michelle's first fiction and how it relates back to her life as a therapist
The journey towards self-discovery and being accountable for one's past and one's trauma
Her "Wine, Love, and Friendship" trilogy
Michelle's belief that there should be a "men's fiction" genre
The benefit of writing about important and sensitive subjects within a fictional setting
The colleague of Michelle's who read her first book and had it hit so close to home that she had to put the book aside for a while to process it in her mind
All the different types of creative and nature therapies that exist and which can cross-over
Michelle's thumbnail version of what art therapy is, as well as what it isn't
Using the ceremony of the art-making and the experience as a way of allowing someone the opportunity to effectively "say goodbye" to a cherished family pet
The 42 minute hour and how it relates to the tremendous amount of time so many of us seem to be "losing" lately
Finding and leveraging the time that exists as opposed to letting it sift away
Michelle's 42 Minute Club on Facebook
How we all have different and unique tools in our own baskets.
Advice Michelle has for dealing with writer's block or being stuck
And much more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the idea of lost time as well as the concept of the different tools that we all possess and the way they work for us at different times.

Links of Interest:

Michelle Oucharek-Deo is a writer, speaker and art therapist who has dedicated herself to living her life on the sparkly side of the street. She spent 28 years with a paintbrush in her hand walking with people through their emotional journeys.

Several years ago she stepped outside of the counseling office to create her first fictional series about a woman pushing past her fear and looking at who she really wants to become. During the process of Michelle's emerging writing career, managing her counseling business and motherhood, she created a new and exciting way to manage her time.

Michelle looks forward to sharing stories about her fiction writing journey and how her time management philosophy of the 42 Minute Hour allowed her to lay the foundation to running two parallel careers, baking muffins for her son, planting her garden and still staying sane.

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

EP 273 - Deep and Meaningful Connections via Music with Jennifer Buchanan

20 oktober 2022 | 64 min

Mark interviews Jennifer Buchanan, a musician, author, entrepreneur, music therapist, and two-time award-winning author about her more than thirty years of experience helping people connect using music.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal reflective update and a word about this episode's sponsor that's also filled with a few reflections.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Jennifer talk about:

When Mark and Jennifer had last spoken and how much Jennifer enjoyed the conversation
How Jennifer has been a health entrepreneur who has been running her music therapy business for 31 years
Her youngest client is 2 months old, and her eldest is 104
Becoming an author and how that has been such a pleasure
Being passionate about music therapy and the good it can do
Reminding people of their innate humanness and the strengths that still exist inside them
Mark's unique music-related connection with his best-friend
The reason why Jennifer has "written another book"
Even though they can be short/small connections, music connections can be really meaningful and deep and lasting
Jennifer's re-released children's book (My Body is Special, Especially for Me) inspired by a group of children she had worked with and a song she wrote for them
Remembering that a song is never just a song, and that a playlist is never just a playlist
Finding out what your anchor songs are
How Jennifer's Book Tune In was meant to be her first and last book on the topic of music therapy. But that she loved it so much she fell back in love with the topic
The importance of never underestimating luck
Listening to the clues given by your body and your health
Getting out and doing movement and weight training
Missing just getting her guitar out and playing it and singing
And much more...

After the interview Mark reflects on three different things that the conversation made him think about.

Links of Interest:

Jennifer Buchanan first witnessed the power of music as a young teen when her Grandad had his second stroke leaving him unable to speak or walk and living in long term care. It was Granny who asked her the simple question…”Jenny would you bring your guitar next week and sing your Grandad’s favorite song?”

As she sang, Jennifer would witness the face of the grumpy old man she thought she knew, turn into the tears of a man who wanted a more meaningful connection.

Today Jennifer Buchanan is the Founder of JB Music Therapy (JBMT), a company that has been instrumental in the implementation of hundreds of music therapy programs throughout Canada for more than 30 years and has been thrice nominated for the Community Impact Award by her local Chamber of Commerce. JB Music Therapy employs a specialized team of 18 Certified Music Therapists (MTAs) serving infants to elders in medical, education and community wellness settings.

As the author of two award-winning books and the current Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Music Therapists Jennifer is recognized as a trusted source for television and print media throughout North America on the topics of music, mental health and the power of a playlist.

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

EP 272 - Camouflaged Sisters with Lila Holley

14 oktober 2022 | 49 min

Mark interviews Lila Holley, a US Army combat Veteran, and the multiple award-winning author behind the Camouflaged Sisters brand.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Lila talk about:

Lila's life of more than two decades in the army, then transitioning into creating a platform allowing veteran women to share their stories
Trying to find her place in high school, but enjoying writing and getting excellent feedback and encouragement from a teacher
The difficulty of the transition of leaving the military and then re-creating that civilian life
Returning to journalling as an outlet in that transition
Sharing her experiences in order to help other veterans
Realizing how important to would be to help so many others share their own stories
How Lila works with veterans to help them share their experiences, reminding them that everyone has a story
The way Lila's first book eventually lead to an entire Camouflaged Sisters movement
The themes of the three different Camouflaged sisters books as well as the behind-the-rank series
Being the only female and the only black person in the room for parts of her career in the military service
Feeling like she had to work longer hours and keep proving herself, and how that pressure can often come from an internal place
The equal pay nature of the military service
Sharing your ugly truth and the lessons learned
How the military is a reflection of society
The importance of not feeling alone
The online community of Camouflaged Sisters and how people can be a part of it
Involvement of military family perspectives that are included in the community, the stories, and the books
The monthly safe space sisterhood chat that focuses on self-care
Why Lila decided to work towards her Masters in Publishing
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the power of writing, the power of story, of sharing one's story, of helping others share their story, and of ensuring that people realize they are not alone.

Links of Interest:

Lila Holley is a US Army combat Veteran. She is the multiple award-winning, Amazon bestselling visionary author behind the Camouflaged Sisters brand. This retired US Army Warrant Officer has published 9 total books, including 8 anthology books with 143 coauthors and has additional projects scheduled with the launch of her Camouflaged Sisters Publishing company.

Camouflaged Sisters empowers military women and women Veterans to take back the narrative and ownership of their stories. Lila believes there is no one better to tell these stories than those who lived them. She is creating an amazing platform that celebrates military women and women Veterans with her online community, virtual and live events, retreats and getaways, and workshops. Through this community military women connect with each other, access resources, and share their stories. Camouflaged Sisters is more than just books—it’s a movement!

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

EP 271 - Story Nerd Podcast with Valerie Francis and Melanie Hill

6 oktober 2022 | 69 min

EP 270 - Reflections from the NINC 2022 Conference

30 september 2022 | 34 min

EP 269 - Dreaming a Writer's Reality Straight on Until Morning with Gama Ray Martinez

23 september 2022 | 42 min

Mark interviews Gama Ray Martinez about his recent novel GOD OF NEVERLAND, his writing life, and more.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares an extremely 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.

During their conversation Mark and Gama talk about:

How Mark and Gama normally only see one another once per year at Superstars Writing Seminars in Colorado in Feb each year
Gama always wanting to be a writer, and in school turning in stories instead of descriptive essays
The first story that Gama sold, which won 2nd place in a David Farland anthology
Taking several of David Farland's workshops
Writing a "purple unicorn" story involving a potato based on a parody cover James A. Owen had crafted
The background of the "purple unicorn" story
Value that can come, both professionally and personally, from attending in person conferences like Superstars Writing Seminars
The inspiration for writing God of Neverland which came from the epilogue of the original story of Peter Pan
Embracing both traditional publishing and indie publishing
Having support from both family and close friends
The audiobook version, which took home an audio award
The forthcoming sequel, Queens of Wonderland, which ties in to the classic Lewis Carroll book
The GamaVerse of this series and how it will connect even more classic texts
Writing with something on the TV in the background, but it having to be something that he has seen countless times
Advice Gama would offer to other writers and beginning writers
How Gama shoots for one plot point per 1000 words when greating a rough outline for a writing project
Gama's goal to do a half-marathon in every state, and the Disney marathons he has participated in
The feeling of walking into a bookstore such as Barnes and Noble and seeing your books on display
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the years of hard work and investment Gama put into his writing to get to where he is today and the important of getting that first draft DONE.

Links of Interest:

Gama Ray Martinez lives near Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife and kids. He moved there solely because he likes mountains. He collects weapons in case he ever needs to supply a medieval battalion, and he greatly resents when work or other real-life things get in the way of writing. He secretly hopes to one day slay a dragon in single combat and doesn’t believe in letting pesky little things like reality stand in the way of dreams.

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

EP 268 - Neurodivergence and the Creative Process with October K. Santerelli

15 september 2022 | 46 min

Mark interviews October K. Santerelli about neurodivergence as it relates to the writing life.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares 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.

During their conversation Mark and October talk about:

October's start with writing during a 7th Grade poetry unit project receiving an A+
Dedicating his first book to that teacher who was so inspiring and supportive
Getting a publishing deal offer at the age of sixteen
Doing a lot of fantasy writing (that got finished) as well as Queer fiction (that never got finished)- Loving the act of "spite writing"
The terms of Neurotypical, Neurodivergent, and their understanding within the writer's life
How ADHD and Autism spectrum can have really powerful effects on your writing career
The way that many of the "rules" for writers don't align with a brain that isn't neurotypical
Giving a general guideline on how something might feel - ie, the results rather than the strict processes
October creating mini "celebrations" to accompany completely particular small victories
Showing how he re-frames some of the standard bits of advice that work well for him
The useful and valuable tool of doing writing sprints and how it creates a short and very immediate deadline
And more...

After the interview Mark shares a few reflections and reminds authors that not all "how to" and recommended processes are a "fit all" option. Adaptation into one's own manners and systems is important.

Links of Interest:

October K Santerelli is a fantasy author from the mountains of Denver, Colorado, USA. He is an LGBTQ+ writer and sensitivity reader, as well as a public speaker on disability, neurodivergency, and Own Voices writing in the publishing industry.

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

EP 267 - Why Publishing Needs a Makeover with Rebecca Eckler

8 september 2022 | 63 min

EP 266 - "Let's Talk Dialogue with Jeff Elkins," He Said Reflectively

1 september 2022 | 40 min

EP 265 - Elizabeth Ann West and Randall Wood of Scribecount

26 augusti 2022 | 62 min

Mark has a chat with Elizabeth Ann West and Randall Wood.

Elizabeth Ann West is not only the public face of ScribeCount but is also an author whose books have hit the bestseller lists on all major vendors, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, and Kobo.

Randall Wood is the author of the bestselling Jack Randall thrillers and co-founder of ScribeCount a platform with the desire to be the preeminent author service platform, offering services every author needs.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares recent comments, a personal update, and a few words 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, Elizabeth and Randall talk about:

Elizabeth's new role at Scribecount
Why Elizabeth goes to conferences with two notebooks
The origin of ScribeCount in the back of a room and on cocktail napkins at NINC (Novelist's Inc) in Florida
Randall and Elizabeth's background as writers
The decision Randall made related to signing a deal with Tor versus indie publishing
Elizabeth's earliest entrepreneur activities which involved killing her mother's rubber tree plant at the age of eight
The thrill of landing on writing "Jane Austin fan fiction" style historical romance
Why Elizabeth sells her eBooks at $9.99
An overview of what ScribeCount is and how it helps authors understand their sales data from numerous sources
The complications that come with understanding advertising and marketing expenditures related to sales campaign
The difference of earnings in a month (live reporting) versus payments in a month (usually delayed 30 to 90 days)
"Get off the spreadsheet, get on the Sunburst!"
How ScribeCount is free to use until an author earns more than $999/month
Launching Ingram Spark into the platform (which did happen roughly half way through August 2022)
The very clear privacy policy that ScribeCount has, preserving data for ONLY each author account - it is never merged with other data
The learning library that Elizabeth is working on to help mid-list authors learn how to leverage the data and the tools ScribeCount has
Some of the conferences that Elizabeth and Randall will be at over the next little while
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the author-centric nature of ScribeCount and why that is so important. He also shares his thoughts on Elizabeth's $9.99 price point for her novels.

Links of Interest:

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

EP 264 - Hank Phillippi Ryan & Edward Willett - When Words Collide Keynotes (Part 2)

21 augusti 2022 | 58 min

EP 263 - Terry Brooks & Susanna Kearsley - When Words Collide Keynotes (Part 1)

19 augusti 2022 | 44 min

EP 262 - Rambling Hometown Reflections

12 augusti 2022 | 30 min

EP 261 - How to Write Brilliant Beginnings with S.W. Millar

4 augusti 2022 | 41 min

Mark interviews S.W. Millar about his new book - How to Write Brilliant Beginnings: Crafting Your Novel’s Opening Chapters Made Easy.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes, 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 Shane talk about:

Shane's background as an urban fantasy writer and a certified Story Editor
Writing his first novel back in 2010, pulling it out of a drawer in 2015 and realizing how much it was lacking, and then engaging in a long period of study to better his craft and understanding of the business
Wanting to write the kind of books he needed when he was first starting out and wanting to learn
How reading Jim Butcher's Harry Desden files novels inspired Shane to want to write similar tales
Realizing that he wanted to train as a writer-friendly editor with Kristina Stanley from Fictionary
The importance of having a degree of distance when you are taking in feedback from editors or readers
Shane's preference for the type of fiction he prefers to edit: Urban fantasy, Thrillers, and Science-Fictio
How to Write Brilliant Beginnings, Shane's new book, and why it is such an important element to help with sales
The invisible/subtle question that you set up so that, in the reader's mind, they are compelled to keep reading to find the answer to it
Why it is equally compelling to end your chapters, particularly the first two or three chapters, which as much of a hook as possible
That "just one more principal"
The idea of a character "going about their current 'flawed' existence"
How everything a character sees and experiences is filtered through their wound and scar
Giving your main character something very unique to them as an identifier
The five top things that you should give your character for them to be three dimensional and compelling to readers
The value of opening the novel with some type of conflict or action beat
When ending chapters or cutting scenes, the element of cutting it off BEFORE the resolution that can compel the reader to keep reading
The way that old television programs, such as Batman that always cut to a commercial break with a hook that would make the audience want to keep watching to find out how it was resolved
That "know, like, and trust" thing which can be so important when engaging in social media
The importance of open-ended questions that can lead to engagement and detailed answers
Shane's books: How to Write Brilliant Beginnings, How to Plot Your Novel and How to Write Novels Fast
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on distance and objectivity as well as that end of chapter "cut to commercial" hook.

Links of Interest:

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

EP 260 - Mood, Atmosphere, and Worldbuilding with Joshua Essoe

28 juli 2022 | 56 min

Mark interviews editor Joshua Essoe about the elements of atmosphere, mood, and world-building.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, 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 Joshua talk about:

How Joshua got into being an editor twelve years ago
The limitation of only being able to work 1:1 with so many clients at a time and how that led to Joshua deciding to release books (Essoe's Guides to Writing) to assist writers with some of his knowledge/experience
The way Joshua divides up a typical day of work, which involves a lot of burning the midnight oil
Joshua's unique way of combining two subjects into a single double-sided flip book as a special Kickstarter exclusive project
The first flip book - Action Sequences / Sex Scenes
The second flip book - Worldbuilding / Mood & Atmosphere
The problem with trying to release a flip-book format in the traditional print book market. (Where does the bar code that's supposed to be on the "back" of the book go?)
Original artwork from James A. Owen that is part of these books, and this special Kickstarter project
The 6 major areas where writers usually have issues in Worldbuilding, including Info-dumping, which is also broken down into 6 types:
- world-building info dump
- the back-story info dump
- the technical info dump
- dialogue info dump
- thought info dump
- emotion info dump
How Kevin J. Anderson does a great job of setting up his world in the first several pages of the Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. novels
Three big things that you need to do in your world-building: broadening it, deepening it, and involving it
How writers need to shackle their impulse to share too many details about their world all at once to readers
A discussion of Tolkien's world-building, which involved a combination of intriguing teaser moments, but also some longer segments of info-dumping
What are we talking about when we're talking about Mood and Atmosphere?
How there aren't that many books in existence on the topic of mood and atmosphere
The way that every aspect of your writing that can contribute to mood
How atmosphere is a part of mood, but is a big enough element that it can be understood and explored on its own
An excellent example of atmosphere from A Wrinkle in Time
How you want to be purposeful when creating and sharing mood in your writing
Some of the rewards that are going to be available in Joshua's Kickstarter
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on a couple of things from the discussion.

Links of Interest:

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

EP 259 - Do You Hear What I Hear? The Sound of Opportunity

21 juli 2022 | 50 min

EP 258 - June 2022 Reflective Hangout Highlights

14 juli 2022 | 47 min

EP 257 - Naima Simone on Writing with Heart, Humor, and Heat

7 juli 2022 | 48 min

Mark interviews USA Today Bestselling author Naima Simone about writing sizzling romances with heart, a touch of humor and snark.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, reads recent comments, 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.

During their chat, Mark and Naima talk about:

Naima's unique and fun tagline: "Where heart, humor, and heat collide"
Learning to read as early as 3 and 4 years of age
Some of Naima's favorite books she read when growing up, and also sneaking into her mom's room to read her mom's more adult romance books at the age of 11 and 12
Writing her first story about a cucumber named Fred who went to the bookstore
The romance book she wrote in the 2nd grade
The "fan fiction" type of stories that she used to write and trade with her sister
The "Donnie Wahlberg" inspired romantic story Naima wrote
Why Naima worked so hard and never gave up on her dream to be a published author
What was supposed to be that "next level" of her career and the experience of opening that first royalty check
Naima's father's advise about following your passion and how his support and advice helped her at that devastating moment of seeing that particular royalty check
The importance of the emotional and logistical support of her husband
How Naima may write romance but that her husband is the romantic person in their relationship
The core of honor, respect, and vulnerability from her husband who has made it into some of Naima's fictional characters
Deciding between working with a publisher or self-publishing a particular writing project
Naima's love of the 80's and 80's music and how that has made it into a particular series she is writing
Her book Jessie's Girl, and the connection to Rick Springfield using it as an example that song titles can't be copyrighted
Naima's advice for new of beginning writers
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on Naima's pivotal moment.

Links of Interest:

Published since 2009, USA Today Bestselling author Naima Simone loves writing sizzling romances with heart, a touch of humor and snark. Her books have been featured in The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly, and described as balancing “crackling, electric love scenes with exquisitely rendered characters caught in emotional turmoil.”

She is wife to Superman, or his non-Kryptonian, less bullet proof equivalent, and mother to the most awesome kids ever. They all live in perfect, sometimes domestically-challenged bliss in the southern United 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

EP 256 - Knowing Your Worth and Value as an Author

1 juli 2022 | 36 min

EP 255 - Overcoming Obstacles and Just Doing It with Jenny S. LaBranche

23 juni 2022 | 51 min

Mark interviews Jenny S. LaBranche about not letting anything stand in the way of pursuing her dream of becoming a writer.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, reads comments, 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.

During their chat, Mark and Jenny talk about:

Wanting, her entire life, to be a writer
Growing up in a Hollywood family, and first learning about screenplays
Jenny's work-related connection to the 9/11 tragedy in New York City (75% of their clients were in the World Trade Center buildings) and becoming a firefighter and EMT shortly after that
Leaving her job in August 2021 and the great support her husband offered her
Signing the Red Sneaker contract
A little bit about the Red Sneakers book series from William Bernhardt and how they helped Jenny
Being surrounded by so many of mother's books when she was young
Working with William Bernhardt as a writing coach and as an editor
The Writing Retreat in the Ozark that Jenny was scheduled to attend this summer
Jenny's forthcoming novel Kingdoms of Shadow and Flame and the heart of her main character
Scheduling her day to include writing, other tasks, and non-writing-related chores and responsibilities
Going for walks with her characters
Being a hard-core plotter
Jenny's plans for the new novel and the options she's considering
How Jenny learned about Draft2Digital
The value and power of acknowledging that "I Am A Writer"
Why it's important to stop doubting yourself and to just do it
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on two of the things Jenny spoke about, thanks Patrons, and also reads an excerpt from Fright Nights, Big City as an example of a "walk with your character" exercise.

Links of Interest:

Jenny S. LaBrache spent from ages 20–31 working in the IT field. On September 11, 2001, Jenny was working as a Corporate IT Manager, managing 10 of the world’s largest internet companies. 75% of her companies clients were in the world trade centers and they themselves occupied the 136 floor of The South Tower. After that devastation, Jenny left the IT field and began working as a Firefighter and Emergency Medic until the end of 2014. Throughout her life and career, Jenny always let her dyslexia stand in the way of pursuing her dream of becoming a writer, but no longer.

On August 26th, 2021, Jenny joined William Bernhardt’s Red Sneaker Writers Center on Facebook and began The Red Sneaker Writers Book Series. Her first high fantasy novel will be Kingdoms of Shadow and Flame. This is a thrilling, fast paced fantasy filled with adventure, dark forces, deceit, laughter, friendship and, a humorous discovery of the primal nature of one’s true self. Where new friends become tutors in the most interesting and hilarious ways.

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

EP 254 - Best Pages, Ads, and Newsletters with Bryan Cohen

16 juni 2022 | 45 min

Mark interviews Bryan Cohen who runs Author Ad School, Best Page Forward, and co-hosts The Sell More Books Show.

Prior to the interview, Mark thanks his patrons, reads comments, offers 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.

During their chat, Mark and Bryan talk about:

Bryan's "Best Page Forward" book blurb writing business that started in 2016
Slowly growing the business by starting off with "bargain basement" pricing, and then eventually growing to having 8 writers and having written more than 5000 book descriptions
The misconception that it's necessary for a blurb writer to have to read the book they are writing about
Adding instructions for Amazon and Facebook ads to his repertoire
The fact that even people who work on the Amazon Ads product can find it complex and confusing
The quarterly free Amazon Ad Challenges that Bryan has been running for the past couple of years
The hands-on approach to this challenge that begins right at step-one
Who these free challenges and the full courses are for
Opportunities that exist within email marketing
The forthcoming book that Bryan is working on that follows the "story" of helping a fictional author named Nina
Bryan's long-running podcast The Sell More Books Show
The importance of regularly scheduled down-time for one's mental and physical health
A little bit about Bryan's own personal writing career
Bryan's final "hot potato of wisdom" (a shtick from The Sell More Books Show)
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of downtown for an author, as well as Bryan's reminder about starting off focusing on one writing thing and one marketing thing.

Links of Interest:

Bryan Cohen runs Author Ad School, Best Page Forward, and co-hosts The Sell More Books Show. He's helped over 30,000 authors through his free Ad Challenges and has sold 140,000 copies of his own books as well.

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

EP 253 - Survival, Resilience, Grace, and Persistence with Lizbeth Meredith

10 juni 2022 | 52 min

Mark interviews Lizbeth Meredith an award-winning author, speaker, and online teacher living in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her memoir Pieces of Me has been adapted as Stolen By Their Father for Lifetime Television and was released earlier this year.

Prior to the interview, Mark thanks his patrons, talks about a cool Kickstarter that one of his patrons, Holger Nils Pohl is running, 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.

During their chat, Mark and Lizbeth talk about:

Lizbeth's earliest melodramatic poetry writing when she was young
Why and how the writing helped when she started to think of her life as a story
Realizing how Lizbeth's PIECES OF ME is just one of an endless number of stories of survival and resilience
Her story of looking over two years of her children being abducted and taken away by their non-custodial father
The importance of community for writers as well as for people in general
Being told, when sharing her first draft "You know, this doesn't HAVE to be published"
Positive feedback from agents who loved her manuscript but would be unable to take it on
Deciding to publish with a hybrid publisher (a publisher that charges authors for all the publishing costs)
Learning about writers grants to be able to take advantage of and applying for them
How applying for a grant helps a writer learn how to pitch
Having her book optioned by Canadian company Cineflex
The lengthy timelines that it took in order to get the option in place
The movie name being re-adapted from the book title to "Stolen by Their Father"
The release date of the 2022 movie lining up with the anniversary of the date Lizbeth left her husband
Some of the other writing projects Lizbeth is working on
Lizbeth's podcast, Persistence U with Lizbeth
Advice Lizbeth would offer to her younger self or beginning writers
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on Lizbeth's business decision on how she would publish, recognizing the skills she already had with skills from the hybrid publisher she chose. He also reflects on her pointing out the value of community.

Links of Interest:

Lizbeth Meredith is an author living in Chattanooga, Tennessee after more than 5 decades in Alaska. Her memoir, Pieces of Me: Rescuing My Kidnapped Daughters, has been adapted as Stolen By Their Father for Lifetime Television.

Lizbeth is a speaker and online teacher who enjoys coaching and consulting part-time, a fun addition after three-decades career serving crime victims and offenders. In her off- time, Lizbeth enjoys movies at the theater, talking with podcast guests at Persistence U with Lizbeth, and Facetime chats with her adult daughters and grand-pets.

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

EP 252 - Broadening Your Writing Universe with Rona Gofstein

3 juni 2022 | 55 min

Mark interviews Rona Gofstein, an Author Accelerator certified fiction book coach who specializes in helping writers of genre fiction develop, write and revise their novels. She also writes contemporary romance, is the president of Broad Universe, an international organization for women and alternatively gendered authors of speculative fiction, as well as president of the New Hampshire Chapter of RWA.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, thanks his patrons and provides them an update on June virtual hangouts 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 chat, Mark and Rona talk about:

When Rona first started to play around with writing when back in college
How Julia Cameron's Book The Artist's Way inspired Rona to get serious about writing and publishing a book
Being a "feel your way through" type of writer
Knowing her characters really well, despite being a planstser
How Rona works through character sheets
The importance of having a "what would they never, ever do?" element on a character sheet
What Broad Universe is within speculative fiction and how they use it to help bring attention to a more diverse range of authors
Becoming an accredited Author Accelerator Book coach
Rona's love of helping writers realize their dreams of becoming a writer
The different types of clients Rona works with and the techniques and elements she helps them understand
Where and how Rona fits in her own writing
Continuing to do the "Morning Pages" from the previously mentioned book by Julia Cameron
How coaching and writing can help feed off one another for Rona
The Joan Didion quote: "I don't know what I think until I write it down."
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the idea of the morning pages that Rona does based on reading Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way.

Links of Interest:

Rona Gofstein is an Author Accelerator certified fiction book coach and specializes in helping writers of genre fiction develop, write and revise their novels. She writes contemporary romance and will be launching a new series and pen name later this year. Rona is the president of Broad Universe, an international organization for women and alternatively gendered authors of speculative fiction, as well as president of the New Hampshire Chapter of RWA. She desperately needs her morning coffee, thinks reservations are the best thing to make for dinner, and believes that one day she will find the magic planner that will keep her perfectly organized.

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

EP 251 - The Author Journey with C. J. Anaya

27 maj 2022 | 52 min

Mark interviews C.J. Anaya, a USA Today bestselling and multi-award-winning author who enjoys assisting authors in writing, publishing, and marketing books with her YouTube channel Author Journey.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, an ad he recorded with Julie Strauss for the release of their new novel Lover's Moon, 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 chat, Mark and CJ talk about:

How by the time she was eight months old CJ was singing
Writing short stories for her friends at the age of 10 because she wanted to give them all Christmas presents
The singing and performing she did, including starting to writing songs at the age of 18
Going through three incidents of cancer. First at the age of 18, then at 26, and more recently in the past year
How her writing journey began shortly after running into Jennifer Griffith when CJ was in a bookstore signing copies of her CD
Writing short stories for her friends at the age of 10 because she wanted to give them all Christmas presents
Dreaming about a spirit trapped in a Japanese statue which lead to writing THE HEALER which ended up being the first book in a series
How the Paranormal Misfit series started off as a 10,000 word short story
The specific themes and issues that this YA series deals with
The book and course CJ created about writer's block
Specific genres that CJ works on as a developmental editor
CJ's experience attending Superstars Writing Seminars alone (as opposed to always previously going to conferences with a friend)
Advice she would give to her youngest self
Something that she hadn't expected when taking Kevin J. Anderson's Western Colorado University's Masters in Publishing program
Writing songs for characters in her books
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on when CJ spoke about learning to deal with constructive criticism and appreciating that it's not that there's anything wrong with the work, but about what can we improve upon and how can we make this even better.

Links of Interest:

C.J. Anaya is a USA Today bestselling and multi-award-winning author. She also enjoys assisting authors in writing, publishing, and marketing books with her YouTube channel Author Journey.

She's a huge fan of The Mindy Project, Hugh Jackman, and binge eating any and all things chocolate.

As a mother of four awesome kiddos, C.J. is usually helping out with endless amounts of homework, attempting difficult and harrowing crochet projects with her daughters, and getting schooled in basketball by her teenage son.

She loves writing entertaining reads for everyone to enjoy and dabbles in singing and songwriting for kicks and giggles.

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

EP 250 - Typewriters, Nature, and Fatherhood with E.S. Curry

19 maj 2022 | 50 min

Mark interviews E.S. Curry, an insatiable renaissance man who loves writing outside the data stream on a Royal typewriter, listening to classical music on vinyl, and imagining bedtime stories with his son Åsmund.

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 chat, Mark and Scott talk about:

How Scott started writing for himself four years ago after years of doing ghostwriting and working in advertising and marketing
The importance of discovering his own voice as a writer and how it took writing over one million words before he found his voice
The experience of a being at a "Fred Forward" conference at the Fred Rogers Center and how Fred Rogers talked about the importance of being in a bubble with a child and really engaging and attending to them and that space
Getting away to the wilderness with his son Åsmund, unplugging from the digital realm, and really connecting with one another and within nature
The desire of parents to want to "write these things down" when experiencing that magical time in their child's life where the fantastical and imagination are such powerful elements
Doing their first father/son book signing at Lake Placid
Writing on a 1953 Royal Quiet Deluxe typewriter
Discovering his own author brand and his persona in the same way that he had to discover his own writer voice
The scholarly 1858 expedition known as the Philosopher's Camp
Richard Louv's writing, his books The Nature Principal, Last Child in the Woods, and his ideas of a Nature Deficit Disorder
Being visited by Ralph Waldo Emerson's ghost in Scott's next book: Camping with Emerson's Ghost
Scott being a huge believer in the 3-format author
A little bit about Scott's role at Findaway Voices
The experience of doing the audio for his first book, including auditioning himself as a potential narrator
The importance of having a simultaneous release with multiple formats to maximize your launch marketing effort impact
Some of the projects that Scott has been working on outlining
Being a big believer in the Rule of 3's
Creating book ciphers for his son as well as for marketing
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on Scott's work at writing millions of words before finding his voice, communing with nature, and the tactile experience of writing on a typewriter.

Links of Interest:

E.S. Curry is an insatiable renaissance man that loves writing outside the data stream on a Royal typewriter while listening to classical music on vinyl, plays piano and guitar, races his sailing yacht Escapade, fences, and imagines bedtime stories with his son Åsmund.

For over 20 years, he’s worked with iconic brands around the world designing brand strategies and marketing campaigns, including IMG, Arnold Palmer, Olympics, Fashion Week, and numerous non-profit initiatives. He is currently the Marketing Strategist for Findaway Voices, a platform that empowers authors and publishers to create and distribute audiobooks to reach listeners globally.

A former ghostwriter, he published his first book under his own pen name, The Flying Sabuki: A Father-Son Nature Adventure, in 2021. One of the many five-star reviews describes the book as a “Must Read for Parents” and “Curry’s approach to parenting struck a chord with me, as his intentional foundation of love and genuine connection with this child is what I aspire to as a parent. On several occasions, tears streamed down my face…” The follow-up book entitled The Philosophers Ghost: Camping with Ralph Waldo Emerson will be published later this year.

E.S. Curry calls Cleveland, Ohio, and Great Lake Erie his home port. To learn more and sign up for his email list visit escurry.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

EP 249 - Epic Kids Adventures with D.E. Cunningham

12 maj 2022 | 63 min

Mark interviews D. E. Cunningham, a middle-grade fantasy author, about his life as a storyteller and his new novel Marco Swift and the Mirror of Souls.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares a recent comment, 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 chat, Mark and David talk about:

The inspiration behind writing Marco Swift and the Mirror of Souls
Writing a musical comedy for stage when in college, and making short VHS movies, improv and parodies with his friends when he was in high school
Being able to bang out 1000 words an hour, but without proper structure and plotting
Discovering Brandon Sanderson's DIY writing class on YouTube
How dramatically different the later drafts of the novel became after David learned more about the craft
David's desire to make the heart of the Marco Swift story about children facing trauma and learning to not blame themselves
Inspiration from Mister Roger's and his own passion for ensuring that every child knew they were loved and they are capable of loving
Going through depression and being semi-suicidal when he was younger
Writing this first novel while working on his MFA for Film Production
Hiring an editor through Reedsy
Work David had done writing a couple of episodes and outlines for a few different television shows as well as voicing the main character for one series
Spending a year and a half querying 122 agents
The one agent who asked to read the book who told David it was "good not great"
Hiring a second editor to address the feedback this agent had offered to David
Trading skills with an artist/designer to get a professional looking cover for his self-published book
The 99% Perspiration/1% Inspiration principal
Realities of television and movie adaptations
The coolest things about self-publishing a book
David deciding to do the audiobook himself because he already had voice-acting experience
Advice David would offer to his younger self
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on David's life-long passion for storytelling, being cognizant of his target audience, and his determination and persistence as a writer.

Links of Interest:

D. E. Cunningham is a middle-grade fantasy author who currently resides in Virginia Beach with his wonderful wife and three fun-loving boys. His search for truth, goodness, and beauty have driven him to write larger-than-life adventures for a new generation of readers. When not writing, he can be found voicing cartoon characters, producing animated children’s shows, and exploring the wilderness with his family.

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

EP 248 - Personal and Professional Challenges with Carina Alyce

5 maj 2022 | 74 min

Mark interviews Carina Alyce, a best-selling author and full-time triple board-certified physician who started writing dramatic medical romances after twenty years in the trenches of health care.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update as well as 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 chat, Mark and Carina talk about:

Carina's love of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Grey's Anatomy, and how this evolved, along with her passion for storytelling, to start writing her current series
Her medical and clinical background that helped inspire some of her stories
A typical work and family day, and where and how Carina gets her writing in
The "dead drop" method of communicating with herself using Gmail drafts while working on a manuscript
Scheduling TikTok content in advance during one-hour of work to use for the remainder of the week
How a TikTok "page flip" video works
Managing projects via a visible wall whiteboard/calendar
Writing Firefighter/Doctor/Police romances
The HEROES WITH HEAT AND HEART 9/11 charity anthology Carina edits and heads up
Using a combination of personal experience and interacting with firefighters and law enforcement to help make the content in her novels legitimate
How sometimes "crossover" can be an understatement in Carina's MetroGen novels that include the hospital, the firestation, and the police station
The number of books Carina already has out and the batch of forthcoming releases coming out in the next several months
Setting up the stories in a way that the readers can help determine what happens in the ongoing stories, with plot twists such as who the father of a pregnant woman's child will be
How a single event can include numerous people who all have their own unique story that can covered within this series
The dramatic storytelling principal of "Chekov's gun" ("If in Act I you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act".)
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on a couple of things from the conversation.

Links of Interest:

Carina Alyce is the pen name of the Amazon best-selling author and full-time triple board-certified physician who started writing dramatic medical romances after twenty years in the trenches of health care. She promises she never had sex in a call room - the mattresses are not comfortable - or had a fistfight with a patient - though she did work as a fight doc at the Octagon. Her stories are sexy, snarky, and real with all the romance and drama of the lives of our first responders.

She writes the MetroGeneral Downtown series that tackles the personal and professional challenges facing our front-line providers. You’ll find her stories have the drama of Grey's Anatomy, the comedy of Scrubs, the sexiness of Outlander, and the medical details of Forensic Files. They feature fast, witty dialogue, strong women with goals, and quirky ensemble casts.

When not working or writing, she is a brown belt in judo, an avid reader, and an attending surgeon in stuffed animal veterinary medicine for her six kids. (No one trusts her husband's medical skills because he's just a lawyer.) You can follow her at carinaalyce.com/newsletter or see her dance and make Grey's Anatomy jokes on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@carinaalyce

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

EP 247 - My Mom's Influence On Me As A Writer

28 april 2022 | 39 min

EP 246 - Four of the Pitfalls of Publishing

22 april 2022 | 36 min

Mark shares four of the many pitfalls of publishing that can befall authors.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by The 2022 Write Stuff StoryBundle.

For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you're feeling generous), you'll get the basic bundle of four books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.

Domesticate Your Badgers by Michael W Lucas
Publishing Pitfalls for Authors by Mark Leslie Lefebvre
Writing Craft by DeAnna Knippling
A Freelancer's Survival Guide to Starting Your Own Business by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $20, you get all four of the regular books, plus five more books and an online lecture, for a total of 10 books/lectures. That includes two StoryBundle exclusives!

A Writer Prepares by Lawrence Block
Free Your Inner Nonfiction Writer by Johanna Rothman (StoryBundle Exclusive)
Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Virtual Worlds by Joanna Penn
Create a Character Clinic by Holly Lisle
Do...Quit Your Day Job by Christina F. York (StoryBundle Exclusive)
The Pop-Up Series - Clean First Draft Writing by Dean Wesley Smith

During the main content of this episode, Mark shares four of the P's of publishing pitfalls:

PACING
PACK
PACKAGING
PARALYSIS

Links of Interest:

The 2022 Write Stuff Storybundle
Episode 202 - Predators and Publishers
“7 Tools For Pacing A Novel & Keeping Your Story Moving At The Right Pace,” Courtney Carpenter, April 24, 2012
“Pacing in Writing: 10 Powerful Ways to Keep Readers Hooked,” Reedsy Blog, October 13, 2018
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need, Jessica Brody, Ten Speed Press, October 2018.
Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish, James Scott Bell. Writers Digest Books, October 2004.
How to Write Best Selling Fiction, Dean R. Koontz, Writers Digest Books, September 1981. (Out of Print asof the release of this book in August 2021)
Buy Mark a Coffee
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Accounting for Authors
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

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

EP 245 - Reflective Round Table March 2022

14 april 2022 | 57 min

EP 244 - Rambling Reflections

8 april 2022 | 41 min

EP 243 - Creating Nurturing Email Welcome Sequences with Holly Darling

31 mars 2022 | 69 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Holly Darling, an author and email marketing consultant.

Prior to the main content, Mark welcomes new Patron Holger Nils Pohl, 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.

During their conversation, Mark and Holly Talk About

Holly's background as a romance author and how that led to her passion about email marketing
Her background in the entertainment business doing email and social media for musicians with large record companies
Responding to questions like: "Why do I need an author email?" or the idea of: "I'm a new author and don't yet have a readership yet."
The industry average of open rates being anywhere between 18% and 22% but how open-rates are not a reliable metric
How author email offers you a lot more control over the reader journey
The importance of a four-email 2nd phase nurturing aspect of the welcome sequence
Building a welcome sequence on paper first before moving on to the email service provider
How readers are 42% more likely to buy from an author inside of a welcome sequence than in a standard newsletter update
The way that a well-thought-out nurturing plan can help reduce your emails getting targeted as spam
What a lead magnet is and what type of content can work best in that regard
How, in sales, people buy from other people they know, like, and trust
That the trust element is what we're working on inside of the nurturing phase of the welcome sequence
The first short email in that sequence which usually contains the following elements:
- A picture of yourself
- A link to the reader magnet being offered
- Orientate them by reminding them how they got there
- Set the tone for what's to come
The importance of the trust in the email delivery service and the receiving email's trust of you
How clicks signal to the email service provider that the person sending the email is "legit"
Holly's typical email timing sequence for those 1st four emails is: 1) immediately when they sign up 2) 2 days later 3) 4 days later 4) 7 days later
Why Holly is a huge fan of the double opt in
That every email service provider out there allows you to customize your standard double opt-in message
The survey Holly has added to her emails asking if subscribers to the email want to receive all of the news she has, or if they only want to know about new releases and promotional offers
What tends to happen, statistically, when you give someone more than two choices or options
The importance of tagging people based on their interactions or status, including why it's good to tag people on their way "out"
eMail service providers that Holly would recommend
How the initial emails, particularly in the welcome sequence, need to have a heavier text component to them
A reminder to focus on the click rather than on the email open rate
The free courses Holly has on her site, as well as the 1:1 coaching she does with authors
Use code MARK20 to get 20% off any of Holly's paid courses
And more...

Links of Interest:

Holly Darling is a self-published author and an email marketing consultant for authors based in the theatre city of Stratford, Ontario. Over the years, she has helped nearly 1,000 entrepreneurs grow their businesses with proven email marketing strategies. And it all began with her passion for writing!

Holly's mission is to teach writers how to use emails to increase their sales and cultivate loyal fan bases. Her signature course, Email Marketing for Authors, is for writers looking to use email to grow their business. Whether you’re a brand new author or an experienced writer trying to cut through the noise, Holly's passion is to help authors turn their readers into raving fans.

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

EP 242 - Helping Others Share Important Stories with Kim Lengling

24 mars 2022 | 47 min

An interview with Kim Lengling, author, writer, and host of Let Fear Bounce podcast and the Write Stuff, the author's voice TV Show.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, 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 Claire talk about:

How Kim accidentally fell into writing after being asked to share a very personal story about her grandfather who was a WWI veteran in front of an audience of 800 people and a bunch of television cameras
Being invited to write a monthly column on veteran issues after this speech
The evolution of this writing into personal stories that Kim helped veterans shared
Being the person who can help other people share their stories
A little about her grandfather's personal story that Kim had shared on that fateful day
The unique manner by which some of the veterans Kim has spoken to wanted to share their stories, and just how difficult sharing those stories can be for them
How with each story, Kim's passion for helping other people sharing their stories grew
Kim's transition from sharing those stories to her podcast and television work
The circumstances that led to Kim wanting to start a podcast
Why Kim named her first podcast "Let Fear Bounce"
The universality of fear and how that means virtually anyone can be a guest on that podcast regardless of their background
The 3 faith-based anthologies Kim published in the "When Grace Found Me" series that shares real life stories of women of faith
Kim's advice for writers that includes the negative self-talk authors can often do to sabotage themselves
Reaching out to Kim if you're interested in being on her podcast: VIA: [email protected]
And more...

After the interview Mark shares a brief reflection about something Kim said that really stuck about continuing to do something because of the fulfilling feeling that comes from doing it.

Links of Interest:

Kim Lengling “accidentally”, began writing in 2004. With her writing, she shares her faith, nature, love of rescue animals, and living with PTSD. She has been featured as a co-author in seven anthologies, is the lead author and coordinator of a collaborative 3-book faith-based series titled When Grace Found Me, the host of the podcast Let Fear Bounce, and host of The Write Stuff, the author’s voice TV Show. You can regularly find Kim taking walks with her rescue dog, Dexter, reading, drinking coffee, and jotting down story ideas about her Realm. She is also 20+ year advocate for Veterans who live with PTSD .

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

EP 241 - Indie Publishing Has a Creep Problem

18 mars 2022 | 27 min

EP 240 - Character, Story, and Industry Alignment with Clarie Taylor

18 mars 2022 | 60 min

Mark has a conversation with Claire Taylor, founder and owner of FFS Media, about her writing, about story alignment, and about a creep problem that exists in the indie publishing industry.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares some randomly drawn prizes for three of his Patrons (two copies of a book on worldbuilding by Angeline Trevena and a virtual course by Claire Taylor), 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 Claire talk about:

How long it has been since the last time they saw one another in person due to that "thing that happened" (a global pandemic)
Claire's start on The Sell More Books Show Podcast (with co-host Bryan Cohen) in Jan 2020 and the importance of how the two hosts can raise different points to bring perspective to the news and tips
The challenge of reading news articles aloud live
Claire's FFS media company and how her story alignment work first started
The Enneagram (a typology system that describes human personality as a number of interconnected personality types) that Claire uses for her story alignment process
Mark's mispronunciation of Enneagram as angiogram
Aligning characters to their core motivations
The different genres and series novels that Claire writes in. H. Claire Taylor as a writer of contemporary comedy novels; H. Clarie Taylor co-authoring with Brock Bloodworth (a pseudonym for Claire) writing a paranormal cop comedy adventure series; Nova Nelson writing cozy mysteries and magical Renaissance fiction; CLaire Feeny writing serial killer fiction
Claire's passion for Renaissance Fairs
Leveraging her husband's experience as a police officer (and soon to be detective) in making her cop fiction more realistic
The culmination of having been writing since May 2015
Learning the importance of rest and changing her previous habits of being a chronic over-achiever
The origin of Claire's "The Waffling" series of videos and its relation to her giving in to peer pressure
Claire's social media "Hot Walks"
Being at the two year anniversary of when everything shut-down/locked-down for "two weeks"
Her publishing strategy of "Exclusive to Amazon Kindle" VS "Wide"
The genesis for Clarie's March 14, 2022 Medium article "Indie Publishing Has a Creep Problem"
How important it is for men to be aware that this type of thing is happening and how it's not going to be reported, and why women don't report it
The importance of paying attention to and focusing on that "sixth sense" of just knowing something is wrong, or the body language being witnessed seems off
How woman are often programed to diminish such an experience and to also gaslight themselves - so having someone acknowledge the wrong taking place can be extremely beneficial to them in validating the experience
Claire's own Enneagram type and how that aligns with her deep-rooted satisfaction in doing what is right and what needs to be done
And more...

After the interview Mark shares a brief reflection about something that Claire said that really stuck with him. "My fear of seeming awkward in a situation is less important than the possibility of a woman being in a bad situation I haven't intervened in." He also shares that the article Claire published to Medium will be the main content of Episode 241 which will be published almost immediately after Episode 240.

Links of Interest:

Claire Taylor is the founder and owner of FFS Media. She also leads the Story Alignment services offered by FFS Media.

With over a dozen top-selling humor novels published (and many more on the way), she can write the crap out of a funny book. And she can help you bring out the humor in your story, too, without sacrificing a compelling narrative or strong character development.

She has professionally edited 200+ fiction manuscripts, with experience in every stage of the editing process from outline evaluation to proofreading. Her passion lies in telling a story that sticks with readers long after they finish the last page, and she loves helping others achieve that goal.

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

EP 239 - Public Lending Right for Authors

11 mars 2022 | 33 min

EP 238 - This is Not a Real Interview with Jeff Cottrill

4 mars 2022 | 49 min

Mark interviews Jeff Cottrill, a fiction writer, poet, journalist and spoken-word artist based in Toronto, Canada, about spoken-word art and his new novel HATE STORY.

Prior to the main content, Mark welcomes a Patreon supporter, shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes 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 Jeff talk about:

How Jeff had always been writing since he was young, including silly poems and sketches and stories
The writing becoming a bit more serious in nature in high school, and then later in university, where he was actually discouraged from writing for a while
Discovering the unique nature of spoken-word and open mics and then adapting his own style and adaptation of the art
How really bad workshops can be traumatizing and can set back a writer for years
The lack of (or overabundance of) life and energy within spoken-word poetry
Reading the room and playing off the crowd
Jeff's Octobe 2020 article on Digital Journal called "Meet the Zoom Poets: How lockdown has connected artists globally"
A bit of a backstory about and a short reading from Jeff's poem: "“This Is Not Real Poetry”
Jeff's new novel Hate Story, which is a mix of satire and mystery that has a plot structure that's like a loose parody of Citizen Kane
How social media gaffs can completely destroy a person's life
The Justine Sacco 2003 Twitter fiasco
Trying agents, and then discovering Dragonfly Publishing in Australia for this book
The virtual book launch on March 19, 2022 that is going to include guest musicians and other authors, performance poets and creative artists
Advice Jeff would offer to budding writers and spoken word artists
And more...

After the interview, Mark talks about what writers can learn from witnessing really good spoken word performances as well as the idea that sometimes your idea for a project may not always come at the proper time.

Links of Interest:

Jeff Cottrill is a fiction writer, poet, journalist and spoken-word artist based in Toronto, Canada. He has headlined in countless literary series throughout Canada, the U.K., the U.S., France and Ireland over the last twenty years. His performance style is influenced by slam conventions, but subverts them with wit, ironic humour and a satirical tone.

His poem “This Is Not Real Poetry” is currently nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and his first novel, “Hate Story”, is coming soon from Dragonfly Publishing.

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

EP 237 - Building and Destroying Worlds with Angeline Trevena

24 februari 2022 | 56 min

In this episode Mark interviews Angeline Trevena, an author of dystopian urban fantasy and post-apocalyptic fiction, a podcaster, an events manager, and the author of a number of phenomenal books about world-building.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares a short personal update, including the fact one of his patrons will win a copy of Angeline's latest edition of 30 Days of Worldbuilding, a coupon code to get $100 off registration for Superstars Writing Seminars 2023 (STARKSSWS2023) 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 Angeline talk about:

The release of the 2nd edition of her book 30 Days of World-Building
How Angeline has always loved fantasy, and choose-your-own-adventure books
The way reading The Chronicles of Narnia was one of the factors that led to her love and passion for world-building
The original 30 Days of World-Building starting as an 30 day Instagram challenge, that became a worksheet, that eventually became a book
How to Destroy the World, the 2nd world-building book in the same series that Angeline released
The original 30 days of world-building prompts that takes you from scratch, all the way up to creating a world ready to drop your characters into
Angeline's three rules for world-building: Revealing character, pushing the plot forward, and exploring the themes of your novel
Being a panster and an avid world-builder at the same time
Destroying a world or creating a dystopian or post-apocalyptic setting
How dystopian stories can often be filled with a lot of hope
Food within world-building, including all the rituals and festivals that have been created around food
How food can be a massive part of religion and magic
Some of the other writing that Angeline has done
Involving her 9 year old in the writing/early critique process of her middle grade books
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the use of food in culture, religion, society, in rituals, as well as a way to help demonstrate or establish character and conflict in a scene.

Links of Interest:

Angeline Trevena was born and bred in a rural corner of Devon, but now lives among the breweries and canals of central England with her husband, their two sons, and a rather neurotic cat. She is a dystopian urban fantasy and post-apocalyptic author, a podcaster, and events manager.

In 2003 she graduated from Edge Hill University, Lancashire, with a BA Hons Degree in Drama and Writing. During this time she decided that her future lay in writing words rather than performing them.

Some years ago she worked at an antique auction house and religiously checked every wardrobe that came in to see if Narnia was in the back of it. She's still not given up looking for 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

EP 236 - Reflective Round Table Feb 2022

23 februari 2022 | 56 min

EP 235 - Inspiring Readers Through Fiction with Annaliese Morgan

18 februari 2022 | 54 min

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 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

EP 234 - Reflections on a Reflective Talk

11 februari 2022 | 23 min

EP 233 - Sinking Your Teeth Into Reader Interaction with E.E. Judd

4 februari 2022 | 41 min

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 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

EP 232 - From Script Writer to Novelist with David Boito

28 januari 2022 | 43 min

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 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.

EP 231 - Reflective Round Table Jan 2022 - Content That Should Be in a Writing Course

24 januari 2022 | 57 min

EP 230 - Jacob Hess on Character Development, Story, & The Hero's Journey

21 januari 2022 | 60 min

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 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

EP 229 - The Multiple Genres and Publishing Paths of Michelle Rowen/Morgan Rhodes

14 januari 2022 | 63 min

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 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

EP 228 - Goals & Achievements Retrospective for 2021

7 januari 2022 | 50 min

EP 227 - Publishing Trends and Reflections for 2022

30 december 2021 | 19 min

EP 226 - Reflective Round Table December 2021

23 december 2021 | 75 min

EP 225 - Writing Personal Experience in Fiction with Ami Sands Brodoff

17 december 2021 | 58 min

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 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

EP 224 - Being an Independent Publisher and Bookseller with Heather Campbell

10 december 2021 | 62 min

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:

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

EP 223 - Love, Only Better, with Paulette Stout

3 december 2021 | 53 min

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:

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

EP 222 - Clean Romance, Happily Ever Afters, and Taking Care of Readers with Brittany Fichter

26 november 2021 | 64 min

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 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

EP 221 - Highlights from 20BooksVegas 2021

19 november 2021 | 60 min

EP 220 - Vikrant Shaurya from BestsellingBook.com

11 november 2021 | 50 min

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:

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

EP 219 - Learning Through Failure & Hidden Variables with Chris Racknor

5 november 2021 | 50 min

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 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

EP 218 - John Gaspard on Business, Magic, and Writing

29 oktober 2021 | 54 min

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:

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

EP 217 - Dynamic Writer & Editor Partnerships with Sarah Kades & Adrienne Kerr

27 oktober 2021 | 50 min

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 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

EP216 - Podcasting for Authors with Matty Dalrymple

21 oktober 2021 | 45 min

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 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

EP 215 - The Fusion of Horror, Culture, and Entertainment with Patricio X. Maya

15 oktober 2021 | 49 min

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

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

EP 214 - Collaborations in Space with Carol Van Natta

8 oktober 2021 | 61 min

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 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

EP 213 - Putting Story Theory Into Practice With Valerie Francis

1 oktober 2021 | 62 min

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:

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

EP 212 - A Conversation with Joanna Penn on Co-Authoring The Relaxed Author

23 september 2021 | 69 min

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 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

EP 211 - Around the World in 90 Minutes with Marty Essen

17 september 2021 | 69 min

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 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

EP 210 - Facing Creative Block with Morgan Rhodes

10 september 2021 | 41 min

EP 209 - Growing Sales, Subscribers, and Twitch Marketing with Kerrie Flanagan & Chuck Harrelson

3 september 2021 | 63 min

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

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

EP 208 - Writing & Living a True Crime with Deborah Vadas Levison

27 augusti 2021 | 59 min

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:

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

EP 207 - Library and Bookstore Strategies

19 augusti 2021 | 63 min

EP 206 - No One Will Believe In You More Than You: A WWC Keynote from Steena Holmes

17 augusti 2021 | 23 min

EP 205 - From Bookseller To Author With Simon Lowe

13 augusti 2021 | 45 min

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

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

EP 204 - Overcoming Self-Doubt with Tessa Smith McGovern

6 augusti 2021 | 65 min

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 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

EP 203 - A Rant on Unprofessional Author Behavior

30 juli 2021 | 28 min

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:

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

EP 202 - Publishers and Predators

22 juli 2021 | 35 min

EP 201 - Building Your Marketing From Day One with Julie Broad of Book Launchers

16 juli 2021 | 54 min

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:

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

EP 200 - Alas, Dear Author, I Reflected for 200 Episodes

9 juli 2021 | 44 min

EP 199 - Indie Author Magazine

1 juli 2021 | 58 min

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:

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

EP 198 - Multiple Prosperous Winners in Marketing & Publishing with Honorée Corder

24 juni 2021 | 60 min

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:

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

EP 197 - Rambling Reflections Through The Darkness Within

18 juni 2021 | 41 min

EP 196 - Haunted Walks and Talks With Jim Dean

11 juni 2021 | 66 min

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:

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

EP 195 - Help! I'm An Author, with Mal Cooper

3 juni 2021 | 58 min

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:

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

EP 194 - Eric Bryan Moore on Audiobook Narration & Pocket Pulp Podcast

27 maj 2021 | 51 min

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:

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

EP 193 - Showcasing Indie Authors in an Indie Bookstore with Susan Faw

21 maj 2021 | 65 min

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

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.

EP 192 - Bold Business Strategies for Authors with James Kademan

18 maj 2021 | 50 min

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:

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

EP 191 - Insights from the Immersive Media & Books 2020 Consumer Survey

13 maj 2021 | 58 min

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:

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

EP 190 - The Episode When Shit Went Down With James Fell Sweary Historian

6 maj 2021 | 60 min

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
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

EP 189 - From Stage to Page and Back to Stage with Rod Carley

30 april 2021 | 66 min

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
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

EP 188 - A Gritty & Realistic Adoption & Publishing Journey with Denise Massar

22 april 2021 | 70 min

In this episode Mark interviews Denise Massar about her memoir "Matched," about adoption, and about the work being done to find the right publisher for the manuscript.

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 Denise talk about:

Denise's memoir about adoption called "Matched"
The process of private domestic newborn adoption and how it is different than the systems used to be
How competitive the process is
How adoptive parents are tasked 100% with finding their own birth mom
The diverse range of women in a position of being pregnant and not wanting to keep their baby
How the search for a birth mother can feel seedy
Adoption being a hot-button topic, potentially as hot-button as the topic of abortion
Seeing how an open adoption could be, with Denise's son Henry, and comparing that to her own adoption, which was secret/hidden
How easy it was for both Denise and Mark to find their birth mothers thanks to the opening up of information, and the internet
The impact of the "yes, I am your mother" message Denise was sent
Calling the mother who raised her, her mother, and her birth mom her birth mother
How Denise has always been a writer, and that she got her MFA in writing, but that this memoir was her first tangle product
The process of finding a publisher for her memoir which was an unexpected journey after finishing the book
Hiring Jane Friedman to critique her query letter
What a book proposal is, what "comp titles" are
The popular "adoption wheel" of shame/depression/etc
The agent query process for Denise
How the book went out on submission the day that most of the United States went into pandemic lock-down in 2020
The importance of an author being seen as current and relevant by a potential publisher
The title "Matched" and consideration of creating a more intuitive/SEO based title for the book
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the concept of how an editor goes to bat for a book at the editorial round table and other concepts discussed in the interview.

Links of Interest:

Denise Massar's Website
- Twitter
- Instagram
- Facebook
- Medium
Are Editors Responding to Submissions During Coronavirus? (Article)
5 Things I Wanted My Son To Have From His Birth Mother (Article)
Episode 108 - Silver Linings with Talena Winters
Episode 163 - Getting a Creative Edge with Mickey Mikkelson
The Creative Penn Episode 546 - Global, Wide Self-Publishing with Mark Leslie Lefebvre
Top 35 Canadian Book Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021
Lawrence Hill
Findaway Voices
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

Denise Massar, an adoptee and adoptive mom, lives in Orange County, California with her husband and three kids. A Washington State native, she earned her MA in English Literature from Central Washington University. Denise enjoys: Thrift store wandering, reading in bed with Aussie licorice (red), sweaty spin classes, salt air, and the belly laughs of her kids.

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

EP 187 - Business Minded Creative Marketing with Diana Wink

16 april 2021 | 45 min

In this episode Mark interviews Diana Wink, fiction author, blogger and film director.

Prior to the interview Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor...

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Diana discuss:

How Diana wrote poems in Russian and German when she was young and also wrote a novel when she was 11
Asking about how she could combine music, visual art and storytelling together, which lead to her interest in film
Loving the writing and the planning behind projects such as films
How the shooting is the most stressful part of a film, and in editing it's often about regret
The way that everyone can have ideas that feed off of one another in a collaborative film project - What it's like to see the reaction of a live audience to a film at a film festival - How, in film, if you don't have a budget, you have to first find it - which isn't necessary when writing fiction. And how this led Diana back into writing
Diana's dystopian sci-fi trilogy under the name DF Wink
How science fiction and dystopian fiction can be a mirror held up to current events and reality
The documentary style podcast format that Diana uses
A slogan Diana uses: "There is a platform for every outstanding story and you have one to tell"
That similar problem most writers often have with actually writing their first novel
Diana's book for writers: The Business-Minded Creative and why she put it together
How Diana built her website (storyartist.me) using the principals of storytelling
The struggle Diana faces because of all the different passions and areas of creativity that she engages in
How Diana is fueled by every interview that she does for her podcast
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few things about what Diana said that inspired him, he thanks his patrons and listeners of the podcast.

Links of Interest:

Diana Wink Website
DFWink Website
StoryArtist.me
Findaway Voices
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

Diana Wink is an author, blogger and film director. With a passion for stories since she can remember, she studied film making and made a career as director of successful short films (awarded in festivals) and advertising.

In 2015, she decided to go back to her roots and finally finish her first fiction book. Since then, she attracted 5-star reviews, raving fans and written many more novels.

On Story Artist, she decided to share her creative journey and help content creators in new and effective ways because her credo is: There is a platform for every outstanding story. And you have one 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

EP 186 - Fresh Starts: Tales from the Pikes Peak Writers

10 april 2021 | 43 min

From mystery to romance and science fiction—from heartfelt essays to poetry that moves the soul, FRESH STARTS is a bold new anthology of tales from the Pikes Peak Writers. Mark interviews three of the contributors to this anthology in celebration of the new book's release on Friday April 9, 2021. Prior to the interview Mark shares a word from this episodes 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 the interview Mark talks with:

Joshua Clark ("Nolan’s Bucket List: Snow Edition" / Cover Designer) Josh is a writer, bookseller, graphic designer, and designer of the cover of Fresh Starts. He graduated with an art degree from Colorado State University-Pueblo. Josh is an active member of Pikes Peak Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and was the former Speakers Coordinator for Pueblo West Writers. His short story, ‘The Galaxy Got a Whole Lot Bigger,’ received a Silver Honorable Mention in Q4 of the 2020 Writers of the Future Contest. He is now busy writing his next novel.

Bowen Gillings ("Dawn Trouble") Bowen Gillings is an award-winning author whose quirky tales range from superhero suspense to divine family squabbles. He is a devout travel enthusiast, committed martial arts dabbler, and closeted RPG nerd. He enjoys cooking, the outdoors, good whiskey, and good friends. Born in Wisconsin, he grew up in South Dakota’s Black Hills, matriculated in Minnesota, and then bounced around Europe with the Army. He’s lived on both coasts, danced on the Great Wall of China, and driven a Volvo from Alaska to Louisiana before settling in Colorado with his wife and daughter.

Terry Odell ("My Name is Marjorie") Although Terry Odell had no aspirations of becoming a writer until long after receiving her AARP card, she’s now the author of over thirty novels, novellas, and short stories. She writes mysteries and romantic suspense, but calls them all “Mysteries With Relationships.” Her awards include the Silver Falchion, the International Digital Awards, and the HOLT Medallion. A Los Angeles native, she moved to Florida where she spent thirty years in the heat and humidity. She now enjoys life with her husband and rescue dog in the cooler, dryer climate of the Colorado Rockies, where she watches wildlife from her windows.

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few of the things the chat with Joshua, Terry, and Bowen made him think about.

Links of Interest:

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

EP 185 - Promotions: Results and Analysis

8 april 2021 | 56 min

Ep 184 - Writing Raw & Real Memoirs with Jenn T. Grace

2 april 2021 | 54 min

Mark interviews Jenn T. Grace, a nationally recognized business strategist, speaker, and award-winning author who is passionate about helping people share their stories of adversity.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, welcomes new patrons and offers 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.

In their conversation, Mark and Jenn discuss:

How, from the earliest age, Jenn had always wanted to be a "Dear Abby" type of writer
A 2012 advice column that was an early "Dear Abby" dream-come-true for Jenn
The LGBTQ inclusion consulting work that led to very random questions and great learning opportunities to share
The "raw and real" level of vulnerability that helps to break through the noise and clutter
How authors don't often include their story enough in non-fiction to connect with readers in a way that they don't expect
The way you can tell, when writing a memoir, if you're going deep enough into the emotional resonance of a story
Jenn's memoir House on Fire, which she released in Sept 2020 and how she had no choice but to have to share that story
How Jenn likes to think about writing, which is a solo event, as a team sport
The profound experience Jenn had of listening to her narrated memoir in another person's voice
How most people confuse memoir with autobiography
The admiration that Jenn has for Dani Shapiro as a memoirist
The difference between a writer coach and an author coach
Publish Your Purpose Press, the service that Jenn runs to help thought leaders create their books
The "Getting Started for Authors" program and how it can help writers earlier in their journey
Jenn's role in helping writers to recalibrate their focus and purpose and to ensure they're always attending to that "North Star" for their project
How writing a memoir as a piece of fiction is one strategy that writers can use when the stories they need to share are so raw and exposing
The emotional, personal, and legal ramifications related to sharing true stories about other people
A "second pass" approach to changing identifying details/features/descriptions that can be done, but only after the core writing and re-writing is completed
Strategies for how to change names, locations, specifics in a memoir
The value of Jenn's other non-fiction books inspired from her "Dear Abby" writing
The personal satisfaction of helping other people realize their dream of writing a book

After the interview Mark shares a reflection about the importance of emotional resonance in writing memoir or fiction.

Links of Interest

Jenn T. Grace Website
Publish Your Purpose Website
Wide for the Win
Findaway Voices
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
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Jenn T. Grace is a nationally recognized business strategist, speaker, and award-winning author. Guided by the mantra, “Change happens in business,” Jenn believes social change happens first in the workplace before spilling over into mainstream society. She has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.

Passionate about helping people share their stories of adversity, Jenn is the Founder of Publish Your Purpose Press, a publishing company that includes the PYP Academy, with programs that teach aspiring authors how to publish their books. In addition to publishing 60+ books that share the stories of others, Jenn has written six.

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

EP 183 - Baring it All with Jenn Taylor The Naked Podcaster

26 mars 2021 | 79 min

Mark interviews Jenn Taylor, Mom of 18 and The Naked Podcaster about raw, open and honest conversations, vulnerability, and more.

Prior to the interview, Mark 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.

In his personal update, Mark shares a number of things:

The audiobook release of Fear and Longing in Los Angeles, and the inclusion of Alicia Witt's music
The launch of Wide for the Win and multiple events associated with that
The release of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine #10 which Mark guest edited

Mark also welcomes new Patron David Perlmutter, thanking him and all patrons for supporting the podcast.

In their conversation Jenn and Mark discuss:

What Jenn does, coaching women executives, primarily Moms and what that can do to stress levels, sleep, motivation, exercise, and time
The coaching certifications that Jenn has and the fact that people don't ask often enough if a coach has a certification
NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programing)
Jenn's role as Mom, executive, single mom, etc.
The importance of not feeling that you're failing on all fronts when juggling all the balls and how it can happen to the best of us
How we take our own struggles and use that to make it faster, harder, smarter for others to do the same things
The numerous Jenn Taylor brands
When the opportunity to write a book first happened to Jenn and how she treated it like a job, and had tremendous support for her husband to make it happen
How, as of April 8th Jenn will have been a Mom for 29 years
How having a book was like having a child and the way Jenn was inspired to want others to have the same feeling
The way that learning about abuse her children had suffered allowed Jenn to open up regarding stories of struggles toward success
Jenn's book HELLO, MY NAME IS . . . WARRIOR PRINCESS
How we don't have to accept the labels that people put on us and letting go of those negative labels
The origin of the creation of Wonder Woman and how that resonated with Jenn
How a joke about wanting to be able to work at home without having to wear pants lead Jenn and her husband to come up with The Naked Podcaster brand
Jenn asks her guests to bare it all in an uncomfortable moment emotionally, so she's willing to be uncomfortable and bare it all physically in support of them
How everything that Jenn does has to come from a place that is raw and genuine
How in Western culture we often see nakedness as something sexual
The fact that Jenn has only has two rude comments in the past four years of The Naked Podcaster show
The "Stripping with my Daughters" segment of Jenn's show that's about being very raw and is always on a topic that they choose to discuss
Why Jenn asks her guests for a bullet-point list in advance of the interview
The time Jenn found out during a live chat with her daughter about a planned suicide that was prevented via a circumstantial phone call that happened
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on those who have opened up and been vulnerable in order to reach out and ask him questions about writing and publishing and how hearing Jenn talk about her experiences, reminded him of the great honor this has been.

Links of Interest

Jenn Taylor's Website and Social Media Links
Website: http://www.momof18.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/momofeighteen/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/momofeighteen/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MomOfEighteen Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/momofeighteen/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-taylor-96442b98/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUYzMhPtJ2PpgmXMJTgP3oA? Podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-naked-podcaster
Wide for the Win
Findaway Voices
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
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Jenn Taylor is Mom Of 18 and The Naked Podcaster and is a Mindset Coach and Motivational Speaker.

She is an NLP Practitioner and has 15+ years in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer, has written the blog - Mom’s Running It - for 9 years, and is a published author of a self-help memoir "Hello, My Name Is... Warrior Princess".

She teaches Compounding Joy, bringing fast, easy, actionable exercises to people to increase their joy and gratitude. She is also married to an amazing man in Reno, NV, is a runner, minimalist, and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. Find her at momof18.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

EP 182 - What Is Wide Publishing?

19 mars 2021 | 35 min

EP 181 - Things I Hate About KDP Select

12 mars 2021 | 22 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 180 - Tips for Publishing Wide for Authors at Different Stages

5 mars 2021 | 41 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 179 - Emily Goodwin on Writers of the Future

26 februari 2021 | 54 min

In this episode Mark interviews Emily Goodwin. Emily is the Vice President Public Affairs for Author Services, Inc. based in Los Angeles, California. She has been involved with book publishing since 2007, including the international Writers & Illustrators of the Future Contests. She is the producer for the Writers of the Future annual Achievement Awards as well as the online writing workshop.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update that include some mistakes he made in the recent release of his novel Fear and Longing in Los Angeles 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.

In their conversation, Emily and Mark talk about:

The blind-judged free to enter contest that Writers of the Future operations for beginning writers
How stories can be read by NYT Bestselling science-fiction and fantasy writers like David Farland, Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, and a dozen others
The four quarters of the contest, and the fact that authors can enter each quarter
Winners for each quarterly contest who get flown in to spend a week long boot-camp in a hotel just off Hollywood Boulevard with the esteemed bestselling sci-fi and fantasy judges
The way that Illustrators and Writers collaborate and the amazing "art reveal" experience that happens when the artists, who have been working on pieces to match each story, reveal their work for the first time
Some of the details of the workshops and lectures they participate in during the weekly boot-camp, including the "24 hour story" challenge
Getting to learn from authors like Larry Niven, Robert J. Sawyer, Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
The gala book launch event for the Writers and Illustrators of the Future anthology that usually involves signing upwards of 500 to 600 copies of the book
The follow-up media support offered to authors once they return to their respective homes
The incredible networking that happens at the annual event, between the writers and illustrators and the attending judges and presenters and workshop leaders
How the annual event was affected in 2020 because of the global pandemic
The purpose of the contest to help new writers and illustrators with a bit of a boost and kick-start to their career based on their talent
The free online WOTF workshops that are available for anyone to participate in which are led by Dave Farland, Tim Powers, and Orson Scott Card
And more...

Links of Interest

Writers of the Future
Black History Month Organizations & Resources
Findaway Voices
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
Wide for the Win
Wide Writer Survey
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Emily Goodwin is the Vice President Public Affairs for Author Services, Inc. based in Los Angeles, California. She has been involved with book publishing since 2007, including the international Writers & Illustrators of the Future Contests. She is the producer for the Writers of the Future annual Achievement Awards as well as the online writing workshop. She has been active with the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards as a judge. She is involved in community activities in the greater Los Angeles area and has been Vice President Community Outreach for the Hollywood Christmas Parade since 2014. Emily has also been an Honorary Commander for the US Air Force since 2018 and as of 2020, the US Space Force.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 178 - The Wide World Vision of Judith & Michael Anderle of LMBPN Publishing

18 februari 2021 | 70 min

In this episode Mark interviews Judith and Michael Anderle of LMBPN Publishing.

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.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update on the forthcoming release of Fear and Longing in Los Angeles and the ongoing work being done on Wide for the Win. He also talks about the benefits of PLR (Public Lending Right) programs.

In their conversation, Judith, Michael, and Mark talk about:

How they each got started in the business of publishing
Michael's first 90 days of writing and publishing
Judith's background in the medical and pharmaceutical industry and how she made Michael create a profit/loss statement for the following year for LMBPN before she decided to step in and run the company
How calculating the earnings of $7.50 per book per day led to the idea of the 20Booksto50K methodology, movement, and Facebook Group
Judith's inkling for fashion and how that led to the company name LMBPN (London Madrid Barceloni Paris New York - the fashion capitals of the word) and how the complexity of the company name provided a "great, people will talk about it" essence
The "Disruptive Imagination" tag line for LMBPN and the multiple pillars represented in the logo itself
The generosity of spirit in working with authors directly at LMBPN as well as sharing with the larger author community
Some of the international authors and employees of LMBPN who hail from all over the world
How Michael and Judith have long operated not only within indie publishing circles, but also traditional publishing venues and international book fairs
The recent acquisition of book industry veteran Robin Cutler as President of LMBPN
Michael's recent health issues related to hypertension and other conditions
The value of knowing yourself, and your nature, as well as understanding your strengths and weaknesses
The unofficial "disrupting retirement" behavior of LMBPN
How Judith never looks at a negotiation as a one-time business contract, but more about the benefit of the long-term relationship
The OPUS-X project and the multi-layers of collaboration for this wide book launch
Advice that Michael and Judith would give to the earlier versions of themselves when first getting into this business
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the ground-breaking changes that LMBPN is ushering in. He also thanks patrons of the podcast.

Links of Interest

LMBPN is the publishing company for the Kurtherian Gambit, Oriceran, Protected by the Damned and other Universes. In addition to Michael Anderle, they have have published in eBook, print, and audio format collaborations with Justin Sloan, Craig Martelle, TS Paul, CM Raymond, and LE Barbant, Paul C. Middleton, Amy Hopkins, Ell Leigh Clarke, PT Hylton, Candy Crum, Martha Carr, Sarah Boyce, A. L. Knorr, Sarah Knoffke, and many others.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 177 - Author Insights from Youth Services Librarians

12 februari 2021 | 62 min

Mark interviews Julie Bonser (Head of Youth Services) and Michelle Rutter (Teen Services Librarian) from Eastern Munroe Public Library in Pennsylvania.

Prior to the interview is an message 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, Julie, and Michelle talk about:

Julie and Michelle's respective titles, the role each of them plays at the library and a little about their background
The five different locations in Monroe County where Michelle provides the teen services programing
How Julie is not typical as a librarian as a "book-centric" person
An explanation of the designation of the term "librarian" what that means and how it differs in different states and the difference between "provisional" and "professional"
The significant differences and focuses of public, academic, and school libraries
What the average day in the life of a youth services librarian might be like
Some of the strange and odd activities that a teen services librarian might find themselves doing
Changes that Julie and Michelle have seen since the start of the pandemic
Collaborations and sharing with different departments in the library
Examples of some of the activities programmed for the library, such as a teen writing workshop
The circulation of physical YA books as being the highest it has ever been at the library
Platforms the library uses for book acquisition, as well as how they find out about and decide what books to purchase
Preferences and biases that librarian curators might have
Why a writer of books for younger readers might have a bigger challenge or more resistance to getting books into libraries verses authors of adult titles
Librarians looking at holes in title selection as well as specific representation of indigenous voices, #ownvoices, etc
Recommendations for how to contact and reach out to libraries to let them know about your book
And more...

After the interview, Mark shares a couple of reflections about things the conversation with Julie and Michelle made him think about. He also thanks patrons and listeners.

Links of Interest

Julie Bonser graduated with a degree in Elementary Education but somehow ended up in libraries. She is currently the Head of Youth Services at the Eastern Monroe Public Library in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, but also has prior experience in circulation, cataloging, and adult reference. Serving kids and teens is her main passion, which keeps her energized, up-to-date, and endlessly entertained. Julie is a lifelong resident of the Pocono Mountains. She enjoys children’s literature, board games, Tetris, and strumming the ukulele.

Michelle Rutter is a Teen Services Public Librarian in NE Pennsylvania along with her skeleton assistant Bona Lisa. She is a lifelong bibliophile and has enjoyed teaching such a big word to little kids when she worked in school libraries. She has also worked in an academic library where she once cataloged a piece of heavy machinery as a joke because the facilities department parked it in the library for so long. When she's not perpetrating benign mayhem at work or reading she enjoys dancing, yoga, and various creative pursuits.

Bona Lisa is a Halloween decoration given a greater afterlife as Michelle's pandemic companion and trusty sidekick on the job. She's a bit thin-skinned but her work ethic is hard to beat as she has worked her fingers to the bone.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 176 - Nurturing Opportunity with Nadine Williams

5 februari 2021 | 57 min

In this episode Mark interviews Nadine Williams, a storyteller, a writer, a poet, keynote speaker and entrepreneur.

Prior to the interview Mark shares some recent personal comments, 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.

In their conversation, Mark and Nadine talk about:

How being a writer, speaker, and poet was something that Nadine stumbled upon after life threw her some curve balls
The way that writing became therapy
Nadine's career in construction and a trade show encounter that led to her first published article
The idea of a book being the result of the marriage between a writer and her pen
Nadine's use of the term "tears to ink" to describe the earliest therapeutic writing she had done
The early reading Nadine did as a child, and the oral storytelling tradition she grew up with
The experience of opening up for a talk that Michelle Obama did in Toronto in 2017
The poem "Us Women" that Nadine read for the Obama event, which was originally the poem "Us Africans" that she re-adapted
A custom line thrown in to page homage to Michelle Obama specifically
What Nadine learned from an error made at that event
The art of performance poetry and how all of Nadine's writing has that element of performance
The way that an entire poem can come from a single word
The significant event that led Nadine into speaking at libraries and schools
The art installations and nominations that Nadine was involved in
Advice that Nadine would offer to beginning writers
Some of the issues we have in Canada related to intolerance and people not being aware of their prejudices and biases
Nadine's 2021 Black History Month Theme - "Nurturing Hope through Allyship"
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on Nadine's ability to adapt and re-adapt both creatively and in an entrepreneurial way.

Links of Interest

Nadine Williams is an avid child reader, turned wordsmith, turned working Artist. She is a storyteller, a writer, a poet, an arts educator, a Keynote Speaker and host workshop Facilitator, a visual artist, and entrepreneur.

Nadine is the author of the books The Culmination of Marriage Between Me and My Pen, Love Rocks, With This Pen I Do Tell, and Pen on Fyah.

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 175 - ScribeCount with Philippa A. Werner

29 januari 2021 | 57 min

Mark interviews Philippa A. Werner, a two times USA Today Bestselling author and the public face of ScribeCount about her writing and the new sales analytics tool for authors.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor.You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

Mark also thanks Patrons of the podcast and announces the patron winner of Clark Chamberlain's Story Stuck Coaching package.

In their conversation, Mark and Philippa talk about:

Philippa's background as a writer (under the pen names Moira Katson and Natalie Grey
The initial release to the sound of crickets, and the later release of the Light and Shadow trilogy which really took off
How Philippa learns best by "jumping off the deep end"
Advice that if you're having trouble coming up with a blurb for your book, that might be an indication that there's a fundamental problem with the story itself
The ScribeCount platform which is a sales aggregator that helps authors analyze their sales in a single dashboard
Why ScribeCount was created because the creators themselves (Philippa and Randall Wood) wanted that tool they could use
The launch of ScribeCount on Jan 15, 2021
The easy process by which an author can set up an account on ScribeCount in a matter of minutes
The beginning-author-friendly cost structure for ScribeCount
Some of the details and analytics that are easily available to see on ScribeCount
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of sales analysis and access to amazing tools created by folks from within the author community.

Links of Interest

Philippa A. Werner is the public face of ScribeCount, overseeing the customer interaction, content, and overall service side of the company. Her main goal is to reduce friction for our subscribers.

Holding a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Mathematics she brings her analytic skills to the team and then balances them with her creative abilities. With 19 novels to her name, including 2 USA Today Bestsellers, Philippa speaks the complicated language of indie-author very well.

A native of Minnesota she can often be found shoveling snow, watching science fiction movies, or arguing thermostat settings. She is an expert at getting socks on a fleeing toddler.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 174 - The Bright Horror Road with Susie Moloney

22 januari 2021 | 58 min

In this episode Mark interviews author Susie Moloney about her life writing horror, the trajectory of her career through writing novels, scripts, and screenplays, and her latest screenplay with director/collaborator Robert Cuffley, BRIGHT HILL ROAD.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes as well as a personal update. He also 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.

In their conversation, Susie and Mark talk about:

How Susie has been a writer her entire life, had started writing short stories and then discovered that her stories were "getting longer" which eventually evolved into novels
Susie's "practice novel" ESCAPE OF THE MINOTAUR which was an attempt to see if she could sustain an idea for a novel-length work
How that first novel led to getting an agent
The origin of Susie's first novel, BASTION FALLS, which was originally released in 1995 and how it was inspired by Leaf Rapids, Manitoba
Susie's A DRY SPELL, and what inspired the novel
The parallel lives that Susie and Stephen King have
How a leak of the manuscript of A DRY SPELL lead to multiple book and film options
The fact that Susie was rolling coins to pay the phone bill when her film agent called to let her know about the 7 figure offer for the film option
How Susie say the "writing on the wall" as publishing was changing rapidly
How the advances were going down from six figure, to five figure, then to four figure
How Susie began to collaborate with Robert Cuffley, the director of BRIGHT HILL ROAD and the Award-Winning ROMI
The brilliant actress Siobhan Williams who plays Marcy in BRIGHT HILL ROAD
Being a woman who writes and embraces horror, including the thought kicked around that her first book be published under S. Moloney
Writing a film script specifically for a small cast
A few projects that Susie has been recently working on
Susie's experience being writer in residence at Edmonton Public Library

After the interview Mark reflects on a few of the things Susie spoke about and says thank you to his patrons.

Links of Interest

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 173 - DF Hart on Recovering from Mistakes

15 januari 2021 | 60 min

Mark interviews D.F. Hart about her journey through indie publishing, the mistakes she has made on that journey and the dramatic results of the decision to do a makeover on her thriller covers.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes as well as a personal update. He also 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.

In their conversation, DeAnna and Mark discuss:

Why DeAnna writes under D.F. Hart and Faith Hart
Her first experience publishing through a vanity press in 2010
How that first novel's idea came to her originally in 1989
How March of 2019 was Deanna's first experience publishing fully indie (as opposed to being done through a vanity press outfit)
Reader reaction to the balance between law enforcement work and personal/home life in her main character
How a supplemental character that Deanna felt sorry for and wanted to see her get a happy ending became the main character for the first book in her romance series
Some of the other complicated ways the two series cross over with one another
DeAnna's grandmother's advice to learn from the mistakes of others because you can't possibly make all those mistakes on your own
The consult that DeAnna booked with Craig over at Hidden Gems and how that led to a discussion that helped her decide to change her covers
Coming to the realization that, while her covers were pretty, they weren't right for the genre
The book cover designer that DeAnna hired to re-do her thriller book covers
The increase in sales and reviews/ratings on all the major retailers
How December 2020 was DeAnna's first four figure month as an author, due to the cover update and the BookBub Feature Deal
The uptake in newsletter subscribers and BookBub followers that has happened
The importance of measuring results, analyzing data, and keeping a finger on the pulse of your business
What DeAnna would have told her 2010 self
How Vanity Press outfits prey on the lack of information of authors
The importance of celebrating all of your successes along the way

After the interview, Mark reflects on the decision DeAnna had to make to invest more in covers after having already invested in that in the past.

Links of Interest

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 172 - Understanding and Navigating Gender

13 januari 2021 | 158 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 171 - Reflections on 2020

8 januari 2021 | 52 min

In this episode Mark shares a look at his 2020 goals and accomplishments, as well as a look at the publishing industry.

Prior to the main content, Mark 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.

Mark's goals for 2020 included:

Audio - Author's Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores
Audio - Killing it on Kobo
Audio - Canadian Werewolf in New York
Audio - Stowe Away
eBook edition - Stowe Away
Print - Stowe Away
Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
Audio - I, Death
Audio - One Hand Screaming
Too Macabre for Montreal - eBook
Screaming Skulls and Other Haunted Objects
Weird Waterloo
Other Non-Fiction Paranormal Ghost Story Project
New Short Story Collection - Nocturnal Saves -(turned into Nobody's Hero)
Exclusive Audio Project
Viability of Indie Publishing Insider Secrets

Books Publishing

Nobody's Hero (Story Collection) - Jan 14, 2020
Taking the Short Tack (Dalrymple) - Jan 31, 2020
Stowe Away (Cdn Werewolf 1.5) - Aug 15, 2020
Unexpected Strangers (Nocturnal Screams #5 - WIDE) - Sept 8, 2020
Thriller Sampler (Tumlinson & Leslie) - Sept 30, 2020
Z is for Zombie (Noctunral Screams #6 - WIDE) - Oct 10, 2020
Too Macabre for Monteral - (Krishnasamy) - Oct 16, 2020
*Strange Sudbury Stories - (Costello, Leslie, Overton) - Oct 20, 2020
Something Wicked (Nocturnal Screams #7 - WIDE) - Oct 26, 2020
Phantom Itch (Nocturnal Screams #8 - WIDE) - Nov 9, 2020
*Beyond Obsessions (Exclusive Kickstarter anthology)
*Obsessions (anthology - editor) - Nov 24, 2020
Nocturnal Screams (All 8 Volumes) - Nov 26, 2020
*Rude Awakenings from Sleeping Rough (Peter Mitchell) - December 1, 2020

Mark also shares the rough calculation of percentages of his eBook earnings as well as a look at the industry in general and his thoughts on what's coming soon for authors.

Links of Interest

Findaway Voices
Wide Writer Survey
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Parodys
- Stuck in this House Here with You (Music)
- Isolation Parody Songs - K-Tel (Medley Parody)
- You Call Me Fever (Music)
- There Is No Monster Mash (Music)
- A Christmas Howl (Christmas Carol Dad Joke)
- Dramatic Exit (Stupid Dad Joke Short)
- You Better Knock First (Stupid Dad Joke Short)
- Mark's Tavern (Cheers Parody)
- A Pandemic Christmas (K-Tel Medley Parody)
- Sharing Broadband Streams - Collaborative Parody Project
The 2020 Aurora Awards Ceremony
Patreon for Stark Reflections

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 170 - The Genre of Andrew Pyper

1 januari 2021 | 61 min

In this episode Mark interviews Andrew Pyper, an international award winning Canadian author with novels published in multiple countries and multiple languages, with multiple property options in play, and more interesting creative projects in the works.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update that includes the two book projects due in early 2021 and the potential that he might reschedule one a few weeks back, a "wide writer" survey he has put out 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.

In their conversation, Andrew and Mark discuss:

How Mark first discovered Andrew's work years ago when he was shelving new books in the bookstore he worked at
The publishing progression that Andrew experienced, writing short fiction and earning publication credits
How a journal/magazine editor Andrew had sold stories to introduced him to a publisher which led to his very first book (1996), which bypassed the normal submission/rejection cycle
The cross genre elements of Andrew's novels that incorporate literary, horror, mystery, thriller (which Mark suggests are the "Andrew Pyper" genre)
The darkness that exists in all of Andrew's novels
Loving the stories of Alice Munro and the intriguing "shadowy" and "danger" elements that exist in her writing
The latest short fiction pieces and projects Andrew has been working on
Some of the properties that Andrew is involved in licensing
How The Residence was based on actual historical details that happened with Franklin Pierce
The challenge that can come with over-researching for an author
The fun of having some trivia info in your back pocket about the White House being haunted
The intriguing architectural layout of the White House and the residence, including passageways and secret doors
A special book and audio drama Andrew is releasing via Audible
The "writers killing writers" premise in THE KILLING CIRCLE
And more...

Links of Interest

Andrew Pyper's Website
- Twitter
- Instagram
- Facebook
- Goodreads
Findaway Voices
Wide Writer Survey
Wide for the Win Submission Form
EP 157 - A Conversion with Jeff Elkins, The Dialogue Doctor
Parodys
- Stuck in this House Here with You (Music)
- Isolation Parody Songs - K-Tel (Medley Parody)
- You Call Me Fever (Music)
- There Is No Monster Mash (Music)
- A Christmas Howl (Christmas Carol Dad Joke)
- Dramatic Exit (Stupid Dad Joke Short)
- You Better Knock First (Stupid Dad Joke Short)
- Mark's Tavern (Cheers Parody)
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Andrew Pyper was born in Stratford, Ontario, in 1968. He received a B.A. and M.A. in English Literature from McGill University, as well as a law degree from the University of Toronto. Although called to the bar in 1996, he has never practiced.

His most recent novels include The Homecoming (2019), The Only Child (2017), and The Damned (2015). His 2013 novel, The Demonologist, won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Hardcover Novel, and was a #1 bestseller in Canada and Brazil.

A number of Pyper’s works have been acquired for TV or feature film. The Homecoming is being developed by eOne with Andrew acting as Co-Creator and Executive Producer. Other active projects have not yet been announced.

Among the earlier novels, The Guardians was published in Canada (Doubleday Canada) in January 2011, the U.K. (Orion) in February 2011, and following this internationally in various territories. It was selected a Globe and Mail 100 Best Books of the Year.

The Killing Circle, Andrew’s fourth novel, was a national bestseller in Canada, and has been published in the U.K. (HarperCollins) and U.S. (St. Martin’s/Minotaur). Translation rights have been sold in Holland, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Japan.

Kiss Me, a collection of short stories, was published to acclaim in 1996. Following its publication, Mr. Pyper acted as Writer-in-Residence at Berton House, Dawson City, Yukon, as well as at Champlain College, Trent University.

His first novel, Lost Girls, was a national bestseller in Canada and a Globe and Mail Notable Book selection in 1999 as well as a Notable Book selection in the New York Times Book Review (2000) and the London Evening Standard (2000). The novel won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel and is an Otto Penzler pick on Amazon.com. Lost Girls has been published in the U.S. (Delacorte Press) and U.K. (Macmillan) in 2000, and has also been translated into Italian, Dutch, German and Japanese.

Andrew’s second novel, The Trade Mission, was published in Canada, the U.K., U.S., the Netherlands and Germany. It was selected by The Toronto Star as one of the Ten Best Books of the Year.

Andrew’s third novel, The Wildfire Season, was a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year and has been published to acclaim in the U.K., Canada, U.S. and Holland.

Andrew’s creative writing teaching experience includes terms at Trent University, the University of Toronto, and, currently, Colorado College. He lives in Toronto.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 169 - The World Needs Your Book with Monica Leonelle

24 december 2020 | 66 min

In this episode Mark shares an interview with Monica Leonelle, a USA Today bestselling author best known for her young adult urban fantasy and paranormal romance series, Waters Dark and Deep. She also teaches writing, publishing, business, and marketing at TheWorldNeedsYourBook.com. Her most recent nonfiction series, Growth Hacking for Storytellers, has helped thousands of writers write faster, become better storytellers, and find their way to success.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal, update, some comments and a few words about this episode's sponsors. These details include

Commentary on Robin Cutler joining LMBPN
Thoughts about publishing trends and future predictions (based on insightful comments from patrons)
A bit about Mark's early writing history, Tough Guys Big Adventure and a stupid Dad Joke video short
Sponsors: Findaway Voices and Clark Chamberlan's Author Hustle

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 Monica and Mark talk about:

Monica's start in self-publishing back in 2009 in non-fiction
How Monica's first book on social media for corporations allowed her to shift from software engineering to social media marketing
Wanting to buy a domain called "howtobeanauthor" but Joanna Penn got it first
The era of self-publishing when Amanda Hawking first exploded onto the scene
Monica's first fiction book, Silver Smoke, which was not written to market, but still sold 5000 copies
The "early days" of eBook publishing, which often involved learning html coding
How learning to write fast was the next major turning point in Monica's writing career
Some of the fundamental marketing practices that Monica recommends
How books like Twilight and The Martian are written to super-specific genres, but with some high level story structures that are universal
The importance of psychological triggers in a story
How Monica has divided up her time working on three different types of writing and multiple author names/brands
Trends that Monica has been tracking in the writing industry
Some of the things going on with different reading apps outside the major retailers
How Monica leverages different tools to sell direct, and her enthusiasm about being able to do bundling of eBook/Audio/Print via direct website sales
The interesting history and secrets of the old house that Monica lives in
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on Monica's long term experience within indie publishing, and the important of persistence and sticking it out for the long run.

Links of Interest:

Monica Leonelle Main Website
- The World Needs Your Book
  - Special Courses from Monica (for Early 2021)
- Solo Storm Books
- Card Reading Queen
Kobo Writing Life NaNoWriMo Promo (use coupon code NANO2020)
Findaway Voices
Clark Chamberlan's Stock Up Author Hustle Offer
LMBPN Press Release about Robin Cutler
Wide for the Win Submission Form
A Christmas Howl (Christmas Carol Dad Joke)
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Monica Leonelle is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her young adult urban fantasy and paranormal romance series, Waters Dark and Deep. She also teaches writing, publishing, business, and marketing at TheWorldNeedsYourBook.com. Her most recent nonfiction series, Growth Hacking for Storytellers, has helped thousands of writers write faster, become better storytellers, and find their way to success. She also founded The World Needs Your Book event series to bring this training to the world.

Before becoming an independent author, Monica led digital marketing efforts at Inc. 100 companies like Hansen’s Natural and Braintree. She’s been an avid blogger of marketing and business trends since 2007. Her ideas have been featured in AdAge, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Inc., the AMEX OpenForum, GigaOm, Mashable, Social Media Today, and the Christian Science Monitor.

Monica lives in a very, very old, 3-story home in St. Louis, MO with her husband and adorable westie, Mia. It possibly has ghosts. And definitely has a secret passage. To find out what she’s up to and get access to her latest fiction updates, exclusive giveaways, advanced review copies, and more, sign up at MonicaLeonelle.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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 168 - Writing Your Way to Paradise with David Farland

18 december 2020 | 62 min

In this episode Mark interviews David Farland, a New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning author, who has written for major franchises such as Star Wars and The Mummy, and mentored dozens who have gone on to staggering literary success, including Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, and Stephenie Meyer.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, 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.

In their conversation, Mark and David talk about:

How David started writing when he was 17 years old, but didn't get serious about it until the age of about 25/26
Deciding he wanted to win a short story contest, and how that led to winning the Grand Prize at Writers of the Future and how that led to a traditional publishing offer which led to a bestseller (On My Way To Paradise) which also won the Philip K. Dick Special Memorial Award
His role as the Coordinating Judge of The Writers and Illustrators of the Future writing contest
Why David spends so much time helping to prop up and support beginning writers
Different game-related stories David has been involved in, including a new game-related story David has coming out in 24 different languages
The problem with writers who don't see things in the long term and in the global market
The way that Hollywood options work for writers and the money that can be earned on movies that never get made (such as Isaac Asimov's Foundation series)
The fact that Philip K Dick's short stories usually have about 100 options in place at any given time (Dick's stories have been made into movies such as "Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, Screamers, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle)
Why David created the Apex Writer's Group - the importance of authors educating and inspiring each other
Some of the sensations that David was behind, including Stephanie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, James Dashner, Dan Wells, and even the push of Rowling's Harry Potter novels
The origin of the pseudonym David Farland
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the concept of casting a wide net and keeping that net out there, via an example David had shared of an author who gave up, and then years later her books hit it big.

Links of Interest:

David Farland's Website
My Story Doctor (Website for Writers)
Apex Writer's Group
Writers & Illustrators of the Future
Superstars Writing Seminars
Episode 167 - Author, Author, Give Me The News with Laura Hayden
Episode 166 - Wording Around with KathyMac
Episode 164 - Reflections on The Creative Penn Podcast
Kobo Writing Life NaNoWriMo Promo (use coupon code NANO2020)
Mark's Tavern (Opening Theme Song - Cheers Parody)
Mark's Tavern - Pilot Episode (Cheers Parody)
Ghost Stories from the Winking Judge (Video)
Spirits Untapped: The Winking Judge
Obsessions: An Anthology of Original Fiction
Rude Awakenings from Sleeping Rough
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

David Farland is an award-winning, international bestselling author with over 50 novels in print. He has won the Philip K. Dick Memorial Special Award for “Best Novel in the English Language” for his science fiction novel On My Way to Paradise, the Whitney Award for “Best Novel of the Year” for his historical novel In the Company of Angels, and many more awards for his work. He is best known for his New York Times bestselling fantasy series The Runelords.

Farland has written for major franchises such as Star Wars and The Mummy. He has worked in Hollywood greenlighting movies and doctoring scripts. He has been a movie producer, and he has even lived in China working as a screenwriter for a major fantasy film franchise.

As a writing instructor, Farland has mentored dozens who have gone on to staggering literary success, including such #1 New York Times Bestsellers as Brandon Mull (Fablehaven), Brandon Sanderson (Wheel of Time), and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight).

Farland judges L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future, one of the largest worldwide writing competitions for new fantasy and science fiction authors. The contest has helped discover and launch many authors into professional careers, with nearly 100 new science fiction and fantasy books released in just the last year. In the video game industry, he has been both a designer and a scripter and was the co-leader on the design team for StarCraft: Brood War. He set the Guinness World Record for the largest single-author, single-book signing.

David Farland has been hailed as “The wizard of storytelling” and his work has been called “compelling,” “engrossing,” “powerful,” “profound,” and “ultimately life-changing.”

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 167 - Laura Hayden from Author-Author

11 december 2020 | 70 min

In this episode, Mark interviews author and bookseller Laura Hayden, who is the co-founder and owner of Author-Author an experimental retail bookshop that deals in online sales, special events, books for writers and books for authors.

Prior to the interview, Mark 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.

Mark also welcomes new Patron Melissa Yi and shares a personal update that includes a couple of talks he gave to library groups in the past week, as well as a few Kobo promotions he is participating in.

Mark reminds listeners they can get the following books via Kobo until the end of 2020 by using the coupon code NANO2020 at checkout:

In their conversation, Mark and Laura talk about:

Laura's introduction to books by being an early avid reader
The librarian who took Laura by the hand and guided her through the incredible journey through reading
The effect of a constant travel life of being a military family on maintaining a reliable career
Laura's initial entry into bookselling by walking into a bookstore and offering to help part-time
Laura's return to bookselling by offering to volunteer in a bookstore and fixing two of their sections that she saw could use some help
Learning about the Harlequin Intrigue imprint and how Laura sold her first novel to them on her very first submission
The steps Laura took by spotting opportunities related to books, bookselling, and bookstores
The origin of opening up her first physical bookstore
How the bookstore only lasted 2 years and went into significant debt because there wasn't a cash-for-trade option
How Laura has accounts with 18 larger publishers and 44 small publishers, not to mention Ingram, the world's largest wholesale book distributor
The non-returnable account Laura has with most publishers, which allows her to offer authors a deep discount on book purchases
How Laura works within a 6 to 9% margin in her business and that she's been doing it since 2007
The way that Laura works with conferences and other organizations for selling authors books at events
The fact that Laura works 1:1 with all of her clients
The impact of running this bookstore on Laura's career as a writer
Working as a ghost writer
The Laurence Saunders ghost writer scandal
The Ella Vaughn pseudonym that Laura is co-authoring with another writer
The discounts that a bookstore sees when you set different discounts via Ingram Spark or other print on demand services
The insights Laura has into some "publishers" that writers are considering working with
What you get with a paid listing in Ingram's monthly ADVANCE magazine
Something that Laura wishes all authors would understand about bookstores when considering carrying their books
The way a successful indie publishing author has worked successfully with a large indie bookstore

After the interview Mark reflects on some of the insights Laura shared but also on how her personal writing took a back-seat to the business she operates in helping writers.

Links of Interest:

Author-Author
Laura's Author Website
Superstars Writing Seminars
Kobo Writing Life NaNoWriMo Promo (use coupon code NANO2020)
Obsessions: An Anthology of Original Fiction
Rude Awakenings from Sleeping Rough
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
- Let It Snow Audiobook Event (Blog Post - Findaway)
- Mark's Blog Post about Let It Snow
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Laura started reading at the age of four and in six short years, exhausted the children's section of the local branch library. She switched to adult mysteries and science fiction and never looked back. Trained as an engineer, she continued to write "for fun" until one day, she decided to write "for real."

Since. as a kid, when she wasn’t reading, she was watching TV, her seventeen books and short stories straddle multiple fiction genres and include vivid characters with action, suspense and humor.

Her latest book, DARKWOOD CROSSING: Bailey, the Critter Sitter, is a middle grade collaboration written with Yvonne Jocks under the pseudonym of Ella Vaughn. Laura's latest short story under her own name is "The Ghost of Dogwood," the 10th entry in the popular multi-author "Dogwood Series."

Having traveled across the US as a military spouse, Laura now resides (permanently!) in Colorado with her husband and two dogs. She's one of the founders of Pikes Peak Writers, its first president and has been the director of its conference an unprecedented eight times. To learn more about Laura, the writer, visit her at http://suspense.net To learn more about Author, Author!, visit http://www.author-author.net

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 166 - Wording Around with Kathy Mac and Neomi Iancu Haliva

4 december 2020 | 67 min

In this episode Mark interviews Poet and teacher Kathy Mac who lives in Fredericton NB, Canada and teaches creative writing at St. Thomas University along with one of her students, Neomi about a book project, Wording Around with Prose, and the course it originated from.

Prior to the interview, Mark 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.

Mark also shares comments from recent episodes and a personal update, which include the following:

A walk through of the Draft2Digital payment splitting
A talk about the writing and publishing Mark will be doing for Susie Moloney, the Writer in Residence for Edmonton Public Library on Dec 8, 2020. (It's free to attend but you can email [email protected] to register
The Let It Snow Audiobook Giveaway #snowaudio2020
Working on adding courses to his Stark Publishing Teachable platform

During the interview, Mark, Kathy, and Neomi discuss:

How Kathy got into academia in 2002 after a start in literary publishing
The additions Kathy helped usher into the university, including the course on Literary Publishing
Neomi's background in theatre and how that ties into her passion for poetry, prose, and script writing
The strong and tight-knit artistic community in Fredericton - Getting into the desired course without having the pre-requisites, and the importance of trying and asking when you're passionate about something
Details about the make-up and layout of the course
How the course has evolved as digital publishing has grown
The decision of the class to use Draft2Digital for the eBook, and how they came to that conclusion
Where the manuscript that was published came from and how it was adapted into the course and the work that the students did
The cancellation of the Wordspring conference and how that led to the origin of this course
The different assignments that student groups worked on in the publishing of this book
Creation of the video book trailer to help support the marketing of the book
Neomi's learnings of the process and what surprised her about the business of publishing
How we tend to minimize the amount of work that other people do
The way the title "Wording Around" was inspired from a blog from writer A.J. Ripley and their blog
What is next for Wording Around Press
How there was a plan for making a partially-hand-crafted print version of the book, but how the second wave of Covid-19 ramped up, preventing that from happening
And more . . .

After the interview Mark shares a few reflections and thoughts about the conversation and the project.

Then he welcomes new patron Tessa Smith McGovern and thanks all patrons for supporting this podcast at www.patreon.com/starkreflections.

Links of Interest:

Kathy Mac's Website
Wording Around with Prose
Episode 165 - Rude Awakenings from Sleeping Rough
Episode 164 - Reflections on The Creative Penn Podcast Episode 517
Episode 163 - Getting a Creative Edge with Mickey Mikkelson
Kobo Writing Life NaNoWriMo Promo (use coupon code NANO2020)
Obsessions: An Anthology of Original Fiction
Rude Awakenings from Sleeping Rough
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
- Let It Snow Audiobook Event (Blog Post - Findaway)
- Mark's Blog Post about Let It Snow
Books2Read
Draft2Digital
- Payment Splitting Video Walk-Thru
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 165 - Rude Awakenings from Sleeping Rough

1 december 2020 | 34 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 164 - Reflections on The Creative Penn Podcast Episode 517

27 november 2020 | 51 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 163 - Getting A Creative Edge with Mickey Mikkelson

20 november 2020 | 50 min

In this episode Mark interviews Mickey Mikellson of Creative Edge Publicity - a boutique publicity firm specializing in arranging events such as book signings, library or school presentations, online and print media opportunities, and many other events related to the arts in general. Mickey and his firm are advocates for both the traditional and independent artist.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares some recent comments from listeners, 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.

In their conversation, Mark and Mickey talk about:

The last time Mark interviewed Mickey, for the Kobo Writing Life podcast in Calgary at When Words Collide
What Creative Edge Publicity does and how they work with authors in terms of setting up interviews, chats, appearances, articles, etc, since 2016
How it had been Robert J. Sawyer, Mickey's first traditionally published author, who introduced Mark to Mickey
How Creative Edge Publicity went full-time in September 2020 and doubled their client base in less than a month
How Mickey got into the business
The typical services and connections that Creative Edge offers to their clients
The reality of not being able to guarantee sales, but working on long term building-blocks of opportunities
Some of the differences now that this business is operating full time
The rewarding experience of getting to work with highly intelligent and creative individuals on a daily basis
The difference between a publisher's in-house publicist and an independent publicist
Mickey's preference towards creating and continuing to build a relationship with an author who is a client, versus short-term, one-off projects
The ability to continue to publicize back-list titles versus the three month window of publicity that comes with traditional publishing
The first conversation with potential clients in terms of determining the fit, which is typically one hour
How Mickey signs authors not based on the content of their books, but more on their personality and how they might fit well within the larger team of clients
The perspective of the entire client basis of Creative Edge being a team or extended family
The typical budget range an author working with Creative Edge would be looking at
The results-based charges currently used for billing clients
The value of attracting a reader-based audience versus a mass media based audience
Some of the misconceptions authors have about publicists

Links of Interest:

Creative Edge Publicity
- Facebook
- Twitter
Mark's NaNoWriMo Profile
Episode 162 - Happy Accidents with Joshua Pantalleresco
Episode 161 - NaNo No-No's
Episode 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel with Sacha Black
Episode 155 - Rebel Reflections with Guest Host Sacha Black
Episode 145 - Leveraging Your Author IP and Hybrid Publishing with Robert J. Sawyer
Episode 004 - Optimizing Your Author Brand with Robert J. Sawyer
Kobo Writing Life NaNoWriMo Promo (use coupon code NANO2020)
Kobo Writing Life Podcast EP 97 - (Mark chats with Mickey, Robert J. Sawyer, and C.C. Humphries)
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Books2Read
Draft2Digital
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Mickey Mikkelson is the founder and brain child behind Creative Edge Publicity.

Graduating from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology with a Marketing Diploma, Mickey has been in the book industry since 2006 where he started as the Special Events Manager in St Albert, Alberta for Chapters/Indigo, the largest bookstore chain in Canada.

Ten years later, he formed Creative Edge Publicity, an aggressive boutique publicity firm that specializes in advocating for both the traditional and independent artist. Realizing there was a direct need by authors for publicity, Mickey tailored his firm to obtain media for indie authors initially and then spreading out to promoting works by traditionally published writers as well.

In the four years that Creative Edge has been in existence, Mickey has managed to sign some of the top talents in the literary industry including multiple award winners, signing New York Times Bestsellers, and has been able to get indie authors various levels of success with many of them becoming international bestselling authors while working with the Creative Edge brand.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 162 - Happy Accidents with Joshua Pantalleresco

13 november 2020 | 55 min

Mark interviews Joshua Pantalleresco, the host of Just Joshing, an Aurora Award Winning podcast that features Joshua interviewing authors and other creatives and business people about life, the universe, and everything.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, welcomes a new patron (Connor Whiteley) and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by:

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 Joshua talk about:

How Joshua could sum up his career as one great big accident
The books and authors Joshua loved reading, and the novel he wrote when still in high school
Josh's start interviewing people for a comic book website
How working for one of his heroes led to a great moment of trial and tribulation for Joshua
How a miscommunication about an interview Josh did with Robert J. Sawyer led to his recent podcast
The fact that chocolate chip cookies were initially an accident - and look how they turned out
How creating and sharing actually helps others to keep creating and sharing themselves
How staring down the Grim Reaper can humble a person in a very real way
The strength that it takes to be open and vulnerable
A few things that Joshua is afraid of and something he is trying out that he has always wanted to do
What makes Joshua ruthless and brutally honest
Reflections on the bad experience he'd had with a hero of his that he worked with
Perspectives on optimism, realism and cynicism

After the conversation, Mark reflects on the benefits that come with being willing to take a risk.

Links of Interest:

Joshua Pantalleresco's Website
Mark's NaNoWriMo Profile
Episode 161 - NaNo No-No's
Episode 160 - Growing, Experimenting, and Collaborations with Mark Dawson
Kobo Writing Life NaNoWriMo Promo (use coupon code NANO2020)
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Books2Read
Draft2Digital
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Joshua Pantalleresco is a writer, poet, podcaster and freelancer. His Podcast Just Joshing is a three time Aurora Award Winning Finalist and one time winner.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 161 - NaNoWriMo No-No's

5 november 2020 | 47 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 160 - Mark Dawson on Growing, Experimenting and Collaborations within Publishing

30 oktober 2020 | 61 min

In this episode Mark catches up with Mark Dawson to see how his publishing collaboration with Welbeck has been going as well as to find out about some new writing and publishing projects.

This episode is sponsored by:

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 interview Mark shares the following:

Comments from recent episodes
A welcome to new patrons
A personal update that includes:
- Short story writing deadlines (2 target hits with 1 to go)
- Recent media appearances related to a new book (and the fact that it's Halloween)
- The song Mark commissioned from Meaghan Smith for his fiance Liz's 50th birthday to go with the artwork commissioned from Josh Vogt. (Both called "Wonder Woman")
- A recent music parody Mark created inspired by "The Monster Mash"

In their conversation Mark and Mark discuss:

How the role of "writer" is Mark's prime passion
The way Mark protects his writing time despite wearing many hats in the industry
Recently hiring a PA (Personal Assistant)
The importance of having a team that he can trust
Mark's daily ritual to ensure he gets writing done every day
The office Mark has rented that allows him to get writing and podcast work done
How a change of scenery can be helpful to writing
How John Milton often leaves a place in worse shape when he leaves it
The multiple influences that went into the creation of the John Milton character
The way that place, news items, and other factors combine for Mark to create a scenario to drop Milton into to watch how he interacts and reacts in that situation
How Mark avoids the "Murder She Wrote Conceit"
How traveling to a conference often negatively affects his writing productivity
The release of The Cleaner in hardcover from Welbeck Publishing and the impact of the pandemic on that.
The planned release of the mass market version of the books and the next book in the series
The "After School Detectives Club" books that Mark is collaborating on and how it was inspired by his daughter
How Mark shares what works and what doesn't work with various publishing projects and experiments he tries out
What Mark is looking forward to for the last two months of 2020
Some of the forthcoming courses Mark's company will be releasing
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the larger perspective of the industry and how an author like Mark Dawson, who has already sold over 4 million copies of his eBooks still has such a gigantic untapped market of readers to reach who have never heard of him.

Links of Interest:

Mark Dawson
Self Publishing Formula
Episode 100 - Another Publishing Industry First with Mark Dawson
Episode 159 - Many Roads of Creativity with Sarah Beth Goer
Episode 105 - Location Based Storytelling with VoiceMap
Episode 146 - Finding Yourself in Our Song with Meaghan Smith
Kobo Writing Life NaNoWriMo Promo (use coupon code NANO2020)
Meaghan Smith
CTV News Sudbury (Mark's interview on Oct 26)
Sudbury Star Article
Sudbury Dot Com Article
Hamilton CHML Article About Virtual Ghost Walk
Virtual Ghost Walk Downtown Hamilton (VoiceMap)
Mark's Hamilton Public Library Reading - Browsers
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Books2Read
Draft2Digital
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Mark Dawson has worked as a lawyer and in the London film industry. His first books, The Art of Falling Apart and Subpoena Colada, have been published in multiple languages. He is currently writing three series. The John Milton series features a disgruntled assassin who aims to help people make amends for the things that he has done. The Beatrix Rose series features the headlong fight for justice of a wronged mother--who happens to be an assassin--against the six names on her Kill List. Soho Noir is set in the West End of London between 1940 and 1970. The first book in the series, The Black Mile, deals with the (real-life but little-known) serial killer who operated in the area during the Blitz. The Imposter traces the journey of a criminal family through the period; it has been compared to The Sopranos in austerity London. Mark lives in Wiltshire with his family.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 159 - Many Roads of Creativity with Sarah Beth Goer

23 oktober 2020 | 68 min

Mark interviews Actor, producer, audiobook narrator, and singer Sarah Beth Goer.

Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a few words 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 Sarah talk about:

The fact that this is Sarah's first appearance as a podcast guest
Working with Erin Wright on releasing her romance novels in audiobook
How and when Sarah got started in audiobook narration
The reality of trying to be an actor in LA - including the difficulty of even getting an audition
Sarah's determination to get at least 200 rejections before giving up on this pursuit
The importance of understanding your goal of having your books in audio
Other suggestions to authors on strategies for determining whether or not its worth investing on audiobooks
What Sarah wants every author to know about licensing their audio rights to a publisher
The original of where Sarah got the "bug" for acting
Determining that she really had to do acting for her soul
Coming to terms with the doors that are open for you and the doors that are closed for you, and walking through the doors that are open instead of banging your head on the doors that are closed
How audiobooks are an actor's medium - where an actor can't be limited or typecast by how they look, for example
The comparison of a one-hander, a play performed by a single actor with being a single narrator of an audiobook
Why Sarah highly recommends the audiobook for Charlotte's Web
The converted and sound-proofed/sound-dampened closet that Sarah records in within her home
How Mark met Sarah while looking for narrators for the audiobook for his Obsessions anthology
The way Sarah gets new clients - Different genres that Sarah likes to work on as an audiobook narrator and what she looks for in a collaborative writing partner
The deeply satisfying experience of creating the feature film THREE ROADS
The resonance of a specific scene in the film that was created in an ad hoc fashion of collaboration between the actors ad libbing with suggestions from the director
Sarah's penchant for ad lib film creation, but why they didn't use that for THREE ROADS (other than a few short scenes)
Behind the scenes of the "little details" put into a feature film, such as the "scene within a scene" of a fictional movie two of the characters are watching
The mind-boggling realization that every single thing seen on a television show or movie was painstakingly created, designed, or placed by someone responsible for that
The challenging reality of the fact that the cost to just distribute this film and would most likely far outweigh the funds that would be earned off of it
The cross-training of working on multiple collaborative and creative projects
And more

After the interview Mark shares a reflection about Sarah's conviction to stick it out until she tried 200 times, as well as the need for disruption in the film industry.

Mark also welcomes new Patron, Kevin Partner.

Links of Interest:

Sarah Beth Goer's Website
- Sarah on Twitter
Wonder Woman Productions
Pink Flamingo Productions
Lyric Audiobooks
Episode 157 - A Conversation with Jeff Elkins, The Dialogue Doctor
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Books2Read
Draft2Digital
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Sarah Beth Goer is a member of acting unions SAG-AFTRA and AEA. Her feature film THREE ROADS, which she co-wrote, starred in, and produced, won BEST WRITERS at the LA Femme International Film Festival in 2019.

Sarah is also an audiobook narrator with over 100 titles under her belt. Notable works include Harper title The Unteachables (named in January 2019 an Apple Books Must-Listen), Disney Hyperion title The Devouring Gray (which placed on Barnes & Nobel's 20 most anticipated YA debuts of 2019), and Night Music – which Audiofile Magazine called “an exquisite listen,” deeming Goer's performance “dynamic,” and “noteworthy” as she “successfully capture[d] the raw emotions of first love muddled by racism and greed.”

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 158 - Kate Tilton on Helping Authors Succeed

16 oktober 2020 | 52 min

In this episode Mark interviews Kate Tilton about the work she does supporting and helping authors be successful.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares shares comments from recent episodes and social media, offers a personal update, and says 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 Kate talk about:

Meeting for the first time at the basement in the Javitz Center in New York at Book Expo America
How Kate got into the book business
The way that interacting in social media led to Kate falling into the role of author assistant
Kate starting in the book business when she was still in high school and always being an "old soul" her entire life
The fact that Kate has always been a "How" person who likes to figure out processes and how to make things work
The challenges of "re-identifying yourself" within an industry
How Kate helps authors make decisions within publishing based on what's best for the author and what's best for each book
The important role Kate plays in terms of keeping her author clients accountable
The value of focusing on humans and relationships and connection for a broader perspective of marketing
The mistake that most authors make in thinking of social media as a marketing or sales platform
The way that Kate's own use of social media has changed over the years
Questioning certain "givens" of business such as "you have to keep increasing the incoming revenue"
The importance of having someone as a "thought-partner" in the business of writing and publishing
How two different people collaborating can come up with ideas and processes that are far better than they ever would on their own
Advice that Kate would give to her younger self

After the interview, Mark reflects on accountability and the human connection element of social media, particularly as it relates to how he and Kate have stayed connected over the years.

Links of Interest:

Kate Tilton's Website
Kate Tilton on Social Media:
Episode 157 - A Conversation with Jeff Elkins, The Dialogue Doctor
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Books2Read
Draft2Digital
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Kate Tilton works with authors of all publication paths, from New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, award winners, and six-figure authors, to pre-publication authors, to authors somewhere in the middle. By standing beside authors as a partner, Kate turns scary and overwhelming things like marketing and finding an audience into tools that can be used to make an author’s dream a reality. She achieves this mission with one-on-one partnerships with authors, free resources available on her website, and so much more.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 157 - A Conversation with Jeff Elkins The Dialogue Doctor

8 oktober 2020 | 67 min

In this episode Mark chats with Jeff Elkins, The Dialogue Doctor, about the importance of solid dialogue for characterization, moving a plot along, and creating a bestselling novel.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares shares comments from recent episodes, welcomes new Patron, Macy Dixon, offers a personal update, and says 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 Jeff talk about:

What good dialogue is going to do for your book
The fundamental way that two people connect with one another, which is usually through conversation
The reader engagement that comes for characters because of solid dialogue
How Jeff filled a gap in the writing craft realm by focusing on dialogue
Jeff's background writing conversation simulations and how that lead to his expertise in dialogue
The way a person changes the way they speak when in different moods, anxious situations, circumstances
Being intention with our dialogue when writing
Peter Parker's dialogue as a shy nerd and behind the mask of Spider-man
The concept of "putting the character in your mouth"
The term "mono-mouth" used to describe multiple characters speaking in the exact same voice (the writer)
Jeff's research on bestsellers and how many of them usually have less than four paragraphs between passages of dialogue
How both John Grisham novels and Pride and Prejudice both have about 70% dialogue in them
If your plot and the twists and turns are the bones, then dialogue is the muscle
The value of taking out the "summaries" in your fiction rather than SHOWING that scene
An example of a brilliant character reveal through dialogue in Toni Morrison's novel BELOVED
The free download authors can get at Jeff's website on the five biggest mistakes authors often make in dialogue
What you can get for signing up for Jeff's newsletter
The services that Jeff offers for authors
A new program/offering that Jeff is launching
Jeff's new podcast where he shares ongoing dialogue sessions, advice, and tips

After the interview, Mark shares an offer from Jeff (the ability to get a 1 hour $99 booking for $75 by mentioning the Stark Reflections Podcast), and Mark shares a few reflections about things Jeff made him think about.

Links of Interest:

Jeff's Author Website
Jeff's Dialogue Doctor Website
- The 20-week experience Jeff is launching
Jeff's Dialogue Doctor YouTube Channel
Jeff Elkins on Facebook
Jeff Elkins on Twitter
Episode 156 - The Stark Reality Facing Authors
Episode 118 - Wish I'd Known Then with Jami Albright and Sara Rosett
Mark Leslie Lefebvre on Thinking Outside the eBook (guest on the Wish I'd Known Then for Writers Podcast)
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Books2Read
Draft2Digital
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Jeff Elkins writes stories with engaging and diverse characters that help people escape the stress of the real world. He has published eleven novels and hundreds of short stories and lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife and five kids. A graduate of Baylor University and Truett Seminary, Jeff has been writing dialogue simulation for several years and has recently adapted this knowledge, and his writing experience, into a fantastic, and much-needed service for authors called The Dialogue Doctor.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 156 - The Stark Reality Facing Authors

2 oktober 2020 | 47 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 155 - Rebel Reflections with Guest Host Sacha Black

24 september 2020 | 53 min

Rebel Author Takeover Special Episode!

In this episode Sacha Black, host of The Rebel Author Podcast, takes over the Stark Reflections Podcast, renaming it the Rebel Reflections Podcast as part of celebrating the 1st anniversary of her podcast (Sept 25, 2020).

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SACHA!!!!

Prior to the takeover, Sacha temporarily hands control back over to Mark, who reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and also a work from this episode's two sponsors....

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 motivational show for all the creatives out there with an inner rebel. Listen for interviews, industry news, tips, tricks and tools to help you take your creative business to the next level. Learn more about the Rebel Author Podcast.

In this episode Sacha poses the questions on the following topics which both Mark and Sacha answer:

Favorite rebel in history
Favorite literary rebel
What have you learned since you started podcasting?
What have you learned about yourself since starting podcasting?
What’s your favorite thing about podcasting?
Why do you think Rebellion is important?
What kind of rebel are you?
A DAD JOKE...

Links of Interest:

The Rebel Author Podcast
Episode 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel with Sacha Black
Episode 154 - Memories of and Reflections on T S Paul
Episode 144 - 10 Tips for Winning with Wide Publishing
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Books2Read
Draft2Digital
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Sacha Black is an author, rebel podcaster, speaker and developmental editor.

She has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules.

Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing.

When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.

She lives in Hertfordshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 154 - Memories of and Reflections on T S Paul

18 september 2020 | 23 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 153 - Thanks for the Inspiration Ron Roberts

16 september 2020 | 25 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 152 - Drawing Inspiration with Cartoonist Leigh Rubin

11 september 2020 | 72 min

Mark interviews cartoonist Leigh Rubin of Rubes® the internationally syndicated single-panel cartoon that he has been creating since November 1984.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a few comments from recent episodes and Twitter, and the says a word about this episode's sponsor, 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 his personal update, Mark shares:

What he is doing on the Obsessions anthology project
A forthcoming $0.99 price-drop promo for Stowe Away, the latest release in his Canadian Werewolf series.
How he "met" Leigh after creating a short dad joke video entitled "Dramatic Exit" inspired by one of his Rubes® cartoons.

In their conversation, Mark and Leigh talk about:

The two things that Leigh excelled at in Kindergaten. Napping and cartooning.
Pushing the boundaries in his cartoons from those earliest days.
The encouragement received from his third grade teacher, Mrs. Mullin.
The two kinds of people an artist usually remembers: the people who encourage you, and the people who don't
How seeing a line of greeting cards from Sandra Boynton were part of the inspiration for Leigh to start his own greeting card company
All of the work "hitting the street" involved in selling greeting cards, including buying space in industry trade shows, having racks built, and making numerous sales calls
Learning about industry practices such as retail slotting fees for prime merchandising space in a store
The powerful and positive impression made from a series of terrible musical puns that Leigh drew up, and how that led to Leigh's first book, which migrated into three volumes called: Notable Quotes, Encore, and Amusing Arrangements
Selling more than 40,000 copies of his books without having a major publisher or distributor for them
The evolution of greeting cards to books, books to a book signing, and a book signing to a daily cartoon gig at a local publisher, which eventually led to being a syndicated cartoonist
Working through numerous and consistent rejections with the queries that Leigh continued to send out, until finally picking up 150 different newspapers to start carrying his cartoons
Why Leigh investigated the college newspaper scene, and the benefit and down-side of that market
Discovering Creators Syndicate and the initial nice personal rejection Leigh received from them
Leigh's view that not all rejections are a bad thing
The pilot episode of a television show that Leigh created with Ryan Johnson (a movie and television show break-away prop maker) called Drawing Inspiration which is a behind-the-scenes look at their weird jobs that depend entirely on creativity
How, once the daily blank cartoon sheet is taped down to Leigh's desk, a cartoon must appear, whether it takes 10 minutes or 5 hours.
The cancellation of so many events, and migrating into a virtual event, which Leigh had just done the evening before this interview (link in show notes)
How two different cartoonists adapted the same topic/theme into different cartoons (as demonstrated on the aforementioned virtual event)
The importance of leaving something to the reader's imagination in humor
Why big brands should support artists instead of only sports stars because they are constantly running marathons
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects Leigh's discipiline of sitting at the empty page for 5 minutes or 5 hours, whatever it takes, the persistence he showed in the fact of rejection, and looking for specific niche markets to break into with his work.

Mark also shares the opportunity for people who comment on the episode show notes at starkreflections.ca to win one of Leigh's signed books.

Links of Interest:

Leigh Rubin's Website
Drawing Inspiration - Pilot Episode
When Cartoon Worlds Collide
Dramatic Exit - Short Dad Joke Film inspired by Leigh's cartoon
Episode 151 - Wellness, Well Played with Jennifer Buchanan
Mark's Feed The Obsession Kickstarter
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Books2Read
Draft2Digital
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 151 - Wellness, Well Played with Jennifer Buchanan

4 september 2020 | 56 min

In this episode Mark interviews Jennifer Buchanan, President and founder of JB Music Therapy about the role music has played in her life, as well as the life-altering moment that inspired the creation of her company which uses music to help others.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, including who the winners are of Michael Arterberry's book from Episode 147, as well as a word from this episode's sponsor, 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 his personal update, Mark shares:

Info about a couple of episodes he shared for patrons of the show (a reflections on other podcasts where he shares a clip from and talks about Episode 190 of The Writer's Well with Rachael Herron and J. Thorn (both have been guests on previous episodes of this podcast)
An update on the progress made from his recent booklaunch, with the push on the free "first book" in series and the slowly growing sales of the next two books in his Canadian Werewolf series.
How Amazon screwed up the great track record for the downloads of the price-matched free first in series title
Having had success in getting more than 7000 words written in the past week (after a previous extended dry spell of writing) - this writing is for Lover's Moon, another title in the Canadian Werewolf series.
An update on the Obsessions Kickstarter that has reached 153% of its funding goal and is almost halfway to the first stretch goal.

During their conversation, Mark and Jennifer discuss:

Jennifer's introduction to music and which instrument she prefers as the most beautiful instrument
The experience of hearing the same song via different singers and the uniqueness of the emotional resonance in the listener
The underlying biological impact music can have on us
The human to human connection that music can bring
Understanding that there is some music out there that is specific to you, and might not resonate the same way with others
The backstory of Jennifer's music therapy business and how it ties back in to a life-altering moment with her grandfather
How, when she was a child, Jennifer was the kind of kid who loved doing special projects
The age range of Jennifer's clients and the kinds of therapies that are popular with clients
An annual music festival a friend of Jennifer's runs called Farmstock, and how it had to change significantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic
Jennifer's advice about the creation of a life playlist
Wellness Incorporated, Jennifer's most recent book and how it became a bridge between being a music therapist and having to be an entrepreneur
Getting an MBA a couple of decades after starting her business
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the way music can bring people together and find strong bonds of commonality. He also reflects on the concept of a biographical playlist, and suggests writers might consider the theme music that might play when a character walks into a scene as an interesting exercise for writers.

Links of Interest:

Jennifer Buchanan's Website
Jennifer's Social Media
- Facebook
- Twitter
- LinkedIn
- YouTube
- Instagram
JB Music Therapy
JB Music Social Media:
- Facebook
- Twitter
- YouTube
- Instagram
Episode 150 -Anatomy of a Book Launch
Episode 149 - Killing it on Kickstarter with Russell Nohelty
Episode 147 - Master Encourager Michael Arterberry
Mark's Feed The Obsession Kickstarter
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Books2Read
Draft2Digital
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Jennifer Buchanan is an award-winning author and clinician.

Described as inspirational, engaging, and thought-provoking, Jennifer’s keynotes provide practical strategies, grounded in global research and case studies, that help foster improved well-being within ourselves, our workplaces, and throughout our community.

Jennifer’s company JB Music Therapy has been instrumental in the implementation of hundreds of music therapy programs throughout Canada for almost 30 years and has been thrice nominated for the Community Impact Award by the Chamber of Commerce. Jennifer is the recipient of the two most prestigious Canadian music therapy lifetime service awards: the Franni Award and the Norma Sharpe Award.

She has served as the President for the Canadian Association of Music Therapists for 5 years and has been an invited keynote speaker at national and international conventions speaking on music therapy and health entrepreneurship to a wide variety of education, healthcare, government, small business, and corporate audiences.

As an author of two award-winning books – ‘Tune In‘ and ‘Wellness Incorporated‘ she has appeared as a guest on numerous news and current affairs programs including Fox News Health, NBC, CBS, CBC Radio, CBC Television, CTV, Global TV, and has been featured in publications such as The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Chatelaine Magazine and Canadian Living (read articles and view videos here)

In addition to her Music Therapy education Jennifer has her Executive MBA specializing in social entrepreneurship from the University of Fredricton.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 150 - Anatomy of a Book Launch

28 augusti 2020 | 62 min

In this episode, Mark shares the details of a recent book launch, including the series re-branding, the promotion efforts taken in the metadata, the third party promotion sites used, and also shares the good, the bad, and the ugly of the results.

Prior to his personal update and the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a word from this episode's sponsor, 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 his personal update, Mark shares details about the Kickstarter that he launched on August 25, 2020 called Feed the Obsession, as well as the advice he took from Russell Nohelty (Episode 149's guest), and what advice he didn't employ. Mark's Kickstarter funded in less than 48 hours, and he is now working on the stretch goals.

In his anatomy of a book launch, AKA anatomy of a series re-launch, Mark shares information in the following areas:

A Brief history of the stories/books in the "Canadian Werewolf" series
Why he went with the re-branding and new covers
The actual launch - and multi-product approach he took to release all titles in eBook, Trade Paperback, Hardcover, and Audiobook
The Launch related promotions he purchased (including sites like Freebooksy, Fussy Librarian, and others)
Goals and disclaimers about his expectations for the promo and short-term VS long-term
Results so far (1 week and 2 days in)
Other promotional activities such as a virtual book launch, sending out press releases, and one-sheets to libraries

Links of Interest:

Episode 149 - Killing it on Kickstarter with Russell Nohelty
Mark's Feed The Obsession Kickstarter
Space 1975 Kickstarter (Robert Jeschonek)
Mark's Virtual Book Launch for Stowe Away (YouTube)
Video Trailer for Stowe Away (YouTube)
This Time Around: A Canadian Werewolf Story - Teaser (YouTube)
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
927 Rock Sudbury - This Werewolf is a Super Hero
Sudbury Star: Author reflects on how Sudbury shaped his latest book
Findaway Voices
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Patreon for Stark Reflections

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 149 - Killing it on Kickstarter with Russell Nohelty

21 augusti 2020 | 84 min

In this episode Mark interviews Russell Nohelty about writing scripts, comics, novels, editing, publishing, and his work optimizing Kickstarter campaigns to raise revenue and connect with fans.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor, 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 a personal update.

In their conversation, Mark and Russell talk about:

How Russell got into writing because he was never told he couldn't pursue the things he was interested in doing
Russell's high school work in theatre, writing and working on plays; taking broadcast journalism in college, and his experiences writing and shooting his own short films
How getting into a car accident and being unable to do the full film production tasks (except for writing), that funneled Russell into focusing on writing - one of the only things he could do while recovering
Being re-introduced to comics after a long hiatus of not reading them
How writing and creating comics led to novels and Russell's production company
The difference between writing a movie script and a comic script
The difference between writing comics and writing novels
How comic writers and comic artists connect and collaborate
The significant cost involved in indie comic publishing (especially when compared to indie novel publishing)
The long term sales Russell has seen selling indie comics - ie, with strong and ongoing backlist sales
How Russell's production company started because he wasn't impressed with some of the other companies he'd been working with
The origin of the name Wannabe Press
Two of the main "norms" in indie comic publishing: Doing Comic-Cons and doing Kickstaters
How it's a lot easier to make the couple of thousand dollars needed to ensure a novel pays off on Kickstarter (with the average spend being between $25 and $30 for about 100 people) - which leads to $3000. As opposed to having to sell 1000 copies of a low priced eBook to earn the same amount.
One of the great things about Kickstarter is the access you have, after a campaign funds, to the community that supported you
How, in a little over 6 months, Russell has raised over $50,000 from three different Kickstarter campaigns with no advertising spend
Messaging daily about his Kickstarter campaigns, and how Russell has never received complaints from people who are actually supporting him and buying his books - he only receives complaints from those who AREN'T buying.
The importance of building and leveraging a community before you launch a Kickstarter campaign
The fact that many thousands of people buy Russell's books, but a much smaller number of people actually help him create those books in the first place
How, on Kickstarter, people aren't just buying your book, they are investing in you as a creator and artist they believe in
The most common and blatant errors that people make on Kickstarter
The importance of starting with the WHY in your Kickstarter campaigns
Why you should always have something that people can download immediately
The value of always having something that people can offer just a single dollar
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on Russell's comment that earning $500 on a Kickstarter might look like a failure, but it's actually a huge success, especially when compared to the typical results of the average book selling on the major retail platforms.

Links of Interest:

Russell Nohelty's Website
The Complete Creative: Kickstarter
Russell's Forthcoming Kickstarter
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Mark's Feed The Obsession Kickstarter
EP 148 - AI Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn
EP 139 - Dreaming, Singing, and Moving People with Ashley Joanisse
EP 116 - Taking the Short Tack with Matty Dalrymple
Spirits Untapped
Mark Parody Videos
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Russell Nohelty is a USA Today Bestselling author and publisher at Wannabe Press. He’s written comic books like Katrina Hates the Dead, Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter, and Pixie Dust, along with more than a dozen novels, including his Godsverse Chronicles. He also edits the Cthulhu is Hard to Spell anthology series. He has raised over $180,000 on Kickstarter across 12 projects, and has a very entertaining newsletter, which you can join at www.russellnohelty.com/mail and get a few of his books for free. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and dogs.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 148 - A.I. Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn

14 augusti 2020 | 29 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 147 - Getting Motivated with Master Encourager Michael Arterberry

13 augusti 2020 | 54 min

Mark interviews Michael Arterberry, Master Encourager, and Dynamic Motivational Speaker.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update and reads 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.

In their conversation, Mark and Michael talk about:

Where Michael's title as "Master Encourager" came from, via a story about a farmer and a donkey
How this story relates to Michael's childhood experience in both his home and neighborhood
The value of shaking the dirt
The way that Michael re-adapted the original donkey story he had heard, added new elements/concepts to it, and made it his own
Getting into sports and being gifted as a lead athlete (from the age of 8 until high school graduation)
How coaches became parental figures and role models, and his team-mates became his brothers and sisters
Michael's gift of being able to feel the pain of others by tuning into the rhythm of a room
The importance of story to Michael in speaking engagements, workshops and social gatherings
Helping people manage difficulties, particularly during Covid-19
How, since the pandemic, Michael has been a guest on more than 75 podcasts
How Covid-19 is not a punishment, but perhaps a gift, and a time for pause and self-reflection
The experience of Winning the Characters Unite Award
Michael's experience of speaking to kids in local schools
How, despite being an Alpha personality, Michael has found himself in particular situations where he doesn't have a voice because of the side-effect of being perceived as an "angry black man"
Why Michael went with 250 days (rather than 365) for his book and how it came from inspirational and motivation things he'd shared for free daily on his Facebook page
Advice that Michael would offer his younger self

After the interview, Mark reflects on Michael's use of the "donkey" parable and the effectiveness such a story can have on getting an important message across.

He then shares how listeners can win a copy of Michael's book Be Encouraged: 250 Days of Motivation and Encouragement.

Links of Interest:

Michael's Website
Shake The Dirt Experience
Wide for the Win (Pre-Order)
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Episode 146 - Finding Yourself in Our Song with Meaghan Smith
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
The 2020 Aurora Awards
Findaway Voices
Findaway Voices: Authors Direct Annoucement
Patreon for Stark Reflections

As a teenager, Michael Arterberry was fortunate to receive guidance from positive adult role models who helped him overcome adversities and set high expectations for his future. Grateful for the role these mentors played in his own development, Michael decided to dedicate his professional life to helping people navigate the difficulties of life and launch their future into motion. For more than 25 years, he has been helping teens and adults to use what they have gone through as a catalyst for success rather than an obstacle for failure.

Michael received the 2010 USA Network’s Characters Unite Award for exceptional commitment to combating prejudice and discrimination. He is also the recipient of the 2014 100 Men of Color Award for leadership in education, government, mentorship, entrepreneurial success and community service.

In 2008, Michael founded Youth Voices Center, Inc. a non-profit with the mission of helping young people to become active, productive members of society by overcoming their obstacles, their history, stereotypes and even their own self-image and limiting beliefs.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 146 - Finding Yourself in Our Song with Meaghan Smith

7 augusti 2020 | 63 min

In this episode Mark interviews Meaghan Smith about her life as a musician and a painter, about what it's like to win a Juno Award, about collaborating with her husband, releasing music as an indie artist, vs being signed to a label, about the origin of her "Our Story" projects and so much more.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from this episode's sponsor which includes a new resource about tips on marketing audiobooks.

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 also shares comments from recent episodes, shares the winners of a copy of Goal Setting for Writers by Holly Lyne, abd also a personal update which includes:

Hosting the 2020 Aurora Awards
Work on the forthcoming Wide for the Win
Promotional activities related to the August 18th release of his Canadian Werewolf novella Stowe Away
Progress on a Kickstarter he'll be launching on Sept 25th

During their conversation, Mark and Meaghan talk about:

An interesting way that being in specific beautiful studios can actually be distracting from Meaghan's songwriting prowess
How her creativity really flows when she is in discomfort
How Meaghan proposes to her Muse that she'll be there in the studio ready to work if it wants to meet her
How music has long felt like breathing to Meaghan and it's something she has always done
Meaghan's inability to read sheet music due to dyslexia
The distinct moment by which Meaghan realized that music was her main path and the giant leap of faith that she took to make her first album
How Meaghan learned about sound and recording via the animation program she was in and studying
The process for that first album (The Cricket's Orchestra), saving up for four years to hire a producer (Les Cooper), writing the songs on her guitar, spending years scraping by, sleeping on friend's couches while staying in Toronto to record the album
The way that Meaghan likes to paint a scene with her music
How a song has to come to Meaghan all at the same time when she is song-writing
The process of just sitting down and starting to play and building upon that, discovering the elements that work, and the ones that don't
Going from playing open mics in Halifax to playing the Viper Room in LA
How Meaghan managed the contract so that she retained the rights for her songs, even though a label has the rights to the recordings for the albums
The surreal experience of winning a Juno Award, and how she almost didn't end up going to the event
Reflections on what winning an award like the Juno Award means, or doesn't mean, and why, though she is appreciative and thankful for the awards that she has won, that she doesn't like to focus on such things
The advice a fellow artist gave her to manage anxiety - just think about what you're going to do next
How it sometimes feels like she has two muses at times - one for music and another for painting
Meaghan's first pregnancy (and the Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) - a pregnancy complication that is characterized by severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and possibly dehydration, which she suffered the entire time) which dramatically changed her ability to tour as well as her career as a musician
The incredibly powerful love that she felt and feels for her two children
The clarifying moment she had, after losing all of the momentum of her growing career, where she wasn't able to write about her own life and started looking other stories and other lives she could write about - which evolved into creating the "Our Song" project work
How Meaghan and Jason collaborate on music, and the two different studio spaces where the art is created and produced
Advice that Meaghan would give her younger self
And more . . .

Mark then reflects upon a couple of things that the conversation made him realize.

Links of Interest:

Meaghan Smith's Website
Meaghan Smith Art
Meaghan's Our Song Website
- Meaghan's Facebook Page
- Meaghan on Instagram
Wide for the Win (Pre-Order)
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Episode 145 - Leveraging your IP & Hybrid Publishing with Robert J. Sawyer
Episode 144 - 10 Tips for Winning with Wide Publishing
Episode 143 - Unstoppable Goals with HB Lyne
Episode 142 - Strategies for Launching a Book During a Pandemic with Suzy Vadori
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
The 2020 Aurora Awards
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Meaghan Smith is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, and visual artist. Her independently produced début album, The Cricket's Orchestra, was released by Warner Music Canada-Sire Records in 2009. Smith, who performs with her husband, Jason Mingo, has been acclaimed for her Christmas concerts, which feature interpretations of traditional carols as well as the songwriter's own popular yuletide composition, "It Snowed." At the 2011 Juno Awards, Smith won in the Best New Artist category. Her album, Have A Heart, released in 2014 won a Video of the Year for the lead single at the 2015 East Coast Music Awards. Smith continues to paint, as well as write and produce music via an independently label, is the proud mother of two boys, and says that making music and painting are among her greatest passions.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 145 - Robert J. Sawyer on Leveraging Your IP & Hybrid Publishing

31 juli 2020 | 74 min

In this episode Mark interviews international bestselling and award winning science-fiction author Robert J. Sawyer about his latest novel release and the multiple ways he has split his IP (Intellectual Property) to optimize his income as a writer.

Long-time listeners might remember Rob from Episode 4 (January 26, 2018) of the podcast, which focused on author branding.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a personal update. He 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.

During their conversation, Mark and Rob talk about:

Rob's history as a writer, including his first short story published in 1980 and first novel published in 1990
The 3-way split rights on Rob's previous novel, Quantum Night (2 Publishers, and Rob self-publishing)
What Rob learned from dipping his toe into indie publishing Quantum Night four years ago, and how he applied those learnings to the publication of The Oppenheimer Alternative
The story about the title of his previous novel: Quantum Night VS The Zombie Philosopher
The timing of Rob's latest novel with the 75th Anniversary of The Manhattan Project and the first use of Nuclear weapons in war
The decisions Rob made for the print rights of his latest novel related to wanting solid bookstore distribution
The split rights selling of the rights of Rob's novel, in print, to two different publishers in Canada and the United States
Rob's control of the eBook rights, audiobook rights, film & TV rights
The fact that Rob is still waiting on the "advance" payment from his Canadian publisher for a book that was released almost two months ago
Rob's negotiation with his US publisher regarding the book's advance - and how that back and forth negotiation resulted in a situation where Rob maintained his eBook rights in lieu of an advance
How it took two months of sales of the eBook (that Rob holds the rights to) in order to earn more than what the advance on the book would have been
The direct involvement on the design of the book's cover, both for the edition Rob is publishing as well as the one published by his Canadian publisher
The research involved in writing his latest novel, which included purchasing over 100 different books about the people behind The Manhattan Project
How The Manhattan Project was the most secret project that humanity had taken on at that point in history and how it was almost the most recorded project - meaning there was plenty of recorded dialogue transcripts that Rob was able to use to write realistic dialogue (both word-for-word actual dialogue - about 20% of it was verbatim from transcripts - as well as for creating authentic dialogue of the scenes that Rob invented/imagined)
The debate and origin of the terms sci-fi VS SF as short for Science Fiction
How Rob likes to think of The Oppenheimer Alternative not as an alternative history novel, but as a Secret History Novel, and how the story is based on a string of events, evidence, and speculation about something else actually happening that hadn't been revealed or uncovered during that time period
The importance of how writing this novel had to be a huge challenge that Rob looked forward to tackling
The selling of the audiobook rights to Recorded Books
The changes that happened in the lead up and launch of this book (and the planned book tour) due to Covid-19
Rob's use of Patreon for his most dedicated/passionate fans
A new exclusive audio project that Rob is currently negotiating related to a radio drama style project (which brings him back to his roots as a former radio person)

After the podcast Mark reflects on Rob's recognition of the power that he holds as the IP creator, and the many inventive ways he has split his rights.

Links of Interest:

Robert J. Sawyer's Website
Wide for the Win (Pre-Order)
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Episode 4 - Optimizing Your Author Brand with Robert J. Sawyer
Episode 144 - 10 Tips for Winning with Wide Publishing
Episode 143 - Unstoppable Goals with HB Lyne
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Bakka Phoenix Books
Words Worth Books
Bibliofic Designs
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Robert J. Sawyer — called “the dean of Canadian science fiction” by The Ottawa Citizen and “just about the best science-fiction writer out there these days” by The Denver Rocky Mountain News — is one of only eight writers in history (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the science-fiction field’s top honors for best novel of the year. Rob — who holds honorary doctorates from the University of Winnipeg and Laurentian University — has taught writing at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, Humber College, and The Banff Centre.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 144 - 10 Tips for Winning with Wide Publishing

24 juli 2020 | 36 min

Are you looking for ways to stop being dependent upon Amazon for your author earnings income?
Are you hoping to expand and grow your sales on multiple platforms in global territories?
Do you need strategies to help you get started NOW in terms of creating a successful "publish wide" author plan?
Would you like to increase and optimize your sales on Apple Books, Kobo, Nook, Google Play and more?

Then this episode which features a reading of an article by Erin Wright called "Top 10 Tips to Going Wide."

Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes 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.

In his personal update, Mark shares the progress he has made on the "Canadian Werewolf" series, including a cover rebranding, a pre-order for mid August, and another pre-order for Feb 2021.

He also shares the fact he has started work on a book called WIDE FOR THE WIN which will also be published in early 2021.

The tips shared are:

Stop jumping and out of KU
Stop giving away Amazon gift cards of Kindle eReaders
Stop advertising in paid newsletters that only include Amazon
Stop linking to just Amazon
Stop buying your books on Amazon
Stop cross-promoting with other authors who are KU exclusive
Stop targeting KU authors in your ads
Stop spending money on AMS ads
Stop having an ARC team that only reviews on Amazon
Stop trying to learn from authors who are KU exclusive

After sharing the article, Mark reflects on the basic strategy that Erin employs across all of the tips.

Links of Interest:

Erin Wright's Website
Top 10 Tips to Going Wide - Erin's Article on Hidden Gems
Wide for the Win Facebook Group
Episode 143 - Unstoppable Goals with HB Lyne
Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
- This Time Around (Book 0)
- A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
- Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
- Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
Wide for the Win Submission Form
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

USA Today Bestselling author Erin Wright has worked every job under the sun, including library director, barista, teacher, website designer, and ranch hand helping brand cattle, before settling into the career she’s always dreamed about: Author. She still loves coffee, doesn’t love the smell of cow flesh burning, and has embarked on the adventure of a lifetime, traveling the country full-time in an RV. (No one has died yet in the confined 250-square-foot space – which she considers a real win – but let’s be real, next week isn’t looking so good…) Find her updates on ErinWright.net, where you can sign up for her newsletter along with the requisite pictures of Jasmine the Writing Cat, her kitty cat muse and snuggle buddy extraordinaire.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 143 - Unstoppable Goals with HB Lyne

17 juli 2020 | 44 min

In this episode Mark interviews urban fantasy author and podcaster HB Lyne about her fiction, her forthcoming title GOAL SETTING FOR WRITERS, and more.

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 the interview Holly and Mark talk about:

When and how Holly got into writing in the first place - writing since she could hold a pen
Making up stories that her young friend would illustrate
Writing screenplays and theatre when when was a teenager, and going off to University with a goal to write and direct movies
Writing her first book and how she wanted to share it straight away, and didn't want to wait and go through all the hoops, bells, and whistles of traditional publishing
Holly's first series, with four books, and why had to plan on rebranding, despite having had paid for beautiful covers for the first set, as well as brilliantly conceived titles
The rebranding of the series name, the titles, and the covers and what Holly's plan is (rapid release of the three books, then the new fourth book in the fall of 2020)
Holly's first non-fiction book, Goal Setting for Writers, which is coming on July 31, 2020
The mind-set shift required to move from writing fiction to non-fiction
How Holly does all of her planning doing the bullet journal system
How, when we write by hand, we retain much more than when we are typing
The challenge of imposter syndrome
The Unstoppable Authors Podcast that Holly co-hosts with Angeline Trevena
And more . . .

After the interview Mark shares a reflection on Holly's rebranding as well as his own recent decision to rebrand a series in the same genre.

He also shares a chance for listeners to win a copy of Holly's book on goal setting for writers by leaving a comment on this episode by EOD July 31, 2020.

Patrons are also automatically entered for their own chance to win another copy of the book.

Links of Interest:

H.B. Lyne lives in Yorkshire, UK, with her husband, two children and cat. When not juggling family commitments, she writes dark urban fantasy novels, purging her imagination of its demons. Inspired by the King of Horror himself, Holly aspires to be at least half as prolific and successful and promises to limit herself to only one tome of The Stand-like proportions in her career. Holly is a proud geek, podcaster and bullet journal enthusiast with a knack for organisation and getting stuff done.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 142 - Strategies for Launching a Book During a Pandemic with Suzy Vadori

9 juli 2020 | 61 min

In this episode mark interviews Suzy Vadori about the massive in person book launches she has done for the first two books in her The Fountain trilogy and the way she had to pivot away from the original plans of a major launch for book three, Wall of Wishes, due to the global pandemic.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor, reads some recent comments on the podcast, and offers a bit of a personal update.

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 also shares that the podcast has surpassed 50,000 downloads, has been downloaded in over 100 countries, and he thanks listeners for helping him achieve those stats.

In their interview, Mark and Suzy talk about:

The giant Wall of Wishes backdrop Suzy and her kids created for the special at home video launch sessions she was doing
The Fountain trilogy and where Suzy's new book "Wall of Wishes" fits into it
The "ride" of pubishing the trilogy starting with "The Fountain" in 2015 - and how that eventually led to writing full time
How, with the first two books in the trilogy, Suzy sold far more print books than eBooks, despite her small press publisher not having full proper bookstore distribution warehousing and channels
The way that kids read more print books than digital books - Selling thousands of copies of her print books by doing multiple in person events throughout the year
Two two tours every year sponsored by the Alberta Book Society
The talks Suzy does at the schools, which aren't just about her books, but about the possibilities that exists in multiple careers for curious students
Earning a speakers fee as a fiction author - and the importance of not speaking for free
The special things that Suzy has done for in person book launch events, such as the party for over 300 people at a local brewery (with a free beer offer for guests), and the giant prop fountain that she toured bookstores with
Hitting the bestseller list from a major launch event because the book sales were done through a local indie bookstore (that reports into the local newspapers bestseller list, which also rolls into the national newspaper bestseller lists)
Partnering with local bookstore Owls Nest for a virtual book launch that was being broadcast live from the vacant bookstore (featuring Suzy and bookstore manager Stacey Kondla) in a physically distancing-safe manner
Why Suzy started filling the fountain with lollypops after discovering a couple of issues with water
The pennies Suzy has collected to allow people to make a wish in the fountain - an excellent ice-breaker (at least pre-Covid)
How Suzy took over the reins for book three in this trilogy from her publisher without ruining the existing solid relationship she had with them
The challenge of what was going to happen with a book launch originally planned for April 2020 - and then the global pandemic hit, throwing all those plans into a tail spin
Earning the rank of Aurora Awards finalist for the first two books in the series, and winning the Bronze Medalian from Reader's Favourite for Best Young Adult Romance (which came with an actual medal that Suzy wore all over the place, and also brings it to school events)
The listing of custom programs Suzy offers for author talks which appear on her website (include link)
The value of tenacity and the ability to pivot
The importance of playing to your strengths
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on two of the things Suzy mentioned:

"If you're entertaining as an author, then presumably your books are also entertaining"
"Play to your strengths..."

Links of Interest:

Suzy Vadori's Website
- Social Media
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Instagram
Video of this Interview
Owl's Nest Books
Wild Rose Brewery
Episode 139 - Dreaming, Singing, and Moving People with Ashley Joanisse
- Ashley's YouTubeChannel
Episode 140 - Writing Your Memoir with Rachael Herron
Mark's Tavern (A Cheers Parody)
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Suzy is a Book Coach, Editor, Public Speaker and the Calgary Bestselling Author of The Fountain Series (The Fountain, The West Woods, Wall of Wishes). This fantastical Young Adult Series has received two Aurora Nominations for Best Young Adult Novel, as well as Five Stars and a bronze medallion from Readers’ Favorite Book Awards.

Suzy lives in Calgary, Canada with her husband and three children and is an involved member in the writing community. She is a Program Manager for Calgary’s When Words Collide (WWC), teaches writing at Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society, and is a touring member of the Young Alberta Book Society. Suzy is also the founder of WriteIt! creative writing programs in schools.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 141 - Homemade Game Guru Luanga 'Lue' Nuwame

2 juli 2020 | 57 min

Mark interviews Luanga Nuwame (or Lue, as most of his friends affectionately know him), a 43-year old Canadian comic book publisher and writer, YouTube cardboard craft artist, board game developer, and author.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, reveals the Patreon winner of a "story stuck" consultation with Clark Chamberlain, and shares a personal update including the creation of a short Cheers parody called Mark's Tavern.

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 discussion, Mark and Lue talk about:

How writing was a great outlet for Lue, particularly when he was younger, suffered from depression, didn't know how else to emote
The joy of being able to escape into fantasy by creating different stories
How Silver Surfer #4 was what started Lue's love of comic books as a medium that could be truly appreciated on multiple levels
Lue's Paper, Rock, Scissors comic book and how playing the game with someone from Mongolia inspired Lue that it was a universal game that transcended language and culture
Wondering what might happen if Paper, Rock, and Scissors were given human attributes and the story was set in space
Coming up with how paper could defeat rock - it's obvious, rocks are claustrophobic
How Lue found artist collaborators to work with who illustrated his comic books
Getting into YouTube in 2008 and then discovering what could be done with cardboard crafting, and the accompanying videos showing how to make these crafts
Creating a modular board game of huge octagons that can fill the entire living room and yet still stack and be tucked away when not in use
The "Beautiful Canada" collectible series that Lue created celebrating the uniqueness of each province
How Lue makes all of his unique cardboard crafts by hand
The way that Lue learned how to interact with people when at his author/artist table
The sense of community and networking that happens at these in person events, not just with the general public, but with fellow writers and artists
The difficulty Lue has been facing with the recent loss of in person events due to the global pandemic
Lue's book The Cardboard Bible where he provides designs and templates to help others with their own cardboard creations
And so much more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on how Lue learned and developed from a past failure, and also how he has adapted and innovated with cardboard in a unique and inspiring way that writers can learn from.

Links of Interest:

Luanga Nuwame (or Lue, as most of his friends affectionately know him), is a 43-year old Canadian comic book publisher and writer, YouTube cardboard craft artist, board game developer, and author.

Residing in Mississauga, Ontario, Nuwame operates the Homemade Game Guru YouTube channel to showcase his love for making all sorts of crazy creations out of cardboard. Be it furniture, exercise equipment, geek crafts, or swimming pools, there is no limit to what Nuwame can make out of cardboard. Nuwame’s past cardboard designs have been featured on CBC News, CTV News, Make Magazine, The Toronto Star, Global News and Readers Digest. He achieved a world’s record from The World’s Record Academy in 2009 for the ‘World’s Largest Board Game Made by One Person’.

Nuwame is also the founder of Zelpha Comics (named after his grandmother) and he acts as the principal writer and letterer for all published issues. He created the series Paper Rock Scissors N’ Stuff Wars (the classic hand game brought to life on a distant planet), Enter the World of Mephistopheles (a new horror series) and The Adventures of Little Petalianne (a children’s comic series).

Beyond comics, Nuwame is a self-published author of a wide range of books. His novels include The Fantabulously Awesome Life of a Charity Donation Truck Driver (an expose on the clothing donation business), The Boy With Zero Self-Esteem (a memoir about his past battles with depression and loneliness), Hi, My Name is Karma (a short story ‘thriller’), Smoking a ‘J’ With Jesus (religious criticisms), and multiple The Adventures of Little Petalianne children’s 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 140 - Rachael Herron on Writing Your Memoir

26 juni 2020 | 76 min

In this episode Mark interviews Rachael Herron about her writing, her multiple pseudonyms, being a hybrid author, and writing memoirs.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares some comments from recent episodes and via Twitter, some information about an offer the Clark Chamberlain has for his Story Stuck Consultation, and a personal update.

He also thanks new patron Johanna Rothman as well as all existing patrons for the podcast, and lets his patrons know that they were automatically entered in a chance to win a story stuck consultation from Clark.

In their conversation, Mark and Rachael discuss:

The thought that being a writer is like having homework for the rest of your life
Rachael's thriller (Hush Little Baby) that she just turned into her editor at Penguin Random House and which comes out in May 2021
Getting over the "who cares" issues she was having working on this novel in the middle of a global pandemic and a world-wide drive to end systemic racism by recognizing that it's okay to delve deep into a focused project like this
How willpower can be a finite, exhaustible resource
How a good writer can take people out of their normal world and the feeling when a reader reaches out to let Rachael know that her book has moved them or helped them
The feeling when you're reading a book that the person who wrote it "just gets you"
The value of feeling seen and heard, of community, and of responding to reader emails
Being involved in blogging from the early days, and the connections that can come out of that
The fact that, despite appearing to share everything socially and on blogs, podcasts, etc, the content is actually curated - but that it's still authentic
Rachael's book "Fast Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours"
The importance of recognizing that there are plenty of people who want to write a memoir but who don't want to writers
How there are so many genres within memoir
One of the principal tenants of a good memoir - in that you treat yourself more critically than anyone else, and that you give and show grace to anyone who might have done you wrong
How when you write about the most uncomfortable things how people really lean in to listen
How Rachael's book "Letters to New Authors" is based on a series of emails she created to encourage other writers
Being a fully hybrid author, and the mental shift involved when Rachael moves between traditional and indie publishing
How not having control of little things can drive Rachael crazy with some of her books
How Rachael's books, both, traditionally published and indie published, tend to sell better in eBook format
The advice that Rachael would give to her younger self
Ira Glass's theory of "the gap"
And so much more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on writing about uncomfortable things.

Links of Interest:

Rachael Herron's Website
Rachael's Resources for Writers (Including a weekly encouragement newsletter)
Rachael's Essays on the Creative Life (Patreon)
Rachael's Podcasts
- How Do You Write?
- The Writer's Well
Rachael interviewed by Mark on the Draft2Digital Spotlight
The Writer's Well EP 178 - If You Couldn’t Write Books, How Would You Be Creative? (Mark guest co-host)
Episode 137 - Dreaming, Singing, and Moving People with Ashley Joanisse
Episode 138 - Cash Flow for Creators with Michael W. Lucas
Mark's Stupid Dad Joke Short Film "The Things We Miss Most"
Public Lending Right Program Canada
Public Lending Right International
Story Stuck Consulation
Up, Up, And Away Superhero Storybundle
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Rachael Herron is the internationally bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including thrillers (under R.H. Herron), mainstream fiction, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction about writing.

She received her MFA in writing from Mills College, Oakland, and she teaches writing extension workshops at both UC Berkeley and Stanford. She is a proud member of the NaNoWriMo Writer’s Board and is the host and co-host of two awesome podcasts for writers.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 139 - Dreaming, Singing, and Moving People with Ashley Joanisse

18 juni 2020 | 60 min

Mark interviews Ashley Joanisse, a Canadian Country Singer-Songwriter who writes songs about politics, love, and life.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, welcomes new patron Krista D. Ball, thanks patrons, and reads a word from this episode's sponsor, 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 his personal update, Mark shares a new StoryBundle that he is a part of, which launched on June 18, 2020, as well as a pair of videos he recently released focusing on how to pronounce his last name.

In their conversation, Ashley and Mark talk about:

Where Ashley's love of music first started
The fact that Ashley always payed close attention to the lyrics of the songs she listened to
The strong desire to write her own music rather than cover someone else's songs
The little journey that Ashley kept since she was about thirteen years old, constantly jotting down poems, notes, song lyrics, and other things that inspired her
Writing a chorus that might stay in the journal for several years before the lyrics for the rest of the song came to her
Ashley's introduction to music in the 8th grade, and first learning how to play chords on the guitar
Playing by ear - she has not yet learned how to read music
The first guitar class Ashley was in where the instructor laid out a rule that nobody was allowed to play "Smoke on the Water"
The very first song that Ashley nailed, which was "Outsider" by Taylor Swift
How Mark learned about Ashley when she was putting out a collaborative call for people to submit video clips for a forthcoming video release
Ashley's first single, "Hey Bartender!"
How the song reminds Mark of a classic tune like "Piano Man" from Billy Joel
The way that the music video was partially inspired by the clips Ashley received from friends and strangers
How "Hey Bartender" was written and recorded two years ago and was produced about one year previously and the depression and circumstances that delayed the release
The way that the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic inspired her out of the funk she had been stuck within
The logistics of how Ashley created the video for "Hey Bartender" completely on her own
How Ashley pulled off a video where she played two different characters (bartender and patron) in the same shot (and the way she learned how to do it)
The difficulty for an artist when you put something out and you get virtually no response to the effort (something that is common for writers, musicians and other artists)
(A little mix up where Mark's Google device starts playing a song)
Ashley's latest song, titled "American Dream" which is a song inspired by tweets from the 45h president of the United States
How this song allows her to express something she feels so intensely and how listening to the song can perhaps help others who feel the same way
The way that "American Dream" is like the Arkells song "People's Champ" in that it's a powerful and catchy song, but there's an underlying meaning that some listeners might not actually pick up on
How Ashley felt so strongly about releasing this song that she went out and bought professional equipment to produce it
The mechanics of how Ashley recorded the song and produced the video for "American Dream"
Why it's important to actually sing instead of lip syncing when you're trying to lip sync to an audio track for a music video
Mark's impression of how bad the lip syncing on Grease 2 was
The way that feedback from her two recent releases has further inspired her to want to continue to write and record more songs
The irony of two negative things (a global pandemic and a narcissistic president who feeds on ignorance, fear, and lies) that inspired art, and got Ashley out of the depression she had been in
Why Taylor Swift is a major influence on Ashley
The advice that Ashley would give to her younger self
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on two of the things Ashley spoke about. The idea that if you stop, you'll never ever write that song that might move people, and how writing and music is a way to allow people to have a voice, to say things they are thinking and feeling about, which can empower writers/musicians and readers/listeners.

Links of Interest:

Ashley Joanisse
Episode 138 - Cash Flow for Creators with Michael W. Lucas
Mark's Recent Videos
- How to Pronounce Lefebvre
- You Call Me Fever Music Video (Parody of Fever)
Up, Up, And Away Superhero Storybundle
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Ashley Joanisse is a Canadian Country Singer-Songwriter who writes songs about politics, love, and life. She is an activist for human rights, and feels that we need to take a stand against hate and injustice anytime we can!

Ashley has always had an interest in music since she was a little girl and her passions remain music and writing. Ashley grew up in Mattawa, Ontario a very small that helped her to become who she is today; just a small town girl living in a lonely 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 138 - Cash Flow for Creators with Michael W. Lucas

12 juni 2020 | 51 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Michael W. Lucas about he books he has written which range range from crime and SF thrillers to arcane tomes on how to build your own Verizon. They also chat quite a bit about Michael's latest book: Cash Flow for Creators.

In the opening of the episode, Mark shares some comments from recent episodes, as well as a word from this episode's sponsor, 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.

Immediately prior to the interview Mark shares a personal update about his recent appearance on the overnight radio program Coast to Coast with George Noory, and all the positive results that came from that.

In their conversation, Michael and Mark talk about:

How writing for Michael started when he was about 4 and realized that books were created by human beings and this was something people could grow up to do
The evolution of getting to full time writer via rejection notices, selling more and more things, and working on the craft
Michael's start in writing writing for table top games
The styles of fiction that Michael writes and where his heart is in writing
The many "what ifs" that Michael enjoys, such as "What if there were Orcs in 1927 Detroit running booze across the border?"
What happened to make leaving the full-time role as a writer possible, which involved a lot of watching
Michael's new book for writers called CALL FLOW FOR CREATORS and why it was written out of self-defense
The reality that making a living is about cashflow
How evening out cashflow helps reduce the highs and lows of the typical cycle of a writer's income
The importance of looking at one's lifestyle, where they live, how they want to live, when making decisions regarding the amount of money they need to make, the expenses they are willing to live with, etc
The special editions that Michael does of some of his books, made specifically for his readers
How, if you can do something special that speaks to your people, how Michael would encourage you to give it a try
The way that Michael does his crowd-funding a little differently, using disintermediation, rather than using IndieGoGo or Kickstarter
How not only are all of Michael's books published wide everywhere, but that they are all also available for sale direct
The sponsorships that Michael does that includes surprises, such as a gift he will send you upon the book's publication
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few things that Michael spoke about, including when you know your fans, you can feed them the right things that they value, and how people will support you and they WANT you to succeed - if you treat your readers well.

Mark then shares details about how listeners can win a copy of Michael's book Cashflow for Creators.

Links of Interest:

Michael W Lucas has written 30-odd books, ranging from crime and SF thrillers to arcane tomes on how to build your own Verizon. His latest book is "Cash Flow for Creators."

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 137 - Action Sequences & Sex Scenes with Joshua Essoe

5 juni 2020 | 47 min

Mark interviews editor Joshua Essoe who has edited for bestsellers, Piers Anthony and David Farland, for Dean Lorey, lead writer of Arrested Development, as well as numerous Writers of the Future winners, and USA Today bestsellers.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads some comments from recent episodes, reveals the winner of Sacha Black's Anatomy of Prose and says a word about this episode's sponsors, the patrons of the podcast.

Mark also shares a person update that includes:

Work being done on his Canadian Werewolf series of books
A new non-fiction writing project he will be releasing in the Fall of 2020: Wide for the Win

In their conversation, Mark and Joshua talk about:

How, 11 years ago, Joshua accidentally fell into the role of editor
Joshua's previous role as an old book restorer
Being a book nerd since Joshua was 7 years old
Asking Brandon Sanderson to read one of his stories and the generous and constructive feedback he was offered
Advice from Superstars Writing Seminars that led Joshua to deciding to take on a new challenge, editing a fellow author's fantasy novel
Setting a goal of editing one of David Farland's novels
The difference between restoring old books and working as an editor
The genres that Joshua specializes in as an editor (science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction)
The importance of aligning your writing and your goals with the right editor
The new book project Joshua is releasing and how he is launching it using Kickstarter
The first book: Action Sequences and Sex Scenes and why Joshua is releasing that one first
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on the huge success Joshua saw on his Kickstarter project within the first 6 hours and first four days and a quote from the artist James A. Owen, who designed his new non-fiction books.

Links of Interest:

Joshua Essoe has edited for bestsellers, Piers Anthony and David Farland, including the multi-award-winning novel, Nightingale. He's also edited for Dean Lorey, lead writer of Arrested Development, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, former director at Kobo, numerous Writers of the Future winners, USA Today bestsellers, and many other top-notch independents.

He was lead editor at Urban Fantasy Magazine from 2014-2015. From 2012-2015 he recorded the weekly writing podcast Hide and Create with co-hosts Michael J. Sullivan, Diana Rowland, Jay Wells, and Debbie Viguie.

You can find Joshua teaching about pitches, back cover copy, and editing every year at the Superstars Writing Seminars in CO. His approach to editing is to help you make your story the best version of itself it can be.

Joshua is also a writer. He was a 2014 finalist in the Writers of the Future contest, and is in the process of releasing his first in a series of non-fiction books on editing for writers.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 136 - Great Sales at Google with Brian Rathbone

29 maj 2020 | 49 min

In this episode Mark interviews Brian Rathbone who is an international #1 Bestselling author on Google Play with both audiobooks and eBooks. Brian talks about the strategies and things he has learned about success in selling audiobooks, a market he has been playing in for two decades now, so he has a lot of learning to share there - as well as how he reached #1 on Google Play, a market that a lot of authors are struggling to learn and understand.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and reminds listeners of their chance to win a signed copy of Sacha Black's latest book, Anatomy of Prose, by commenting on Episode 133 as per the episode and show notes details, prior to the end of day Friday May 29, 2020.

This episode is sponsored by the wonderful patrons of the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Podcast.

You can learn how you can become a patron, gain access to special patron-only prizes and also receive bonus patron-only episodes of the podcast as well as other additional text and video patron content at www.patreon.com/starkreflections.

In their conversation, Brian and Mark discuss:

How Brian got into his writing career, and the programming career he had prior to that
The day that Brian started typing the first novel one day while sitting in the Atlanta airport in 2005 and felt a change coming
The various jobs and roles that Brian worked at and played over the years
How Brian ended up falling into the role of helping other writers by publishing their work and creating tools to help small publishers
The royalty calculation software that Brian started to develop
Brian's early introduction to audio via podiobooks years before audiobooks started to be a growing option for indie authors
Some of the successes that Brian has had with audio promotions using a "loss leader" model for the first book in a series
How his "first free book in series" led to being ranked as the #1 downloaded free audiobook on Google Play, and the resulting sales of the rest of the series from that
What happened when Brian took an entire audiobook digital box set trilogy that sold for close to $30 and making it 99 cents for a full month via a Chirp promotion
The importance of including a sample at the end of an audiobook to lead the person to the next audiobook
Methods and techniques that Brian has learned work really well and have helped him become a top seller on Google Play
Things Brian has learned that he would tell his younger self
And more

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few things Brian talked about, including the unique metadata fields that different retailers might focus on or use in a different way to help prop up a book in bold new ways.

Links of Interest:

#1 International bestselling fantasy author Brian Rathbone is a bit odd. After growing up training standard bred racehorses, he went to work at a nuclear plant before helping to build the Internet. When he isn't writing, Brian tells a few too many bad dragon jokes on Twitter and spends a lot of time thinking about unicorns.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 135 - Creative Collaborations in FerroCity with Joe Scacciaferro

22 maj 2020 | 60 min

In this episode Mark interviews Joe Scacciaferro who has been in the media and entertainment business for over 30 years, has founded and run several successful media and entertainment production and technical support companies, most noticeably FerroProductions, and is behind the collaborative platform FerroCity.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares some comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor, 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 the interview Mark and Joe talk about:

How story has always been important in Joe's life, and how that sometimes backfired when he was a young child
The way that everything is a story, and the more that we are comfortable with story, the better we can engage with others
Joe's musical background, and how story through music was one of his first loves and felt natural to him
The prominence of unplanned transitions in Joe's life
How it can be ALL about the journey
Different types of collaborations that creative storytellers can work on together in music verses prose writing
The critical nature of music and how it impacts a visual storytelling medium
The different types of documentary projects that Joe has worked on over the years
Fascinating answers you can get from some basic simple questions
The critical balance of skill combined with a solid community
How everything you learn is important to everything you do
The way that the collaborative community of FerroCity is the culmination of Joe's entire career
How the platform FerroCity helps connect the community together and learn from the way people engage with it
How writers who are interested in checking it out can begin to participate in the FerroCity community and platform
Why Joe says that you can't learn anything unless it's entertaining
The three phases of FerroCity that are being rolled out the spring/summer of 2020
Why Mark calls this platform a type of "Field of Dreams"
How a team can synergize over a single posting on a platform like this
The camaraderie that comes from working alongside other team members

After the interview, Mark reflects on the universal nature of storytelling, and the unimagined and unforeseen benefits that can result from creative collaboration.

Links of Interest:

FerroCity
Ferro Productions
Episode 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel with Sacha Black
Episode 97 - 10 Tips for Marketing and Making Money off Your Short Fiction
The Stay Home Story Summit
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Isolation Parody Songs (K-Tel Spoof Commercial)
Spud Wars: A New Helplessness (Parody Movie Trailer)
Stuck in this House here with You (Parody Music Video)
Dad Joke Short: The Things We Miss Most
Dad Joke Short: Dramatic Exit
Dad Joke Short: Skeleton Jokes
Career Author Summit
Bookfunnel
20BooksVegas

Joe Scacciaferro has been in the media and entertainment business for over 30 years and has founded and run several successful media and entertainment production and technical support companies, most noticeably FerroProductions.

He has been honored with 5 Emmys, 9 Emmy nominations, co-authored 15 books on the creative use of music technology, written music scores for broadcast programming, produced dozens of network sports shows / documentaries and been honored with two super bowl rings from the NY Giants for his programming efforts during the past 20 years.

Joe’s creative abilities are self-evident based on the longevity and diverse successes of his career. But when asked about his single greatest professional accomplishment, he will always point to enormous career successes of his interns.

He is a strong believer in creative collaboration, and networking opportunities, and he shares an exciting new project called FerroCity, which represents the culmination of his extraordinary career and life.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 134 - Pitching Your Book To Different Media with Melissa Dalton Martinez

15 maj 2020 | 51 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Melissa Dalton Martinez, a publishing industry PR and marketing manager, marketing consultant, and media professional.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a word about this episode's sponsor (the awesome Patrons of this podcast), and a personal update.

In his personal update, Mark talks about the creative collaborative projects that he and his partner Liz have been working on - parody music videos, and how a chance in perspective looking at a bowl filled with broken egg yolks resulted in an unexpected and delicious breakfast that was better than what was originally planned.

In their interview Mark and Melissa talk about:

Where the show that Melissa runs "The Book Break" runs and what the content of the episodes are
How Melissa helps authors get onto various different media and the coaching that she does to prepare them for their appearances
Melissa's entrance into the publishing world as a PAR representative in 2003
How Melissa is one of those "one more chapter" readers at bed time
Why it is easier than ever right now to get interviewed by local media
The way that Melissa can spin a story off of anything, and usually creates a minimum of about five story options before she begins to pitch to a particular media outlet
Advice for the best way to approach pitching to media or a podcast as a potential guest
How an author should go about crafting a pitch to a media professional
The importance of going with what you know, and understanding the types of shows that the media outlet you are pitching has recently released
Melissa's favorite way to craft a pitch
How it is the guest's job to make it easy for the host/producer of the media outlet you are pitching to
The reason why it's important to create a list of questions for the media outlet you are pitching to (and sometimes, also the answers you'll provide)
Why it is important, whenever you're doing an interview to act as if the interview is live
Methods of sending materials, such as pictures, to the producers, ahead of the broadcast, with suggestions of where the images might best be inserted within a segment
The importance of the right author photo that is appropriate and relevant for your author brand
Why a high resolution image is really important for television
The way that professional reviews work, which ones are out there, and the options that an author has for a paid professional review
Why professional reviews in spots such as Kirkus are important for library acquisition of books
And more....

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of how it is the guest's job to make it as easy on the host, on the producer, as possible. in the same way that it's the book's description's job to make it as easy as possible for the ideal reader to want to have to buy and read a book.

He also talks about how, with the Covid-19 related isolation taking place, that authors have greater opportunity for various media outlets that, prior, would have only been possible with physical proximity and having to be in the studio.

Links of Interest:

Melissa's Website: The Book Break
Sacha Black's Podcasts
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Isolation Parody Songs (K-Tel Spoof Commercial)
Spud Wars: A New Helplessness (Parody Movie Trailer)
Stuck in this House here with You (Parody Music Video)

Melissa Dalton Martinez has worked in the publishing industry on and off as a PR and marketing manager, marketing consultant, and media professional since 2000.

After graduating college in 2003, Melissa has helped others grow their careers, run her own businesses, spoken at countless conferences, helped coordinate many events, worked with radio, TV, newspapers, movies, podcasts, YouTube shows, and even became the producer and host of her own TV mini-series, The Book Break.

In addition to The Book Break, Melissa works as a private marketing, branding, and media consultant; a marketing expert for Eschler Editing; and a book reviewer for various media outlets.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel with Sacha Black

8 maj 2020 | 58 min

Mark interviews Sacha Black about her role and brand as a Rebel Author, about her writing, her podcast, and about her books for writers on crafting heroes, villains, and prose.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, talking about recent birthday activities, a recent Star Wars parody video he created, and what that type of creation means to him as a writer.

He then shares some comments from recent episodes and a word from this podcast's sponsor, 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, Sacha and Mark talk about:

Where Sacha's "Rebel Author" brand came from, and how she has always been a bit of a rebel
How, the best way to get Sacha to do something is to ask her not to do it
The way that being an indie author is a bit rebellious in and of itself
The thrill of being a little bit naughty
How people are able to connect when you are being more authentic
Being on the border of introvert/extrovert and the connection with others that Sacha values from running her podcast
The appearance of confidence from the outside, and how the indie author community has allowed Sacha to regain some confidence
Being very intentional about wanting to leave her full time job to become a full time writer, and the planning and staging she worked on to get there
Sacha's life of being passionate about reading and writing
How a character Sacha originally wrote when she was 9 years old became the protagonist in her first novel
The randomness in the way that characters Sacha creates come to her
The combination of terrible memory and super geek that is part of Sacha's process as a writer
How she never intended to write non-fiction, but completely fell in love with it
The way that an overnight 100K of hits on a series of blog posts she wrote about villains led to filling a hole in the market and a path of loving writing non-fiction
How Sacha's new non-fiction title, The Anatomy of Prose, started off as a labor of love
The purposeful branding on the covers of these three non-fiction books for writers and how they incorporate three core values
The process of recording the audiobooks herself
How Sacha and her wife have negotiated the landscape of raising a six year old and each of them getting their work done
Katie Forest's book called Time Management for Writers and what she has to say about times of crisis
How the hardest thing for Sacha in terms of her work-life balance is letting go of the parental guilt
The challenge of finding books for a young reader whose comprehension for words has surpassed most content meant for people their age
The fact that if Sacha is terrified of something she is compelled to jump right in
Using made-up swear words

After the interview, Marks a few reflections about things the chat with Sacha made him think about.

He also shares how listeners can win a signed copy of Sacha's latest book by commenting on this episode. (Opportunity to win ends May 29, 2020 when a random drawing of commenters will take place).

He also thanks Patrons of the show and shares that Patrons will be automatically entered in a chance to win a set of Sacha's three books for writers, just by being patrons. The random draw for that will take place at the same time.

Links of Interest:

Sacha Black is an author, rebel podcaster, speaker and developmental editor.

She has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules.

Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing.

When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.

She lives in Hertfordshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 132 - Lauding the Art of Music with Martin Popoff

30 april 2020 | 53 min

Mark interviews Martin Popoff about his latest book ANTHEM: Rush in the 70's as well as a lifetime of passion writing about music.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and some comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor, 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, Martin and Mark talk about:

Martin's introduction to music when he was six or seven years old
Turning people into metal-heads when Martin was working at a record store about the age of fifteen
How people learned about music and records prior to the internet
How Martin's love and passion for music evoled into life of writing about music, which he started to do full time in 2000
Martin's first book, which was a self-published book of a collection of record reviews, which later got picked up by a traditional publisher in 1997
Writing 9 or 10 music books per year
The style of music review that Martin prefers to write
The importance of talking about and lauding the art of the entire music production when writing a book about musicians and their work
The interesting nature of the narrative of the story of a band and the narrative of a band's concept album
How Martin values letting the band speak for themselves in the books he writes about them, relying on actual quotes from lengthy interviews, rather than blatantly injecting his own theory into the narrative
The different listening experiences of listening to a full album start to finish from a vinyl LP and listening to it in custom single song chunks in a digital era
The recent collaborative Canadian multi-location/self-isolation version of "Lean on Me" from Canada Strong
Martin's original 2003 Rush biography: Contents Under Pressure which is now out of date and out of print
How the desire to write a single comprehensive updated book about Rush resulted in well over 350,000 words and 3 volumes. Anthem: Rush in the 70s. (May 202) Limelight: Rush in the 80s (Oct 2020) Drive: Rush in the 90s (In the End) (Spring 2021)
The use of interview footage from Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
Something that surprised Martin in writing these volumes
How there is nobody who sounds like Rush and that are, in many ways, their own unique genre in music
What a good gate-way Rush song might be for someone who doesn't think their music is accessible
Martin's Podcast: History in Five Songs
What music Martin listens to when he is writing

After the interview, Mark reflects on the volume of publishing Martin has done, which is atypical for a traditionally published author; he also reflects on the dynamic nature of the relationship and flexibility he has with his publisher.

Links of Interest:

Martin Popoff's Website
Martin's Podcast: History in Five Songs
Episode 130 - Grace Under Pressure with Kevin J Anderson
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 131 - Thanks for the Inspriation Todd Anderson

24 april 2020 | 34 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 130 - Writing Through Change, Tragedy, & Trauma with Kevin J. Anderson

17 april 2020 | 74 min

In this episode Mark interviews author Kevin J. Anderson about dictating his first drafts, about adapting to change in the publishing industry and about writing through personal tragedy, grief, and trauma.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and goes into detail about the challenges he has faced with not being able to focus or write in the past several weeks, falling behind in several writing deadlines.

But he talks about how he has continued to be creative, and that creators will always create. He shares a writing warm-up practice he has started again - writing parody lyrics to songs and poetry.

He then shares the experience of doing that recently and collaborating with Liz, the opening and closing voice of the podcast, and his fiance.

He shares the music video they created on Easter Sunday and how working on that project has reinvigorated his own creative spirit and energy; particularly as a reminder for the fact that the world needs writers, and the smiles this parody song and video have inspired is an example of why writers do what they do.

Mark then shares the audio for the song as well as the fact he will be teaching an online class on April 22nd in a series from Jane Friedman.

After the song, Mark shares listener comments from recent episodes and then offers a word from this episode's sponsor, 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 Kevin talk about:

Finally getting around to this interview, as it's something they've been meaning to do for years, and are finally getting to
How Kevin has always been a dictator when it comes to his writing, dictating while taking long walks or hikes in the Colorado mountains
The fact that Kevin can still do his regular writing during these self-isolation times the same way he always has
The importance of trying dictation for more than just a short time, or once or twice, paralleling it to the way writers have learned typing and keyboarding skills
Tips for getting started in dictation, such as using dictation for a brainstorming session
Keeping so many different book projects that are in different stages (as a hybrid author with multiple traditional and indie-publishing projects on the go)
How Kevin's first published novel has much of the RUSH album "Grade Under Pressure" woven into it, and how that book is what ultimately connected Kevin to RUSH drummer and lyricist, Neil Peart
The thirty-plus year relationship that Kevin had with Neil Peart and the co-authoring they have done together
How the recent Drumbeats project of Kevin and Neil's first collaboration is being re-released in a special limited edition print run
Managing writing through times of loss, grief, stress and anxiety
How the new Dune film, and the paperback release of one of Kevin's traditionally published books are being affected and delayed by Covid-19
The masters in publishing program that Kevin is teaching for Western Colorado University and the publishing projects that the students are working on for that
How Superstars Writing Seminars originated with Kevin, his wife Rebecca Moesta, Brandon Sanderson, David Farland, and Eric Flint getting together to figure out the changes in the publishing industry about twelve years ago
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on how he and Kevin had kept putting off doing this interview for years, and the parallel to how Kevin and Neil had always put the Drumbeats special edition project on the back burner.

He talks about other projects and things he'd continued to put off, and what thinking about that inspires.

Mark then shares an opportunity for listeners to win one of two copies of Kevin's book. A book for writers (On Being a Dictator) and the special limited edition book (Drumbeats).

Commenters and Patrons will be entered in a draw for the prizes which will be done after midnight Eastern time on Friday May 1, 2020.

Links of Interest:

Kevin J. Anderson's Website
- WordFire Press
- Kevin in Twitter
Superstars Writing Seminars
Steve Otis - Artist
Mark's Audiobooks (on sale) at Nook
- The 7 P's of Publishing Success
- Evasion
Jane Friedman's Online Class: Creating Income and Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction
Episode 114 - Thanks for the Inspiration, Neil Peart
Episode 125 -Simplifying, Streamlining, and Organizing with Janice Savage
Episode 128 - Healthy Home Workspaces with Roland Denzel
Episode 129 - Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Kevin J. Anderson has published more than 165 books, 56 of which have been national or international bestsellers.

He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes, as well as unique steampunk fantasy novels Clockwork Angels and Clockwork Lives, written with legendary rock drummer Neil Peart, based on the concept album by the band Rush.

Kevin's original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series, the Terra Incognita fantasy trilogy, the Saga of Shadows trilogy, and his humorous horror series featuring Dan Shamble, Zombie PI. He has edited numerous anthologies, written comics and games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs. Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta are the publishers of WordFire Press. His most recent novels are Stake, Kill Zone, and Spine of the Dragon.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 129 - Bonus Episode - Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting

14 april 2020 | 19 min

In this additional "between episodes" addition, Mark shares a Medium article with the following important message.

"From one citizen to another, I beg of you: take a deep breath, ignore the deafening noise, and think deeply about what you want to put back into your life. This is our chance to define a new version of normal, a rare and truly sacred (yes, sacred) opportunity to get rid of the bullshit and to only bring back what works for us, what makes our lives richer, what makes our kids happier, what makes us truly proud.

We get to Marie Kondo the shit out of it all. We care deeply about one another. That is clear. That can be seen in every supportive Facebook post, in every meal dropped off for a neighbor, in every Zoom birthday party.

We are a good people. And as a good people, we want to define — on our own terms — what this country looks like in five, 10, 50 years. This is our chance to do that, the biggest one we have ever gotten. And the best one we’ll ever get."

The message is from the article "Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting" by Julio Vincent Gambuto.

Mark then reflects on the importance of this moment in time and the "reset" that can happen.

This episode contains explicit language which may offend some listeners.

Links of Interest:

The son of a bus-driver-slash-bread-baker, Julio Vincent ("Julie") grew up in a large Italian family on New York’s Staten Island, where aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered often around Mom's seafoam-green formica kitchen table for “cake and coffee” — always an Entenmann’s crumb cake — to tell stories, argue about the Mets, and play cards with the neighbors.

After seven years on merit scholarship at the prestigious Staten Island Academy, Julie left the borough for Harvard, where he graduated with a BA in English and American Literature and Language, with honors. He completed his training as a film director at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he was honored as an Annenberg Fellow.

Julio Vincent recently completed post-production on his first feature film, Team Marco, and is currently developing the feature family comedy, The Julie Stories.

In 2017, Julio founded Boro Five, an independent film and television content production company. He serves as Executive Producer of the company’s slate.

Julio has written and produced film and television content for Nickelodeon, PBS, E! Entertainment, and James Franco’s Rabbit Bandini. Learn more below.

Julio lives in New York 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 128 - Healthy Home Workspaces with Roland Denzel

10 april 2020 | 55 min

In this episode Mark shares a live chat with Roland Denzel, AKA the Indestructable Author, from April 2, 2020 about Strategies for a Healthy Home Workspace. Roland shares what people can do to maintain health and exercise with limited space and no equipment; fundamentals of creating an ergonomic workspace in your home, and much more.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a reflection on how he feels Covid-19 is going to become a major tipping point for the way that people consume books and move from print-book puritans to eReading adoptions. He also shares the fact that it's likely the major publishers are going to be forced to finally properly dip their toes into the eBook pool.

Mark then shares comments from recent episodes 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.

In their conversation, Mark and Roland talk about:

Roland's background as a writer and health coach and advocate focusing on the nutrition and habit side of things
His plans for writing a series and stacking them for a consistent release schedule
Taking a "Supercharge your Protagonist" course with H Claire Taylor to help improve his fiction
The side-effects of living behind a keyboard for thirty years that include carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar neuropathy
How moving around for as little as 5 minutes every thirty minutes or so can reduce your blood sugar by up to 20% and improve insulin sensitivie by as much as 20%
How coffee isn't the big problem that many people say it is, and can be useful because if you drink it, you're likely getting up to go to the washroom more often, and thus moving more
The Pomodoro technique which follows 25 / 5 - 25 minutes of work, followed by 5 minutes of a break, or rest
How just a little bit of planning can help you maintain better health and productivity
Roland's perspective on ergonomics
The importance of what Roland calls "the dynamic office"
Things people can do to get exercise without equipment, in limited space, or without being able to go to the gym
How much people underestimate the value of walking
How important it is to make changes from a sedentary lifestyle in small steps or stages
In general how the healthier you are, the easier it is to focus
Strategies for dealing with anxiety in a limited or shared work space
And more...

After the interview, Mark shares a few personal updates, including his recent appearance on The Creative Penn and The Indy Author Podcasts, the weekday Draft2Digital Spotlights he has been participating in, and a forthcoming online course he will be teaching in a series from Jane Friedman.

Links of Interest:

Roland Denzel's Indestructable Author Website
Episode 127 - Blaze Ward
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Online Course (via Jane Friedman) - Creating Income and Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction
The Creative Penn Podcast - Mark's Appearances
The Indy Author Podcast - Mark's Appearances
- Episode 20
- Episode 14

Roland Denzel is a coach, a nutritionist, and a restorative exercise specialist who also happens to be a writer. He has fought off carpal tunnel syndrome, ulnar neuropathy, and plantar fasciitis, all while "keeping his butt in the chair" long enough to work a full-time job and release more than ten books.

He coaches authors and other awesome humans about ergonomics, healthy lifestyle, balance, and overcoming physical and mental limitations to be healthier, happier, and more productive.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 127 - Consistency in Word Count & Publishing with Blaze Ward

3 april 2020 | 58 min

In this episode, Mark has an in depth conversation with author Blaze Ward.

Blaze Ward writes science fiction in multiple universes. He also writes odd bits of high fantasy with swords and orcs. In addition, he is the Editor and Publisher of Boundary Shock Quarterly Magazine and many other magazines and publishing projects.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes.

He also announced the winner of the book and workbook for THREE STORY METHOD from J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon from a random selection of commenters from Episode 123. In addition, the Patreon winner is also announced.

In their conversation Mark and Blaze discuss:

When Blaze started to kick into full production schedule for his writing
Writing 400,000 words a year while he was employed and working full time, and how he ramped it up to 100,000 words a month, which he has consistently reached for the past two years
The daily/weekly schedule that Blaze keeps in order to write 4000 words a day Monday through Saturday
The plan for Blaze to write 14 novels and 40 stories in 2020
Mal Cooper, who wrote 40 novels in 2018, and makes Blaze look like a slacker
The thrill of "getting to go write" when Blaze wakes up in the morning
P Time and L Time (Personal Time and Linear Time)
The plans for ensuring that his heirs will continue to benefit from the works that Blaze has written
The various different novels in different series' that Blaze has written and is working on
Why Blaze isn't playing the "exclusive to Kindle" game in publishing and has chosen to go wide
Selling short stories that are not available anywhere else directly on his website
How Blaze is using Patron (to provide his $5/month patrons content a full year before it is available to anyone else)
Boundary Shock quarterly magazine, which Blaze edits, including the inspiration for creating it and the logisitics of filling each issue of that magazine and others with content using a syndicate of fifteen other writers
The different newsletters that Blaze sends out
Some of the financial changes that Blaze and his wife Leah (also an author), have recently made regarding translations and travel to writer conferences
And more...

After the conversation, Mark reflects on comparisonitis and discipline.

This episode was sponsored by the wonderful patrons of the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Podcast who support this show and gain access to additional content over at www.patreon.com/starkreflections.

Links of Interest:

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 126 - Thanks for the Inspiration and the Laughs

28 mars 2020 | 36 min

Thanks for the Inspiration is a type of show that appears from time to time in the regular schedule for this podcast.

As writers, we often absorb elements from the world, the places, and the people around us. We observe, we ask questions, we speculative, we listen, we watch, we feel, and we write so much of that down which gets re-integrated, like some sort of sausage creation, into the stories and words and worlds we share with our readers.

Thanks for the Inspiration episodes are an attempt to acknowledge and say thanks to the people, places, and things that have helped to either feed the muse, or perhaps just to feed the very soul and makeup of the writer behind that writing.

In this bonus episode of the podcast, Mark thanks the creative spirits who have produced musical parodies about Covid-19 and the current global situation. Because laughter is important.

Yes, these are dark times, but laughter is important. It connects people. And laughter has been shown to actually stimulate positive activity in a person's immune system.

I know we're all scared, we're uncertain, we aren't sure what's coming, for us, and for those we know and love. Things seem to be spinning out of control. But we can always control where we focus and how we respond.

I choose love, compassion, and humor.

And I choose to thank all of these amazing creative people who took the time to spread their own passion, through humor, to help others find smiles and laughs in these trying times.

Mark introduces the following musical parodies in this order:

Covid-19 - The Taylor's - Parody of "Come On, Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners.
- JJ Mason Taylor (The Taylor Family)
- YouTube Video
My Corona - Parody of "My Sharona by The Knack
- Kevin Brandow
- Lyrics by Chelsea Brandow
- YouTube Video
Quarantine - Parody of "Let It Be" by The Beatles
- Joe Cron
- YouTube Video
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (with new lyrics!) Parody of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke from the movie Mary Poppins
- Daniel Matarazzo
- You Tube Video
One Week of COVID 19 - Parody of "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies
- Pepper Coyote
- Adapted original lyrics by @daniAwesome
- YouTube Video
My Corona Home - Parody of "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys from the movie Cocktail
- Jon Pumper
- YouTube Video
Coronavirus Rhapsody - Parody of "Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
- Adrian Grimes
- Lyrics by Dana Jay Bein
- YouTube Video

Mark then closes out the show with a thanks to all of the first responders and medical and health professionals on the front lines as well as essential services personnel who continue to risk their own safety and welfare for the good of society.

And he again thanks the creative folks who wrote, performed, and shared these songs (and so many others not included here) to help inspire smiles and laughter in others during these trying times.

This episode was sponsored by the wonderful patrons of the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Podcast who support this show and gain access to additional content over at www.patreon.com/starkreflections.

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 125 - Simplifying, Streamlining, & Organizing with Janice Savage

26 mars 2020 | 47 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Janice Savage, Savvy Concierge about strategies that enable work-life balance which translates into more personal time and less stress.

Prior to the interview, Mark reads a word from this episode's sponsor, 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.

He then reads comments from recent episodes, reminding listeners they still have a chance to win a copy of THREE STORY METHOD and the accompanying workbook from J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon by commenting on Episode 123 before the end of March 2020.

He also shares a brief personal update that includes the adaptation of the Career Author Summit in Nashville in May (where Mark is a featured speaker) to a virtual event, as well as being a guest on the Rebel Author Podcast with Sacha Black.

In their conversation, Mark and Janice talk about:

How Janice loves being in a position to do something to help other people, which organically grew into her business
How Janice pays attention and listens to both what people say, as well as the things that people don't say, as part of her process of helping them
The value of being invited into the personal workspace of the people that Janice works with
The importance of, before looking at someone's space, you take a look at their values
What "clutter" does to us (makes us stressed, takes away our focus) - space, mind, physical clutter
How having clutter in our minds and physically, it takes away from the creative process
Examining a workspace for all of the things that can cause distraction
The importance of making a specific system that works for you, your preferences, your goals, your work space
How routine and the right habits build success
The complimentary consult that Janice offers her potential clients
How small changes can make a huge impact
The importance of having an accountability partner
The value of SNAP (The "Sunday Night Plan") - which is a written-down plan for the forthcoming week
Ideas for managing an email inbox without getting stressed or overwhelmed
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of building up solid habits or an impactful routine.

Links of Interest:

Janice Savage, founder of Savvy Concierge, is a Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Manager. She alleviates the stress and that feeling of being overwhelmed that her busy clientele experience.

Janice has taken the strategies and tips she developed first by raising four kids and then by working one-on-one with her clientele to introduce Savvy Principles to Simplify Your Life.

She has recently segued into speaking opportunities, educational presentations and conducting workshops where she shares her expertise with larger audiences. By empowering the audience to attain their goals through an organized and decluttered personal and professional life she is spreading her message – Simplify Your Life.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 124 - Lindsay Flanagan on Working with an Editor

19 mars 2020 | 49 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Lindsay Flanagan, an editor that he had the privilege of working with.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a public service announcement from CDC regarding Covid-19, a number of comments from previous episodes, a new Patron (Katie), and injects a bit of a personal writing update in with those comments. Mark also reminds listeners of their chance to win a copy of THREE STORY METHOD from J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon by commenting on Episode 123 before the end of March 2020.

He then shares a tip from this episode's sponsor, 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, Lindsay and Mark talk about:

How Lindsay had always been into writing, studying English Language and Literature, how her career took her away from that, and her eventual return back to the world of writing and editing
The role-flip that Lindsay and her husband took about who the main bread-winner would be, and who would do more freelance-style work
How Lindsay had been impressed by the professionalism and style of Angela Eschler of Eschler Editing
How Lindsay's choice, in editing, always comes back to story and to language
The one day a week that Lindsay keeps aside for her personal writing projects
A high level review of the different types of editing, such as substantive/developmental, line editing, copy editing, and proofreading
How Mark and Lindsay professionally met as writer and editor
The things that Lindsay looks for in a writer client and what writers should look for when sourcing an editor
The style and genres of fiction that Lindsay prefers to work on when editing
How some clients at Eschler Editing are authors who want to ensure their work is polished professionally before they submit it to the traditional publisher market, while others are indie-published authors who want a professional edit before they self-publish the book
How two different 80,000 word manuscripts might be given two different cost estimates depending on the shape the manuscript is in when it is turned in, which is why an edit can cost anywhere from $300 to $2000
The important that a writer always gets a sample edit from an editor that they are considering working with
Why a professional edit is so important
The way that an editor can help a writer understand differing changes in the marketplace for trends within specific genres
Some of the most common mistakes that writers often make in their writing
That all too important question an editor often asks: "But what is this doing to move your story move forward or your character to grow?"
Some of the free resources available for writers at EscherEditing.com
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark shares his reflections on the importance of working with an editor who is properly aligned to your specifc writing and genre, in the same way that a writer needs to be thinking about their very specific target audience prior to working on marketing their book.

Links of Interest:

Lindsay Flanagan is a freelance writer and editor, who, after earning a Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing, left her career of over a decade to pursue her dream job in the publishing world. She joined the Eschler Editing team in 2014 as an editor and project manager. She also edits for Immortal Works and Champagne Book Group. Because she's a glutton for knowledge, she's also interning with Corvisiero Literary Agency.

Angela Eschler, founder of the award-winning Eschler Editing and manager of the boutique publisher Scrivener Books, has more than twenty years of experience in the publishing industry, including nearly a decade working in-house at traditional publishers. She now works as a freelance editor and industry coach for authors, editors, publishers, and other organizations and has edited over a thousand manuscripts from diverse genres. A published author herself, Angela’s work has been featured on television, radio, and in documentary film.

The E. Team is comprised of highly skilled writers, editors, designers and publishing and promotion professionals that hail from diverse segments of the publishing industry. They’ve amassed advanced degrees in literature or writing, been published, received distinguished awards, and worked additionally in related industry fields as librarians, reporters, or writing professors. Most importantly, as vetted genre experts, they know what it takes to make it in publishing.

So no matter if you want to self-pub or get an agent, we’ll help you learn to stand out, be discovered, and make a bigger impact. Why? Because filling the world with powerful books is vital. Writers are important; they’ve changed history, they’ve changed our lives, and we want to ensure they keep changing the world one reader at a time. That’s our story. Now, let’s make sure your story is heard.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 123 - Three Story Method with J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon

13 mars 2020 | 42 min

Storytelling doesn't have to be complicated. In this episode, Mark chats with J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon about their new book THREE STORY METHOD which proves that storytelling can be straightforward.

Bohannon and Thorn are successful co-authors, are the minds behind the Authors on a Train, Vampires of New Orleans, Sci-Fi Seattle, Night of the Writing Dead and Cleveland Rock Apocalypse writing retreats. They also launched their Career Author podcast in January 2018, the same week that the Stark Reflections Podcast was launched.

Prior to the interview, Mark waxes poetic about the previous times J. and Zach were on the podcast, including episode 74, where Mark had shared details about how he had proposed to his girlfriend Liz on the 50th birthday during an Alicia Witt concert, with a song Alicia wrote for him to use for the occasion. He also shares a short clip from the chorus of the song.

Mark then talks about working on getting a representative from Google Play Books to come on in a future episode, and reminds writers that it's easier than ever to create a direct Google Play account for publishing:

New publishers can visit g.co/play/publish and create an account in just a few easy steps
There’s no longer an invite code or waiting period when setting up a new publisher account

Mark also shares a word from this episode's sponsor, 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, J., and Zach talk about:

The origin of Three Story Method and how the process for it was developed over the course of publishing a dozen books together
The importance of a having a process that can be used in a similar way for multiple different projects
How the book is meant for getting from an idea to a first draft of a manuscript and should be all that a writer needs. There's no up-selling or courses associated with it
The accompanying workbook that can either be downloaded for free or purchased for the lowest price they could set on Amazon for it
Ongoing dedication to learning, and re-learning, and continuing to refine the craft of writing
The importance of starting off with a good book before you even begin or consider heavy marketing
The value of the community that comes from running a weekly podcast
Why they value tight-knit, intimate groups when it comes to hosting author gatherings
The experience of brainstorming a universe for an anthology in a room full of engaged authors
J.'s ways and Zach's hacks (a bit they do on their own podcast)
....and more....

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of life-long learning of both the business and the craft of writing.

He then shares how listeners have until the end of day March 31, 2020 to leave a comment on the show notes for Episode 123 at www.starkreflections.ca for a chance to win a free copy of Three Story Method and the accompanying workshop, courtesy of J. and Zach.

Mark asks that commenters leave either a "Way" or a "Hack" that they've found useful for either the business or the craft of writing (in honour of the J.'s Ways and Zach's Hacks bit that the two regularly do on their own podcast.

Mark also mentions that Patrons who support this podcast over at www.patreon.com/starkreflections are all automatically entered into a drawn to win the same prize. $1 / month patrons will be entered in for one chance. $3 /month patrons will be entered in twice. $5 / month patrons will be entered in 3 times.

Links of Interest:

The Career Author
- Podcast
- Three Story Method
Findaway Voices
Episode 116 - Taking the Short Tack with Matty Dalrymple
Episode 21 - Real World Connections in a Digital World with J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon
Episode 74 - Perspectives on the Past, Present, and Future of Publishing (with J, Zach, Mark, Jim Kukral and T.W. Piperbrook)
Alicia Witt
Patreon for Stark Reflections

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 122 - Evan Gow on StoryOrigin

6 mars 2020 | 48 min

In this episode Mark interviews Evan Gow, founder of StoryOrigin, about the platform and the many tools and offerings it has for authors.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares the two winners of the book TAKING THE SHORT TACK: Creating Income and Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction written by Mark and Matty Dalrymple. One winner was randomly selected from those who left comments on Episode 116, and the other was select from among the patrons of the podcast.

Mark then shares a word from this episode's sponsor, 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.

He then shares a personal update that includes writing projects, revised book covers, and the cancellation of the London Book Fair.

In their conversation, Evan and Mark discuss:

The origin of StoryOrigin, which started in high school and then a college entrepreneur program called "Three Day Startup" in Austin, Texas
How Evan determined the different needs and desires of indie authors in order to build his suite of what StoryOrigin offers them
The confusing term "newsletter swap" and an explanation of what one actually is
The transparency that is available for authors who are wanting to collaborate on newsletter swaps or group promotions
The strategy for beginning authors to start by creating a reader magnet, and what a reader magnet might be - Using StoryOrigin for distribution of promo codes from Audible US, UK and Findaway Voices
The ability to make an informed decision regarding potential reviewers who are requesting codes to review your book after receiving a free download code
Some of the things authors were quick to adopt that Evan was surprised by
The goal-tracking tools within StoryOrigin
The open and free beta that StoryOrigin is currently in, as well as the transparent plans Evan has for charging authors for these tools

After the interview, Mark reflects on a couple of things that Evan had mentioned in the interview.

Links of Interest:

Evan Gow is the indie developer of StoryOrigin, a marketing tool and community of authors that work together to build their mailing lists, increase sales, find reviewers, and stay on top of deadlines.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 121 - Reinventing Yourself and Currency for Everyone with Sir John Hargrave

28 februari 2020 | 52 min

In this episode Mark interviews Sir John Hargrave, the author of MIND HACKING, SIR JOHN HARGRAVE'S MISCHIEF MAKER'S MANUAL and the bestselling book BLOCKCHAIN FOR EVERYONE.

Prior to the interview, Mark discusses listener comments from recent episodes and also shares a word from this episode's sponsor, 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 offers a personal update in which he shares a writing tip gleaned from Dean Wesley Smith at the recent WMG Publishing anthology workshop in Vegas that Mark had been speaking at earlier in the week.

He also shares the result of this year's PLR Program (Public Lending Right Program) check.

In their discussion John and Mark chat about:

The origin (which was a prank) where the name Sir John Hargrave came from
The concept of reinventing yourself and how John went from being a human author to a geeky self-help author, to discussing rebuilding the global economy
The common threads that move through all of John's books
The many mini careers that people tend to have in today's day and age that draw upon the same core skills. In John's case they are humor and technology
How BLOCKCHAIN FOR EVERYBODY is about the reinvention of the self as an accessible book with humor
What blockchain is and how John got into the technology
The interesting origin of Bitcoin and the mystery of the creator who has vanished
The concept of "one world money"
How John had to write the book BLOCKCHAIN FOR EVERYONE twice
The great promotional opportunity that John had for the book
Finding the strength to go on when things are dark, and how you successfully respond to challenges
How John had done his own audiobook using a professional recording studio that his son created in their home
The new book BLOCKCHAIN SUCCESS STORIES that John is co-authoring for O'Reilly
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on something John mentioned in the interview regarding persistence and personal growth in the face of adversity, and reads from two poems that he feels address the sentiment: "If" by Rudyard Kipling and "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou.

Links of Interest:

Sir John Hargrave's Website
Media Shower
Blockchain for Everyone
WMG Publishing Workshops
Findaway Voices
Twisted by Jeffrey Deaver
The Sixth Sense
Strangers to Superfans by David Gaughran
Public Lending Right Program
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Sir John Hargrave is author of MIND HACKING, SIR JOHN HARGRAVE'S MISCHIEF MAKER'S MANUAL and the bestselling book BLOCKCHAIN FOR EVERYONE. He is also the CEO of Media Shower, his company publishes the blockchain investor website, Bitcoin Market Journal which reaches 100,000 blockchain investors monthly. He is a frequent speaker, lecturer, and was a hoot to interview.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 120 - Writing All The Things WIth Leah Cutter

21 februari 2020 | 45 min

In this episode, Mark has a chat with Leah Cutter who writes page-turning, wildly imaginative fiction set in exotic locations, such as a magical New Orleans, the ancient Orient, rural Kentucky, Seattle, Minneapolis, and many others.

Prior to the main episode content, Mark shares a quick personal update that includes details related to his writing income for 2019.

2019 Writing Income 64.97% Self Published 15.03% Traditional Publishing 20.00% Mixed Self and Trad

He also shares a word about this episode's sponsor, 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 discussion Leah and Mark discuss:

Leah's choice of doing the interview and some writing at a local coffee shop
How Leah does the majority of her writing during the week in the tiny house she lives and works in during the week
Leah's 8 year old document that stated that when she grew up she wanted to be a writer
The way that Leah only writes on one specific project at a time (despite writing broadly in multiple genres)
How each new project she works on must pass "the giggle test" and how she can't write something that she's not truly excited about
Leah's writer tagline as "Writer/Traveler"
How many projects Leah publishers in a given year
The decision Leah made to publish something new once a month every month for the past three years
How Leah knows if a project is going to be a story, a novella, or a novel
The fact that Leah has a seperate writing computer and a separate writing desk in her tiny house where she divides up the different types of work
The "Business for Breakfast" books that Leah has published
The strategy of publishing to the 30 day Amazon pulse while still publishing wide to other platforms
The two flavors of newsletters that Leah produces based on things she learned from Tammi Lebreque's Newsletter Ninja course
...and more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on Leah'a positive attitude, her passion, and the dual newsletters that she produces each month for her followers.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 119 - Super Reflections on Superstars Writing Seminars 2020

14 februari 2020 | 39 min

In this episode Mark shares a few tidbits from the 2020 Superstars Writing Seminars conference held in early February in Colorado Springs.

Prior to the main episode content, he shares a personal update about his writing (or lack thereof) as well as a few comments from listeners from previous episodes.

Just before the main topic, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor, 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 episode, Mark discusses things that were mentioned by the following instructors/attendees of the conference during various presentations and panels.

Nick Thacker
Michael Anderle
Brian Meeks
Tara Cremin
Kevin Ikenberry
Rebecca Moesta
James A. Owen
Kevin J. Anderson

Mark mentions that this is just the tip of the iceberg of the amazing content that was packed into several days for this conference.

He closes by reflecting upon the Rush lyrics that opened out the episode, explaining the way Kevin Anderson had been using them to inspire writers, and what the lyrics meant to mark in the writer context.

Mark closes by offering an ambassador code that people can use to get $100 off registration of Superstars Writing Seminars 2021. (MARK9776).

Links of Interest:

Episode 118 - Wish I'd Known Then with Jami Albright and Sara Rosett
- Wish I'd Known for Writers (Podcast Website)
Episode 116 - Taking the Short Tack with Matty Dalrymple
Adam Croft's Online Mini Courses (Affiliate Link)
- (Be sure to use "STARK" coupon code to save 50%)
Superstars Writing Seminars
- Special link to get $100 off registration for 2021
Amazing Monster Tales: Monster Road Trip
A Canadian Werewolf in New York
This Time Around (Free Short Story)
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 118 - Wish I'd Known Then WIth Jami Albright and Sara Rosett

6 februari 2020 | 60 min

This episode features a conversation with Jami Albright and Sara Rosett.

Jami is the multiple award-winning author of the Brides on the Run series–a fun, sexy, snarky, laugh-out-loud good time. USA Today and Audible bestselling author Sara Rosett writes lighthearted mysteries with atmospheric settings, fun characters, and puzzling whodunit.

The two are the best of friends, and Mark talks with them about their writing, their friendship, and their new podcast Wish I'd Known Then for Writers.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares an audiobook marketing tip from this episode's sponsor, 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 a personal update, which includes:

Flying to Colorado Springs for the 2020 Superstars Writing Seminars where he is a returning guest instructor
The release (on Feb 4th) of TAKING THE SHORT TACK (a book on how writers can leverage short fiction for marketing and revenue), which he co-authored with Matty Dalrymple

He then announces the winners of two different prizes that were randomly drawn from listeners who left comments on two previous episodes as well as patrons of the show who support the podcast over at http://patreon.com/starkreflections.

During their conversation, Jami, Sara, and Mark discuss:

How they first got into writing, and their unique entrances and pathways into the writing world, as well as the unique genres they write in
The runaway bride trope/theme in romantic comedy and the potential double standard of runaway groom not being as popular
The cozy mystery genre and the way certain readers have specific preferences for how a series is structured
What it would take for either of them to say "yes" to a traditional publishing contract
Why a traditional publisher wouldn't be able to afford an advance for what Jami makes in a money off of her indie eBook sales
How Sara ended up with POD print titles in a bookstore and how she managed returns with a returnable status for the US and Canada only and non-returnable for the rest of world
How Sara and Jami first met at the Smarter Artist Conference in Austin, TX and learned that they both lived in Austin about ten minutes away from one another
The ongoing "ladies that lunch" they participate in, often with other local writers
The importance of having other writer friends
Why they both enjoy attending writer gatherings and writer conferences
The origin of the new podcast that Jami and Sara started called Wish I'd Known Then for Writers
What they each wish they'd know then, before they got into writing

After the interview, Mark reflects on something Sara mentioned about changes in the industry. Be warned, attentive listener, because Mark uses that as an excuse to quote Rush lyrics. ;)

Links of Interest:

Jami Albright's Website
Sarah Rosett's Website
Wish I'd Known for Writers (Podcast Website)
Episode 115 - Embracing the Indie Author Mindset with Adam Croft
Adam Croft's Online Mini Courses (Affiliate Link)
- (Be sure to use "STARK" coupon code to save 50%)
Superstars Writing Seminars
Findaway Voices
Chirp Deals Tips Article
NPR Podast: How I Built This with Guy Raz
NINC Conference
20BooksVegas
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Jami Albright is a born and raised Texas girl and is the multiple award-winning author of The Brides on the Run series--a fun, sexy, snarky, laugh-out-loud good time. If you don't snort with laughter, then she hasn't done her job.

USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett writes lighthearted mysteries for readers who enjoy atmospheric settings, fun characters, and puzzling whodunits. Sara loves all things bookish, considers dark chocolate a daily requirement

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 117 - Multi-Layered Collaboration with Kerrie Flanagan, Chuck Harrelson, and MacLeod Andrews

31 januari 2020 | 54 min

Mark has a conversation with Kerrie Flanagan and Chuck Harrelson who are collaborating yet again under the author name C.G. Harris, and their mutual collaboration with audiobook narrator MacLeod Andrews.

They discuss the book The Nine, which is the first book in The Judas Files series, which is narrated by MacLeod, a multi-award-winning narrator.

Prior to the conversation, Mark shares a few personal updates, which include:

Heading to Colorado to attend Superstars Writing Seminars as a guest instructor the first week of February
A forthcoming two hour keynote he has been booked into for the spring
A virtual talk he'll be doing at one conference in Alberta while he is attending another conference in Colorado

Mark then shares a word from this episode's sponsor, 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 the interview, Mark, Kerrie, Chuck and MacLeod talk about:

The origin of Kerrie and Chuck starting to write together, originally for a romantic comedy series of three books under the name C.K. Wiles
Where the name C.G. Harris came from (as well as Mark's continued mispronunciation of C.G. Harris as "C.J. Harris" and his feeble excuse that that's the way Canadians pronounce it)
MacLeod's background as an actor and how he got involved in recording audiobooks, which he had never thought of as a possible career path
The 12 books that MacLeod had done with Brilliance audio and how that turned into a full time profession, allowing him to leave cater waitering
The decision to do this collaboration with Findaway Voices, and how this project was the first one MacLeod had done in a more independent fashion
The full service studio in Los Angeles that MacLeod used to record THE NINE
How this series was something that Kerrie and Chuck wanted to be similar to or appeal to fans of Jim Butcher's "The Dresden Files"
The decision to reach out to MacLeod to see if he would be interested in narrating THE NINE
How the collaboration between writers and narrator began and progressed, and the way that Kerrie and Chuck enjoyed the playful experimentation that MacLeod did on this project and also fully trusted him
How the Voices Share royalty splitting option worked for them via Findaway Voices
What THE NINE is all about and the plans for the 12 books in The Judas Files series
The way that comedy plays a role in a dark novel such as this one
The desire to do a simultaneous release of the print, eBook and audiobook for Book 2 in the series in August 2020
The plans for the next two books in the series coming relatively quickly after that (November and December)

After the conversation, Mark talks about how Chuck was a fan of MacLeod's previous audiobooks and had the idea to ask if he would be interested in working with them. He reflects on the importance of asking.

Links of Interest:

C.G. Harris (Website)
Kerrie Flanagan (Website)
MacLeod Andrews (Website)
- MacLeod on Twitter
Episode 115 - Embracing the Indie Author Mindset with Adam Croft
Adam Croft's Online Mini Courses (Affiliate Link)
- (Be sure to use "STARK" coupon code to save 50%)
Superstars Writing Seminars
Liberty State Fiction Writers Conference
Wordbridge Conference
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

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 enjoys sipping scotch while watching the twisted humor of Drunk History. Seeing our past through the bottom of a whisky glass is more entertaining than reading a dusty textbook. C.G. Harris is the pen name and combined persona created by authors, Chuck Harrelson and Kerrie Flanagan. Together they have published, The Judas Files, a gritty urban fantasy series and The Rax, an apocalyptic science fiction series.

MacLeod Andrews is a multiple Audie, Earphone, and SOVAS award winning audiobook narrator, as well as an award winning film actor and producer. He’s perhaps most recognized in audio for narrating the Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey and The Reckoners series by Brandon Sanderson. His films They Look Like People and The Siren have played festivals all around the world and are available for streaming on major platforms domestically and abroad. He has a cat named Luna, a well known affinity for chocolate chip cookies, and rations his social media fix to twitter.

Chuck Harrelson spent almost thirty years as a fire fighter, mostly for Space Command in the Department of defense. He has amassed a wealth of knowledge over the years as he not only excelled in his job but also spent his off time honing his craft as a successful science fiction and fantasy author. He is now retired and writes full time, publishing his novels with writing partner Kerrie Flanagan. Chuck resides in Denver Colorado and is an active member of both the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and the Northern Colorado Writers Group. His past manuscripts won the 2014 Top of The Mountain Book Award competition, the Ballot Press Competition and one was a finalist at the 2016 San Diego Writers Conference.

Kerrie Flanagan is an author, writing consultant, presenter, and freelance writer with over 20 years’ experience in the publishing industry. She’s the author of, The Writer's Digest Guide to Magazine Article Writing and creator of the Magazine Writing Blueprint. In addition, she has published twelve other books, including three series’ with her co-author Chuck Harrelson, under the pen names, C.K. Wiles and C.G. Harris. Their book, Showtime Rendezvous, was a finalist in The Beverly contest and also received an Honorable Mention for the Writer’s Digest self-published books awards. Her articles and essays have appeared in publications and anthologies including Writer's Digest, Alaska Magazine, The Writer, FamilyFun, and six Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Over the years, she has worked with hundreds of authors through classes and individual consultations. Her background in teaching, and enjoyment of helping writers has led her to present at writing conferences across the country and teach continuing studies classes through Stanford University. Now as a member of the Writing Day Workshop team, I help coordinate one-day writing conference throughout the country. www.KerrieFlanagan.com.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 116 - Taking the Short Tack with Matty Dalrymple

24 januari 2020 | 69 min

Mark has a conversation with Matty Dalrymple about her new collaborative book project.

Matty is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers and the Ann Kinear Suspense Novels. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Brandywine Valley Writers Group. She lives with her husband Wade and their three loveable puppies in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which is the setting for two of her Lizzy Ballard Thrillers.

Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes and reminds listeners of the chance to win prizes for leaving comments on recent episodes thanks to his amazing patrons. Then he shares a word from this episode's corporate sponsor, 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 Matty talk about:

How and why they both got into writing short fiction
Their experiences with collaboration (which includes Matty admitting she never thought she would collaborate with another author, at least not for a fiction project
How they connected and the way that their new book project came about
After several minutes about teasing the mention, Matty and Mark reveal the name of their new book, coming Feb 2020: Taking the Short Tack: Creating Income and Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction
The origin of the imprint for the book "William Kingsfield Publishers"
Mark's consistent DIY approach to publishing, which started when working at his high school newspaper
The importance of actually asking for something when you have an idea (ie, in the case of an idea for a book and a collaboration)
The way that they collaborated and the tools they used along the way
The discipline and organization that Matty brought into Mark's work process for this project
The process of the writing of the book and the back-and-forth communication of the changes, and how they smoothed the differences in writing style
The possibility of future collaborations now that they have learned one another's styles
The origin of the title and the references to sailing inherent in the term "the short tack"
The importance of focusing on building relationships rather than just selling a book
Who the book is for, and how it can be used by authors in different ways
The importance of a contract for two authors who are collaborating
Why they decided to publish the book through Draft2Digital via a beta program that allows for payment splitting
The great learning experience that this project was for both Matty and Mark

After the conversation Mark reflects on one of the nautical concepts that Matty referenced and how it relates to authors.

Links of Interest:

Matty Dalrymple
The Indy Author
Taking the Short Tack
Adam Croft's Online Mini Courses (Affiliate Link)
- (Be sure to use "STARK" coupon code to save 50%)
Episode 113 - Productivity for Authors: A Panel Discussion
Episode 114 - Thanks for the Inspiration Neil Peart
Episode 115 - Embracing the Indie Author Mindset with Adam Croft
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Matty Dalrymple is 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 and The Sense of Reckoning; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts, including Close These Eyes and Write in Water. Matty lives with her husband, Wade Walton, their two Labrador Retrievers (Juno and Sophie), and their terrier (Griffin) in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which is the setting for much of the action in The Sense of Death and Rock Paper Scissors. They enjoy vacationing on Mt. Desert Island, Maine, where The Sense of Reckoning and Close These Eyes take place, and Sedona, Arizona, the setting for much of Snakes and Ladders and The Iron Ring.

Matty is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Brandywine Valley Writers Group.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 115 - Embracing the Indie Author Mindset with Adam Croft

16 januari 2020 | 55 min

In this episode Mark interviews Adam Croft and talks about the important and significant change in Adam's mindset that allowed him to become a successful best-selling author.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a marketing/release strategy tip from this episode's sponsor, 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 and talks about some of the comments from Episode 113 and reminds listeners of the chance to win a copy of Joanna Penn's PRODUCTIVITY FOR AUTHORS by commenting on that episode show notes at www.starkreflections.ca by Jan 31, 2020.

Within that comment talk, he shares a short clip from a podcast he had started in 2006 (and then abandoned in 2011 after only 18 episodes) called Prelude to a Scream.

In their conversation, Mark and Adam talk about:

How long it took to plan out the interview (based on both Mark and Adam being disorganized)
The beginning of Adam's journey into writing - from school and then 2008 when he wrote his first book and 2010, the early days of digital publishing
Adam's first book TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT, and the planning of the 10th book in that series
How Adam spent 5 years floundering about and not really sure what he was doing in the early days
The recognition of how his writing itself was a small business, and not a hobby - and how that led to an important and significant change
The importance of changing his way of thinking, and bringing the business mindset into his writing
The value of taking courses and learning, such as Mark Dawson's Facebook Ads for Authors course
How a stand-alone book (instead of a series) was the first big breakaway for Adam, because of the dramatic and attention-grabbing/marketing hook: "Could you murder your wife to save your daughter?" (This was HER LAST TOMORROW)
Questions, and how they need to be psychologically answered, as a log-line/hook for getting a potential reader's attention
The tag line for TELL ME I'M WRONG: "What if you discovered your husband was a serial killer?"
Adam's translated novels in Portuguese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Korean
The comparison between sending Adam's son to pre-school and the releasing of a novel (regularly considered an author's "baby") out into the world
Trying not to have an emotional attachment to any novel, but consider it as a commercial/business enterprise
The "imposter syndrome" that continues to plague Adam with each new novel release
The two or three "life changing" books Adam has released that did blockbuster sales numbers, and the many other books which have done well, but weren't nearly as remarkable - and the candid nature he has always shared that
How Adam deals with the ins and outs and highs and lows of the waves of sales trends in publishing
The importance of preparing for the long term, which is an important element in the indie author mindset
The value of "evergreen" and a solid residual revenue - The partnership with Kobo to have a few of his books translated into Dutch (for the Netherlands market with Kobo's partner BOL.com)
The courses Adam runs as well as the Indie Author Mindset Facebook group
Why Adam has created simple and short courses, but why he isn't interested in creating any sort of "super" course
The more organic long term approach that Adam has taken with his writing business
Understanding the multiple paths to success and how different roads work best for different authors
The way that Adam balances his writing, his family, and helping other writers

After the interview, Mark reflects on something Adam said: "No book is going to sell a negative amount of copies." Of course, Mark manages to work in a reference to Monty Python during that reflection.

Then he shares a coupon code listeners can use to get 50% off of any of Adam's courses, as well as a giveaway. (Use the code "STARK" at checkout to save 50% off any of Adam's online mini-courses)

Mark then shares the opportunity for listeners of the podcast to win a generous giveaway from Adam for his course on Productivity for Writers.

----> Adam is offering one lucky listener a chance to win a free course. All patrons of the podcast will automatically be entered in a chance to win. And anyone who comments on this episode at starkreflections.ca by the end of day Jan 31, 2020 will also be entered into that random draw.

Patrons at the $1 per month level, will get 1 entry Patrons at the $3 per month level will get 2 entries Patrons at the $5 per month level will get 3 entries

Patrons that comment will get an additional entry.

All entries will be assigned a number and a random number generation will pick the winter. I'll announce the winner in a forhtcoming episode.

Links of Interest:

Adam Croft Website (Author)
Adam Croft Indie Author Mindset Website
Adam's Online Mini Courses (Affiliate Link)
- (Be sure to use "STARK" coupon code to save 50%)
Episode 113 - Productivity for Authors: A Panel Discussion
Episode 11 - The Power of FREE with Musician and Composer Kevin MacLeod
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

About Adam Croft - With almost two million books sold to date, Adam Croft is one of the most successful independently published authors in the world, and one of the biggest selling authors of the past few years, having sold books in over 120 different countries.

His 2015 worldwide bestseller Her Last Tomorrow became one of the bestselling books of the year, peaking at number 12 in the combined paperback fiction and non-fiction chart.

Adam lives in the UK with his wife and their child, and continues to write fiction, co-host the Partners in Crime podcast with Robert Daws and write books and create courses to help other authors.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 114 - Thanks for the Inspiration: Neil Peart

14 januari 2020 | 48 min

Thanks for the Inspiration is a type of show that appears from time to time in the regular schedule for this podcast.

As writers, we often absorb elements from the world, the places, and the people around us. We observe, we ask questions, we speculative, we listen, we watch, we feel, and we write so much of that down which gets re-integrated, like some sort of sausage creation, into the stories and words and worlds we share with our readers.

Thanks for the Inspiration episodes are an attempt to acknowledge and say thanks to the people, places, and things that have helped to either feed the muse, or perhaps just to feed the very soul and makeup of the writer behind that writing.

In this particular episode, Mark thanks Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for RUSH and writer, for the way his work has repeatedly inspired him over the decades.

This episode is sponsored by the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast via patreon.com/starkreflections

In his reflective thanks, Mark shares the influence that Neil Peart has had on his writing and talks about:

How his buddy Pete got him into RUSH with the album Grace Under Pressure
How RUSH lyrics have long been a significant part of his life (and, sometimes to the annoyance of friends), part of everyday conversation. "There is a RUSH lyric for that!"
A column Mark wrote for a high school newspaper that was entitled QUOTH, which were articles inspired by lyrics written by Neil Peart
Mark's friends with Kevin J. Anderson, and how the two bonded over their mutual love of RUSH and craft beer
Re-publishing the co-authored story "Drumbeats" by Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart. Once in Tesseracts Sixteen, and forthcoming in an issue of Pulphouse Magazine
Writing a story inspired by the song "Losing It" which Anderson published as editor in the RUSH-themed anthology 2113
Re-publishing the aforementioned story "Some Are Born to Save the World" in NOBODY'S HERO.
Peart's desire for privacy and not being treated as separate from the rest of society or in any celebrity manner
Memories of sharing RUSH with the people that he loves
How Peart's music, lyrics, and writing has inspired Mark in multiple ways over the years and the way that has been infused into his own creative pursuits
And more....

Links of Interest:

RUSH
Neil Peart (Wikipedia)
Neil's Website
- Bubba's Bar N Grill
Levack Ontario (Onaping Falls, ON)
Mark's Blog Post about Neil: There's Somethings Here As Strong As Life
Nobody's Hero (Story Collection)
2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of RUSH
Galaxia (includes the short story "Grace Under Pressure)
Episode 94 - Thanks for the Inspiration: Laurie Blake
Patreon for Stark Reflections

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 113 - Productivity for Authors

10 januari 2020 | 67 min

This episode features a live webinar panel discussion that Mark moderated with authors:

M Jane Colette
Tracy Cooper-Posey
Andrea Pearson
Talena Winters

...who have all mastered productivity in different ways.

As Mark attempts to learn more about how to be a productive author, he asks questions and solicits tips from these masters.

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 panel discussion on productivity, Mark shares a recent comment as well as a brief personal update.

In the discussion, the following questions and more get discussed:

Why is productivity important?
Is it important for someone to be productive?
How do you measure productivity?
How do you figure out the best time of day that works for you to be productive?
What tools are effective in helping with your productivity?
How do you find time to write when you have conflicting priorities, such as a day job or a busy/demanding family life?

After the conversation, Mark asks listeners to share their own reflections on what they learned, or perhaps their own unique tip on productivity.

All listeners who comment on the episode show notes over at starkreflections.ca for Episode 113 will be entered into a chance to win either a hardcover or paperback (their choice) copy of Joanna Penn's Productivity for Authors.

Links of Interest:

M Jane Colette writes tragedy for people who like to laugh, comedy for the melancholy, and erotica for men and women who like their fantasies real. She believes rules and hearts were made to be broken; ditto the constraints of genres. The result? “A whole new sub-genre of her own… social realist erotica that’s frenetic and complex and funny and very well observed.”

Tracy Cooper-Posey is a #1 Best Selling Author. She writes romantic suspense, historical, paranormal and science fiction romance. She has published over 100 novels since 1999, been nominated for five CAPAs including Favourite Author, and won the Emma Darcy Award.

Andrea Pearson - Andrea is the author of many full-length novels (the Kilenya Chronicles, Mosaic Chronicles, and Koven Chronicles), and several novellas. Writing is the chocolate of her life - it is, in fact, the only thing she ever craves. Being with her husband and kids, family, and close friends is where she's happiest, and she loves thunderstorms, the ocean, hiking, public speaking, painting, and traveling.

Talena Winters writes page-turning fiction for teens and adults in multiple genres including young adult, urban fantasy, romantic suspense, and women’s fiction. She loves travel, music, whole food, sewing, knitting, reading, and chocolate. She is addicted to tea and silver linings. She would love to be a mermaid when she grows up.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 112 - 2019 Goals and Sales Reflections

3 januari 2020 | 38 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 111 - Progression

27 december 2019 | 14 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 110 - Working with Libraries and Bookstores

19 december 2019 | 47 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 109 - 12 Takeaways from CAPS Convention 2019

12 december 2019 | 46 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 108 - Silver Linings with Talena Winters

6 december 2019 | 48 min

Mark interviews Talena Winters about her multi-genre fiction, and the numerous other creative tasks and entrepreneurial endeavors she is involved in.

Prior to the interview, Mark plays an audiobook marketing tip from an interview with Will Dages in place of the regular Ad read for 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.

Mark then shares a few comments and tweets and then a personal update which includes:

Completing NaNoWriMo while clocking in over 60,000 words
An article featuring Mark entitled "Mark Leslie Lefebvre" Finds His Voice"
His guest spot on the 6 Figure Authors podcast
The completion and pre-order push of his new book An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores

In their conversation, Mark and Talena talk about:

The multiple creative pursuits that Talena is engaged in, and how she defines herself
Talena's background as a musician and the creative evolution of her upbringing that eventually led to writing
Getting married on the same day that both Talena and her husband had graduated from university
The full length-full scale musical that Talena and a good friend dreamed up and created and which has remained on the back-burner for many years
How inspiration strikes and keeps growing when Talena latches on to an idea
The course that Talena took from Holly Lisle while she was still home-schooling her children and how much she valued things she learned in that class
The legacy of the "story in the drawer" that Talena wrote and then tucked away
The tragic family loss which threw their lives for a loop, the public way that Talena shared that experience, and the outpouring of community support
The empty home, the overwhelming grief, and the surrounding environmental changes that led to a serious move into writing
The "creatives for hire" ad for a new magazine that caught Talena's eye the led to journalistic writing
Applying that journalistic experience to Talena's inspirational blog
How Talena divides up and prioritizes her time
The value and importance of learning how to say no to certain projects
The app Timely that helps Talena track the things she does (so you can stop lying to yourself)
The quote that Talena has on her website: "The universe is made of stories, not of atoms." by Muriel Rukeyser

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of saying NO and in prioritizing the many tasks that often either fall onto a writer's plate, or come within a writer's horizon.

Links of Interest:

Talena Winters - Website
Talena's Blog article: Mark Leslie Lefebvre Finds His Voice
An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
NaNoWriMo
Episode 106 - Hybrid Publishing with Arthur Slade
Episode 105 - Location Based Storytelling with VoiceMap
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Talena Winters is addicted to stories, tea, chocolate, yarn, and silver linings. She writes page-turning fiction for teens and adults in multiple genres, coaches other writers, has written several award-winning songs, designs knitting patterns under her label My Secret Wish, and is lead writer for Move Up magazine. She currently resides on an acreage in the Peace Country of northern Alberta, Canada, with her husband, three surviving boys, two dogs, and an assortment of farm cats. She would love to be a mermaid when she grows up.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 107 - Samantha M. Bailey, Woman on the Edge

28 november 2019 | 43 min

Mark interviews Samantha M. Bailey about her debut thriller Woman on the Edge, about her lifelong writer journey, her relentless determination, and the patience, practice, and persistence that it took to get here.

Prior to the interview, Mark gives a brief personal update about his progress on NaNoWriMo and a trip he will be taking to speak to a group of writers in Sudbury, and then shares a word about the 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 interview Mark and Samantha talk about:

How, at 10 years old, Samantha submitted her first manuscript to a publisher, which was rejected - and how it was her first lesson in developing a tough skin and not giving up
Samantha's life-long love of really dark tales and thrillers, but how Jennifer Weiner's novels inspired her to write in a similar genre
The completion of her first novel, landing an agent and trying to sell that first novel, then a second novel and how neither of them worked out
The multiple queries Samantha sent to her current agent before the two actually connected
Her experience self-publishing one of her novels under a different name several years ago and the relationships that came out of that
How Samantha never considered giving up and knew that she just had to keep going
The way that writing Woman on the Edge changed Samantha's life and the inspiration for the novel
Why Samantha set this novel in Chicago rather than in her home of Toronto - but how Chicago, to her, invokes the spirit or essence of Toronto to her in several ways
The two perspectives in this thriller, from the POV of Morgan (the main character), and the flashback sequences of Nicole, the woman who handed Morgan her baby before she jumped
How Morgan's POV was re-written into first person to give that part of the tale such a sense of urgency
The wonderful experience of working with her agent, Jenny Bent, who worked with Samantha to polish up the manuscript and then sold the book to Headline in the UK and Simon & Schuster Canada for CA and US distribution
The sales of translation rights to 7 other countries
The exciting promo that is planned for the book for release day in Canada (Nov 26, 2019) - eBook, audiobook, and paperback
How the paperback is coming in the US in the spring of 2020, but the eBook is being launched in the US in November
How Simon & Schuster Canada is the publisher of Samantha's dreams
The morning television programs Samantha will be appearing on as part of the book's Canadian release, as well as the scheduled bookstore and library appearances
Advice that Samantha would offer to her younger self: "It won't be fast, it won't be easy, but it'll all be worth it."

After the interview, Mark reflects on Samantha's upbeat positivity and the hard work, determination, and never-give-up attitude she adopted which helped lead to her unique path of success.

Links of Interest:

Samantha M. Bailey is a Toronto-based journalist and freelance editor who’s written extensively for Now Magazine, Oxford University Press, and several other publications. She is also the co-founder of “BookBuzz,” a promotional and interactive author-reader event held in New York City and Toronto that has attracted the attention of prominent publicists, influential media, and bestselling authors.

Samantha holds a Master of Education in Applied Linguistics and credit that degree with her writing career because she wrote her first novel while taking a course on imagination. Now her imagination leads her to create dark and twisty stories.

Her debut psychological thriller, WOMAN ON THE EDGE, is being published in nine countries world-wide, including with Garzanti in Italy, Roca Editorial in Spain, Heyne in Germany, General Press in Hungary, Euromedia in the Czech Republic, Ikar in Slovakia, Znak in Poland, and in North America with Simon and Schuster Canada, and the UK with Headline.

Samantha loves reading as much as she loves writing, so if she's not tapping away at her computer, she's probably curled up on her couch with a book.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 106 - Hybrid Publishing with Arthur Slade

22 november 2019 | 54 min

In this episode Mark interviews Arthur Slade, the author of twenty-five novels for young readers about his writing, about his multi-layered hybrid publishing activities, about writing at a treadmill desk, and about his author newsletter.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, discusses a few social media and podcast comments, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor

, 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 Arthur talk about:

The ten years that Arthur has been writing using a treadmill desk, walking a minimum number of kilometers per day
How the energy boost has come from that allowing him to get more work done
Working and writing at a standing desk verses actually walking - and how long it took Arthur to get used to it
The walking speed that Arthur sets to enjoy a natural pace
Writing in forty-minute bursts, then taking twenty minutes off, which assists with the necessary reset for his brain
How long Arthur has been a full time writer and how he writes so much
The moderate success of self-publishing the Amber Fang series, and how they were recently acquired and released by Orca
The challenge of not being able to track sales on traditionally published titles
Death by Airship, the book that Arthur wrote by coming up with the title first, then figuring out what it would be about while writing it The book Dragon Assassin, which was picked up by Scholastic Books in Canada, but which Arthur maintains non-Canadian rights to
Working with Podium for one of his audiobooks
Arthur's novel Flickers, set in the 1920s in Hollywood, which was also hybrid published
The way that publishers and booksellers look at past sales history and how that affects their acquisition and buying decisions
The way that Arthur adds a unique personal flavor to his newsletter, and how he manages unopened reads of it
Arthur's love of audiobooks, as a writer and as a reader

After the interview, Mark reflects on Arthur's hybrid publishing journey and talks about how it is a solid long-term publishing strategy.

Links of Interest:

Arthur Slade's Website
Descript (Audio Company with advanced audio editing, transcription and a beta Voice Double program)
NaNoWriMo
StoryBundle
- NaNo Writing Tools StoryBundle
Mythulu Writing Binge Survival Pack 2019
WMG Publishing Business Masterclass
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Arthur Slade was raised on a ranch in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan. He is the author of twenty five novels for young readers including The Hunchback Assignments, which won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and Dust, winner of the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature. His lifetime of work has also received the prestigious Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence. All of these awards mean that when he drinks tea he has to raise his pinky. It’s very fancy. He lives in Saskatoon, Canada.

P.S. He does all of his writing on a treadmill desk. And he listens to heavy metal. At the same time.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 105 - Location Based Storytelling with VoiceMap

14 november 2019 | 54 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Gary Morris, Head of Production at the South African-based company VoiceMap. VoiceMap takes stories beyond the screen. It papers them to walls, hangs them over statues, and plants them neatly in public parks. Then, when you come along, there they are: reflections on the soul of LA, murder on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, nostalgia for the vanishing hutongs of old Beijing, and much more, by storytellers and passionate locals all over the world.

The episode opens up with Mark's Voice Double from Descript's new beta program welcoming people to the podcast. He then shares a bit of information about this new opportunity for authors, which he thinks is idea to talk about during the opening of this particular interview.

Mark then shares a word about this episode's sponsor, 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 Gary talk about:

Gary's background as a creative person in audio, his early experiences with musical instruments, and the path that led to a role in sound engineering as a music and audio producer
Joining VoiceMap two and a half years ago as an audio tour editor
What VoiceMap is and how it works
The underlying passion of VoiceMap which involves walking along while sharing a story
Partnerships that VoiceMap has with various tour and tourism organizations
How, while walking tours are the most common, there are also bicycle, driving, and boat tours
Some examples of popular tours, such as the one of the theatre district of London with Sir Ian McKellen
Specific techniques that need to be employed on a walking tour, including timely silences, directions, and reminders
How authors can set up at VoiceMap account and set up their own tour
Logistics of creating a tour map and crafting a script based on timing (word count and estimated time) to walk from location to location on a tour
VoiceMap being in a 158 different countries at this point
The types of tours that VoiceMap is looking forward to seeing authors create
The use of VoiceMap to share fictional tales
Different ways that authors can leverage promotion for the VoiceMap tours they have created
Where people can find out more about VoiceMap and download the free app to their smartphones

After the interview, Mark talks about how excited he is about the emerging audio opportunites for authors and storytelling in brave and bold new ways.

He then shares a couple of examples of the sound-track to his Downtown Hamilton Ghost Walk tour from VoiceMap

Links of Interest:

Voicemap.me
Mark's Downtown Hamilton Ghost Walk Tour on VoiceMap
Link to YouTube video of Mark presenting on Storytelling 360
The official Haunted Hamilton Website
The Ghost Walks: Hamilton, Niagara & Toronto
Mark's book Haunted Hamilton
Descript (Audio Company with advanced audio editing, transcription and a beta Voice Double program)
NaNoWriMo
StoryBundle
- Saving the World StoryBundle
- NaNo Writing Tools StoryBundle
Mythulu Writing Binge Survival Pack 2019
WMG Publishing Business Masterclass
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

VoiceMap takes stories beyond the screen. It papers them to walls, hangs them over statues, and plants them neatly in public parks. Then, when you come along, there they are: reflections on the soul of LA, murder on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, nostalgia for the vanishing hutongs of old Beijing, and much more, by storytellers and passionate locals all over the world.

All you need is our mobile app for iPhones and Android devices. It uses your location to play audio automatically and includes offline maps. Just put on your headphones and you’re ready to explore.

If you’d like to tell a story of your own, you can start right now, for free. Our publishing tool is easy to use and our team of editors delights in bringing new stories out into the world.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 104 - Living the Writing & Editing Life with Valerie Francis

7 november 2019 | 57 min

This episode features an interview with Valerie Francis, who is is an author, a bona fide story nerd, a Certified Story Grid Editor and a podcaster. She has published fiction for both women (love stories for busy women) and children (middle grade fantasy), and is currently working on her first thriller.

Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes and also provides a short personal update

He also 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.

In their conversation, Valerie and Mark talk about:

The way that Valerie slowly evolved from a full-time corporate dayjob into a full time writing career
How writing was always part of Valerie's life and that she wrote her first "book" when she was 7. (It starred her teddy bear) - Her experience playing piano and jazz bass
How if she is not expressing herself creatively, Valerie can get quite cranky
What a StoryGrid Editor is, as well as the background to Shawn Coyne's StoryGrid methodology
How Valerie got involved in StoryGrid
The fact that Valerie learning more in two days spent with Shawn than she did in her entire journey getting a both her Undergraduate degree and her Master's in English Literature
The two types of services that StoryGrid editors offer
The commonality of how writers often resist "masterworks" in the StoryGrid methodology
The way that writers often consume a story by analyzing novels and films
The two podcasts that Valerie is involved in
How a StoryGrid study group has been repurposed into a podcast so that more people could benefit from the ongoing learnings
The difficult concept of hearing "Valerie, you are now the product" after exposing herself on a podcast
Valerie's comparison between running and writing, which had inspired Mark when he read about it in her newsletter
How all the world only sees the finished product and not all the hard work that happens in the background, for a long time, as well as the commitment from the person who has produced that work
Advice that Valerie would offer to the person sitting there and looking at the daunting work in front of them
The four hours a day, in two-hour blocks that Valerie writes in
Six goal-achieving activities for each day, that Valerie prioritizes
The advantage of being in the first time zone in Canada, two hours earlier than the most of the rest of the continent of North America wakes up
The most recent fiction and non-fiction books that Valerie has released
The 12 parts of Valerie's latest novel that can be consumed in bite-sized chunks, soaking in the tub with a glass of wine or standing in line at the grocery store
How, given limited physical space, Valerie decides which books she will own in print as opposed to books she has in digital format (Spoiler, any books by Neil Gaiman, Ian Rankin, or Margaret Atwood always make that cut)
ValerieFrancis/innercircle as a way for writers to see how Valerie is studying and learning from masterworks

After the interview Mark reflects on the comparison Valerie makes between running a marathon and a writer's process. He also talks about being re-inspired multiple times by Valerie and the value of that.

Links of Interest:

Valerie Francis' Website
Valerie's Most Popular articles on the StoryGrid Website
Podcast Episodes about Narrative Drive:
Mark's Forthcoming Book: An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores
Episode 92 - Strong Authors and the IP Legacies They Deserve with ML Buchman
Episode 102 - NaNoWriMo Wisdom with Vanessa Ricci-Thode
NaNoWriMo
StoryBundle
- Saving the World StoryBundle
- NaNo Writing Tools StoryBundle
Mythulu Writing Binge Survival Pack 2019
WMG Publishing Business Masterclass
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Canadian writer, Valerie Francis is a bestselling author, a Certified Story Grid Editor and a podcaster. She has published fiction for both women (love stories for busy women) and children (middle grade fantasy), and is currently working on her first thriller.

As a bona fide story nerd, her passion for the craft of storytelling led her to become a Certified Story Grid Editor in 2017. Her non-fiction credits include a Story Grid Guide to Bram Stoker’s Dracula (publication TBA) and regular articles for the Fundamental Fridays column on Shawn Coyne’s Story Grid website.

Although Valerie writes across genre, there is a common thread in her work and that is, strong female characters. Women and girls of all ages have a particular perspective on the world and it’s this point of view she’s keen to explore.

You can learn more about Valerie at: www.valeriefrancis.ca

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 103 - 15 Takeaways from the WMG Publishing Workshop

30 oktober 2019 | 35 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 102 - NaNoWriMo Wisdom with Vanessa Ricci-Thode

24 oktober 2019 | 45 min

In this episode Mark interviews Vanessa Ricci-Thode, a fantasy author, fiction editor and a NaNoWriMo veteran.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares some recent comments from previous episodes and Twitter.

He also 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.

In his personal update, Mark talks about how he is approaching NaNoWriMo this year. He skipped it last year; but this year he is focusing on getting 50,000 words written for at least 3 different projects and will be tracking that.

He is also curious to see how many listeners are doing NaNoWriMo this year.

In their discussion, Mark and Vanessa talk about:

Mark and Vanessa talk about:

How Vanessa, who is an experienced NaNoWriMo veteran (doing it since 2006), first got into NaNoWriMo
Managing expectations with family during a month of regular commitment to writing time
Writing 50,000 words in 30 days while working part-time and being a part-time student
The first few NaNoWriMo novels Vanessa wrote
Being an ML (Municipal Liason) in the Waterloo, Ontario region
The fact that there are always a lot of first-timers who try NaNoWriMo each year
Vanessa's most popular or common advice for writers interested in trying out NaNoWriMo
Advice for authors who end up slipping in their writing goal early on or mid-way through the month
The "Mad Dash to Midnight" NaNoWriMo event that is done on the night of Nov 30
How people can find their local NaNoWriMo region (nanowrimo.org), where they can search by country, state, province, city
How Vanessa got interested in writing which began with making picture books when she was a young child
Vanessa's change in approach to the business of publishing with the advent of digital
Looking for ways to become a better writer, which led to Vanessa becoming an editor, opening her part-time freelance editing business in 2010
The genres Vanessa most prefers to edit (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror), and why it's important to work with an editor who is familiar with and enjoys working in your particular genre
Common writer issues, such as starting their story in the wrong spot
The value of critique groups for writers, and how critiquing others can assist an author with their own writing
NaNoWrimo as a great place to meet and connect with other writers
Writing solo versus writing when in a group setting
What Vanessa is most looking forward to for NaNoWriMo 2019
The importance of "stubborning through it"

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of committing to something like NaNoWriMo as well as the element of being persistent and "stubborning through it" as Vanessa so eloquently said.

He then thanks Patrons of the podcast and closes out the show with a reminder that he's curious to hear from authors on whether or not they are doing NaNoWriMo and how they stubborn through things.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 101 - Will Dages from Findaway Voices

22 oktober 2019 | 60 min

On Oct 17, 2019, Mark Lefebvre and Kevin Tumlinson from Draft2Digital hosted a live webinar "Ask Us Anything" Q&A about audiobooks, relaying questions from authors to Will Dages, head of Findaway Voices.

This is a slightly abridged version of the audio track from this video, which you can see on YouTube.

Discussion includes the following topics:

Findaway Voices Giveaway Codes, how they work, how authors can request them and track their use
StoryOrigin promotion site for audiobook giveaway codes
How to get started with setting up an audiobook via Findaway Voices
Standard calculation for determing finished audiobook hours (9300 words = 1 finished hour - or, for easier math, assume that 10,000 words = 1 hour)
Typical studio production hours based on word count of the original manuscript (Most audio producers work on a 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 ratio - it, if the manuscript is 100,000 words, that'd be 10 finished hours and would most likely take 30 to 40 hours of production time
The Voices Share royalty share program and how it works (50% up front payment for production hours and a 60/20/20 split for author/narrator/Findaway) - and how the buyout works if you want to get out early
The recent Audible text transcription controversy
Whether or not an author can narrator their own books (spoiler alert: YES, you can, with the right setup/equipment/software)
The origin of Findway Voices and the back story about the company Findaway, that has been around alot longer in the audiobook industry
The built in pricing suggestion tool in Findaway Voices
How easy/difficult it is to update your audiobook (both metadata and audio files)
The cost and benefit of using Findaway Voices for distribution VS going direct (spoiler: Findaway keeps 20% of your royalties)
A little bit about how exclusivity with ACX to Audible works
Thoughts about loading audio samples to YouTube or other ways of promoting their audiobooks
And more...

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:

Draft2Digital's Blog Post: Everything Audiobooks with Will Dages from Findaway Voices (Full Transcript)
The YouTube Video of the Webinar
Episode 5 - Global Audiobook Opportunities for Authors
Episode 15 - The Process of a Writer's Life with Kevin Tumlinson
Episode 52 - The Three Co-Founders of Draft2Digital
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 100 - Another Publishing Industry First with Mark Dawson

18 oktober 2019 | 55 min

Mark interviews international bestselling author Mark Dawson about his journey through publishing, his author support business and the ground-breaking publishing deal he just signed.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares some comments left on previous episodes and via Twitter.

He also shares a word about the episode's sponsor 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 his personal update, Mark talks about Canadian Thanksgiving, putting up Halloween decorations in the front yard and a new anthology, Cursed Collectibles, edited by Angela Eschler, that he has a story in.

In their conversation, the two Marks talk about:

Mark's background as a lawyer prior to becoming a writer, and how he has benefited from the skills he learned there
The kick in the pants Mark received back in 1999 that led to his entry into publishing
The surprisngly fast way he had found an agent and that agent had found a publisher for his first books
The disappointing experience that came with having his print books appear in book shops and the two strikes that led to the end of that part of his writing career
How John Milton was inspired by the original Equalizer television show staring Edward Woodward
When Mark's indie writing journey began and the approximate 30 books he has published in that way
The first time that Mark realized that writing could be a full-time endeavour - when the money he was earning from writing not only matched the money he was making working a full time job, but was more than double that amount for several months in a row
The origin of the Self-Publishing Formula courses and podcast
The 2020 Self Publishing Conference that will be taking place in London prior to the London Book Fair
How Mark is able to continue to write his novels as well as offer support to the writing community via his intimate network
The ground-breaking joint-venture print-only deal that Mark recently signed
The 3-books a year release plan within this deal
The international element of the deal to get the books into stores in multiple countries

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of this deal that Mark Dawson just signed and the significance it can have on publishing.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 099 - Getting Your Book Into Libraries

11 oktober 2019 | 51 min

In this solo episode Mark talks about how authors can get their books into libraries in print, eBook and audiobook format.

He covers the topic by discussing the triple A's of: AVAILABILITY, AWARENESS, and ACQUISITION.

Prior to the main topic of this episode, Mark shares a word about the episode's sponsor Findaway Voices, which is suitably, all about how they can help authors get their audiobooks into libraries.

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 a few comments from recent episodes as well as a personal update that includes two of his non-fiction books about writing and publishing being included in a new NaNoWriMo themed Storybundle.

In his discussion of libraries, Mark talks about the following:

Ways that authors can get their books in to libraries in print, audio and eBook format
Questions that traditionally published authors should ask their publisher in relation to distribution to libraries
The difference within POD and returns as it pertains to the library buyers (as opposed to bookstore buyers)
Why he calls Amazon's KDP Print's "extended distribution" option "pretended distribution"
OverDrive and how they sell to library systems - including a talk about how authors can use OverDrive.com to find their books and libraries
Online resources to help writers easily find library websites
The differences between the licensing model for selling digital assets (like eBooks and audiobooks) to libraries: OCOU (One Copy, One User) and CPC (Cost Per Checkout)
Three important people to contact at the library when reaching out to them
The value of getting to know the local public library and being familiar with it
Why authors should consider the value that they are able to offer and bring to a particular library
The value of the Public Lending Right program in Canada and 29 other countries around the world to help authors with additional revenue opportunities
And more...

Links of Interest:

Episode 97 - Ten Tips for Marketing and Making Money off Your Short Fiction
Episode 87 - You, Your Book, and Bookstores
Mark's thriller Evasion on Wattpad
Universal Book Link for Evasion
Lib Web (Over 8000 pages from libraries in 146 countries)
OverDrive.com
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 098 - You Can Handle It with Laurie Wright

4 oktober 2019 | 38 min

In this episode Mark interviews bestselling children's author Laurie Wright who is on a mission to empower people one book at a time through her books and the support she offers other authors to take action and publish their own books.

This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. Mark talks about the promotional pricing tools built in to their tools.

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 interview, Mark shares a bit of an update about the previous week at NINC (Novelists Inc). He then congratulates the winners of copies of M.L. Buchman's ESTATE PLANNING FOR AUTHORS.

Amy Tasukada And Vanessa Kier where the listeners who won by commenting on Episode 92 of the podcast. Julie Strauss and Amy Teegan were the two patron winners.

In their conversation, Mark and Laurie talk about:

Laurie's background as a kindergarten teacher and how she was so motivated by the presence of "learned helplessness" to go home and write a book in order to address it
It wasn't that the children couldn't solve their problems it was that they didn't take the steps to solve the problem
Laurie's belief that boredom is a good thing, particularly for creativity and that great things can come from boredom
The importance of the repetition in Laurie's books for 4 and 5 year olds, such as "I Can Handle It!" that become their self-talk and a mantra and a pathway for them
Putting the book aside for ten years before actually doing something with it
Why she went whole hog into self-publishing with this project
Creating the print book first (considering the audience) and the reason Laurie created an eBook via prompting from Brian Meeks and Amazon Ads
Selling the foreign language rights of her book in Chinese, Korean, Romanian, Icelandic, and Vietnamese
The importance of a foreign rights agent in the process of selling those foreign rights
Laurie's interest in mental health for children and the importance of open non-scheduled time for children for free play (what she also calls "wildness")
How Laurie has fallen in love with the marketing and other aspects of writing, and how she adapted that into creating helpful content for other writers
The importance of "short and easy" in a course
Laurie's podcast for children's book writers

After the interview, Mark reflects on self-talk, self-doubt, negative thinking, and positive thinking. He works through a You-Can-Do-It attitude inspired by Laurie's work.

Links of Interest:

Laurie Wright's Website
Laurie's Books on Amazon
Laurie's Foreign Agent
Laurie's Courses for Writers
Laurie's Tedx Talk: Release the WILD in our children
Findaway Voices
NINC Conference
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Laurie Wright is a bestselling children’s author on a mission to empower people one book at a time. She empowers children through her books, that gently and with humor coach kids in self-regulation. She empowers writers by getting them to step up, take action and publish those books! In a weekly podcast ‘The Writer’s Way’ she shares stories of other everyday authors for inspiration. Walter Koenig (Chekov from Star Trek) reading ‘I Can Handle It’ on YouTube at https://lauriewrighter.com/Chekov is a definite high point in Laurie’s career. Connect on Facebook (www.fb.com/lauriewrighter or www.fb.com/lauriewrightauthor), or her website www.lauriewrighter.com, and check out Laurie’s courses at www.creativewrighter.com.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 097 - 10 Tips for Marketing and Making Money Off Your Short Fiction

26 september 2019 | 49 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 096 - Focusing on and Delivering to your Audience with Dale L. Roberts

20 september 2019 | 43 min

This episode features an interview with Dale L. Roberts, a fitness author, self-publishing advocate and video content creator extraordinaire. The interview is filled with inspiring ideas for creative people that can be applied to your writing journey, as well as ideas for applying that creativity to auditory and visual mediums.

This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. Mark shares insights about a great built-in pricing tool that Findaway Voices has for authors to use.

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 his personal update, Mark shares the fact that he finally loaded a media kit to his author website, which appears as a link on his main media, press & contact page.

He also talks about his forthcoming visits to Northern Hearts Romance Writers conference in Toronto and NINC (Novelists, Inc) conference in St Pete, Florida.

In their conversation, Dale and Mark talk about:

Dale's unlikely story of becoming a writer and how he shouldn't be where he is today
The first book that Dale wrote and published in 2013 as a "challenge accepted" response to a colleague at work
How, in the early days, Dale wasn't even familiar with the eBook boom that had been taking place
The "Do Not Do What Dale Did" advice that comes with sharing that he quit his day job after receiving his first $20 from Amazon for his first book
How Dale gathered information on how to self-publish back in the early days by searching for free content and information on YouTube and other sites
The value of investing in some courses as well as a coach, which Dale considers as pivotal for his author business
The importance of being held accountable by a coach or a mentor
Why it is helpful to meansure time VS money in expenditures and focusing on the things that make more sense for you to focus on
How Dale started his YouTube channel as a way to more effectively answer the hundreds of questions filling up his email inbox
The bare/core minimum you need to start shooting video content and how you don't need it to be sexy, and you don't need it to be perfect
Being consistent as one of the most important factors in creating and building a video platform on YouTube. And how that's not just a consistent time, consistent amount, and a consistent message
The importance and value of authenticity
The parallels between writers creating written content and YouTubers creating video content - including the importance of perseverance
The built-in schedule that Dale uses for his schedule and how his audience likes Wednesdays and Saturdays
The importance of understanding who your audience is, what they are coming for, what they enjoy consuming, and then delivering that to them
The origin and use of the "banana sticker" and how something so simple and fun can build community

After the interview, Mark reflects on three elements that Dale spoke about: Consistency, Persistence, and Authenticity.

Links of Interest:

Dale L. Roberts is a fitness author, video content creator, and self-publishing advocate. When Dale isn’t publishing books, creating videos, and networking with business professionals, he loves to travel with his wife Kelli and spend time playing with his cat Izzie. He currently lives in Columbus, Ohio.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 095 - Pamela Brookes on Helping Learners with Dyslexia

12 september 2019 | 42 min

Mark interviews author Pamela Brookes about the DOG ON A LOG series of books she writes that help kids learning to read with phonics, especially learners with dyslexia.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares some recent social media comments from podcast listeners as well as a personal update about the progress he has made with a POD version of his chapbook Snowman Shivers which he is releasing in print and audiobook formats.

He explains that he will share, thanks to a patron request, a full episode on marketing and making money off of short fiction, particularly with eBooks and audio, as well as release a special detailed examination of how he created the POD and audiobook versions of Snowman Shivers.

Mark talks a bit about narrating the audiobook himself for that same book and how he used Findaway Voices for it (which is part of the mention of 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 the interview Pamela and Mark discuss:

What dyslexia is and how people with dyslexia are of a normal range of intelligence
Very successful people who have dyslexi such as Steven Spielberg, Richard Branson, Henry Winkler, Steve Jobs
How Pamela started to write books specifically to help children with dyslexia that were more appropriate and useful for her daughter's needs because she couldn't find any books that fit her requirements
Phonics rules, sight words and decodable books
The challenge and problem of the high cost of most books published in this area and how Pamela ensured they were affordable to the families who needed them
Why shes calls some of her books the "Let's Go" books rather than "easy" or "beginning" books
How 90% of Pamela's book sales are in paperback over eBooks and how they sell via Amazon and Ingram
The free eBook that Pamela makes available and which has been downloaded in 15 different countries
The printable PDF book that Pamela has on her website for parents helping their children with dyslexia
The importance of repetition in relation to the names of letters, keywords, and the sound that it makes
The difference between teaching children to read VS teaching children to guess
Pamela's knack for research and self-teaching

After the interview Mark reflects on how Pamela is fulfilling something that is missing in the particular niche she is writing in and highlights how she is succeeding selling print books, which is not the norm for most indie authors who usually sell more eBooks.

He also considers a potential writing warm-up exercise for writers based on something Pamela said and using cards from the table-top game Taboo.

Dog on a Log Books (Pamela's Website)
- Free resources from Pamela
Killing It On Kobo
Episode 87 - You, Your Book, and Bookstores
The Indy Author page on Facebook
Findaway Voices - The Audiobook Mastering Guide (article)
Mastering Audiobooks (Video and Detailed Blog)
Snowman Shivers
Episode 92 - with M.L. Buchman
Patreon for Stark Reflections

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 094 - Thanks for the Inspiration: Laurie Blake

9 september 2019 | 27 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 093 - Draft2Digital Ask Us Anything August 2019

6 september 2019 | 86 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 092 - Strong Authors and the IP Legacies They Deserve with ML Buchman

29 augusti 2019 | 57 min

Mark interviews M. L. "Matt" Buchman about his writing journey and the importance of ensuring that an author's legacy and earning potential can be maintained for 70 years after an author's death, which is the subject of his book: Estate Planning for Authors: Your Final Letter (and why you need to write it now).

Prior to the interview, Mark welcomes new patron Kathy Mac and lets patrons know that they can all download a digital version of Matt's book for free.

Listeners to the podcast can comment on this episode at starkreflections.ca for a chance to win one of two print copies of Matt's book.

Mark also shares a personal update about a fall he took the previous week (and how that made him think the topic of this episode was quite pertinent).

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 discussion, Mark and Matt discuss:

Matt's first novel, which he sold to a small traditional publisher in 1993
The 2010 romance novel sale to a larger publisher that led to a series of books
What Matt calls "Transition by terror" moving from losing his job to writing full time
How a shorter indie-published novel was the one that "popped" and led to the gamble of writing full time by moving from the large dream house and moving into a crappy smaller home and working diligently at writing in order to put out 8 or 10 books a year for six years
The first three years of that process, which involved loosing money the first year, then losing slightly less the second, and then, finally, in the third year, breaking even
The clause in Matt's traditional publishing contract that allowed him to keep the rights to anything in the world that was under 60,000 words (and how that led to the still best-selling 40,000 word Daniel's Christmas and a huge career in indie publishing
Matt's enjoyment of telling the "side story" and how that led to having 11 simultaneous series going at the same time
The idea of creating a map for what Matt calls the Emily Beale Universe of stories
The use of initials in Matt's author brand (M.L. Buchman) because "American wasn't ready for a male romance author" and the volume of fan mail that said if they'd known he was a man, they never would have picked up one of his novels
Matt's catch phrase for his writing: "Strong women and the men they deserve!"
The approach that Matt took to get into audiobooks and how that made him a huge fan of "read by author" audiobooks
The new straight up thriller series that Matt will be launching shortly which is a military techno thriller with not an ounce of romance in it
The process of creating a word cloud from Matt's existing reviews to reveal particular terms/phrases that came up a lot
Tracking how every work hour in the last 7 years has been spent (ie, writing, versus admin, marketing, etc)
The importance of understanding how a writer's IP (Intellectual Property) can earn money for up to 70 years after their death
The process of trying to find out how to explain, in common English, what a person can do when they inherit a author's estate
How Jane Austin's family sold her novels for a tiny amount of money because they didn't understand the true value of her books
Octavia Butler, one of the most seminal female science fiction authors ever whose books are now mostly all out of print just a little over a decade after her death
The process of taking a full day to arrange and organize where all of his writing related assets are stored and filed (all documented in a single spreadsheet)
The existence and importance of the 35 year reversion date for writer contracts
CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival) and the rights that they signed away and no longer own (but which can change as it has been 35 years since they signed it away
Limiting his writing travel to two different conferences per year and how this year it was RWA and NINC
The value of being in a mastermind, which replaces the twice weekly hour long walks Matt used to do with Dean Wesley Smith when they both lived on the Oregon coast

After the interview, Mark reflects on the approach Matt took in using a word cloud from reviews to look for patterns in reader response and how beneficial mining such data can be.

He then shares detailed on how listeners who comment will automatically be entered into a chance to win one of two print copies of Matt's book with a deadline of Sept 27, 2019 to leave a comment.

Links of Interest:

M.L. "Matt" Buchman started the first of over 60 novels, 100 short stories, and a fast-growing pile of audiobooks while flying from South Korea to ride his bicycle across the Australian Outback. Part of a solo around the world trip that ultimately launched his writing career in: thrillers, SF/F, and romance.

His titles have been named Barnes & Noble and NPR “Top 5 of the year” and 3-time Booklist “Top 10 of the Year” as well as being a “Top 20 Modern Masterpiece” in romantic suspense. As a 30-year project manager with a geophysics degree who has: designed and built houses, flown and jumped out of planes, and solo-sailed a 50’ ketch, he is awed by what's possible. More at: www.mlbuchman.com.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 091 - Booklover Stacey Kondla on Becoming a Literary Agent

23 augusti 2019 | 35 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Stacey Kondla about her life as a book lover and about the recent transition into the role of literary agent.

Prior to the interview, Mark announces the winners of David Wind's book The Indie Writer's Handbook via a random draw for comments on Episode 88.

He also reads and reacts to comments from Episode 90 with Craig Martelle and reminds listeners they can win one of 4 copies of Craig's new book Successful Indie Author Release Strategies. Listeners can leave a comment or reflection on Episode 90 of the podcast at starkreflections.ca for a chance to win one of 2 copies. And all patrons will also be entered in a chance to win one of 2 other copies of the book.

Mark then welcomes new patron Linda Hill to the podcst, and reminds folks that for $1, $3, or $5 a month, they can become a patron and get access to additional content and audio via patreon.com/starkreflections.

After a personal update, where Mark talk about his new standing desk and office layout as well as being a recent guest on Mark Dawson's Self Publishing Show Podcast, he then 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.

In their chat, Mark and Stacy talk about:

The love of books that has been a major part of Stacey's entire life
The veterinarian path she had been on, which didn't work out
The "magical time" of a school book fair, and how much Stacey loved her work organizing Scholastic Book Fairs in the Calgary region
Managing the kids departments for Chapters/Indigo and the thrill of working closely with kids books
Meeting Sam Hiyate (President and CEO of The Rights Factory literary agency) at When Words Collide and how that led to discussions about Stacey's desire to learn more about agenting, and the path towards becoming an Associate Agent with the firm
How, in the first year and a half, Stacey has aquired 30 clients and already sold 5 books, the first of which was to Scholastic US
Stacey's experience attending Book Expo America for the first time and how that led to selling a book to Dottir Press in New York
The best part about being an agent, which is being an author's champion and cheerleeder and the special thrill that comes with informing an author that a deal with an aquiring editor has been struck
The joy of being a matchmaker between different people in the book industry
Some of the definite "do not do's" when trying to pitch your book to an agent and one of Stacey's pet peeves
What Stacey looks for in a face to face pitch from an author
The typical day in Stacey's life as an agent, and how she has to compensate for being 2 hours behind New York's time zone
The fact that Stacey still reads for pleasure, but in different ways now that she is an agent
Some of the best things that a writer can do to prepare for submission their manuscript
How an agent's job isn't just reading queries and submissions, but that it involves so much more downstream in the process
The priceless value of networking at a literary conference

After the interview, Mark reflects on the way Stacey divides reading for work VS reading for pleasure and explores ways that writers can use similar divisions between writing and editing or even different physical spaces as cues for a way to break through or get over "walls" they face in their own writing.

Links of Interest:

Stacey Kondla has worked in the book business for 16 years. Her experience includes being a Field Representative for Scholastic Book Fairs, managing the IndigoKids department at two different Chapters/Indigo (Canada’s largest book retailer) stores, freelance editing, and serving on the organizing committee of When Words Collide (A Festival for Readers and Writers). Stacey is an associate agent with The Rights Factory and specializes in children’s books – picture books through to young adult and graphic novels, fiction and non-fiction.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 090 - Craig Martelle on Successful Indie Author Release Strategies

16 augusti 2019 | 56 min

Mark interviews bestselling science-fiction author Craig Martelle about his journey into and through writing, the 20Booksto50K™ group and conferences, and his new book Successful Indie Author Release Strategies.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update about his recent visit to Calgary, Alberta for the When Words Collide conference, where he sat on panels, did 1:1 author consultations, and gave a couple of presentations, including a new one on The 7 P's of Publishing Success based on his book of the same name.

Mark then shares comments on Episode 88 from Michelle Norry and Tracy Arial, discusses the comments, and reminds them that they are now entered into a chance to win a signed copy of David Wind's book The Indie Writer's Handbook. (Contest is over end of day Friday August 16, 2019 and winners will be announced in Episode 91).

He also thanks patrons of the show, and reminds them that they are all already entered in a chance to win the other one of two signed copies. This is one of the bonuses for patrons, which include the additional "Stark Reflections on other Podcasts" special episodes. Mark shares that he recently pushed out a special patron-only reflection on other podcasts for Episode 85 of The Career Author Podcast where hosts J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon talked about using pen names.

Mark then 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.

In their chat, Mark and Craig talk about:

Craig's belief in working hard, putting in 12 to 14 hours a day for seven days a week
Being close to the epicenter of the origin of Dungeons and Dragons and the influence that had on Craig's reading and creative mind
The "Amateurs talk tactics and professionals talk logistics" philosophy from the Marine Corp that influences Craig's author business approach
Applying a business consultant approach to writing and the 100,000 word first novel that Craig wrote that took 61 days
The importance of practice
Craig's experience selling the rights to his first book to a traditional publisher (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
How Craig uses data to help him make decisions, and how data that doesn't help a person make decisions isn't necessarily important data
Why he put an editor on salary early in his career so that the waiting period on an editor was as short as possible
The origin of the 20Booksto50K(TM) movement initiated by Michael Anderle and the in person writing conferences that Craig runs
Why the 20Booksto50K Facebook group is so locked down in terms of comments/self-promotional posts, etc.
How if you want to be carried that this business isn't for you
How writing his non-fiction books is mostly Craig's way of saving himself a lot of time answering the same questions repeatedly
Elements from Craig's book SUCCESSFUL INDIE AUTHOR RELEASE STRATEGIES, such as what is far more important than the volume of books you produce in a particular time period: consistency and establishing and keeping your promise to the reader
The recent overseas conference plus writing retreat that Craig ran which went well above his initial expectations
How this year's 20Booksto50K conference will have a significant number of live-streamed videos to the Facebook Group so that those authors unable to attend can benefit from it

After the interview, Mark talks about how Craig's experience playing Dungeons & Dragons reminded him of his own experience playing that game as a youth, and how it inspired the very first book he wrote at the age of 14.

Mark reflects on the cartoon to text process he used when imagining the story, changing the main character's name from Conan to Aaron (in recognition of copyright), and the struggle to sit at the typewriter over his summer vacation as a young teen instead of being outside and playing.

He reflects on how indie authors today can and often might release a book that isn't yet ready for prime time and what that impact can be; particularly in relation to a book he recently read. He is thankful that this first terribly written novel never saw the light of day because of when it was written.

In the midst of reflecting on this trunk novel, he fondly remembers the first young woman to truly capture his heart, and the important role that she played as a creative spirit and fellow writer, in helping to shape and guide him into a writing life. He thinks about how there are people in your life who likely never come to learn just how much of a positive impact they have had on you.

Mark then shares how listeners can win one of 4 copies of Craig's new book. Listeners can leave a comment or reflection on Episode 90 of the podcast at starkreflections.ca for a chance to win one or 2 copies. And all patrons will also be entered in a chance to win one of 2 other copies of the book.

Entrants will be collected until Sept 1, 2019 and the winners will be announced in the next week's episode.

Links of Interest:

Craig Martelle's Website
20Booksto50K™ Facebook Group
20 Books Vegas
Craig's Book - Successful Indie Author Release Strategies
Episode 88 - Indie Publishing, Not Self-Publishing with David Wind
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections
The Career Author Podcast - Episode 85 - Using Pen Names
Stephen Graham King (not that other guy)
BOC (Blue Oyster Cult)
Conan the Barbarian

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 089 - Why You Can't Have Mass Market POD

9 augusti 2019 | 24 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 088 - Indie Publishing, Not Self-Publishing with David Wind

3 augusti 2019 | 47 min

Mark interviews David Wind about his forthcoming book THE INDIE WRITER'S HANDBOOK, which is coming in September 2019.

Prior to the interview Mark shares a comment from Episode 81 from Jules who shared why he finds it important to write every single day. He also shares a comment that came in via email from Caro who said that she would, in fact, appreciate an episode dedicated to getting your eBook and print book into libraries in the United States, Canada and the UK.

Mark then shares a word from this episodes 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:

When David first started writing and the first book he published in 1981, which he wrote under a female pen name as a way to break into the market because of an industry trend
The genres that David was passionate about writing and reading
The fact that English and Math were David's two worst subjects in high school
His attempt at writing in college, which he set aside for a while before returning to writing in his late twenties
Leaving a position within the legal realm to work at a Playboy club in Chicago
Writing a thriller (his first novel) just to see if he could write a book
The response from Agent William Morris not liking the submitted manuscript but liking David's writing
David's favorite editor, Kate Duffy
Andre Norton, a legendary science fiction writer David was a big fan of and how she came to mentor him and also publish one of his only short stories
How the first book in a YA science fiction series David wrote which has been downloaded close to 70,000 times
Why David hates the term "self-publishing"
The vanity press, iUniverse, that David used back in 2000 in order to bring back one of his previously traditionally published back into availability
How, being fed up with traditional publishing, David whole-heartedly jumped into Kindle Direct Publishing in 2008
The fun David had releasing his first POD self-published book, which was a book he had wanted to write for thirty years and how exhilarating that experience was
The transition David experienced when he moved from traditional publishing over to indie publishing

Why David decided to write The Indie Writer's Handbook
How he was getting frustrated at how people were misunderstanding and looking down on what proper indie publishing can be
The 18 steps that the handbook walks authors through related to indie publishing your book

After the interview Mark shares a reflection on the reason why David decided to create the book, and shares how he recently wrote an article for a more traditionally focused magazine for writers to serve a similar purpose.

In addition, he shares the two winners of the print book COPS AND WRITERS by Patrick O'Donnell from Episode 84, one randomly selected commenter from that episode and one randomly selected Patron of the show.

And he explains how listeners can win one of two signed advanbced reader copies of David's forthcoming book for writers.

Links of Interest:

David Wind's first novel was published in 1981 and since then he has had more than 40 books published in the genres of science fiction and fantasy, mystery, thriller and suspense.

A hybrid author who cut his chops in traditional publishing and then discovered the opportunity in indie publishing, David brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this interview and to his forthcoming book.

He is currently the Vice President of the Florida Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America, and he has a lot to say about the way by which traditional publishing still looks down their nose and misunderstands what indie publishing is really about. David lives in Florida with his wife and their dog.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 087 - You, Your Book, And Bookstores

26 juli 2019 | 47 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 086 - Draft2Digital Ask Us Anything: Marketing Questions - July 2019

21 juli 2019 | 63 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 085 - Annette Spratte on German Translations

19 juli 2019 | 47 min

In this episode Mark interviews Annette Spratte a bilingual author living in Germany who has published books in various genres and languages, including a contemporary romance series self-published in English, a children‘s book series in German with three traditionally published books and two more scheduled for 2020. A historical romance will also be traditionally published in German in 2020. In addition to writing, Annette loves to support Indie authors with affordable translation services.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from this episodes 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.

Mark then goes on to thank Patrons of the show as well as those who left comments on episode 84, and who were entered in a chance to win a copy of Patrick O'Donnell's book COPS AND WRITERS.

Thanks to Amy Tasukada, Chad Boyer, MZ Lowe, and Vale Nagle for leaving comments. Also, thanks to Patrick O'Donnell for answering the police related questions.

In their conversation Mark and Annette talk about:

Annette's history as a translator since 1995 before she moved over into book translation, which she enjoys far more
The importance of getting the emotion and the tension right in a literary translation (as opposed to legal document translation)
Annette's own writing experience with contemporary romance fiction (English) which was self-published and the children's adventure fiction (in German) that has been picked up by a publisher
How Annette initially started with a self-publishing services company that she later on found out charged almost $50 for the print book in the US - she managed to get out of that deal and published the book directly herself
The size of the German book industry and the fact that eBooks might be as little as 5% of overall book sales
Those magic words from a publisher who said to Anette: "I read your book and I couldn't put it down!"
How a lot of the romance books on the market in Germany are translations from English
A bit of a perspective on the size and reach of Tolino, a major eBook retailer in Germany
What it's like for an author from Europe using an American platform for eBook publishing
Why authors shouldn't use something like Google translate for translating their novel
Subtle differences in the form of address in the German language (formal VS familiar)
The genres that Annette works with and prefers to work with in her translation business
Why she prefers to avoid horror and erotica translations as well as a preference for fiction over non-fiction
The research that can be involved in doing a literary translation, particularly for historical fiction
Examples of terms or services that aren't used or known in Germany - such as "Uber" - for example
The importance of using the same translator when working through a book series in order to have a consistent style/voice
How word of mouth is the most common way that authors and translators connect with one another
Typical costs of translations, and Annettes current and lower fees of 3 cents per word
How an English speaking/reading author would be able to determine if the translation is a quality one
Some of the legal aspects associated with copyright on translations in Germany
The fixed price laws for books in Germany and how that has allowed for the continued existence of both chain and independent bookstores in that country
The continued popularity of thrillers and romance in the German book market
How German readers are perfectly content with books that aren't set in Germany
The value of the resources on the site indiesgogerman.com

Mark then reflects on the subtle differences in languages, terms, and even different laws in different countries, provinces and states and how this can both be something that can harm a story (ie, an inaccurate overlooked detail), or it can be something that brings an additional depth and realistic richness to a story if used effectively.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 084 - From The Academy To The Street With Patrick O'Donnell

12 juli 2019 | 47 min

In this episode Mark interviews Patrick O'Donnell who has been with a larger metropolitan police department for the past three decades, about his new book COPS AND WRITERS: From The Academy to the Street.

Prior to the interview Mark shares a personal update and then also shares the names of the four winners of the print copies of the book UNSKIPPABLE by Jim Kukral (from Episode 81).

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal updateas well as a word from this episode's sponsor 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, which comes with a disclaimer that Patrick does not represent any specific police or law enforcement agency and does not intend for any of the information provided to be intended as legal advice, Mark and Patrick discuss:

Patrick's life before police work which included Sociology, Crimonology and an intense passion for music
The original goal of wanting to become a high school band director for his career
The restaurant management roles that Patrick was involved in and how being a night shift manager at an IHOP he ended up getting in more fights than in the same time period as a police officer
The various different ways you can get into a career with the police department and the details related to those methods of entry
Learning how to read/understand people via experience as a car salesman
The book (I Never Wore Plaid) he wrote about how to buy a car and navigate car salespeople under a pseudonym
The unfortunate situation that led to the loss of an opportunity in selling this book to a publisher
Patrick's book talking about the loss of his marriage (which is common in the police force) written under a different pseudoynm - Divorced Dad: Kids are Forever, Wives are Not
Mad City, the post-apocalyptic novel that he wrote under his own name
The reason why Patrick shelved the sequel to Mad City and started to write a series of books about the police force, which includes the first book, Cops and Writers: From the Academy to the Street
The seventeen years of working the night shift as a cop
The 50/50 chance that the average person has of their marriage failing, how being a cop bumps that up to 70% and how, if both partners are cops, the chances are 90%
Some of the basic things that writers can get wrong when it comes to police procedures or protocols
What Patrick has learned about book marketing through the various books and genres he has published in

After the interview, Mark shares details on how listeners and Patrons can win a print copy of Patrick's new book (you have until July 31, 2019 to leave a comment or question for Patrick on the show notes for Episode 84 at www.starkreflections.ca) as well as his thoughts on the importances of a police procedural book that delves into such detail of this aspect of a police officer's life.

Links of Interest

Patrick O'Donnell's website
- Patrick's Books:
  - Cops and Writers
  - I Never Wore Plaid (Joel Grey)
  - Divorced Dad: Kids Are Forever, Wives are Not (L.J. Burke)
  - Mad City
Findaway Voices
Episode 81 - Becoming Unskippable with Jim Kukral
Stark Reflections Survey
Patreon for Stark Reflections

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 083 - Draft2Digital ASK US ANYTHING June 2019 - Part 02

5 juli 2019 | 45 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 082 - Draft2Digital ASK US ANYTHING June 2019 - Part 01

28 juni 2019 | 46 min

In this episode Mark shares the first half of a Draft2Digital "Ask Us Anything" Live Chat that was recorded on Thursday June 27, 2019.

The chat was composed of questions submitted by authors and answered by Dan Wood, Kevin Tumlinson, and Mark.

Prior to the main segement, Mark shares a personal update, talks about comments from previous episodes and shares a word from this episode's sponsor 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 the Live Chat, Dan, Kevin, and Mark cover these questions:

What is the biggest missed opportunity on D2D for most indie authors already using the platform?
I understand that the ebook will go out to places that are checked on the next page. How can I check on the results?
In addition to universal links, what's the benefit of using D2D to list our books?
Why are payments from Draft2Digital sometimes delayed?
Is the expense for purchasing my own ISBNs worth the outlay?
How do promo opportunities work for the various channels you distribute to? Places like Kobo and Apple and OverDrive.
I'm confused over how to make Books2Read work for me. Beyond a link on my website, what more should I be doing to help readers find me?
Is there some sort of pre-built chart or graph in the Draft2Digital dashboard that shows all your sales in one place?
Questions about formatting WORD documents with images for eBooks as well as using Vellum for eBook formatting.

After the recording, Mark shares a few thoughts about the idea of asking questions and how questions can be understood differently by different people.

Links of Interest

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 081 - Becoming Unskippable™ with Jim F. Kukral

20 juni 2019 | 38 min

In this episode Mark interviews Jim F. Kukral, author of Your Journey to Becoming Unskippable™: (in your business, life & career).

Prior to the interview Mark

Shares a comment from a previous episode
Talks about a new short story he is working on and some of the logistical research challenges that were holding him back
Talks about an ASK US ANYTHING Facebook Live chat that Mark, Kevin Tumlinson and Dan Wood will be hosting on the Draft2Digital Facebook page on Thursday July 27 at 3PM Eastern

Mark then says a word about this episode's sponsor 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 discuss:

Why Jim opened the book sharing his perspective on goals and priorities that have more to do with personal satisfaction than seeking wealth and status
The importance of the merger between mindset and business
The deeply personal and vulnerable way Jim shared his experience getting involved in local politics
The authenticity of Jim's voice in the book which matches the way that he would deliver the same content in person via a conversation or on stage
The strategy of not wanting to write a straight-up marketing book, but, instead, a book with business lessons and personal inspiration
Jim owning the trademark for the term Unskippable™
The importance of creating powerful moments and "talk triggers" that people will remember well beyond just the "cheapest price" or "fastest delivery" or some other temporary perk from a popsicle hotline at a hotel pool to the Jolly Ranchers that a business supply owner added in to every order
The reasons that set you apart, take you to th next level, and make you unskippable and memorable
The story behind the mysterious persona "Johnny Showtime"
The importance of actually standing for something as a brand in order to reach "belief-driven buyers"

After the interview Mark shares the logistics of how listeners can download a free digital copy of Jim's new book, and also possible win some signed copies.

Free Digital Download

Click here to access your free copy of Unskippable™

Win a Signed Copy of the paperback of Unskippable™

Leave a comment for Episode 81 at www.starkreflections.ca by July 10, 2019. Entrants will be entered into a random draw for a signed copy of the book that Jim will be shipping.
All entrants who leave a comment by July 10, 2019 will be entered
Possible things to comment about include:
- What's one point you took away from this interview that you'd want to highlightor reflect on?
- What's one unique thing about you or your writing that might help you towards establishing yourself as unskippable in today's skippable world?
This copy is courtesy of Jim Kukral

Win a paperback copy of Unskippable™

All entrants, as above, will be entered in a second random drawing for an additional copy of the paperback
Mark will be ordering this via an online bookstore (most likely Amazon, unless the listener is in a country where shipping via a local store there is preferable)

One more chance for winning the 3rd paperback copy

All Patrons of Stark Reflections will automatically be entered in a chance to win the third copy of the book.
(Yes, that means Patrons who comment get an additional chance to win)

A final chance for the 4th copy (also for Patrons)

Over on Patreon, patrons of the podcast can comment on this post for an additional chance to win a print copy of the book

Mark then reflects on something that Jim spoke about in the interview. When Jim was talking about standing for something and brands taking a stance, a solid, non-wishy-washy stance that focuses on beliefs and core values, it reminded Mark of the age-old advice to authors that your book is NOT for everyone.

Links of Interest

Jim Kukral's Website
- Your Journey to Becoming Unskippable™ (All Retailers)
- Jim's other books
- Jim's podcast: Unskippable with Jim Kukral
- Jim's co-hosted podcast - The Sell More Books Show
The Creative Penn Podcast (Joanna Penn) Episode: How To Be An Unskippable Author with Jim Kukral
Findaway Voices
Stark Reflections Survey
Patreon for Stark Reflections

Jim Kukral is recognized as an expert in online marketing and branding. He delivers insightful and entertaining keynotes to growth-oriented organizations on attention-getting marketing, creative branding and understanding how customers think, react and most importantly, buy.

With a passion for speaking and teaching, Jim travels around the world to teach brands and business owners on how they can apply his UNSKIPPABLE method to their marketing and brand mission to generate positive ROI-based outcomes and purposely attract lifetime customers.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 080 - German Spy Thrillers with Mark O'Neill

14 juni 2019 | 40 min

In this episode Mark interviews Mark O'Neill a writer of German spy thrillers who has released more than a dozen books in his Department 89 spy thriller series in the past couple of years after spending thirty years passionate about writing.

Prior to the interview, Mark talks about a Twitter comment from Rachel Amphlett regarding episode 78.

He also thanks Patrons of the show who support it via www.patreon.com/starkreflections.

Mark also shares a personal update about receiving his annual royalty statement and cheque from one of his publishers, referring to it as "Schrodinger's Envelope" - before the envelope is opened it is both larger than and small than last year's at the same time.

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 Mark talk about:

Mark's background in writing via journalism and a life-long passion until he encountered Mark Dawson who opened his eyes to the self-publishing side of things
The value of the introduction to self-publishing course that Mark Dawson taught
The reasoning behind setting his spy thrillers in Germany as well as making the lead character a strong female spy
Mark's contacts in the police, embassy and military that have been helpful for research in his novels
The concept of Mark's thrillers not being for those who want 100% accuracy but are there to enjoy the escape and fantasy of a novel that is just an entertaining romp
The importance of not focusing on Captain Sophie Decker, the main character, as a sex object, but as a specialist and capable professional regardless of being male or female
A bit of the backstory of how Decker created Department 89
The different English and German media programs that Mark might have been partially inspired by when writing this series
The German translations that Mark has produced for the first two books in the series
A little about the difference in the German market as compared to the North America and UK markets
The media page that Mark has on his author website
What Mark would go back and tell his younger writer self about what he has learned in the past two years

Links of Interest

Mark is a 40-something Scotsman, now living the expatriate lifestyle in Würzburg, Germany. He has been writing in one form or another for the past 30 years. However, he is now an independently published fiction writer, currently working on the Department 89 espionage novels starring the female spy Captain Sophie Decker, protecting the German state.

The first D89 book, "The Renegade Spy" was downloaded more than 4,000 times in the first 4 weeks. Plots have been outlined for up to 20 Department 89 novels.

The first book, "The Renegade Spy" has received rave reviews, with one reviewer comparing Sophie Decker to the female version of Bruce Willis's character, John McClaine, in the Die Hard movies.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 079 - Why Kobo

11 juni 2019 | 22 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 078 - Post BEA 2019 Reflections

6 juni 2019 | 43 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 077 - A Gut-Check on the State of Publishing with Kristine Kathryn Rusch

30 maj 2019 | 59 min

In this episode Mark chats with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch about writing with chronic health issues, contract negotiations with publishers, mistakes that authors are making, and so much more.

Prior to the interview, Mark does a little house-keeping regarding winners of Danny Bell's first novel from Episode 70, reads new comments, thanks Patrons who support the show, and talks about being in New York this week for Book Expo America.

Mark also shares a recent presentation that Michael Tamblyn, CEO of Kobo, presented to the BISG (Book Industry Study Group) in late April.

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 Kris and Mark talk about:

Kris's recent move and the discoveries made in relation to a book she recently released called WRITING WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS
How Kris's entire life has revolved around exercise and writing and that likely made a positive difference for her despite huge health challenges that she faced, and potentially is what might have kept her alive
The realization that Kris made only recently that she had never learned how to rest
The way she utilizes running and walking to benefit her writing
How Kris's training in radio automatically activates her "critical voice"
The rotating playlists Kris uses when running (often ones that have to have a really good beat)
The move from 5000 square feet (with offices across the house from one another) to 1600 square feet (and a shared office) and how Kris and her husband Dean manage their own unique writing spaces
The value for writers in understanding the way that different editors approach a piece of writing
Breaking down the myth that there's a single book (or story) out there that everyone will love
What "reader cookies" are and how they can play upon an editor's personal preferences
A look at "anti-reader cookies" - element or content in a story that an editor hates or will refuse to read
How Ray Bradbury practiced writing a short story a day
The concept of "writing into the dark" when creating your first draft and how that plays into the fact we have been consuming stories since we were pre-verbal
How, with so many tasks, deadlines and balls in the air, Kris decides what writing project to work on next
The importance of growing as a writer by writing about things that stretch or challenge her
How Kris's book DEALBREAKERS helped Mark negotiate a much better contract with his publisher
The choice of "walking" which writers always have when being presented with a publishing contract
The three big things that Kris sees that indie authors are not doing correctly: Following Trends, Burning Out and Neglecting their Personal Lives/Families/Health, Following the Scams (that promise seemingly impossible results)
The free content that Kris shares (both fiction and non-fiction) on her website on a regular basis, and the origin for both
The value of networking and personal connections made during in-person workshops (both the craft workshops as well as the business workshops)
The "no politics" and "no religion" rules that Kris and Dean operate within for their workshops (which allows writers to bond regardless of their political or religious biases

After the interview, Mark reflects upon one of the things Kris said regarding taking a workshop when it's in town as opposed to removing yourself from your regular schedule/life, and why the travel/removal of one's self from day to day life for such a learning/bonding experience can be valuable.

Links of Interest

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Kris writes in almost every genre and her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in more than twenty best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award.

Kris also has an extensive history in publishing and editing, having been the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as well as co-publishing the original Puuse Magazine with her husband, Dean Wesley Smith. The two now run WMG Publishing, which publish a revised version of Pulphouse, the Fiction River anthology series and many other projects, along with running publishing workshops both online and in person.

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 076 - Recognizing Success in Failure with Sarah McVanel

24 maj 2019 | 54 min

In this episode Mark interviews Sarah McVanel, author, professional speaker, and owner of the boutique firm Greatness Magnified, about her latest book FLIP SIDE OF FAILING.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update (which includes being stuck in Oklahoma City for a couple of extra days due to tornado-rich storms) and also shares a word from this episode's sponsor 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, Sarah and Mark talk about:

Sarah's introduction to being a writer and a speaker when a work colleague that she adored decided to retire
How we (the corporate world) don't properly leverage recognition
Sarah's first book F.R.O.G. (Forever Recognize Others' Greatness) and the accompanying workbook that provided tools she co-authored with Brenda Zalter-Minden
How Sarah and Brenda collaborated on the books
Recognizing the two distinct author voices in their particular collaboration and how they leveraged that
The exploratory method that took two years for Sarah and Brenda to write their first book
How Home Depot was the first big corporate client to hire Sarah because they discovered her first book
A personal and professional turning-point moment involving Sarah's son, dealing with bullying, and cutting
Sarah's new book Flip Side of Failing and how she didn't plan on writing a book on failure
The common theme of the book that you can fail and still be great - and how failure can help us achieve greater success
How we have to have a failure-friendly mindset, and be in a context that accepts failure in order to elevate from failure
The acronym ACCEPT (Acquire / Choice / Connection / Expect / Progress / Transformation)
How Sarah launched the book exclusively at the Spark Women's Leadership Conference on May 16th prior to the book's global release on May 21st. Everyone at the conference gets a book, Sarah does a keynote, and there's a panel that Sarah moderates on the topic of failing
How you are going to show up if you believe in your new book and what it offers to readers
The importance of attaching your book launch to an event

After the interview Mark reflects on two things from the conversation with Sarah that were important to him. First, the importance of recognizing the greatness in others. And second, the concept Sarah mentioned that you don't always write the book you planned to write.

Mark then thanks Patrons of the show and reminds them of the additional audio content available to them (including a few answers to four questions post that went up earlier that same day) - he also riffs off of a couple of verbal errors he previously made.

Links of Interest

SARAH McVANEL helps individuals leverage the exponential power of recognition to retain top talent, fuel healthy teams and sustain healthy bottom lines. She speaks nationally on the topic, leads workshops, coaches leaders, and conducts organizational recognition program reviews. Sarah specializes in working with service-based organizations and “helping professionals.”

Sarah is a Certified Speaker Professional (CSP), Certified Senior Organizational Development Professional (CSODP), Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL), and president of the Toronto Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS). She has a BA in Psychology, MSc in Family Relations, and Diplomas in Human Resources and Healthcare Administration.

Sarah has over 18 years’ experience including at a senior leadership level and now owns boutique firm Greatness Magnified. She is an author of peer-reviewed journals, articles and four books.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 075 - Police Procedurals Respected by Law Enforcement with Carolyn Arnold

17 maj 2019 | 49 min

In this episode, Mark has a chat with Carolyn Arnold (the author of the Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures) and her husband George.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor, 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 his personal update, Mark shares the fact that he is in Oklahoma City, OK, spending a week at the Draft2Digital offices. He also talks about the importance of connecting in person (both with respect to hanging out with his colleagues from D2D as well as the in-person connections that happen at writer conferences).

He also shares his experience attending the Alicia Witt concert at The Blue Door in OKC and as well as his involvement "working backstage" or "front of house" for the evening.

In addition, he talks about the anger that fans of Game of Thrones have been expressing recently, and a petition fans are signing along with the thought that the emotional investment fans are displaying is evidence of really powerful and effective storytelling.

In their chat, Mark, Carolyn and George talk about:

How long Carolyn and George have been collaborating as a husband and wife team and writer and publisher
George's 25 years of experience as a designer before he adapted that knowledge into designing Carolyn's book covers
Carolyn's start in writing in a serious way in 2006 shortly after a work colleage asked her to tell her a story
What drew Carolyn to the dark corners of murder and mysteries
The way that Carolyn doesn't really know the end of her novels and that she investigates along with her investigators
How writing 10 books in a single year led to Carolyn's need of having George start to do the formatting of the eBooks and print books for her
Carolyn's belief that, though she is the creative person (the writer) that George is also a very creative person in their partnership
The need for divided and separating their at home work spaces
Strategy and detailed analytics that into the launch of each new book
How the message in Carolyn's book IN THE LINE OF DUTY is nearest and dearest to her heart
The research involved ERT and SWAT to ensure accuracy in the details of Carolyn's novels
The origin of Carolyn's two main branding catch phrases
The spreadsheet Carolyn and George have with various contacts and specialists from police, FBI, coroners, etc
Long term and patient curation of and engagement with Carolyn's fan base
The way Carolyn alternates between writing in her difference series books
The business decision behind the settings for Carolyn's novels in the US rather than in Canada
The value of ARC and early reader feedback and how they use Bookfunnel for that
The "empowering to women" effect of Carolyn's Madison Knight series and character
How SHADES OF JUSTICE was influenced by a double homicide that happened in Toronto
Strategies regarding moving into audiobooks
How the beauty of a leaf led to freeing up Carolyn's creative mind in determing the solution to a novel she had been working on
Advice that Carolyn and George would offer to help a creative person transition their passion to a full time career

After the interview, Mark reflects on the creativity involved in publishing and marketing. He then thanks recent commenters on the podcast and Patreon supporters.

Links of Interest

CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.

Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.

Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.

She currently lives in London, Ontario with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime.

GEORGE ARNOLD is a graphic design artist with nearly thirty years experience. Through his employment with a local graphic company, his talent has been put to work for many big names including 3M, McDonald’s, the London Knights, and Diamond Aircraft.

He joined Hibbert & Stiles Publishing Inc. full-time January 2016 for the purpose of cover design, interior formatting, sales and marketing. He’s been designing Carolyn’s covers since 2011 and has worked with others on theirs during that time, as well.

George was born in rural Ontario and has the desire to put his skills to use serving others in the publishing industry.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 074 - Perspectives on the Past, Present and Future of Publishing

10 maj 2019 | 55 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 073 - Too Connected In This Digital Life

3 maj 2019 | 36 min

In this solo episode Mark reflects upon the concept of Digital Minimalism that he is reading about in Cal Newport's new book.

Prior to the main topic of this episode, Mark shares a personal update regarding his travel to Cleveland, OH to participate in the "Rock Apocalypse 2019" event held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and run by J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon.

The event is described, quite aptly as: "A world-building experience, writer’s seminar, and your destination vacation in two epic days!"

Along with the intimate and engaging world-building with the small group of writers, Mark talks about Eric and Rinn from Findaway Voices (this episode's sponsor) and things they shared with the writers. 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 talks about listening to Newport's latest book on his drive from Waterloo, ON to Cleveland, OH.

This book is a bid for Newport become the Marie Kondo of technology - to help people realize where digital technology bring value and where it takes away value.

Mark also shares how the book references the writing and philosophy of Henry David Thoreau, and shares a clip from a radio program he hosted in 2008 that asked how much more connected we could get.

He finds it startling how much MORE has happened since that 2008 reflection.

He then shares a concept for his own attempt at adapting some of Newport's recommendations into his own digital life and at the importance of disconnecting from technology, connecting with the physical world, being in the moment, and the value and benefit that comes with allowing yourself to become bored.

As the show ends, Mark thanks new patron Leigh Anne Beckett, as well as all patrons and listeners to the show. He also shares the winners of the prizes for comments on Episodes 70 and 71.

Links of Interest

Cal Newport's Website
- Cal Newport's Books
Findaway Voices
- Blog post about Authors Direct
StoryBundle "The Write Stuff" Bundle (limited time offer)
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 072 - Treehouse Reflections with Sheena Cundy

26 april 2019 | 57 min

Mark interviews Sheena Cundy, the author of the Witch Lit series of novels that include The Madness and the Magic and Bonkers and Broomsticks.

Prior to the personal update, Mark shares a word from the episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices - specifically about the promotional opportunities available through Voices Plus as well as the fact that Findaway is opening their Authors Direct beta up even wider.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 his personal update Mark talks about:

The 12 hour delay in publishing of this episode due to meetings, taxes and Avengers: Endgame
No spoilers, just how much Mark enjoyed the new Avengers movie (and brief reflections on previous spoilers from The Empire Strikes Back and The Crying Game)
Visiting Cleveland for Rock Apocalypse event run by The Career Author Podcast folks J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon

In their interview, Mark and Sheena talk about:

The origin of Sheena's treehouse and the different creative tasks she does in the treehouse
Sheena's interest in promoting other creative people via her Treehouse TV YouTube video
The band, Morrigan's Path, that Sheena has played in for five years
Her origin getting into the band with her husband as a lyrisist and vocalist based on her poetry
The "single release" strategy that the band has engaged in as a lead-in to the release of their third album
How, even though they get paid to perform gigs, the band and the music has always been for the love of it
Sheena's Witch Lit series (about a crazy witch having a mid-life crisis) which includes The Madness and the Magic and Bonkers and Broomsticks
The initial serialization of Sheena's first book on a pagan blog after writing it during NaNoWriMo
The role of Mark Dawson's Self-Publishing 101 course in helping Sheena evolve from traditional and into indie publishing
How Sheena divides up her time and schedule with her various creative activities
The DIY approach she has taken with her publishing tasks and schedule
The timing of the release of Book 2 (Bonkers and Broomsticks) on May 1st with Beltane ("May Day") a Gaelic pagan seasonal festival
Sheena's forthcoming visit to 20Books50K Edinburgh and her fascination with the ethos of that group
How you can become like a sponge when you're thirsty for learning
The importance of being with people who are already doing what you want to do
The value of networking and connecting with people in the flesh as well as on a 1:1 basis
Focusing on your target audience and readers
How Witch Lit is defined as being Chick Lit with Witches
The creativity that all of us have and the importance of trusting that it will find its own expression in its own format

After the interview, Mark reflects on what Sheena said about the importance of having good feedback and encouragement in your creative endeavors which helps provide the confidence to keep moving forward and to keep writing and to keep practicing.

Mark shares one of his own experiences of a fantastic high school English teacher, Gary Furhman, whose comment on a short story he wrote in Grade 11 had a profound and lasting impact on him.

Links of Interest

Sheena Cundy's Website
- Music: https://morriganspath.bandcamp.com/ Morrigan's Path
- Video: TreehouseTV (YouTube)
- The Witch Lit Facebook Group
- The Witch Lit YouTube Show
- Promo Video for lastest Morrigan's Path Album
Findaway Voices
- Blog post about Authors Direct
CNET Article on when to take a pee break during Avengers: Endgame
Public Lending Right (PLR) Program
StoryBundle "The Write Stuff" Bundle (limited time offer)
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey

Sheena Cundy is a witch, wife, mother, and musician. She teaches the Tarot, spiritual development and horse riding, and sings and writes songs for her pagan band - Morrigans Path. She is also the author of a non-fiction book The Magic of Nature Oracle and the Witch Lit series of novels that include The Madness and the Magic and Bonkers and Broomsticks. Sheena says that she wrote this debut novel to keep out of prison, a straitjacket and the divorce courts while battling with dodgy hormones during a mid-life crisis.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 071 - A Buffet of Writing Advice with Patricia McLinn

19 april 2019 | 51 min

In this episode Mark interviews USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn about her three decades of experience in writing and publishing.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the episode's sponsor, 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 the personal update section Mark shares the following:

A reminder about the Public Lending Right for Canadian authors (and authors from UK, AU, NZ)
An article he recently wrote for Hamilton Magazine (including a bit about the TV show The Hilarious House of Frightenstein
An interview he did with the guys from the Paranormal Faction Podcast in Harriston, Ontario in a haunted theatre
His forthcoming visit to Book Expo America in New York
An update on the prize offered for commenters on Episode 70
The deadline to comment has been extended to the end of April
A new StoryBundle called the Write Stuff 2019 Spring Bundle that is available until early May. A steal for $5 for 4 books or 15 for all 12 books plus a $50 online lecture. Listeners will have a chance to win this bundle

In their chat, Mark and Patricia talk about:

The original publishers Patricia worked with when she had a few different series traditionally published
How hearing a talk at NINC given by Chris Anderson (who coined the concept of "The Long Tail") inspired Patricia to take a fresh look at the publishing industry and to consider indie publishing opportunities
The "Writer's Work" website Patricia created in 2009 as "insurance" in case the publishing industry went a little bonkers
Getting the rights back for all of her previously released works (except for one German edition of a title)
CONTROL being one of the main differences between traditional publishing and indie or self-publishing
The difference in timeframes and how publishers will sometimes sit on a manuscript for a year
The reality of the "16 days" you had on the bookstore shelves with titles published in the Harlequin Silhouette imprint
What clauses and types of contracts would have to have for Patricia to consider signing one again

Of course, mid-way through the interview, Patricia turns the table and starts asking Mark questions. After a brief section of talking about things publishers do well, and things they don't do so well, Mark realizes what Patricia has done (she is a great podcast host and asks great questions), and turns the tables back on her. They then talk about:

What dried wallpaper paste has to do with helping Patricia make the move towards writing and publishing
The one letter Patricia got back from an editor earlier in her career that said: "It's clear that you know nothing about the publishing industry"
The various elements of romance and mystery that Patricia likes to include in her writing
How Patricia feels that writing 3 to 5 books a year still isn't enough to keep up with the characters and ideas floating through her mind
The reasons why Patricia started the Authors Love Readers Podcast and how she wanted to model over a simple conversation with a writer where readers could eavestrough
Patricia's recent non-fiction book for writers called Survival Kit for Writers Who Don't Write Right
How authors have approached Patricia with tears in their eyes after she delivered a presentation on this same topic because they thought they were the only ones who wrote in a more "pantsing" type of style
The reason why Patricia has the book for sale for 99 cents on her own website
Patricia's number one piece of advice for writers - that writing advice is a buffet. You can try a bit of this, a bit of that, go back for seconds of something else. YOU control the buffet

After the interview Mark reflects on the concept of writing advice being a buffet that authors can selectively pick and choose from.

Links of Interest

Patricia McLinn's Website
Patricia's Podcast: Authors Love Readers
Findaway Voices
Public Lending Right (PLR) Program
StoryBundle "The Write Stuff" Bundle (limited time offer)
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey

USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn spent more than 20 years as an editor at the Washington Post after newspaper stints in Rockford, Ill., and Charlotte, N.C. She received BA and MSJ degrees from Northwestern University.

McLinn is the author of more than 47 published novels, which are cited by readers and reviewers for wit and vivid characterization. Her books include mysteries, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, historical romance and women’s fiction. They have topped bestseller lists and won numerous awards.

Now living in Northern Kentucky, McLinn loves to hear from readers through her website, Facebook and Twitter.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 070 - Audiobook Collaboration with Danny Bell and Whitton A. Frank

12 april 2019 | 60 min

In this episode, Mark interviews author Danny Bell and voice actor and model Whitton A. Frank about The Black Pages series that Danny writes and Whitton narrates.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the episode's sponsor, 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 the personal update segment Mark shares an update on the work for the self-narrated audiobook version of The 7 P's of Publishing Success as well as his recent guest spot on Episode 6 of Joanna Penn's new Books & Travel Podcast.

In their chat, Danny, Whitton, and Mark talk about:

How the initial idea for "The Black Pages" came to Danny from a variety of sources, including something he reflected upon when watching Doctor Who.
Danny's interest in the deaths of secondary characters on various television shows in which are often shared as no big deal, whereas if the protagonist or their close friends suffered the same fate, it was a major trauma.
Purposly not making the protagonist a straight white guy
The element of humor that is a part of the narrator in Empty Threat.
How Elana is a black and white character in a morally grey universe and was created with a lot of room to grow through each book.
The unique experience of Whitton as both the voice and the face of Elana.
How Danny and Whitton clicked when they met at a party that neither of them had been in a mood to want to be at.
The way that Danny started seeing Whitton in his head when he was writing the character of Elana.
Whitton modeling for the concept art for the cover, which led to the cover designer asking if she would be the model in the actual shoot.
Voice Over Atlanta, the biggest VO conference in the US that Elana just got back from.
The plans for the release of book three in the series and the special "full cast" production of this one (with Whitton still as the main narrator).
The debate over whether or not Elana needed to have a love interest in the first two books
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark makes an offer to do a random giveaway to two people who comment on the show notes for Episode 70 at www.starkreflections.ca.

Comments have to be posted by Noon EST on Thursday April 18th and eligible entries will be comments about one of the following:

What book would you love to escape into? (the way Elana can slip into a book)
What secondary character from any fictional world? (book, television, movie, etc) would you love to save (the way Elena saves the lives of secondary characters)

Mark then reflects upon the concept of something Danny said in the interview - "the most important thing you can do is to FINISH."

After, Mark shares a brief clip from the opening of Empty Threat.

Links of Interest

The Audiobook Mastering Guide (by Wesley Ingram)
The 7 P's of Publishing Success (Computer Narrated Version)
Findaway Voices
The Books and Travel Podcast Episode 6 - Macabre Montreal
Danny Bell Author Central Profile
The Black Pages on Facebook
Matt Altman IMDB
Star Wars Toy Stories
Anthony Brodeur
Whitton Frank - Website
Whitton Frank - ACX Narrator Profile
Getting Published with Mark Leslie (The Writing Show Podcast Reality Series where Mark attempted to write A Canadian Werewolf in New York while being tracked and interviewed about his progress)
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey

Danny Bell is the USA Today Best Selling Author and Amazon #1 Best Selling Author of The Black Pages and he nearly had an out of body experience when he realized that the song Mr. Brightside by The Killers is thirteen years old and that would surely mean that he was also older than thirteen. Older than double in fact! Certainly not triple.

He has three cats, Mister, Jameson, and Koala, and they all tolerate each other. He would never compare himself to Robocop, why would he do that? He plans to continue to write books forever with hope that one day there will be a Quantum Leap style thing where Dr. Sam Beckett will help fix his life, or failing that, the time-traveling ghost of Samuel Beckett, the author, will tell him that he has been pronouncing ‘Godot’ wrong the whole time. He isn’t sure why anyone ever wants a bio, but if you’re willing to read random things about him that may or may not be true, he’s willing to provide you with them.

Whitton Frank performed in her first show when she was 8 years old, and spent her summers through her high school studying at theAmerican Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.After majoring in Acting and Creative Writing at Carnegie Mellon University, Whitton travelled to Russia to study at the Moscow Art Theatre.

Following this Whitton moved to Los Angeles and was subsequently discovered by Tony Basil. This meeting led to her role in the US TV series ‘Cold Case’ and the films ‘Amnesia’ and ‘Who Are You?’, both of which won awards at various film festivals around the USA.

In 2016 Whitton launched her own production company Red Compass productions which is dedicated to promoting women in film and theater and telling their stories. The Company produced a revival of the 1970’s hit Out of Our Father’s House, which tells the stories of American women, in their own words. They have also produced a short dark comedy/horror film called Seeing Green, which is currently making the rounds at film festivals.

She can been seen in the TNT hit, Murder in the First Season 3 acting opposite Curry Grahm, as the lovable and quirky Jenna Laffy.

Also in 2016 she did voice over for the Star Wars Fan Film: Star Wars Toy Stories Rogue One. voicing Jyn Urso and Rei. This stop motion film has been screening and winning awards at conventions and film festivals around the world. For their work, the cast was invited to present it at Comic Con in San Diego. In the past two years she has narrated 5 audiobooks and is working on several more. You can check out her work on audible.com.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 069 - Publishing Predictions from 2009

5 april 2019 | 26 min

In this solo episode, Mark shares an article that he'd had published in the summer of 2009 when he was asked to make a prediction about something that likely wouldn't exist in publishing ten years later.

WARNING: This episode contains a short clip of Mark singing a parody version of "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams. (He couldn't help it. Song lyrics haunt his brain. The minute he mentioned the summer of 2009, the classic Adams song came to mind.)

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .He talks about the sources of his latest payment from Findaway Voices, which don't include the big players, like Audible or Apple, or Google, or Kobo.

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

As an introduction to the article, Mark shares the back-story of how he wrote article for an online magazine called The Mark News (no relation) on the topic of publishing and bookselling. This had been back when he was on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Booksellers Association, an active member of a couple of Campus Bookstore associations as well, and heavily involved in using the print-on-demand technology of The Espresso Book Machine in a bookstore in Hamilton, Ontario.

The reason Mark started thinking about the article in question was because of a sale he noticed on Kindle for the book that the article was republished in. A 2011 volume called Living at the Tip: Navigating the Digital Tipping Point of the Book World.

This book is something Mark published in the space of a few hours when Kindle first announced KDP Select, their exclusivity program. He collected the articles together, used Amazon's cover generation tool and published it, just to have a title in the program at all times.

In the article being shared, Mark explains the basic workings of territorial rights and how it has historically operated with publishers in various countries, agents, and authors.

He also shares his own frustration with the fake virtual borders in a digital world that don't seem necessary because the old ones were based on warehousing books inside the borders of a country after they were shipped there, or the rights were acquired for that territory.

In a digital world, the shipping of dead trees from continent to continent is not an issue, and, therefore, is something that Mark speculated SHOULD begin to disappear ten years from when he wrote it in 2009.

He goes on to explain how self-published and indie authors and smaller publishers have embraced the new digital world in ways that the major or larger publishers haven't. This is most likely due to the fact that big publishers are heavily invested in printing, stocking and shipping physical books, which represents the majority of their revenue.

Links of Interest

Living at the Tip (Amazon link)
Reflections on Digital Publishing (Video clips from an interview with Mark in 2012)
Mark's Super-Brief History of Publishing (a breif excerpt from a talk about the Future of Publishing from a 2014 Writers of the Future Awards ceremony - HINT: Mark's predication was that it would involve more collaboration than ever before)
Findaway Voices
Bryan Adams Website
Music video for "Summer of '69"
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey

The song "Summer of '69" was performed by Bryan Adams. It was written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, a long-time writing partner of Adams. It was produced by Bryan Adams and Bob Clearmountain and released in June 1985 by A&M Records as the fourth-single from the album Reckless.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 068 - Mastering Book Descriptions and Amazon Ads with Brian Meeks

29 mars 2019 | 66 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Brian Meeks, author of Mastering Amazon Ads and Mastering Amazon Descriptions. The interview was recorded during a Facebook Live video on the Stark Publishing Facebook page.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the episode's sponsor, 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 the personal update area, Mark talks about a recent 40% off Box Set promotion that he and author Sean Costello had with Kobo, how they added their own push for the promo, and how it helped them sell more copies not just on Kobo, but also on Kindle, Apple and Nook.

Mark talks about the detailed analysis of the promo which he published for Patreon supporters of the podcast and thanks them for their ongoing support.

In their chat, Mark and Brian talk about:

How Brian once put off launching a fiction title for 60 days because he wanted to avoid the task of writing the product description
How a description done correctly will convert at about 1 in 10 (1:10) - ie, ten views of an ad will result in a click through to the product by a potential customer
The most common problems that authors face when trying to write their book product description
The idea of using previous or existing reviews of a book to find hints and clues to what made the book special to readers
Ways authors can practice writing or creating compelling product descriptions
The ultimate goal of a product description, which is to get a potential reader to READ your book
Creating a log line that can be used as an "elevator pitch"
How formatting of a description can be as important as the words used in that description
How the main goal of the FIRST line (or opening hook) of a product description is to get the reader to read the SECOND line
The concept of the call to action to request the reader to "buy" or "get" the book today
Brian's story of the "miracle product description"
How customers don't care so much the difference between $2.99 or $4.99 and that their TIME in reading the book is something they consider more valuable, more precious
The concept of variance, and how it can take 1000 clicks before you have enough data to accurately measure the results of a data set
Amazon Ads for authors who are published exclusively to Kindle (KDP Select and part of Kindle Unlimited) VS authors who publish their books "wide" to all retail platforms
Why an author shouldn't spend more than 90 seconds writing up their advertising copy
What is a good place to start or to learn how Amazon Advertising works for you
The critical importance of patience and setting expectations and how much investment of time and energy it takes to perfect the process
How "Bid Plus" is a terrible idea for authors to use in Amazon Advertising
How Brian gives about 7 to 10 days for an ad to see if they are "getting turned on" and, if it isn't, he kills it
The differences of playing within the Amazon Advertising world today compared to how it used to be

In his post-interview reflections, Mark talks about three things from the chat that stuck with him.

The idea of NOT using the "Bid Plus" option when creating Amazon Advertising Ads
The concept of having a first line / log line of 4 to 6 words to grab the attention of a potential reader in your book description
The methodology of incorporating elements from reader reviews of your book when revising your book's blurb

Links of Interest

Brian D. Meeks is an author who writes under his name and the pen name Arthur Byrne.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 067 - Nancy Christie on Rut-Busting for Writers

22 mars 2019 | 52 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Nancy Christie, the author of the award-winning book Rut-Busting for Writers.

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 the personal update for this episode, Mark shares some of the work he has done in his "Canadian Werewolf" universe, including the recent audiobook version of the short story "This Time Around," reworking the cover for A Canadian Werewolf in New York and the short story to include a wolf image (giving the book a bit more of an urban fantasy look and feel), and the new short story he is currently working on that he is calling "Stowe Away" and which he describes as a cross between "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" and "Logan."

In their conversation, Mark and Nancy talk about:

Nancy's passion for writing that started in the 2nd grade
How she had never planned on being an author until she "accidentally" published her first book
The two years of personal journal entries she started when her mother was diagnosed with cancer in 1999 and how that evolved into a book project
The Rut-Busting workshops Nancy had been offering which ended up being adapted into a book
Strategies for dealing with procrastination
The concept of creating a writing roadmap
The importance of consistency with devoting the time to writing
The value of the 30 minute / 30 day strategy that Nancy recommends
The writing toolbox and the objects Nancy uses from them in a writing workshop
And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few things Nancy said, including the concept of "just get started" as well as the idea of making time to write for 30 minutes every day for 30 days.

Links of Interest

Nancy Christie is the author of the award-winning Rut-Busting Book for Writers, Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories and The Gifts Of Change. Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous print and online publications.

Peripheral Visions and Other Stories, Christie’s second short fiction collection, won a second place award in the prestigious 2018 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition. It’s scheduled for publication in 2020 by Unsolicited Press. She is currently working on Rut-Busting Book for Authors, a companion book to Rut-Busting Book for Writers, that will be released Fall 2019.

A professional writer based in Ohio, Christie provides copywriting services to agencies, businesses and organizations nationwide through her company, Professional Writing Services.

A member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Florida Writers Association and Short Fiction Writers Guild (SFWG), Christie teaches writing workshops at conferences, libraries and schools. She is also the founder of the annual “Celebrate Short Fiction” Day (www.nancychristie.com/focusonfiction/celebrate-short-fiction-day/).

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 066 - Behind the Scenes Author Support with Adriel Wiggins

14 mars 2019 | 43 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Adriel Wiggins about the behind the scenes support she provides authors as both a virtual assistant as well as a continuity editor.

Prior to the interview, Mark provides a short personal update and talks about this episode's sponsor, 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 Adriel discuss:

The backstory of how Adriel got involved in becoming an author's virtual assistant
The random jobs she had been working at prior to taking editorial and VA type work
The different and unique tasks that each author Adriel works with use her for
What she looks for in terms of authors that she is interested in working with
How an author can determine if they are ready for a virtual assistant
Typical charges for a virtual assistant's various tasks
What continuity editing is and why it is important
The four types of editing (Developmental Editing, Copy/Line Editing, Proofreading, Continuity Editing)
The eggs benedict breakfast that James A Owen hosts at Superstars Writing Seminars
The importance of valuing yourself

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of valuing yourself and your time as a writer.

Links of Interest

Whether she is running her own business, tackling administrative duties at her local Christian school, or raising her family, Adriel Wiggins always seems to find herself the center of a situation in need of organization. Combining her passion for organization and optimization with her love of books, Adriel Wiggins now helps authors to streamline the non-writing aspects of managing a successful writing career. For more than four and a half years, she's balanced the in's and out's of book promotion, community growth, online marketing, and more for a growing roster of clients from around the world.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 065 - Two Publishing Paths Diverged

8 mars 2019 | 32 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 064 - Procrastination

1 mars 2019 | 14 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 063 - Wait. Did You Hear That?

22 februari 2019 | 42 min

In this solo episode, Mark plays clips from a couple of other podcasts, shares some personal updates related to his own audiobook products, and goes neck deep into his thoughts about audiobooks for authors.

The 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.

Some of the topics Mark covers in this episode include:

How much he still loves the 1987 song "Somewhere Down The Crazy River" by Robbie Robertson
A FreeBooksy promo he recently ran on an erotic horror title called SOMETHING WICKED (Nocturnal Screams 7)
A BookBub promo he ran with his pal Sean Costello for the book HERE AFTER
A new computer synth version of his book The 7 P's of Publishing Success that is now available and why he is pricing this version at 99 cents

A sample from his new VocoCraft computer synth version of the book, as well as the same sample from the human self-narrated version of the book
The recent Public Lending Right Program check he received for the appearance of his books in Canadian libraries and why authors in Canada, the UK, Australia and other countries that have a PLR program should take advantage of that
His recent guest appearance on The Sell More Books Show with Jim Kukral (Mark stepped in at the last minute to replace co-host Bryan Cohen who was ill)
A short clip from Episode 255 of The Sell More Books Show talking about a new "choose your own audio" project from Amazon
A couple of clips from The Creative Penn podcast episode 417, where Joanna interviewed Will Dages from Findaway Voices
The reveal of the new Voices Share program from Findaway Voices

Mark also welcomes new Patron Sherilyn Decter and thanks all patrons who support the show and have access to additional audio content (Stark Reflections on Other Podcasts) and other material at www.patreon.com/starkreflections.

He also thanks those who commented on Episode 62 and draws the name of two winners for the Mythulu creation cards.

Links of Interest:

Written Word Media (BargainBooksy, FreeBooksy, etc)
BookBub
The 7 P's of Publishing Success
- The VocoCraft Computer Synth Version
VocoCraft
Public Lending Rights Program (Canada)
- YouTube Video
The Sell More Books Show (Episode 255)
The Creative Penn Podcast (Episode 417)
Mythulu
Superstars Writing Seminars
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey
Something Wicked (Nocturnal Screams 7)
Killing It On Kobo

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 062 - Expanding Creativity with Mythulu Creation Cards

15 februari 2019 | 38 min

In this episode Mark interviews Laura Shanae Crenshaw, a writer, a world-builder, a photographer, an all around creative person, and the creator of the Mythulu creation cards.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a few details from last week's Superstars Writers Seminars that stuck out to him, both writing and business-of-writing related activities as well as an unexpected pleasant personal experience.

He then talks about the audiobook panels he was on and mentions this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices. He shares that, in 2018, 6% of his writing income came from audio, and from sources well behind the major retailers for audiobooks (such as Audible, Apple, Kobo and Google). . . . you can learn more about how you can get your work distributed not only to those top retailers, but also to other retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their chat, Mark and Laura discuss:

Laura's unusual introduction into writing via imaginary stories from her older sister
The basic concept behind the Mythulu creativity enhancement tool that Laura created
Daniel Kahneman (author of "Thinking Fast and Slow") and how his idea that the brain can only hold 6 ideas at a time led to the six packs in Laura's deck
Filling a story with rich meaning instead of tropes and cliches
The archetypes used in the tool: Elements, Habitats, Characters, Relationships, Traits, and Textures
Examples of "Blood" as one of the 50 archetypical elements and the various interpretations associated with it
How research led to the creation of something a lot more complex than was laid out by Joseph Campbell in his mythological archetypes
Mark's consideration of Laura's reading of the deck as being similar to a Tarot reading
Examples of how a writer might use the deck to fill in details or answering outstanding questions
Laura's passion for helping writers tell new stories and incorporate new ideas into their writing
The non-fiction book that Laura ghost-wrote called "Never Boss"
How Laura was introduced to and invited to Superstars Writing Seminars by James Owen

After the interview, Mark reminds listeners of their chance to win a copy of the Mythulu Creation Cards just by commenting on this episode at www.starkreflections.ca.

The winner will be randomly drawn from all commenters, and patrons supporting the show via Patreon.com/StarkReflections who leave a comment will get an additional bonus opportunity to win.

He then reflects on how Laura was welcomed in to the Superstars Writing Seminars Tribe, discusses the concept of that incredibly powerful "family" feeling at the conference, as well as elements of Love that go beyond notions of romantic love and are more about the beautiful way that people can connect to one another and support each other.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 061 - Nuggets From Superstars Writing Seminars 2019

14 februari 2019 | 17 min

This short episode includes a brief chat with Adriel Wiggins about her author resource business (author assistant and continuity editing) as well as a few quick nuggets from the recent Superstars Writing Seminars that Mark attended in early February 2019.

The episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. Mark shares a fun Valentine's promotion from them called FOR THE LOVE OF AUDIOBOOKS. Readers can use a coupon code ("loveaudio") to get as many titles from this wonderful collection of romance audiobooks in time for Valentines' Day.

https://shop.authors-direct.com/collections/for-the-love-of-audiobooks . . . you can learn more at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their brief chat, Mark and Adriel talk about:

Adriel talks about how she got involved in creating services to assist authors
The "I'm not letting you go ever!" response from her first author client
Her specialties which are related to data analytics and promotion schedules
Some of the common mistakes authors make when hiring a personal assistant

Mark explains that he'll be doing a full interview with Adriel in a forthcoming episode.

For the last part of this short episode, he shares three of the many tidbits of things he learned at Superstars Writing Seminars.

Three Small Nuggets From the Landslide of Gold at SSWS

1. Yasiv.com - a cloud map (visual representation of also boughts for AMS ads, BookBub and Facebook targeting, etc) - a great reminder from James Hunter.

2. QUOTE: "You don't have a muse, you have a mortgage." - Jim Butcher, reminding writers what being a professional means.

3. The D10 of Power Writing - The concept of using a 10 sided die to set a writing goal before you consider yourself finished. Simple - Multiple the number rolled on the die by 1000. If you roll a 1, you write 1000 words, if you roll a 10, then 10,000 words.

Mark concludes by stating that he left Superstars Writing Seminars having lined up a wonderful series of interviews from several great people that you'll hear in forthcoming episodes.

For example, next episode will feature a chat with Laura Shanae Crenshaw of Mythulu and she shares the incredible intriguing Mythulu deck that helps a writer come up with insightful characters, situations and incidents in their stories that move well beyond tropes or the low-hanging fruit of "the first thing that comes to mind."

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 060 - The Holy Shit Moment and Other Sudden Insights with James Fell

8 februari 2019 | 57 min

Mark interviews James Fell, the author of The Holy Shit Moment: How Lasting Change Can Happen in An Instant about his new book.

This episode comes with a special offer. If you comment on the show at www.starkreflections.ca (Episode 60) in the first week, your name will be entered into a random draw for winning a copy of the book. The choice of the format (Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook) will be decided by the winner. (Please note this podcast is airing Feb 8, 2019)

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a bit of a personal update, which includes mention of his trip to Superstars Writing Seminars this week as well as a brief word about the episode's corporate sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .

. . . you can learn more at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and James talk about:

The approach James takes when it comes to merging research, attitude and humor in the different articles and columns he writes
Where and when the submit matter of an article seems to naturally call for profanity
How a cold call (and not following the "standard advice" on the matter) led to a role as a bi-weekly columnist for the La Times
The dopamine rush that comes with the recognition of progress
The length of time and the amount of work it takes to make it as a writer
James' first book, Lose it Right, which sold only to a publisher in Canada (Random House Canada)
The decision to write a book within the system of the markets that went beyond fitness and weight loss while maintaining a consistent moral code
How there are plenty of self-help books out there that are absolute crap
Being goal and motivation oriented
Early positive feedback already received on the book and the personal revelations shared from early and beta readers
How the book idea came to James in the middle of a long bike ride
The concept of System 1 and System 2 from Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Malcolm Gladwell as an example of an author who drilled down in a narrow and focused way into a specific subject within common knowlege, including reference to science and insightful anecdotes
The concept of making this a "how to" book about making insights/epiphanies happen
The outreach for personal stories and the series of interviews with field experts on the topic
How running is a creative process for James
The two important elements: 1) The open-ness to the belief that this (a transformative event) can happen 2) Analysis followed by distraction
Giving yourself the opportunity for an ephiphany to arrive after first setting the stage by asking questions
The importance of being comfortable turning distractions completely off and engaging with nature for arriving at these types of scenarios (looking out the window rather than reading or listening to music)
What "shower thoughts" are and why they are important
The great value of a "walk in nature"
The wave of emotion that comes when "the answer" arrives
How we struggle with making "baby steps" because we are not inspired - more likely we felt like it was something we "had to do"
The challenging process of recording the audiobook, which was different than any of the radio or speaking experience James has had
Recording the audiobook in a music studio that was most often used for "death metal"
The four seven-hour days of recording the book and how exhausting the experience was

After the interview Mark reflects on how writers can often experience revelations or sudden insights related to the characters in the books and stories they are writing. He also comments on the Thoreau-like perspective Fell shares, about the importance of walking in nature.

Links of Interest:

James Fell, MA, MBA, is a motivation, health, and fitness writer for the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. He has written extensively for Chatelaine and AskMen.com, and authored pieces in TIME Magazine, the Guardian, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, and many other publications. He has a massive and highly engaged following on Facebook and Twitter, and his blog, Body For Wife, has millions of visitors a year. He is also the author of Lose It Right. He lives in Calgary, AB.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 059 - Romancing Soccer, Books, & Beer with Sara Rider

1 februari 2019 | 35 min

In Episode 59 Mark interviews Sara Rider, author of contemporary romances full of heart and heat about strong women and the men who can’t resist them.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a few personal updates which include:

Recently reading THE HOLY SH!T MOMENT by James Fell
A forthcoming trip to Colorado Springs for Superstars Writing Seminars
Thanks Patreon supporters with a note that there'll be additional content posted for them upon his return from Superstars in early Feb 2019

Mark also shares a word about this episode's corporate sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .

. . . you can learn more at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Sara talk about:

How Sara's passion for and experience in soccer and reading romance novels led to a series of romance novels that focus on professional soccer players
The wishfulfilment element of those novels
Sara's experience with slush piles, an agent and having her first novels published by an imprint of Pocket Books, one of the world's largest publishers
The reasons why Sara decided to self-publish her next series, which included the ability to give away free books
How Sara continues to work with her agent while exploring both traditional publishing and self-publishing opportunities
Mark's discovery of Sara's Books and Brews series because of the unique craft brewery setting for these novels and the reasons why Sara decided to use that as part of the setting
How the idea for a book can pop right into Sara's head almost fully formed
The elements that connect the books in the Books & Brews series (which include the intertwined world of writers and brewers)
The division of time related to working full time, raising a family and writing
The role of deadlines in Sara's writing life
Tips for ensuring that her break and lunch-time writing sessions are not compromised
Sara's biggest regrets from when her first novel was launched and what she would have changed
The approach Sara takes with her newsletter

After the interview, Mark reflects on Sara's mention of the fact that readers are interested in and want to like the writers that they read.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 058 - Living a Full Life with Win Charles

25 januari 2019 | 33 min

In this episode Mark speaks with Win Charles. Born with Cerebral Palsy, Win has defied the odds by becoming an author. Her memoir I, Win is an amazing story of how she remembers her life through the years of having a condition called “CP”. Win truly is an unstoppable inspiration.

Before the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update about the progress he is making on recording the audiobook for The 7 P's of Publishing Success.

He also shares the sources of the most recent royalty payment he has received from Findaway Voices, indicating that the four that made up his most recent audiobook income came from:

Playster
hibooks
Bountiful
Authors Direct

If you want to learn how you can leverage the power of Findaway Voices . . .

. . . you can learn more at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Win talk about:

The 10 books that Win has written and published
How easy it is to use Draft2Digital to publish eBooks
Win's latest book Smile With Dictation which explains the process of how Win uses dictation to assist with writing
The combination of using Siri and Dragon Naturally Speaking Dictation that Win uses to write her books
How long it takes to train dictation software
Win's first book I, Win, which came out 8 years ago
The improvement in technology of dictation software between Win's first book and her latest one
The writing space Win prefers to write in
The passion for writing that Win has always held
The story behind the book I, Win and how it ties in to the loss of her mother
How Win does her best using social media to support independent authors
The origin of Win's jewelry company
Win's experience participating in the Kona Ironman
The role that teaching and education has played in Win's life
The journalism degree that Win is currently in the process of working towards
Win's podcast (AskWin) that has reached more than 1000 episodes
Existing audiobooks Win has created (and how), and the plans Win has for future audiobooks

After the interview Mark reflects on Win's message of the importance of showing people what you CAN do, not what you CAN'T do.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 057 - Cash Flow For Writers With Donna Cook

18 januari 2019 | 41 min

In the episode Mark interviews Donna Cook who has published over a dozen books in two genres. She writes epic fantasy under her own name and writes contemporary romance as Jordyn White.

Donna talks not only about her writing life as both Donna and Jordyn, but also offers up advice on the important topic of Cash Flow for Writers.

Before the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .

. . . which includes their recent announcement of two new international distribution options: MLOL and AudiobooksNZ.

You can read more about that here: Findaway Blog.

Mark provides a personal update and also welcomes new patron Pranathi K.

In their interview, Mark and Donna talk about:

The fact that writers and creative types don't often talk about money
Donna's eye-opening experience understanding the importance of her relationship to money
The importance of applying her financial know-how to her author business
The basic principles of understanding money flow and cash flow
The additional costs of charging and using credit
Where people can go to find more information about cash flow via Donna's course and Excel tool: jordynwhitebooks.com/courses
The difference between the creative writer Donna Cook and the romance author Jordyn White
The fact that Donna can write contemporary romance faster than she can write epic fantasy
The satisfaction that comes with the regular production of creative writing
The eclectic music that Donna listens to when she is writing
The Wonder Woman sound-track and accompanying poster in Donna's "power woman" room
The "no need to sign up" ability to read a complete book right online that Donna has recently created and how it removes a barrier for readers
The "Writer CEO" one day conference Donna and her colleague Colleen are running in Sept 2019 in Boise, Idaho
The fact that Donna will be presenting at NINC in the fall of 2019
How Donna divides up the different writing, coaching and teaching work she does in order to make her writing time more effective
The advice Donna would give herself when she was first starting up, including the importance of patience

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of patience, and the hard work and blood and sweat and tears that writers put in behind the scenes.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 056 - Balancing and Counterbalancing with Katie Cross

11 januari 2019 | 45 min

In this episode, Mark speaks with Katie Cross, a writer, mother and out-door enthusiast.

On her website, Katie describes herself in this way: "I am a creator of worlds, destroyer of evil, and a born wordsmith bringing light to the dark night of those that need an escape."

This is the perfect description for her, which you will get a solid taste of in the interview.

Before the interview, Mark welcomes new Patron Ember Casey, thanking her for her patronage of the Stark Reflections podcast. Ember and other patrons will have access to 27 patron-only posts, 3 special mini "Stark Reflections on other Podcasts" episodes and other additional audio and video content for as little as a coffee or two a month. If you are interested in the extra content or supporting the show, you can check it out at patreon.com/starkreflections.

Mark also shares a word about this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .

. . . as part of his personal update, which includes:

2019 audiobook plans
An update on the progress with recording of the audiobook for The 7 P's of Publishing Success
A detailed look at three different views of Mark's 2018 writing income, broken down by type, format and activity.

In the interview Mark and Katie talk about:

The inspiration behind the first YA Fantasy series that Katie wrote, which started with the novel Miss Mabel's School for Girls, which was published in 2014
The Wattpad-like platform that Katie first started releasing the book on in order to get honest feedback before she published it
Learning how to read as an author rather than reading as a reader
The reason why Katie has the entire Antebellum series book covers designed and ready to go even though she hasn't published them yet
How the Dragonmaster Trilogy was initially supposed to be part of the Antebellum Collection, but became it's own unique project
The process of finding professionals to work with, through networking, slowly, over the years
The importance of Efficiency and Intention
The concepts of balance and counterbalance
Outsourcing particular tasks, like housekeeping and accounting, to allow for prioritizing writing activities
The two businesses that Katie runs - the Fiction Business and the GhostWriting Business (ghost-writing non-fiction books for high end entrepreneurs who want to write a book but either don't want to do the writing or aren't able to)
The scheduling for tasks such as social media, email, and interacting with fans
The importance of scheduling "self-care" time into each day
The community of about 200 people that Katie and her family are a part of
The daily hiking routine that is important for the entire family (including the dogs)
How Katie runs Facebook ads for her fiction and how much she spends per month on these ads
The two distinct mailing lists that Katie has for her different fan bases (YA Fantasy and Chick Lit), and how she interacts with and cares for the people on each list
The importance of talking to the reasons why reasons gravitate towards each of those unique genres
The advice that Katie would give to her herself when she was first starting, which includes finding a good mentor

After the interview, Mark reflects on the concept of Balance and Counterbalance.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 055 - Forward Momentum While Looking Back

4 januari 2019 | 44 min

In this solo episode, Mark takes a look at his 2018 writing and publishing goals and shares the hits, the misses and the alterations that took place in the past twelve months.

He feels it is important to remind writers that if they are already beating themselves up for not completing all the previous year's goals, that he didn't hit all his goals; that he failed at most of them; that he screwed up along the way; that he made mistakes. But also that he adapted several of the goals he'd set as I went along. And he inserted new goals mid-year.

That can happen. It will happen. It's how you deal with those changes that can make the difference between seeing it as a complete failure, or seeing it as an ongoing work in progress.

Mark then says a word about this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .

Mark first talks about the goals he had set at the beginning of 2018 and how he did with them:

1) Write a non-fiction book called INDIE PUBLISHING INSIDER SECRETS 2) Finish the sequel to A CANADIAN WEREWOLF IN NEW YORK 3) Finish the sequel to EVASION 4) Pitch and write a traditionally published book SPIRITS UNTAPPED - to Dundurn 5) Compile a new full book short story collection 6) Stay retired

He then shares a number of goals for 2019:

1) Publish Audiobook for 7 P's of Publishing Success 2) Publish Audiobook for Killing It on Kobo 3) Finish writing and Publish eBook/Print and audio for Indie Publishing Insider Secrets 4) Publish Audiobook for ACWWINY 5) Publish Audiobook for I, DEATH 6) Publish Audiobook for ONE HAND SCREAMING (story collection) 7) Write and release SCREAMING SKULLS: And Other Haunted Objects in eBook/print and audio 8) Finish the first draft of FEAR AND LONGING IN LOS ANGELES 9) Book new speaking gigs - Ideally, another keynote either in the last half of 2019 or the first half of 2020

Mark also shares his 2018 eBook sales percentages:

Kindle - 45.97%

Kobo - 20.68%

StoryBundle - 20.27%

BundleRabbit - 6.80%

Apple - 3.25%

Nook - 2.30%

Direct Sales - 0.30%

Google - 0.21%

Scribd - 0.12%

Tolino - 0.06%

Smashwords - 0.04%

Mark talks about what he achieved and what he didn't achieve in 2018. He talks about what he did well and what he didn't do well.

He reminds writers of the importance of focusing on the forward momentum made, even where a goal wasn't completed, if there was forward momentum that is a step in the right direction.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 054 - Personable Publishing with Lindsay Buroker

28 december 2018 | 40 min

In the final episode of 2018, Mark interviews Science Fiction and Fantasy author Lindsay Buroker, a successful author who has been indie publishing for about eight years.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a short personal update and thanks new Patron, Michael Lister; he also mentions that he recently released the third special "Reflections on other Podcasts" episodes for Patrons, which appears at www.patreon.com/starkreflections. He also thanks those who reached out to him after hearing him on episode 408 of The Creative Penn Podcast which was released on Dec 23rd.

Mark then says a word about this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .In their conversation, Mark and Lindsay talk about:

The main differences between when Lindsay first started out more than eight years ago releasing her first novel, The Emperor's Edge (while also producing her first podcast), and today
The joy of getting to a place where each book's sales are enough to ensure paying for the cost of production
The pros and cons of writing in multiple series in different genres
Reasons why Lindsay released a new series of novels under a fresh and then-unknown pen name in 2014
Managing three mailing lists for the different reader bases that Lindsay has acquired over the years for different genres and pen names
Maintaining a very personable persona in the mailing lists and in discussions with her fans
The benefit of hosting a podcast with two other people for the SF & Fantasy Marketing Podcast, compared with the solo podcast (Saavy Self-Publishing) that Lindsay created many years earlier
What Lindsay gets out of her guests from being one of the hosts of the SF & Fantasy podcast
Why she is happy that she didn't experience a lot of luck early on in her writing success, and, instead, slowly built up her readership over time and how they can become loyal fans
Lindsay's one experience writing collaboratively and whether or not she plans on doing that again
Some of the reasons why, despite her success, Lindsay hasn't yet hired a personal or virtual assistant
The early adoption of audiobooks that Lindsay invested in years before most indie authors began creating audiobooks
What Lindsay would tell her younger self who was just beginning as a writer

After the interview, Mark reflects on the personal connection that Lindsay enjoys and maintains as an important and authentic element of her author journey.

Links of Interest:

Lindsay Buroker has early memories of convincing childhood friends, pets, and stuffed animals to play the roles of characters in her worlds, so it’s safe to say she’s been making up stories for a long time. She published her first novel, The Emperor’s Edge, in December of 2010 and has written and published more than 50 novels since then, most under her own name, but a few steamier ones under a pen name.

When she’s not writing, she’s usually hiking with her dogs, practicing yoga, playing tennis, or eating entirely too much dark chocolate (she only does one of those things truly well, and she will let you guess which it is).

She grew up in the Seattle area but has itchy feet and has moved several times over the years. She most recently landed in Bend, Oregon, where she and her dogs now have eighty acres to roam around on. Someday, she may even have a house on that land.

If you’re interested in reading more of her work, you can download The Emperor’s Edge, Star Nomad, and Balanced on the Blade’s Edge for free in your favorite store.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 053 - The Co-Founders of Draft2Digital

20 december 2018 | 38 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Aaron Pogue (President), Kris Austin (CEO) and Toby Nance (CTO), the co-founders of Draft2Digital about how they worked together and played off one another's strengths to create the company.

This episode is a bit of a response from a few listeners who heard Mark mention that he recently joined the D2D team, but they weren't familiar with the company.

They asked if it might be possible to share a bit of information about what Draft2Digital is all about.

If you're not familiar with Draft2Digital, this will provide a decent introduction. And if you think you know Draft2Digital, perhaps there'll also be some deeper info and insights for you to learn even more by pulling a bit of that curtain back on three gentlemen who usually prefer to operate behind the scenes at this author-friendly company.

Prior to the interview, Mark talks about the new announcement from this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .. . . which is called VOICES PLUS.

Mark then provides a personal update which includes his recent visit to Oklahoma City to visit the Draft2Digital office, his short story "The Ritual of the Drawing" which recently appeared in the anthology Amazing Monster Tales: Dawn of the Monsters.

Mark also mentions his recent appearances on a few other podcasts, including the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast and the Disruptor Podcast.

In their conversation, Mark, Aaron, Kris and Toby talk about:

How Aaron has been a writer since he was six years old and how his interest in self-publishing led to his desire to have a tool to make it easy to publish
The fact that the three of them became best friends in college
The initial "Google Doc to eBook" conversion tool that was a command line program that Aaron had requested Toby create for him
How that tool was the beginning of the collaboration between Aaron and Toby, and Kris to create a platform all authors could benefit from
The business proposal Kris put together that involved making a product that gave authors power in the industry
Toby's joking description of Aaron as both Draft2Digital's first user and least supported user
The company's goals to offer the best customer support of any of the other players in the industry
The importance of making the systems and systems easy for non-techical persons
The partnership of being there to help writers achieve their writing and publishing goals
The origin of Universal Book Links from looking in detail at author problems that everyone knows about but nobody has time to work on (such as allowing the author a single link to their book where readers can choose the retailer where they'd like to purchase that book)
How Books to Read links work better the more readers who use it (including the ability for users to set their own prefered store that Books2Read will automatically take them directly to
The recently announced Account Sharing Controls that allow for virtual assistants, for example, to manage some of an author's metadata and assets without having access to their more sensitive information, such as banking information
The things that they are each most looking forward to as we head into 2019

After the interview, Mark reflects on three things this conversation and recent trip to Oklahoma City made him think about: Personal connections in a digital world, collaboration and being open minded.

Links of Interest:

Aaron Pogue is the President and co-founder of Draft2Digital, a company offering online, author-assistance tools to enhance the business of publishing. Sporting simple but beautiful ebook formatting and conversion as well as easy distribution across some of the most powerful digital stores available, D2D is growing both its market share and its influence in the self-publishing world. Draft2Digital was founded in 2012 and enjoys continued growth and success. Before taking his post at Draft2Digital, Aaron worked as both a Technical Writer with the Federal Aviation Administration and a writing professor at the university level. He holds a Master of Professional Writing degree from the University of Oklahoma. He also self-publishes novels in the fantasy and science fiction genres. His books have sold a quarter of a million copies since his debut in 2010.

Kris Austin is the CEO and co-founder of Draft2Digital, a company offering online, author-assistance tools to enhance the business of publishing. Sporting simple but beautiful ebook formatting and conversion as well as easy distribution across some of the most powerful digital stores available, D2D is growing both its market share and its influence in the self-publishing world. Draft2Digital was founded in 2012 and enjoys continued growth and success. Before taking this post with Draft2Digital, Kris worked for a private information technologies firm, where he managed the IT departments of dozens of Oklahoma City businesses. He received a B. S., Computer Science from Oklahoma Christian University in 2004.

Toby Nance is the CTO and co-founder of Draft2Digital, a company offering online, author-assistance tools to enhance the business of publishing. Sporting simple but beautiful ebook formatting and conversion as well as easy distribution across some of the most powerful digital stores available, D2D is growing both its market share and its influence in the self-publishing world. Toby has been the head of development for Draft2Digital since its founding in 2012. Before taking this post with Draft2Digital, Toby worked at MSCI as a team lead writing custom workflows in LISP. He also worked on the Core Development Team, improving their tool support for LISP. Before that, he worked as Senior Design Engineer at Lowrance Electronics in charge of automotive mapping. He wrote a turn-by-turn routing navigation system and tides and currents prediction software and maps.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 052 - The Simple Life with Gary Collins

14 december 2018 | 63 min

Mark interviews author Gary Collins about the simple life, both the name of a series of books as well as the new life he enjoys after some very unique experiences that include military intelligence and Special Agent.

Before the interview, Mark shares a personal update that involves flying to Vancouver for the annual CAPS (Canadian Association of Professional Speakers) Convention and then to Oklahoma City to spend some time with his colleagues at Draft2Digital.

Mark then says a few words about this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .

In their conversation, Mark and Gary talk about:

Gary's long and circuitous approach into publishing, the great lessons learned and passions experienced along the way
The concept of not just knowing how the sausage was made but actually being the sausage via his life as a government agent
The early 40's burnout Gary experienced, which led to a new beginning and new passions that included health and fitness
The valueable mentorship and tough love that Gary experienced from Steven Pressfield
Gary's first experience in self-publishing where mistakes were made and more lessons were learned
Books that were derived from trying to provide information to clients without having to repeat the same info over and over
The purchase of twenty acres of land and building a house off the grid and the resulting influx of questions about it that led to another book
The process of saving money for six months, then building for another six months, then working and saving money for the next period, in a repeated cycle
How the sales of the book about the simple life and going off the grid attracted a distribution company
The mistakes on Gary's path and how he didn't find his purpose, but his purpose found him
How Gary doesn't rely on scheduling for his writing, but the disclipline involved when he actually sits down
20Booksto50K being the first writer conference that Gary has ever attended and the fortuitous break of being able to attend after being on the waiting list for the sold-out show
Learning the importance of integrating oneself with other writers
How Mark and Gary connected via the RUSH shirt that Gary had been wearing one day at 20Booksto50K
The fact that Gary will go ahead and reach out to anyone without any fear because "what's the worst that can happen?"
Gary's withdrawl from social media in the past year and his belief on how it can suck the life out of a person
Advice on how to adapt the simple life methodology into one's life
How a person's purpose can change over time, and the reality that the purpose doesn't have to be dramatic or enormous
The importance of putting effort into the positive rather than into the negative

After the interview, Mark reflects on the idea of "reaching out to anyone" and explores the possible risk along with the possible opportunity involved in that.

Links of Interest:

Gary Collins has a very interesting and unique background that includes military intelligence, Special Agent for the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Collins’ background and expert knowledge brings a much-needed perspective to today’s areas of simple living, health, nutrition, entrepreneurship, self-help and being more self-reliant.

His website www.thesimplelifenow.com, and The Simple Life book series (his total lifestyle reboot), blows the lid off of conventional life and wellness expectations, and is considered essential for every person seeking a simpler, and happier life.

Gary now lives off-the-grid part of the year in a remote area of NE Washington State, and the other part of year exploring in his travel trailer with his trusty black lab Barney.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 051 - A Lot of Niching To Be Done with Rachel Amphlett

7 december 2018 | 39 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Rachel Amplett, the author of the successful Dan Taylor and Kay Hunter police procedural thrillers as well as stand alone thrillers and mystery novels.

The interview includes a lot of information related to this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .Mark shares a bit of an update about the the new Authors Direct option that Findaway Voices is beta testing.

In their chat, Mark and Rachel talk about:

What compelled Rachel to writing in the first place.
The confusing and conflicting messages she received from different publishers when shopping her first Dan Taylor novel around.
How Rachel started out in indie publishing a stand alone novel, WHITE GOLD, seven years ago after a suggestion from a friend (and how it all started with a Goodreads page and an author account at Smashwords).
The emails from readers around the world that prompted Rachel to write a sequel to her first novel; something she hadn't planned in the first place.
How the experience of being approached by a publisher in Italy interested in publishing an Italian version of her novel WHITE GOLD (having found her "by accident") prompted her to see what could be done by applying her experince as a project administrator into a business plan with marketing efforts, which she started at 2015.
The fact that Kobo was the first retail platform where her sales really started to take off after a 99 cent BookBub deal.
Being so successful that she was able to go full time as writer without having actually "broken out" in the US, the one market that seems to be the easiest for authors to break into.
Getting into the audiobook market relatively early as part of a strategic business plan.
Investing some of the money that was coming in from Rachel's Kay Hunter novels into the creation of the audiobooks and the stacked-up rapid release of the first several books in the series within a couple of months.
The producer and narrator Rachel found in the UK for the audiobooks.
How the narrator, Alison Campbell, has become the voice of Kay Hunter for Rachel and many of her listening readership.
The challenge of staying on the exhausting "hamster wheel" that a writer can find themselves on working on steady releases and how Rachel is avoiding burn-out by strategic scheduling and the inclusion of passion projects.
How success can come from sitting down at the end of a project and engaging in an exercise of "lessons learned."
The early success Rachel has seen via Findaway Voices sales at Playster.
How you can never know where in the world the sales of your books can come from.
What happens when you try something a little bit different and focus on the niche markets that are working for you.
How Rachel Findaway Voices Authors Direct program was a Godsend.
How a large portion of Rachel's print books sell to libraries around the world - a great way for readers to read their favorite authors for free in eBook, print and audio.
The things Rachel thinks will be the most important for authors to think about in the next year.

After the interview, Mark shares his thoughts on the success Rachel had outside of Amazon as well as her systematic project management process that helps keep her on track and balanced in her writing life.

He then shares a few appearances he had recently on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast as well as in a Reedsy live webinar about selling more on Kobo.

Links of Interest:

Rachel Amplett's Website
Rachel's Novels
Rachel's Shop Direct Audiobook link (via Authors Direct)
Mark's Shop Direct Audiobook link (via Authors Direct)
Findaway Voices
Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast - EP 210: Selling More at Kobo and Relying Less on Amazon
Reedsy Webinar (Video Replay) - Getting Your Book Featured on Kobo
The 7 P's of Publishing Success
Killing It On Kobo
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

After living in Brisbane, Australia for 13 years, Rachel has now returned to the UK. She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore's TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.

Her novels are available in eBook, paperback and audiobook formats from worldwide retailers including Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, and Google Play.

A keen traveller, Rachel holds both EU and Australian passports and can usually be found plotting her next trip two years in advance!

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 050 - Five Things Learned in the First Fifty Episodes

3 december 2018 | 31 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 049 - Rambling Across America with Tommy Ray

30 november 2018 | 37 min

Henry David Thoreau said: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you imagined."

In this episode's interview, Mark speaks with musician and writer Tommy Ray about how he had done just that. They talk about Tommy's experience of how he took a dream (an actual dream) and transitioned it into reality by listening to his heart and trusting his instincts in recreating his life.

Before the interview Mark shares a quick personal update that includes:

Being interviewed by Joanna Penn for a forthcoming episode of The Creative Penn podcast, which will air on Dec 24, 2018
A shout-out to Patrons of the show who support this podcast via www.patreon.com/starkreflections - By saving up the monthly funds Mark was able to order a higher quality microphone for the podcast
The printed proof copies of THE 7 P'S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS that Mark sourced locally, but will be distributing to all retailers as a POD file through Draft2Digital's new beta D2DPRINT option
The "Kobo Publishing: Getting Your Book Featured" Webinar Mark will be hosting via Reedsy Live on Wed Dec 5th

Mark then shares a word about the podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .In their chat, Mark and Tommy talk about:

The origin of Tommy's dream mid year in 2015 that had him jumping into his pickup truck and traveling across America to play and share his music
How Tommy was also inspired by books from authors Paulo Coehlo and Dan Millman as well as music from artists like Cat Stevens
How long music has been a part of Tommy's life (including a memorable photo of Tommy as a young child standing next to a guitar)
The concept of being "meant to live a creative life"
Music Tommy wrote that was derived from the experience of following the creative dream
The preplanning that involved reaching out to 100 venues Tommy had intended on playing in (but not having heard back from any of them)
The two award nominations that Tommy rec'd prior to his trip (which altered his trip from a full year to 7 week one, where he drove through 15 trips and clocked 9,000 miles)
Zama (population 36), the town where Tommy was born and where his father lived most of his life
How Tommy's experience as a musician intertwines with his creative writing
The extensive research that Tommy did to teach himself writing, and to learn about publishing and how to find support, such as editors and cover designers for his books
Tommy's use of 3 editors on his book RAMBLING ACROSS AMERICA
Maintaining passion, strength and integrity when the road is difficult
Tommy's temporary return to a day job where he currently is: St. Croix of the US Virgin Islands
The preference Tommy has for playing his own music rather than playing cover songs at the local bar
The way that being on stage as a musician is easier for Tommy than the prose he shares via the page
The new series of dark/horror fiction that Tommy has started writing, inspired by actual dreams and actual mental and emotional torment, starting with the book MIRROR OF PERCEPTION
How you should never take this life for granted and how you can leave your mark on this world in a positive and optimistic way

After the interview, Mark talks about Tommy's creativity and his relentless optimism and passion for living a creative life. He finds it fitting that, at the same time he was producing this episode he was watching his friend Julie Strauss post updates about the catch-up she has been doing on her latest novel for NaNoWriMo.

What Mark loves about the past week of writing sprints in which Julie is trying to catch up for some lost writing time during the month, that love is that, as frustrated and restless as she is, she hasn't once stopped digging into the work with all her heart and soul. And she is turning the angst into hilarious and cheeky updates so many other writers are cheering her on for while being entertained by her musings of the writer's struggle.

Mark then plays a short sample of Tommy's song Zama, reflecting on the creative life and the places we have all called home, lived in and loved.

Links of Interest:

Tommy Ray chooses to become an author to create value and inspiration to the world. He desires all to leave their mark, do not take this life for granted, as well as never give up on your dreams. He has always been inspired by travel adventure tales of real-life journeys.

He always had a voice inside of him telling him he desired to live his life through a creative voice. For many years, he ignored the voice to follow other endeavors, but the voice was always there and increasing in volume.

Tommy loves to travel, write, compose, blog along with performing. He decided it was how he desired to spend his life. “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations,”-Unknown.

To add to his catalog, he recently created the “Amid the Blackness” series. Short stories which fall in the suspense category. Keep a look-out for upcoming music from Tommy Ray along with future books as “The Country Boy.”

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 048 - Publishing Strong with Andrea Pearson

23 november 2018 | 35 min

In this episode, Mark chats with Andrea Pearson, an author, a marketing guru and a mother. We talk about how she balances all three roles, about the tools she uses, her latest fiction, how she manages to get so much writing done as well as some of her personal takeways from the recent WMG Business Master Class workshop she had attended.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update about the status of some of his recent November goals, which include the print version of his two recent non-fiction books about writing and publishing (The 7 P's of Publishing Success & Killing It On Kobo).

Mark also shares a word about the podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .

During the interview Mark and Andrea discuss:

The genesis of the Self-Publish Strong podcast where Andrea and her husband Nolan discuss movies in a way that writers can learn from
The motivational marketing or publishing tips/quotes provided in each and every episode of the podcast
The balanced blend between comedy and instruction that the two balance in their episodes
Andrea's desire to help people and how that led to various tools and resources within her Self Publish Strong brand
The fiction Andrea writes, including a new urban fantasy book which is her latest release (The Shade Amulet)
How having children has helped Andrea become more structured and write more books
The software that Andrea uses for dictating her novels (and the high volume of works she can create in an hour of dictation)
Additional take-aways Andrea reflects upon from the recent WMG Publishing workshop
The work that Andrea's virtual assistant does for her vs the work she does herself
How hiring a virtual assistant paid for itself because of how it cleared up Andrea more time to publish more books
Marketing advice for authors who are just beginning

After the interview, Mark reflects upon one of the things Andrea said regarding the needless stress authors often place on themselves when looking at their lack of sales, or, conversely, a great sales trend - particularly when that time could be better spent working on the next book.

Links of Interest:

USA Today bestselling author Andrea Pearson has been a leader in the indie author arena since early 2011, with 50+ books under her belt and over a hundred articles published on professional blogs and websites. She hosts the popular Self-Publish Strong podcast that focuses on both publishing and craft, and she offers multiple online courses that surround her favorite topic: marketing.

Andrea was executive director for Indie Author Hub for a year and a half, and she is frequently invited to teach reader engagement through advanced newsletter marketing tactics and successful promotional campaigns at conferences and workshops. Andrea has been interviewed on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing podcast, the Rocking Self-Publishing podcast, and the Author Hangout. She has guest posted on JA Konrath’s A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing blog, and her tips have been mentioned several times on the Sell More Books Show.

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 047 - In The Pilots Seat with James Blatch

15 november 2018 | 54 min

If you are familiar with the Self Publishing Formula Podcast, you'll likely recognize James Blatch as Mark Dawson's right-hand man; his co-host, or, perhaps, his co-pilot for the podcast.

But in this episode Mark puts James in the pilots seat with a focus on Blatch's own writing, his background as a reporter, a videographer and, of course, as a pilot.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .In his personal update, Mark reflects upon the recent death of Stan Lee and talks about the impact Lee's writing had on him, and, in particular, the influence that the character Peter Parker (Spider-Man's alter-ego) had.

In the interview, Mark and James talk about:

The type of specific videos or books that lend themselves best to YouTube videos VS Facebook videos
How videos for most authors, specifically fiction authors, is a medium that can be used to connect and engage with a community of readers
The intimacy of radio and digital audio format
A bit about James' experience at the BBC and how the skills, particularly of his final few years there lent to this new role as a co-host of the Self Publishing Formula Podcast
James' first writing experiences as a young man and his more recent NaNoWriMo experience where his current novel came to him in a single flash of inspiration
The evolution of this novel with various feedback from readers and editors
The turning point moment for James of meeting and working with editor Jennie Nash Jennie's prompting question: "Why do you need to tell this story" and all that question sparked in James
Other questions that Jennie asked or prompts given that helped with the re-imagining of the way the story was unrolled
The origin of his love for aviation
How James is an even split between the exuberant mother and his reserved and "stiff-upper-lip" father
James' recent experience in Florda flying with Nathan van Coops (from episode 38)
The advice that James would go back and give to himself when he was just starting

After the interview, Mark reflects upon the latest "catastrophy" in the indie publishing space, the recent disappearance of the buy buttons on Amazon for thousands of titles.

He offers a reflection on the likely reason for this odd phenomenon and then suggests that much time is wasted worrying over the matter instead of working on the next book. He also considers, if it truly is the negative thing authors think it might be, it's yet another reason why authors shouldn't be putting all their eggs in a single basket.

Links of Interest:

James Blatch is co-host of the Self Publishing Formula podcast. He is a former BBC Television News reporter and is currently writing his first novel, a military thriller set in 1960s Britain.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 046 - 52 Stories in 52 Weeks With Phillip McCollum

9 november 2018 | 41 min

In this episode Mark interviews Phillip McCollum about an intriguing project of writing 52 stories in 52 weeks.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .

. . . and then a personal update which includes a push-up challenge he participated in at the 20Booksto50K conference in Vegas.

Michael Anderle instigated this challenge for a good cause, with the following companies each donating $150 to the cause

$750 USD was raised for two worthy charities in a push-up challenge between Mark and Christine Munroe from Kobo. Chrissy's chosen charity was Children's Book Bank and Mark's chosen charity was First Book Canada.

Mark thanks the companies previously mentioned for their generosity to two great children's reading programs and then also thanks new Stark Reflections Patron, Katie Cross, for supporting the podcast via www.patreon.com/starkreflections.

In the interview Phillip and Mark talk about:

The genres that Phillip tends to write in most often
How long Phillip has been writing
Thoughts about NaNoWriMo and other similar "competitions" to help inspired writers to write
Phillip's inspiration for the 52 stories in 52 weeks, which was derived from Ray Bradbury
The discipline involved in undertaking such an endeavor on starting each week on Monday morning and posting the story by Sunday night
The typical word count of the stories that Phillip wrote during this process
The importance of being adaptable and recognizing that you might not always reach every single goal you set
Plans that Phillip has for the stories which included 3 ebooks: 1 for writers (52 Stories in 52 Weeks) and 2 for readers (splitting them into two volumes of 26 stories: Fantastic Shorts Vol 1 and Vol 2)
Feedback that Phillip has received on the notes added to the stories
Forthcoming challenges that Phillip has in mind to keep challenging himself as a writer
Things that Phillip learned about himself as a writer by taking this challenge

After the interview, Mark talks about the importance of challenges that impose deadlines and require a writer to actually get their butt in the chair and their hands on the keyboard. He also reminds writers of the importance of the "fail to success" theory from Dean Wesley Smith that Phillip mentions. If you try to hit a certain word count, for example, and don't make it, instead of fretting about the missed words, focus on the words that have actually been written, or the parts of the goal that were actually accomplished.

Links of Interest:

Phillip McCollum spent 52 weeks writing 52 short stories in an effort to prove to himself that he might be cut out for this writing thing after all. He hails from Southern California where he shares living quarters with his wife, son, an old cat, and young betta fish.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 045 - Co-Authoring with C.K. Wiles

2 november 2018 | 47 min

Mark interviews authors Kerrie Flanagan and Chuck Harrelson about the steamy romantic comedy novels they have been co-authoring under the name C.K. Wiles.

Before the interview, Mark shares a personal update explaining why he isn't participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, even though he loves it. He talks about how he will be using the month of November to get caught up on previous unpublished NaNoWriMo novels - in an effort he is calling NaNoComMo (National Novel Compleition Month) as well as a few other outstanding book projects he has in the works, including print and audiobook versions of two of his recent books on writing & publishing, The 7 P's of Publishing Success and Killing It On Kobo.

He then thanks new Patron of the show, Mary Jo Rabe as well as the other existing patrons via www.patreon.com/starkreflections for their support, then gets side-tracked into remembering television shows like Romper Room and The Polka Dot Door.

This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . .During the interview, Kerrie, Chuck and Mark talk about:

How Kerrie and Chuck first met, about ten years ago, via a developmental editing project
The support Chuck has offered in helping hold Kerrie accountable for various writing projects over the years
The strategic decisions behind the collaborative C.K. Wiles project
The origin of the psuedonym
The process of how they brainstorm, map out, outline, and write each of the novels
How Chuck uses AutoCrit's web-based editing software (which provides automated recommendations for improving your manuscript in over 20 areas – categories like poor dialogue, use of adverbs, and relying on cliches)
The cast and universe of characters that they have created and draw upon for each novel in this series
The interesting and unplanned story arc that is beginning to reveal itself as they were working on the third book
The logistics of how they published the C.K. Wiles books to the various retail platforms
The co-author contract/agreement that Kerrie and Chuck created regarding this author name and series
The importance of trusting one another and "having no ego" on a collaborative work - looking at the work as "ours" as it is being worked on and re-written
The different elements that Kerrie and Chuck each bring to the narrative that make it better
Plans they have for promotions and attention for this series

After the interview, Mark reflects on one of the elements that Kerrie and Chuck mentioned, which is playing off one another's strengths. He considers teamwork and the importance of recognizing strengths and weaknesses when working with others.

Links of Interest:

Kerrie Flanagan is a freelance writer with over 20 years’ experience and is the author of Guide to Magazine Article Writing. As a writing consultant, she works with writers, giving them the encouragement, support, resources and tools to find success on their writing journey. She is the author of 8 books under her label, Hot Chocolate Press.

Chuck Harrelson resides in Denver Colorado and is an active member of both the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and the Northern Colorado Writers Group. His past manuscripts won the 2014 Top of The Mountain Book Award competition, the Ballot Press Competition and one was a finalist at the 2016 San Diego Writers Conference.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 044 - How To Deal With A Firehose of Information

26 oktober 2018 | 20 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 043 - Dave Sweet & Sarah Graham on Skeletons, Closets, and Homicide

18 oktober 2018 | 46 min

In this episode Mark chats with Dave Sweet and Sarah Graham about their new book SKELETONS IN MY CLOSET: Life Lessons from a Homicide Detective, an unorthodox police memoir taking readers on a ride-along like no other, revealing poignant truths about life and death, and how we can all work and live together. Danger and grit pair with humour and compassion in this gripping, fresh read.

Dave Sweet, a conservative, veteran homicide detective has teamed up with Sarah Graham, a liberal, optimistic author to write this unconventional universal life-lessons book.

Before the interview, Mark shares a personal update which includes:

Why he is pushing back the release date of his book INDIE PUBLISHING INSIDER SECRETS
Some reflections on how previous Stark Reflections podcast guest Dana Pharant turned a mistake into a win
Mark's forthcoming trip to Las Vegas to teach at a WMG Publishing Master Class about the business of writing and publishing

This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . .

In the interview, Mark and Dave and Sarah talk about:

How Dave and Sarah first met and then decided to work on this project together
The work Dave has been doing with local area writer groups looking for insights and realistic detail related to actual police work
The dichotomy of "Homicide Cop" and "Life Lessons"
The importance that this book be optimistic and not be gratuitous in its portrayal of Dave's experiences
The transformation that is witnessed in the various people involved in a homicide investigation and the lessons learned along the way
The early reader expectation of "more grit" and how the authors responded to that with respect for the victims and their loved ones
The decision to release this book as by Dave with Sarah rather than keeping Sarah's name hidden like a more traditional "ghost written" book, because of the way that Sarah's voice and influence helped to smooth out some of the rougher edges that come from Dave's experience
The processes and different techniques used in how they wrote this book together (actual writing, raw words, interactive presentations, phone calls)
What Dave learned about writing through this process
What television actually gets right about police work and police life
How Sarah's experience as a writer was different than the writer/cop partnership seen on television programs like Castle
The publishing options, agent feedback and choices made for the publication of this book
The intriguing "sneak peak" preview eBook their publisher created in a "Behind the Scenes" chapbook
The comparison between when Sarah is all-consumed when working on edits and Dave is all-consumed when focusing on a case
The "Reading Guide/Study Guide" section at the end of the book
Forthcoming books in this series which will each explore courage and death

After the interview, Mark reflects on how Dave and Sarah kept working at testing out different ways of making the collaboration work, not giving up, but continuing to experiment and find new ways for the process to happen smoothly. He discusses their publishing path as well, which was a series of learnings and tweaks and changes, until they found the one that suited them best.

He considers how they applied patience, persistence, partnership and progression in their path towards publication.

Mark then thanks Patrons for their sponsorship of the show via www.patreon.com/starkreflections.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 042 - Tina Dietz on Writing, Entrepreneurship and Audio

11 oktober 2018 | 36 min

In this week's episode, Mark speaks with Tina Dietz who is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed speaker, audiobook publisher, podcast producer, and content marketing expert.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a few personal updates that include the launch of his new traditionally published book Macabre Montreal, and how that book launch interfered with attending the NIGHT OF THE WRITING DEAD event in Pittsburgh that same weekend.

This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . .

. . . and also by the Patrons of the show at www.patreon.com/starkreflections.

All patrons will find, this week, the full audio of the first chapter about PRACTICE from Mark's forthcoming audiobook of The 7 P's of Publishing Success.

In their conversion, Mark and Tina talk about

The link between writing/expression and entrepreneurship
How writing (particularly in print) can be an enduring format as a tangable legacy
Tina's introduction into podcasting and audiobook production
Tina's Forbes article "Do You Sound Like a Leader?" that focuses on the relationship between vocal qualities and how a person is viewed as a leader
Getting used to and comfortable with the sound of one's own voice
Breathing techniques and facial exercises used for voice or singing voice
Food and drink to avoid when doing voice work (dairy and citrus, for example)
The coaching Tina does helping authors getting ready to do interviews for radio or podcasting
The difference between forms of media like television, radio and podcasting
Trends in the audiobook industry that authors might not be familiar with
The concept that anything you create needs to be an asset and not a burden
The free download that Tina has on her website that helps demystifies the audiobook process - www.launchyouraudiobook.com
Things to consider when deciding between narrating and producting an audiobook yourself or outsourcing that
How Tina's clients often "come for the audiobooks and then stay for everything else"
The pre-interview Tina sent to Mark ahead of the podcast which made things so much easier for Mark

In the post-interview reflections, Mark talks about how Tina's info PDF made his job as an interviewer so much easier and he also shares a link to a WORD document template that authors can download and modify so they have something similar to use for their own podcast or radio interviews.

Tina Dietz is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed speaker, audiobook publisher, podcast producer, and content marketing expert who has been featured on media outlets including ABC, Inc.com, Huffington Post, and Forbes. Tina's podcast, The StartSomething Show, was named by INC magazine as one of the top 35 podcasts for entrepreneurs. Tina’s company, StartSomething Creative Business Solutions, connects leaders, entrepreneurs and experts with larger audiences, resulting in expanded influence and income. Tina divides her time between the US and Costa Rica, where she’s part of a leadership team building a conscious community called Vista Mundo.

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 041 - What Happens at NINC

4 oktober 2018 | 21 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 040 - NINC 2018

28 september 2018 | 26 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 039 - Professionalism

21 september 2018 | 40 min

In this episode, Mark shares an early audio draft of the chapter on Professionalism for his forthcoming book THE 7 P'S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS which will be released under his "Stark Publishing Solutions" imprint by the end of Sept 2018.

Prior to the audiobook excerpt, Mark shares a few personal updates which include:

Attending NINC (Novelist's, Inc.) writer conference in St Pete, Florida, where he will be giving a talk entitled 5 CAREER KILLING ERRORS AN AUTHOR SHOULD AVOID as well as co-hosting an open discussion entitled BRAINSTORMING "THE FUTURE" FOR AUTHORS AND VENDORS
Also, while at NINC, Mark will be visiting Haslam's Book Store which is allegedly haunted by Jack Kerouac (Mark wrote about it in his book Tomes of Terror)
A thank you to the Patrons supporting the podcast via www.patreon.com/starkreflections
A shout-out to Rook Winters for an awesome photo of some skull plates he shared on Twitter
Thanking new folks who continue to fill-out the Stark Reflections Podcast Survey (with a mention of how the show has been modified in line with a few common comments from some previously rec'd surveys

Mark also talks about how the main content for this episode is a test/early draft for the audiobook version of his book THE 7 P's OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS and mentions the way he'll be using Findaway Voices (the sponsor for this episode).

In the main content of the episode, Mark talks about the importance of professionalism for authors and breaks it down to three main elements:

Paperwork, Contracts and Content
In Person Appearances and People Skills
Adversity and Rejection

After the main section, Mark shares the behind a behind the scenes look at how the book this chapter is taken from came to be. Both it and another book, were originally chapters in the main book he had been working on to capture the many things he has learned in his decades of experience in the bookselling and publishing industry. But these two particular chapters grew a life of their own and became unique products as part of a larger line up of titles in the Stark Publishing Solutions Imprint/Series.

These books will be:

THE 7 P'S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS (Sept 2018)
KILLING IT ON KOBO (Oct 2018)
INDIE PUBLISHING INSIDER SECRETS (Nov 2018)

While still finalizing re-writes and edits of the books, Mark talks about the desire to get them all up for pre-order as soon as possible. He shares where people can sign up to be informed about them as well as other related "Stark Publishing / Stark Reflections" updates: www.markleslie.ca/starkpublishingsolutions

Links of Interest:

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 038 - Nathan Van Coops on Writing, Flying, and Safely Landing Your Audience

14 september 2018 | 35 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Nathan Van Coops who claims that he lives on a diet comprised mainly of tacos. He enjoys old planes, motorcycles, and Volkswagens, contends that there is such a thing as “dressy” flip-flops and is the time travel adventure series, In Times Like These, and The Skylighter Adventures. Nathan, of course, isn't just an author, but he is also an aviator and the man behind Book Faces Live and we talk about all three things, and more.

Prior to the interview, Mark gives a personal update that includes:

His story "Active Reader" appearing in the latest issue of Pulphouse Magazine (#3) and how that had been a long-time goal
The royalty check received from McGraw/Nelson for a short story "Almost" that is being used in a British Columbia high school curriculum
He considers how both of these "new" items are stories that were previously published and yet can still result in residual income

Mark then thanks new Stark Reflections Patron, Amy Teegan and all existing Patrons who support the show via www.patreon.com/starkreflections

In the interview, Mark and Nathan talk about:

Nathan's latest book, THE WARP CLOCK and its tag-line "To save her future, he can't have one." and the stand-alone nature of this series (THE WARP CLOCK is book 4 in the series) that allows a reader to jump in at any book
How time travel isn't just a trope that is being used and, instead, is an integral part of the world and story, in the same way that J.K. Rowling used magic in her Harry Potter universe
The first person present tense POV that is used for the majority of these books that are told through Benjamin's perspective
The genesis of the SKYLIGHTER adventures, based on the quiet and calm that Nathan experienced while flying a plane. He imagined the concept of what if the sky was actually as busy as the ocean?
The advice that Nathan would give to his younger self just starting writing
The branding Nathan created for his series, landing on using Damonza covers and then taking a hands-off approach to let them do what they do best
The reasoning behind why Nathan started Book Faces Live (to fill a gap in his own weekly podcast listening routine) and how he use his podcast to learn and gather information
The fact that, unlike many writers, Nathan is an extrovert; always where and when Nathan likes to write
The deliberate placement of Benjamin from the IN TIMES LIKE THESE series in 2009

After the interview, Mark talks about the tech issue that affected the tail end of the chat, and reflects upon how Nathan handled the unexpected issue quite professionally and effectively. He reminds writers that these types of things will happen and that it is important to remember the audience is actually cheering for you and you are in this together.

Mark remembers the way Nathan thought of the reader when working on his book covers, and suggests that Nathan did the exact same thing here during the tech issue - he considered the audience and did his best to safely "land" the podcast.

The lesson? When things go wrong, take a breath, and consider the audience.

Links of Interest:

Nathan's Website
Book Faces Live
- Nathan's Interview with Mark (Episode 37)
Pulphouse #3 (featuring Mark's story "Active Reader")
Damonza (Book Cover Services)
Findaway Voices
Stark Reflections on Patreon

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 037 - The Inner Dominatrix on Being a Badass in Business

7 september 2018 | 30 min

Mark chats with Dana Pharant, a business owner, a speaker, an author and the host of the Inner Dominatrix Podcast, about her new book The Inner Dominatrix Guide: Become a Badass in Business.

Before the interview, Mark shares a few personal updates:

Misadventures of the cat and the headset cord
Experience using PublishDrive
Getting Sean into indie audiobooks (and a mention that this podcast is sponsored by Findaway Voices)

Mark also thanks new Patrons of the show, Joanna Penn and Ellie Ashe as well as all existing patrons who support the podcast via Patreon.

In their chat, Mark and Dana discuss:

The back-story and where the use of "Dominatrix" comes from (Dana spent 6 years as a Dominatrix) how principles of healing were learned through that experience which Dana has been able to apply to the concept of power, space and authority that are integral to the Inner Dominatrix

The intriguing parallels between the role of Dominatrix and the role of Author
Where the "Badass" attitude comes from and the energy that it can put people into
The way that creative people can really shrink back when it comes to the business, marketing and promoting of their work
The last thing that a person who is tied up and blind-folded wants to hear
The importance of leaning into being unapologetic in one's approach
The energy-based concept of "practical woo"
The three main principles that Dana teaches: 1) Getting you out of the "wrongness of you" 2) Connecting with and following your intuition 3) Being willing to lose it all
Her forthcoming book launch (October 15th) and the early-preview launch speaking event on Sept 26th

After the interview, Mark reflects about the concept that Dana mentions of "stepping into authority" and how he believes this to be important for authors. He also talks about his friend James A. Owen, who regularly reminds authors of not downplaying the importance and value of what they do.

Links of Interest:

Dana Pharant: The Dominatrix's Guide to Inner Power in Business
Stark Reflections Episode 30 (previous appearance by Dana): Target Markets & Relationships
Episode 77 of Dana’s podcast (Dana interviews Mark about the Transition in his life)
Findaway Voices
PublishDrive
CAPS: Canadian Association of Professional Speakers
- Dana’s CAPS Speaker Profile
- Mark’s CAPS Speaker Profile
Stark Reflections Listener Survey
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Sean Costello
James A Owen
Superstars Writing Seminars

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 036 - It's Not You, It's Your Crappy Book Cover

31 augusti 2018 | 35 min

In this solo episode, Mark talks about two specific examples from his own publishing experience, where having a crappy cover didn't help sales. He walks through the back-story for the eBooks in question, his reasoning behind the initial crappy cover as well as the positive results that came after he recognized his mistake and created a better cover.

He explains that he is using personal examples for a few reasons, which include:

the fact that it's easier to see fault in someone else's mistakes - perhaps seeing the mistakes Mark made makes it easier for an author to understand for their own purposes
to illustrate that, even though he has fourteen years of experience in self-publishing and more than twenty-five years in bookselling, and should know better, he still makes mistakes - which means everyone can and will make these mistakes (so don't beat yourself up over it)

Prior to the main content of the podcast, Mark provides a personal update about two items.

1) Recently received audiobook royalties from ListenUp Audiobooks and Findaway Voices. (With a mention that this podcast is sponsored by Findaway Voices - because he's just that cool at slipping it into the conversation)

2) A recent promotion that Mark ran on his book A CANADIAN WEREWOLF IN NEW YORK in order to help support the Kobo/Walmart promo that is taking place. Mark walks through the logistics of how some of the Kobo lists are set up and explains the third-party promo from Written Word Media that he used to help elevate the ranking and status of his book in the Kobo/Walmart list. He shares the numbers and results (so far) for this promo (the details from this are shared with Mark's Patreon supporters)

The two examples of book cover updates that Mark walks through are:

Spirits - a 6,000 word short story that Mark originally launched in eBook in June of 2011. Mark walks through the reasoning behind publishing this short story as an eBook in terms of the financial return based on his original goals to sell the story to a pro market.

Snowman Shivers - Two snowman-themed tales that Mark launched in 2012 that required BOTH a cover and a sub-title makeover.

Mark closes up the podcast by thanking his Patreon supporters as well as explaining a new option that Kobo Writing Life recently announced to authors, the ability to transfer ratings and reviews to new eBooks, and what that can mean from authors interested in updating/changing their distribution to Kobo methods.

Links of Interest:

Findaway Voices
Episode 33: Two Wrongs That Make a Writer Spite
Episode 8: Author Promotions with Ricci Wolman from Written Word Media (BargainBooksy/FreeBooksy)
Transfering Your Ratings & Rankings on Kobo
Details about Canadian Werewolf Promo Cost, Numbers, Results, for all Patreon Supporters

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 035 - Lessons Learned From Novel Intensive Workshop

23 augusti 2018 | 51 min

This episode includes a conversation with three guests: Ara Grigorian, Janis Thomas and Julie Strauss. Ara and Janis are the brains and brawn behind the Novel Intensive Seminar and Workshop and Julie was a writer who has attended and benefited from these sessions.

The Novel Intensive Workshop is a hands-on full day collaborative workshop in which writers are able to apply the Novel Intensive Tools and Principles to their current work in progress. Guided by best-selling author Janis Thomas and award-winning author Ara Grigorian, the workshop gives writers an opportunity to share their writing, ask questions, focus on their own and unique challenges, and receive immediate feedback. Hands-on exercises are provided which are designed to help writers hone their storytelling skills.

For this episode's personal update, Mark shares the fact that this week he is embarking on a two day personal writing retreat to a location that is about a two hour's drive from home; while there, he will be focusing on finishing the first draft of a non-fiction book for writers that will be released under his Stark Publishing Solutions imprint. The book shares Mark's what he has learned about the business of writing and publishing in the more than 25 years he has been a writer, a bookseller and an industry representative.

He also shares that he recently secured the audio rights for his novel I, DEATH back from Edge Publishing and plans on posting the project to Findaway Voices, this episode's sponsor.

Mark thanks his Patreon sponsors and then moves to the main interview feature for this episode.

In their conversation, Mark, Julie, Ara and Janis discuss:

How the Novel Intensive workshop first came together (Janis and Ara's own "meet cute" style reciprocal teaching relationship which led to the eventual collaborative workshop
The way that the workshop was born out of the desire to gather all the things Ara and Janis have learned about writing and then package it into an easily digestible info-filled interactive workshop that other writers could benefit from
Julie's discovery of the program via a presentation (a significantly abbreviated and truncated version of the full day workshop) that Ara gave at an annual RWA (Romance Writers of America) Conference and how, half-way through that session, she had that "a-ha" moment which helped solve a dilemma she'd been struggling with on a novel in progress
Why Julie plans on returning to some of the same workshops she has already attended for insights and inspiration on future projects, and how Ara and Janis always keep one of their own works in progress in the back of their minds while teaching, to draw similar inspiration
How Ara and Janis use the Novel Intensive principles in different ways they adapt into their own distinct writing processes
The thing that surprised Julie the most about the way that Janis and Ara teach together and the way that each of the 10 students in one particular workshop had their own unique "a-ha" moments at different times throughout the day
The underlying messages of the Novel Intesive workshop, such as "formula doesn't have to mean formulaic" and the importance that a writer fights for fully realizing the emotional moments in the story
The use of popular or well-known movies from multiple genres in teaching and highlighting examples of story and character moments through a workshop
How it's not about plot VS character, but rather how those two elements interact and play off one another
Julie's thoughts on what her investment in the Novel Intensive workshop (both money and time), has meant to her writing
The reason why this course is an in-person experience and the value that comes from the intimacy of the group (between 10 and 20 people per session)
A series of excellent tips for how writers can apply Novel Intensive techniques to being their own story coach
A look at the opening scene in Julie's Prosecco Heart and the way that the Novel Intensive workshop helped her with that novel
Forthcoming projects that Julie, Ara and Janis are each working on

After the interview, Mark shares thoughts on two things.

The first is the value of how you can learn something new from re-reading, re-watching, re-listening, re-learning, re-experiencing something.

The second is magic and serendipity that can happen during physical encounters with other writers at workshops, conferences, etc which can be far more powerful than the experience of a digital or virtual one.

ARA GRIGORIAN is the international award-winning author of Game of Love (2015), and Ten Year Dance (2017), his critically-acclaimed second novel. Ara is a technology executive in the entertainment industry. True to the Hollywood life, Ara wrote for a children’s television pilot that could have made him rich (but didn’t) and nearly sold a video game to a major publisher (who closed shop days later). Fascinated by the human species, Ara writes about choices, relationships, and second chances. He is a public speaker, a story coach, and a workshop leader for the Southern California Writers’ Conference, Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference, Santa Barbara Writers Conference, and others, including the popular Novel Intensive. Ara is represented by Stacey Donaghy of the Donaghy Literary Group.

JANIS THOMAS is the author of best-selling What Remains True and All That’s Left of Me from Lake Union, as well as three critically-acclaimed humorous Women’s Fiction novels, Something New, Sweet Nothings, and Say Never. Award-winning Murder in A-Minor is the first book in her Musical Murder Mystery series featuring songwriting detective Samantha Wedlock. Janis is a popular workshop leader and speaker, and a passionate writing advocate. When she isn’t writing or fulfilling her PTA duties, she loves to spend time with her kids, sing with her sister, play tennis, and throw lavish dinner parties with outrageous menus. She lives in Southern California with her husband, children, and two crazy dogs.

JULIE STRAUSS is the author of the three stand-alone "Chefs in Love" novels that include Moonstone Heart, Hungry Heart and Prosecco Heart. She lives in Southern California with her husband and four kids. Julie says that she eats dark chocolate and drinks good wine and reads lots of books and regularly speaks in movie quotes. She used to publish romance novels under the pen name Emma Foster, but says she realized that she was way too lazy to keep up two online profiles in addition to all the other personalities inside her head. So she dumped the pen name, and now you can find her at social media places under the persona "Julie Wrote A Book."

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 034 - Samantha Davidson on Inspiring Creatives

17 augusti 2018 | 37 min

Mark interviews Alberta writer Samantha Davidson a writer he met at the recent When Words Collide conference in Calgary about the author branding of hers that immediately caught his attention immediately and about her next plans while being just at the point of finishing the first novel she plans on publishing. They also talk about the way that she helps to inspire creative people, not just writers but creatives from all pursuits.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, including a few of the talks he presented at WWC.

Knowing the Basics and Steering Clear of the Pitfalls of Digital Publishing
What 25 Years as a Bookseller and Industry Rep Taught Me About the Business of Writing & Publishing

The 2nd presentation is a bit of an early look at the non-fiction book on writing and publishing that Mark plans on releasing later this year.

Links to PDFs of both presentations are available to all Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.

Mark also shares some info about a talk he did on the art and business of telling ghost stories, as well as the #FreeFridayFrights performed at WWC in front of a live studio audience and a chat about audiobook options for writers.

This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about them via www.starkreflections.ca/findaway

In their chat, Mark and Samantha talk about

How Samantha has always been interested in writing and other creative pursuits, including photography; and the suspense novel that she finished years ago that is still sitting on a shelf
The way that NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) re-inspired her to get most of the first draft of a YA novel completed after being previously disheartened about her writing (with that book being the “first act” of something that appears to be a four-act series of books
Samantha’s experience at When Words Collide, including details on how much value she took away as well as a negative experience with the “Live Action Slush” editor panel critique sessions (a live critique of anonymous submissions of first page readings of various submitted pieces), and how, this time around, with another year of experience writing under her belt, she has been able to recognize some of those writing rookie mistakes that she hadn’t been able to see the first time through
Why Samantha did not give up even after getting her writer ego beat up a little
Some of the highlights from Samantha’s experience at When Words Collide, which include recognition of how important that sense of community can be for a writer
The author branding that Samantha has already started on, which comes from her experience as a graphic designer and her long-time desire to create a community of followers sharing meaningful things and feeling inspired
Samantha’s podcast “The Inspired Author”
The mentoring and coaching program where Samantha helps creative people with how to adapt their creative passions into a sustainable career, and the fact that she has a few open spots starting at the end of September
The “bookish soap company” that Samantha operates called “A Novel Idea” – soaps and similar products all inspired by classic literature - http://shopanovelidea.com/
The important things Samantha has learned about writing, including getting over the “downward” moment that comes right after that initial “getting-started high” that new writing and creating projects can come with as well as the risks that come with the pursuit of perfection
The recognition of the “sometimes it’s not okay” dark moments and struggles that writers regularly deal with (but which usually stay hidden)
The next steps that Samantha is taking with her YA series, including the process of working with her editor, the query process and the open-ended approach

After the interview, Mark reflects upon perfection, sharing the darker sides, "the good, the bad and the ugly" of a writer's life and the struggle of introversion that he regularly faces when at conferences.

Links of Interest

Samantha Davidson Website
- Facebook (AuthorSamanthaDavidson)
- Instagram
- Twitter
- Podcast
- YouTube
When Words Collide
Jonas Saul
Darren Lacroix
Stark Reflections Survey
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Findaway Voices

Samantha Davidson is a world-travelled photographer, who began her career as an editorial journalist for a weekly publication in British Columbia, Canada. After touching many of the arts, her heart brought her back to the written word.

She is currently working on her debut series – a young adult fantasy due to be published in 2019. Samantha offers mentoring and coaching services to “creatives” who are looking to build a career in writing, photography, or any creative business endeavour; truly believing her purpose is to inspire aspiring authors and artists in their dreams of marrying their passions and career. Samantha lives in Alberta, Canada with her husband. Her work is the result of passion, positivity and perseverance.

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 033 - Two Wrongs That Make A Writer Spite

9 augusti 2018 | 27 min

This week's episode is a solo one, where Mark reflects on reflect the Two Wrongs That Make a Writer Spite. He takes a look at two negative things that writers often focus on which can be demotivating and make them hateful or spiteful - all things that detract from what writers should be focusing on to move onward and upward in their writer journey.

Before the main content, Mark shares a few personal updates, one of which is related to the sell-direct BookFunnel and audiobook sell-direct option recently offered by Findaway Voices via Authors Direct.

This week's episode is sponsored by listeners and Patreon supporters to the show. Mark explains that his nickname for listeners have been christened as Reflectives, and the outlines who he believes his ideal listening audience to this podcast is.

He also outlines the ways that listeners can help support the show, which are:

a) continuing to listen to the podcast

b) sharing the podcast with someone who would likely get value from it

c) becoming a Patreon supporter for as little as $1 a month

d) leaving a review on the podcasting/podcatcher platform of your choice

e) filling out the recent podcast listener survey

f) leaving a comment on show episodes where applicable.

Writers have a difficult time. Just the creation aspect of writing is a tremendous feat in and of itself. There's so much to learn, so many mistakes to make along the way.

And yet, writers tend to put more on their own shoulders that cause more pain, more angst, more anxiety, more self-doubt.

Those two things are COMPARISON and REJECTION. Mark talks about each of them and shares his own reflections on ways that he attempts to overcome them and turn these two negatives into a positive.

He looks at some personal fitness running goals recently achieved and the possibility of what might happen if he were to compare his personal achievements and goals with those master runners. He parallels that to the goals and comparisonitis that writers struggle with.

Then he uses an analogy that author Kerrie Flanagan writes about in a recent book she wrote for writers, comparing the rejection a writer feels from either submissions not accepted or self-published books that haven't been selling. He looks at how a waiter might react to restaurant patrons NOT choosing the "daily special" and asks writers to consider the reasons for not choosing that special, which likely have NOTHING to do with the quality or value of that special, and thus shouldn't be taken personally.

He reminds writers that they already have enough self-doubt and anxiety and needn't put the additional COMPARISON and REJECTION issues on their own shoulders.

Links of Interest:

Joanna Penn's Interview (Episode 2)
Kerrie Flanagan's Interview (Episode 31)
Bookfunnel
Findaway Voices - Authors Direct
Books2Read.com
Mark's US Authors Direct Page for Stark Publishing
Mark's home-page for EVASION (with links to ebook and audiobook purchasing)

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 032 - C C Humphreys on Hybrid Author Publishing

3 augusti 2018 | 59 min

The feature interview in this episode is with C.C. Humphreys, an actor, playwright, fight choreographer and novelist. Chris has ten novels that were all traditionally published, several of which have been Globe and Mail Bestsellers and his historic novel "Plague won the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in 2015.

Prior to the interview Mark shares a few personal updates that include being in the Sudbury area to participate in a multi-author event in support of a book launch for his friend Mathew Del Papa for his latest book, Capreol at Bat. He also talks about how he has been slipping in the uploading of his #FreeFridayFrights weekly videos to YouTube as well as an update on how the free first in series sales for the Nocturnal Screams series are going on Kobo and iBooks.

Mark then talks about how this podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices, has soft-launched a new product called Authors Direct, a platform and app that allows authors the ability to sell their audiobooks directly and keep 70% of the income.

Mark's store that includes four of his audiobooks is live at . . .

https://stark-publishing.myshopify.com

. . . and he shares his excitement for what is likely to prove to be a major and game-changing tool for authors to be successful with audiobooks.

In their conversation, Mark and Chris talk about:

Chris's new historical thriller, CHASING THE WIND, about a young woman aviatrix named Roxy Loewen and how Chris fell in love with Roxy as well as historical figures like Amelia Earhart while working on this book
Writing historical fiction and incorporating real-world figures into the fiction text and honoring who these people were by "fictionalizing real people and realizing fictional ones"
The difference between writing "modern" historical fiction (1930s) and writing earlier historical periods (such as the 1450s of the 1600s)
The amount of time and type of research that Chris does when working on a historical novel, including the risk that "research" can be procrastination
The cedar octagon hut in a luscious forest where Chris does most of his writing (and the back-chat he gets from other authors about this) which is just the right distance from the house
The changes to the publishing industry that have changed for mid-list authors, which is what led to Chris's latest novel being a hybrid published book (traditionally published in Canada by Penguin Random House) but indie or self-published by Chris in the US and the rest of the world
The Creative Academy that Chris learned from before starting on his self-publishing journey
Chris's decision to publish the book to Kindle exclusive for the first three months before going wide with it in 2019
The debate of the $4.99 USD price point Chris struggled with (which is far cheaper than the Canadian traditionally published price), or the US price of his traditionally published book
The countdown deal that Chris is running this week, the third party services he has used, such as Written Word Media, to help boost the sales and ranking for the title and the great service they provided to ensure that Chris would be pleased with the results of this investment
The rights Chris still has and has received back for a few of his previously published novels, such as Plague and Fire and the "soft-launch" he is conducting for Plague
Advice Chris offers to authors on the "performance" involved in doing author readings as well as a reminder that the people in the audience WANT the author to succeed and are there to be entertained and engaged with
A bit about Chris's parents, including that his dad was a fighter pilot and his mom was a spy, and his intrigue in the world and the drama that brought them together
How Chris's father met famous English playwriter Noel Coward and the very frank letter and writer advice that he wrote back on a manuscript his father sent to him which began with "Dear Peter, be prepared, I'm going to be rather beastly to you." but ended with amazingly safe advice: "You must read more, you must write much more, and let your characters dictate your plot rather than your plot dictate your characters."
How that advice leads to the oscillation between plot and characters that Chris talks about when teaching other writers
Chris's favorite advice to share with writers including removing the words "good" and "bad" from the writing of the first draft of a manuscript

Links of Interest

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 031 - Writing & Selling Magazine Articles with Kerrie Flanagan

27 juli 2018 | 48 min

Mark interviews Kerrie Flanagan, author of the author of Guide to Magazine Article Writing by Writer's Digest. Kerrie is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience. As a writing consultant, she works with writers, giving them the encouragement, support, resources and tools to find success on their writing journey. She is the author of 8 other books published under her label/publishing company Hot Chocolate Press.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a message from this episode's sponsor, the BOOKS GONE BAD BUNDLE from BundleRabbit, which features about 260,000 words from 11 authors in 2 books and 10 stories of "Speculative Visions of a Uniquely Portable Magic."

You can learn more about the bundle via BundleRabbit or check it out at your favorite eBook retailer. http://books2read.com/booksgonebad

Mark shares a few personal updates, which are:

The new FREE email course he launched via Reedsy called Kobo Hacks for Optimizing Sales. It is a series of 10 emails that each take about 5 minutes to read that will be automatically delivered to those who sign up
His story "Active Reader" appearing in the latest issue (#3) of Pulphouse Magazine and how that ties back to a goal/dream Mark had several decades ago when he first started writing

In their conversation, Mark and Kerrie discuss:

How Kerrie hadn't been someone who had always dreamed about being a writer; and how it was her role as a teacher that ended up leading her down that particular path
The submission process she originally went through to get her first book published, and how that led to her self-publishing that book back in 1997 when self-publishing was an almost taboo path for a writer to take
The local writer critique group that first exposed Kerrie to the idea of magazine article writing
Kerrie's first magazine article query, which was to Better Homes & Gardens magazine
The genesis of a Colorado winery article that Kerrie wrote, based on her interest in wine
The biggest mistakes that writers make when trying to pitch article ideas to a magazine, which include not doing one's homework or properly researching and understanding the readership/audience of the magazine
One of the things that surprised Kerrie about the writing of this book after she had begun the process
The many hats that Kerrie has worn as a writer and publisher
The thrill of having a hugely respected publisher of books for writers behind her on this new book
The importance of building connections with people (as an underlying factor that contributed to this book happening)
The work Kerrie did as an event coordinator for Writer's Digest
The very meta experience of using an article from Writer's Digest to help Kerrie with negotiating the contract she signed with Writer's Digest for this new book
Hot Chocolate Press, the publishing company Kerrie heads up that has 18 books and 8 different authors
The challenge of balancing the various hats that Kerrie wears as a writer, a ghost-writer and a publisher
The three conferences that Kerrie will be speaking at in the next little while Mendocino Writer's Conference in CA (August), The Writer's Digest Conference in NYC (August), the new Indie Lab Writer's Digest Conference in Cincinnati (Sept)
How Kerrie connected with Angela MacKintosh, Editor-in-Chief of WOW! Women on Writing magazine and landed her first assignment with that market
The use of magazine article writing for building your author brand and expanding your reach in a way that isn't as likely via standard social media
How libraries and the internet have made the process of researching magazines so much easier than it used to be
The advice that Kerrie would give to a writer wanting to get started
Her avoidance of the use of the term "rejection" when a magazine article isn't accepted by an editor
The importance of not giving up, and how it took Kerrie 20 years of hard work to get where she is today

After the interview, Mark shares his reflections on what the conversation with Kerrie and reading her new book made him think of, including his own rise through publishing selling short fiction to magazines (comparing that to non-fiction selling to magazines), and a few ideas he is planning on implementing related to niche article writing.

He also talks about selling articles to magazines as an additional revenue source for a writer, helping to balance out dependencies and income streams.

Mark then thanks listeners and Patreon supporters and closes off the show.

Links of Interest:

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 030 - Target Markets & Relationships with Dana Pharant and Barb Stuhlemmer

20 juli 2018 | 43 min

Mark chats with Dana Pharant and Barb Stuhlemmer about elements of running their own businesses that also apply to writers. Mark, Dana and Barb are 3 of 5 members of a recent business mastermind that took place where 5 business owners from different industries and areas of expertise all work together to hold one another accountable for business plans, visions, goals and next steps for growth.

Mark shares his perspective on this first business mastermind group he has been a part of and then talks about his own specific takeaways, including the publication of a book he is 20,000 words into called INDIE PUBLISHING INSIDER SECRETS: What Running Kobo Writing Life, a Print-on-Demand Business and 25 Years of Bookselling Taught Me About Success for Authors, Publishers & Self-Publishing Services. He shares how the group is holding him accountable for a proposed publishing and delivery schedule for this book that he has already dropped onto the back burner.

In their chat, Mark, Dana and Barb discuss:

Strategies on how to find and define your core audience, with an example that Dana shares about not doing it right the first time and how it lost her about 6 months of traction * The challenges of taking money from the people who aren't part of the ideal target audience and the related "Steak and Burger" analogy
Barb's experiences of knowing what company needs a service, but the challenge of finding the specific person within that company to speak to and to sell to, which can relate to sub-genres and other more specific niche targeting for authors
Targeting the right people, but with the wrong product
How Dana and Barb, who have been friends for about eight years, originally met
How in relationships, if you are GIVING, in the right aspect and for the right reasons, you get back a huge amount
The people and the relationships and the circles that can be cultivated among your peers who are willing to rise
How knowing who you can count on (not just for support, but for honesty) in your inner circle can really make a difference
Authenticity in engagement with one's audience, mailing list, and core followers or fans
How you can't impress people with things that you're not; you can only impress people with what you have
The concept of creating the "ideal reader" as a character sketch the same way one might sketch out a character in their book
Advice on success in turning passion into profit

After the chat, Mark shares his reflections on the importance of taking insights, wisdom and learning from people and industries outside one's own area of expertise and perspective and how, listening to the business intelligence and strategies of 4 women from different business pursuits helped Mark to grow his own knowledge and strategy in writing and publishing.

Links of Interest:

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 029 - Terry Fallis on Writing with Authenticity

13 juli 2018 | 75 min

This episode features an interview with Canadian author Terry Fallis. who is a two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, the winner of CBC Canada Reads for "the essential novel of the decade" the winner of the CBA Libris Author of the Year Award for 2013, and someone who has had a 6-part mini-series based on his first novel appear on CBC Television.

Prior to his personal update, Mark delivers this episode's Tongue Twister, which is something Stephen King fans might be familiar with: the mantra that Bill practices when working on his stutter.

"Amidst the mists and fiercest frosts, With barest wrists, and stoutest boasts, He thrusts his fists against the posts, And still insists he sees the ghosts"

The Tongue Twister segment is sponsored by Findaway Voices. Learn more about how they can help authors control their audiobook production and distribution at www.starkreflections.com/findaway

For his personal update Mark shares how he has been overwhelmed with tasks and a growing list of unfinished projects, and talks through 3 things that have helped him deal with the feeling of being overwhelmed

1) Unplugging and Recharging

2) Listing the Things Making You Feel Overwhelmed

3) Listing the Small Surprise Accomplishments Already Achiveved

In their chat, Mark and Terry discuss:

The process of writing a novel and then sending query packages and sample chapters to agents and editors, followed by the “radio silence” from the industry that Terry experienced (not even generating an automated rejection letter)
What led to his deciding to try both self-publishing the novel as well as releasing it as a free podcast novel in 2007
How some of the little things along the way (a suggestion from his wife, a single response from one agent, a bookseller who wanted to host a book launch party, comments from the podcast audience, a single box of ten copies of the self-published books sitting in a box by his desk), could lead to a dramatically defining moment in Terry’s career as an author
The “you’ve written a satirical novel of Canadian politics – what were you thinking?” line that keeps coming up
How listening to Terry’s podcast was all it took for Mark to become hooked on Terry’s first novel THE BEST LAID PLANS
The New York Times article about Scott Sigler and his podcast novels that had inspired Terry to begin podcasting his first novel
Why Terry is convinced that more physical books have been sold via the process of giving away the audio/podcast version for free
The chills Terry gets when thinking about doing his very first book signing
The factors that led to Terry deciding to enter his first self-published novel into the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour (which included that the award didn’t have a clause that said self-published novels couldn’t be entered)
Details about being nominated for and then winning the Leacock Medal for Humour
Terry’s email to the only agent who had bothered to reply to his original query (who is still his agent to this day, ten years later)
The Canada Reads win and how that likely created the climate for the book to be optioned for film and television, where it was made into a 6 part television movie as well as a staged musical
What it was like being in full control versus having to hand complete creative control over to the film production folks
How impressed Terry was by the script writers for the series, Susan Coyne and Jason Sherman
Why Terry believes that the New York Times called him to comment about a recent disagreement between Trudeau and Trump
The effective use of humor in addressing serious issues, content and situations – in particular, the important elements of feminism and women’s rights in Terry’s novel POLES APART
How Terry used his own experience as an identical twin when writing the novel ONE BROTHER SHY
A bit of a teaser about Terry’s work in progress, IF AT FIRST YOU SUCCEED
The fact that Terry’s publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, has, for his first six novels, allowed him to begin to release his weekly serialized podcast for his novels in the month prior to each novel’s release
How doing the reading/recording for the podcast has helped with Terry preparing sections for public readings of his novels; as well as being a great editing/proofreading tool
The value that Terry places in booksellers, in particular the independent booksellers who have supported his career from the very beginning
Terry’s favorite advice for authors about writing with authenticity and passion. “It’s hard to write your best work when you’re not writing about something that you care about.”

Links of Interest:

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 028 - The Power of Moments

6 juli 2018 | 31 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 027 - Jamie Ferguson on Bundles, Curation and Collaboration

29 juni 2018 | 38 min

The feature interview in this episode is a chat with Jamie Ferguson about her writing, the thing that made the difference in terms of kick-starting her writing productivity, and the various collaborations and curation she has done by leveraging BundleRabbit as a collaborative tool.

Mark then shares a quick personal update, about the fact that there's nothing like screwing up to get views on a video.

The Tongue Twister segment, sponsored by Findaway Voices includes Mark reading the following:

I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I thought. If the thought I thought I thought had been the thought I thought, I wouldn't have thought so much.

In the interview, Mark and Jamie talk about:

How Jamie had wanted to be a writer from when she was a child and had started and stopped various projects, but that it wasn’t until she joined a workshop started by Edward Bryant about fifteen years ago that prompted her to actually complete the projects
How finishing something can actually be scary (“OMG, somebody could read it!”)
The recent YA contemporary fantasy story by Jamie that appears in the new WISHES anthology from WMG Publishing
The collaborative publishing project bundles & collections that Jamie has created using BundleRabbit that include:
- Fantasy in the City
- The Witches’ Brew
- Haunted
- The Faerie Summer Bundle
- and more (see all the bundles here)
The basic differences between curating bundles and creating anthologies (called collaborations) using BundleRabbit and the process that a curator goes through
How BundleRabbit assists the curator by allowing the tools that make the curation, collaboration and payment distribution easier (and the time that has saved Jamie, who likely wouldn’t have been able to budget the time for the aforementioned projects
How the Faerie Summer Bundle has been the most successful, which has led to Jamie adapting it into an ongoing series
Factors in bundles/collaborations Jamie has created that contributed to their success
How an author’s web and social media presence can make a positive difference in terms of curating their work into a bundle or collaboration
The unexpected additional time required related to editing and formatting in the anthology collaboration projects
Jamie’s plan for a forthcoming non-fiction book sharing what she has learned
Some of Jamie’s favorite writing advice
The forthcoming Amazing Monster Tales project Jamie is working on with DeAnna Knippling

Links of Interest

Jamie's Website
Jamie's Social Media
BlackBird Publishing
Jamie's Article on the differences between bundles and collaborations
Findaway Voices
Stark Reflections Patreon Page

Jamie Ferguson focuses on getting into the minds and hearts of her characters, whether she’s writing about a saloon girl in the Old West, a man who discovers the barista he's in love with is a naiad, or a ghost who haunts the house she was killed in – even though that house no longer exists. She’s curated 8 short story bundles and anthologies to date, and is working on several more, including a monster-themed anthology series she’s co-editing with DeAnna Knippling. Jamie lives in Colorado, and spends her free time in a futile quest to wear out her two border collies, since she hasn’t given in and gotten them their own herd of sheep...yet...

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 026 - Armand Rosamilia on Engagement and Community

22 juni 2018 | 59 min

In episode 26, Mark chats with author Armand Rosamilia who is originally from New Jersey and currently lives in sunny Florida with his wife. Armand is not only a hybrid author with more than 150 stories, and numerous books published both via traditional publishers and via indie-publishing methods, but he is also a podcaster and the co-owner of the Project Entertainment Network.

This episode's tongue twister, sponsored by Findaway Voices comes from Edward, who sent the short quick tongue twister "Eddie edited it" which Mark is to say 5 times really fast in a cartoonish character voice.

Mark then thanks Patreon patrons who support the show and reminds users they can support the show via Patreon or by simply sharing the show with a friend or leaving a review.

In their chat, Mark and Armand talk about:

How Armand prioritizes his time with all of the various tasks on his plate, and the important support from his wife who helps keep him on track
The opportunities that allowed him to leave his job 7 years ago to begin writing full time
The fear that continues to drive his writing to this day
The difference between creative writing on his own (as an admitted pantser) and adapting a screenplay into a novelization
The “what if” that drives most of Armand’s writing, including looking at a group of people on the beach and imagining what if zombies started to appear coming out of the surf
How Armand was able to adapt his “pantser” habit when collaborating with another writer who was a “plotter”
The combination of working with traditional publishers and self=publishing that allows Armand to embrace the best of both worlds
How the desire to write a single zombie novel just to “get it out of his system” turned into “The Dying Days” series of nine books that are among his top-selling books
The radio DJ work that Armand used to do which led to a couple of podcasts that he is host/co-host of
The “Mando Method” of writing that Armand practices (named after him), in which he writes for the first 15 minutes of every hour, and then has the remaining 45 minutes of that hour to play, check emails, do whatever. Doing this 3 or 4 times a day gets him 2,000 or 3,000 words written per day
Project Entertainment Network, which Armand and his wife owns (see links below for the great podcast lineup from this Network)
The amazingly supportive community that surrounds the “Scares that Care” convention held in Williamsburg, Virginia in August
The Beers N Fears Brewery Tour that Armand started and how it has worked as it has grown over the past three years
The “Any Book for $10 or 3 books for $20” model they use for simplicity on the Beers N Fears tour; with a reminder that it’s not about how much profit they can make off each book sale, bur rather more about reaching new readers
The “Belford Stories” series set in the town that he grew up in that Armand has written about and how the series has been popular with the local community
How Armand uses his Patreon page to connect with and provide unique, early and exclusive content for his reader community
Common advice that Armand offers to authors regarding a common “how much do you need to earn to consider writing full time” question

Links of interest

Armand's website
- The Mando Method Podcast
- Arm Cast Podcast
Project Entertainment Network
Beers N Fears Book Tour Links
- Tim Meyer Blog
- Chuck Buda Blog
Findaway Voices
Mark's Nocturnal Screams Series (First in Series FREE Promo Test)
- Kindle
- Kobo

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 025 - 10 Ways of Thinking Outside The AD

15 juni 2018 | 43 min

In this solo episode, Mark shares 10 Ways of Thinking Outside the Ad: Book Marketing ideas that appeal to your target audience.

Prior to the main content, Mark gives a bit of an update on how his Kobo Writing Life FREE first book in series is going two weeks out.

Then he does the Tongue Twister, suggested by his friend Pete, and sponsored by Findaway Voices.

In brief summary, here are the 10 Ways of Thinking Outside the AD that Mark shares:

1) FOOD & DRINK & BOOKS

Mark shares a few thoughts about Julie Strauss with her "Chef in Love" romance books - in particular the amazing Prosecco Heart novel and how that could so brilliantly be tied in to delightful pairings. Food and drink and reading.

This would be the ideal book to give to a wine lover and romance reader. Or maybe package a CD, a book and a bottle of wine with it - it wouldn't have to be a Prosecco although that does nicely tie-in with the title, placed on an author table as a suggestion for how it could be part of an excellent creative gift package.

2) ATTENTION MARKETING PROMO INFO & SWAG

Mark talks about a few examples from

The Jewels of Historical Romance - and how they sent the chocolates to the retailers. Puts them above and beyond.
Chris Mandeville - and her book Seeds - brilliant idea
Deborah Cooke's Book Charms
Glynnis Campbell's Bookish Swag - Lords with Swords letter opener

3) ATTENTION MARKETING PACKAGING

Based on a few packages mailed to Mark when he was at Kobo from Publishers Group Canada, Mark shares how the inventive packaging for the following books created a memorable and sharable entity:

Peter James LOVE YOU DEAD
Anne Cleaves COLD EARTH

4) UNIQUE & BOOK-SPECIFIC SWAG

How Madison Avery created an enscribed penny based on the "Penny for your thoughts" story from her erotic romance collection CAPTURING THE MUSE (all the stories involve female writers and erotic entanglements with her muse, who often takes the form of a sexy man)

Mark's own idea for using t-shirts to advertise local bookstores and libraries where he had scheduled book events that included an "I love to haunt [LOCATION] motif advertising the bookstore

5) PROPS

Mark talks about his his of the full life skeleton Barnaby as a prop that he uses as a way to draw in the ideal target readers for his books (as well as to keep away those who are not interested in the macabre), as well as the way that a visual prop specifically related to the book content, can be an easily identifiable differentiator

6) HIGHWAY BILLBOARDS Though it's not an easy or common thing to do, Mark has witnessed how effective a series of highway billboard ads can be. He shares the huge success that author Brian Horeck saw with his books Minnow Trap and Frozen Beneath.

This is a demonstration of strategic marketing to a target audience (Northern Ontario readers) and aggressive and intelligent salesmanship to ensure the book was available at various non-traditional stores on that northern highway.

7) VEHICLE ADVERTISEMENTS

Similar to highway signs is the concept of advertising using your own vehicle. Mark was inspired by T S Paul and his car wrap concept. Mark invested in a much more cost-effective car magnet purchase for his own vehicle.

Since Mark's skeleton Barnaby is already sitting in the car all the time, why not put something on the side of the car that explains why the skeleton is there?

8) COMIC CONS

Mark took advantage of a specific target audience to start buying tables to sell print books (which still represent 70 to 80% of the book industry overall market) to the core group of fans most likely to enjoy his books.

He also talks a bit about Armand Rosamilia and the Beers N Fears Tour and how this unique merger of local interest with craft beer worked extremely well.

9) LOCATION BASED APPS & SHARING

Mark talks about sharing content and quotes from his books on Foursquare (Swarm) as well as using apps like Squirl to introduce locations from where books are set.

Mark also shares the Spirits Untapped Google map that he and Liz created and as well as the Macabre Montreal map as a no cost (except for time) way of increasing SEO for content based on locations from books.

10) LIVE VIDEOS & SMALL FISH

Mark shares his experiences experimenting with live videos via his #FreeFridayFrights. He shares a bit about the explosion that happened with a video he recorded just this past Friday while up in my home town of Levack Ontario

His "Facebook Live" video about a ghost on Level 2650 of Levack Mine reached well over 3500 views and continues to get re-shared. Compared with the standard dozen to two dozen views most of his videos have received, this is a blockbuster.

It speaks to something Mark learned from his friend Robert J. Sawyer years ago - and that is the importance of defining yourself as a big fish in a small pool. Mark shares how that "big fish in small pool" has elevated sales of one particular book.

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 024 - A Life in Storytelling Together with Laura and Daniel Martone

8 juni 2018 | 49 min

Mark interviews Laura and Daniel Martone, former residents of New Orleans who now travel the country in their mobile writing studio, a cozy RV dubbed Serenity. Together they write urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic, time travel, epic fantasy, and space opera novels.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares an update on the recent FREE promotion that he paid for via the Kobo Writing Life PROMOTIONS tab.

We also talks about the importance for authors to listen, learn and then to adapt what they are seeing, hearing and learning into strategies and tactics that work best for them and their own unique goals and publishing plans.

Then he launches the Tongue Twister segment, which is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about Findaway Voices at www.starkreflections.ca/findaway.

In the interview, Mark talks with Daniel and Laura about:

The way they met via the world of films and film festivals
The experience of having a horror screenplay altered to the tune of a director’s completely different interpretation of their script
The storytelling aspect of creating virtual audio ghost tours
The incredible patience involved in working on building a product line and listening and learning for more than a year before launching their first collaboratively published book series
The planned-out release schedule that they struggle with sticking to for their Space Opera series and their Zombie series
How they work together to split the work required in creating and writing their books
- What Dan calls a “Skeleton Draft” which is a hybrid between a screenplay and story beats of about 17,000 words
- Laura’s next step of taking that draft and fleshing it out into a “well nourished” format
- The next step where Dan then trims and cuts the 60,000 or 70,000 word draft back down by 5,000 or so words
The 9 arc structure that each book they write fulfills
Intertwining their different series in a multiverse that they have created
How their background in film and screenwriting has woven itself into their writing process
Playing off each others skills, preferences, passions and work habits for the ultimate complimentary benefit
Being fans of the Supernatural TV show and Joss Whedon’s Firefly and the impact that has had on their personal and creative lives
Serenity, their mobile home
The nature of learning and then adapting the things they have absorbed and learned into their own unique strategies
How Laura was inspired by Lindsay Buroker, in particular her expressions of: “Be genuine, be generous”
The lack of confidence that can result from not hitting that publish button (which can be a crippling thing for a writer – ie, just STARTING is sometimes the key, otherwise, one might never start) and the concept of learning from doing
The collaboration that Laura and Daniel are doing with a larger group of authors (currently 43 writers) for a forthcoming massive project that will be releasing later this year – (Mark gets them to promise to return to the podcast to share an update on that project)
The favorite bit of writing advice that resonates with each of them
Where The Martones will be traveling (in Serenity) for the remainder of this year (including 20Booksto50K Vegas)

After the interview, Mark reflects on a couple of things that his conversation with Laura and Daniel made him think about. One of those items was about that moment where a writer hesitates with their finger over the “publish” button and the wonder of whether or not they should go back to one more re-write, one more edit, one more re-polish before either publishing the manuscript or perhaps submitting it to an agent or editor.

Links of Interest:

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 023 - Accurate Historical Details for Authors with Danièle Cybulskie

1 juni 2018 | 46 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Danièle Cybulskie about how she translated her passion for The Middle Ages into featured articles at Medievalists.net that have reached more than half a million readers, has had her work as a subject matter specialist adopted for nine Ontario colleges, had created fun and informative books such as The Five-Minute Medievalist, Six Steps to Better Historical Fiction and many other great titles, not to mention fascinating speaking gigs, including a TedX talk, and as an author coach.

Before the interview, Mark welcomes new Patreon Supporter Jamie Davis, thanks Patrons for their support and introduces this episode's tongue twister, sponsored by Findaway Voices, which is in honor of Book Expo America taking place in New York.

The tongue twister is: "You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York"

Mark also shares a few personal updates, including a recently released BookNet Canada suvey result about 2017 Publishing Trends as well as an experiment he is doing related to a FREE book promotion he is running at Kobo.

In the feature interview, Mark and Danièle talk about:

How she has been writing for Medievalists.net for a number of years and has more than 150 articles published there
Her passion for coaching authors in authenticity and accuracy for the smallest details about the Middle Ages
Her favourite century, (the 14th Century) because it contained the Black Death and The Hundred Years War
The most common elements that writers get wrong (it often involves food and clothing)
The risks of getting one’s historical elements only from fiction and movies
Whether or not Holy Hand Grenade (as seen in the Arthurian Legend spoof film Monty Python and the Holy Grail) might have actually existed. (There WAS gun powder in Europe in that era)
How the use of guns and canons changed the use of armour and the way castles were built
Because Mark couldn’t resist bringing up the coconuts in the aforementioned Monty Python movie, the historic scholar who has studied medieval coconuts
The inaccurate food that is served at a particular “Medieval” style family dinner theatre show that contains foods that never existed in Europe at the time, such as potatoes
Danièle book The Five Minute Medievalist and The Five Minute Medievalist’s Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse
Her forthcoming release (recently signed with a UK publisher), Medieval Europe in Fact and Fiction
How sitting at home with her first baby was her introduction towards sharing what she had studied through writing
The challenge she has been enjoying writing the different survival guides each month, including the way that she used Twitter to help decide the latest title
What she likes reading for pleasure (dystopian futures) and what her favorite medieval movie is (A Knight’s Tale)
How learning about the differences and the similarities of people in different historical periods can give us a better and more well-rounded ability to understand and have compassion for different cultures and people in our world today

After the interview, Mark reflects on how he uses history for his own non-fiction writing.

Links of Interest:

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 022 - Finding my Way with Findaway

25 maj 2018 | 46 min

This episode includes clips of interviews that Mark conducted on a tour through the Findaway offices in Cleveland, Ohio that took place on Tuesday May 22nd. Mark chats with folks from the Findaway Voices team (Will, Wes and Eric) as well as Findaway CEO Mitch Kroll.

In the introduction, Mark shares a few updates, including an update of the latest video for Patreon supporters and then explains the three levels of support that include ($1 - Plot Outline (Bronze), $3 - First Draft (Silver) and $5 - Completed Manuscript (Gold). He thanks new and existing Patreon supporters.

Mark also shares some details about the percentage share of his eBook retail sales for 2017, revealing that 77% of his eBook earnings came from Kindle with Kobo coming in second at 17%. He also noted that Google started to make a return in terms of his eBook sales in 2017 and has already well surpassed his iBooks sales in 2018.

Mark shares his own experiences with publishing exclusively to Kindle via KDP Select to try to leverage the Kindle Unlimited reading income opportunities) and why, strategically, he has been a part of the program since it first launched, even when he was in charge of Kobo’s self-publishing platform. He also discusses a short story series “Nocturnal Screams” that he originally rolled out in KDP Select a year ago, but is now releasing wide.

For this episode’s tongue twisters, Mark turns the tables on Will Dages from Findaway Voices (sponsor of the Tongue Twister segment) and gets HIM to read the tongue twister.

In the episode’s central interview with Mitch Kroll, Findaway Co-Founder and CEO, Mark and Mitch talk about:

The interesting origin of the name Findaway and how the term “Findawayer” and a misplaced thumb late one night led to the spark of inspiration
The atmosphere and spirit of the entire Findaway company’s culture
How, independent of audio or the product set in general, it was all about building a place where a bunch of dynamic people (with Findawayer DNA) who could do great work
The little quotes and core value slogans that appear in small font text on walls throughout the Findaway offices
How the entire company was originally built on the Playaway devices, which introduced disruption and innovation to the industry
The manner by which a talk by Steve Jobs is something Mitch and his co-founders derived inspiration from when building the first Playaway devices
How, after selling more than 6 Million Playaway devices, the simple yet effective innovation remains a growth business
The balance that Findaway plays in serving the needs of content producers (publishers and authors), curators of audio (retailers and libraries) and consumers/readers
The origin of the name “Findaway Voices” and how it relates to the voice and the freedom that it gives back to independent authors

Mark then speaks with Will Dages about

One of his favourite elements of working at Findaway Voices and Findaway (the amazing people)
The Nebula Awards and Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America conference Will recently returned from where he shared information about the “pay for circulation” library purchasing model that raised a number of eyebrows

Mark chats with Wes from the audio quality team at Findaway Voices about:

One of the most common issue that he regularly has to deal with, related to specification issues
The education and resources that Wes regularly shares with audio producers and authors in his daily work
The importance of fixing things at the source (ie, when the audio is being recorded)

Mark then speaks with Eric from the Business Development team at Findaway Voices about:

The role that Eric plays in helping the Voices publishing arm in the creation of audiobooks through partnerships
The importance of strategic partnerships for the creation of high quality audiobook solutions
A side-conversation carry-over from lunch about Marvel superheroes and how this connects Venom with Captain America

After the interviews, Mark reflects on the day spent at Findaway, how Findaway Voices was a remarkable turning point for indie authors and the things he learned from looking at his Findaway Voices sales reports, and a few new strategies he intends on implementing based on this experience.

Links of Interest

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 021 - Real World Connections In A Digital World with J Thorn and Zach Bohannon

18 maj 2018 | 48 min

This episode features an interview with J Thorn and Zach Bohannon. They talk not only about the collaboration that the two of them do, but also a few of their more adventurous collaborations with other authors including the original train journey with Joanna Penn and Lindsay Buroker and how that unique writing experience evolved into an ongoing AUTHORS ON A TRAIN voyage from Chicago to New Orleans as well as an awesome 50th Anniversary of George A Romero's classic film NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD and how that relates to J and Zach’s NIGHT OF THE WRITING DEAD event.

Mark provides a personal update on the video views for his #FreeFridayFrights experiment and then shares the evil reaction he had to creating two “silly” versions of the Laurel VS Yanny audio debate. (He created a RickRoll version, reminding writers to get back to writing, as well as a JumpScare one, because, well, he thought it was funny).

He notes that the short and silly videos are trending much higher than the more serious reading ones he has done.

The Terrible Tongue Twister, sponsored by Findaway Voices, was provided by Laura and Daniel Martone, who will be featured guests in a forthcoming podcast. They asked for another Monty Python inspired accent to read it in, and the Australian accent from the troop’s Bruce Sketch came up.

After a terrible attempt at singing the Bruce’s Philosopher’s Song, Mark twists his tongue and likely offends multiple groups of people, from Python fans, to Australians, to beer drinkers and philosophers.

Mark thanks the users who have sent feedback and comments as well as the listeners who have become Patreon supporters of the podcast.

In the interview, Mark, J and Zach talk about:

How Zach and J started collaborating when Zach first became a fan of and then reached out to J
The system for how their writing collaborations work and the way they leverage their unique strengths
What StoryGrid is and how it shouldn’t frighten the math averse
The five basic components to story structure
J and Zach’s The Career Author Podcast, why they collaborated on it and how the process of putting the show together works
The analytics of story that they two of them share on what makes a scene work and what makes a story work
The original of the AUTHORS ON A TRAIN retreat with the original train trip from Chicago to New Orleans, and how it evolved into something that a slightly larger group of authors can get involved with
Details about the forthcoming NIGHT OF THE WRITING DEAD that they are planning for later this year
The difficult to measure yet critical value of in person connections

After the conversation, Mark shares his own experience having just written a zombie story set at the Monroeville Mall in Pittsburgh (where the Romero film was shot and where NIGHT OF THE WRITING DEAD event will be taking place).

He then reflects on something important that J and Zach speak about. Even though it was the revolution of digital publishing that has allowed authors to make a full time living off of their writing, a unique time in the history of writing, there’s still something critical and important about real-world direct connections.

Links of Interest

All About the Fictional Worlds of J Thorn & Zach Bohannon: www.moltenuniverse.com
The Career Author Podcast
Authors on a Train
Night of the Writing Dead
The Sell More Books Show Summit
Findaway Voices
Patreon Page for Stark Reflections
Mark’s Z is for Zombie digital collection of short stories
Marks Books at Dundurn
The Rush themed 2113 Anthology edited by Kevin J. Anderson

Zach Bohannon writes horror, fantasy, and post-apocalyptic science fiction. He is the author of the bestselling post-apocalyptic horror series, Empty Bodies.

J. Thorn is a Top 100 Most Popular Author in Horror, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure and Fantasy (Amazon Author Rank). He has published over one million words and has sold more than 170,000 books worldwide.

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 020 - Lessons Learned on my Writer Journey - Part One

11 maj 2018 | 41 min

Episode 20 is a solo episode where, in response to a few listeners who reached out and asked if he'd be willing to share more about his background and experience as an author, he takes the opportunity to reveal his own writer journey and the lessons learned along the way.

Prior to the lessons, Mark shares a bit of a personal update that includes the following:

Work on the forthcoming traditionally published book MACABRE MONTREAL which he is co-authoring with Shayna Krishnasamy
Work on the forthcoming anthology he is editing for WMG Publishing called FEEL THE LOVE
The new goal of weight-lifting at the gym now that the 21 K half marathon goal was reached (and the interesting way that ties in to LESSON ONE)

This episodes "Twisting by the Fool" Tongue Twister, sponsored by Findaway Voices came from a listener request.

Mark does both the requested tongue twister as well as in the voice/accent specified by that same listener.

He informs listeners that if there is a particular tongue twister they want him to try, or even if there is a silly voice they want to hear it in, to email ([email protected]) or ping him on Twitter (@MarkLeslie)

The first lesson Mark shares is in relation to being open to new perceptions, new ways of seeing things and how, sometimes, locking ourselves into a fixed view can potentially lead to us limiting ourselves. He shares his own experience with the gym in this regard as well as a look back on how, just a little over ten years ago, he was biased and prejudiced against self-publishing. He shares what and how his eyes were opened in that regard.

The second lesson that Mark shares takes him back to his earliest days of discovering the love for storytelling and writing. And that is the magic that happens with the pen kisses the page. Of something being created now and enjoyed later. Writers take that for granted, but it is tinkering with immortality.

The third lesson has to do with the learning that happens when you are first writing and how, even when creating something that might be considered throw-away early fan-fiction style writing, there's a lesson to be learned. Mark shares what writing a terrible novel at the age of 13 taught him about discipline and sacrifice and so many elements that are important for a novelist to learn.

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 019 - Cashing in on Creativity with Bruce Outridge

3 maj 2018 | 42 min

In Episode 19, Mark interviews Bruce Outridge, an artist, speaker, podcaster, television host, columnist, consultant and coach. I’m sure I missed a few things Bruce does there, because the man certainly fits a lot into a day.

The podcast features a fifteen minute interview with Bruce as well as a couple of short clips from his Cashing in on Creativity podcast which has a format that is as fun and unique as Bruce himself.

The interview took place at a Hamilton bar called The Ship. So you’ll hear the ambient noise of music and chatter in the background.

The Terrible Tongue Twister is sponsored by Findaway Voices. This one is a longer piece about a "pheasant plucker" not a pleasant fellow . . .

In their interview, Bruce and Mark discuss:

Bruce’s podcast, Cashing in on Creativity and how authors can use it for inspiration and ideas from other creative people and independent artists for their own creative journey
The passion that Bruce has for music and why he uses his podcast to feature and spotlight independent musicians
Bruce’s natural inclination for being open to opportunity and to saying “yes”
The belief, Bruce has, that people need an option
The importance of looking beyond one’s own industry for learning, growth and ideas
Bruce’s background as a trucker (he has been a driver for more than 25 years), and how that led to writing for the trucking industry, the trucking specific podcast he produces and the speaking he does for that industry
The challenge of wearing multiple hats when it comes to branding and how Bruce manages that using blocks of time
Bruce’s favorite piece of advice that creative people should attend to

Mark then plays a couple of short clips from two of Bruce's recent podcast episodes that he found inspiring.

After the interviews and clips, Mark shares a reflection about the networking that led him and Bruce to connecting and talks about that element which Bruce started off the interview discussing (and which is mentioned by Ann Brown in an episode of Bruce's own podcast) - being open to opportunity and authentic connections with others.

He shares his own example of connecting with fellow author Julie Strauss and the benefits to writing and personal life that came from a few chance encounters that a friendship grew out of.

Links of Interest:

Bruce’s Cashing in On Creativity Podcast
- Interview with Ann Brown – “Being Happy Being You”
- Interview with Supastarr – “True Determination”
Bruce’s website
Free Book – How to Start an Artistic Business
Bruce’s Facebook Page
Bruce on Twitter
Bruce on Instagram
Julie Strauss - Author
- Julie's Books
- Julie's Blog - Post on Adult Friendships
The Ship (Hamilton Bar where interview with Bruce took place)
Findaway Voices

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 018 - Finding The Right Professional with Ricardo Fayet from Reedsy

27 april 2018 | 52 min

In Episode 18, Mark interviews Ricardo Fayet, one of the founders of Reedsy, an online marketplace connecting authors with top editors, designers, ghostwriters and publicists. An avid reader and a person who travels the world to attend industry events and author conferences, Ricardo shares his insights and tips for authors, including a number of free resources that authors should be taking advantage of.

In the introductory segment, Mark shares an update on the forthcoming half-marathon he has been training for with his partner, Liz, and also shares some information about their next collaborative project, the book Spirits Untapped: Haunted Bars & Breweries.

In the Terrible Tongue Twister segment, sponsored by Findaway Voices, Mark doesn't trip over his tongue. It's a first in this ongoing series that makes Mark usually look like quite the fool.

In their interview, Ricardo and Mark discuss:

How Ricardo got involved in co-founding Reedsy straight out of business school via discussions with co-founder Emmanuel Nataf about the need for authors to find quality professional services
The travel, book shows and author conferences Reedsy travels to and the growth the company has seen both internally and the many freelancers that are on the platform
The vetting that is done for the professional services offered and how only 3% of applicants are approved to be listed on the platform
How an author would use Reedsy to find, for example, a developmental editor for a particular genre (using Mark working on a non-fiction paranormal book, as an example)
The various service providers that you will find listed on Reedsy (including editors, book design, book cover design, illustrators, web designers, ghost writers, publicity and promotions and book marketers)
The free online editing tool (Reedsy Book editor) that allows authors to export a perfectly formatted ePub or PDF document for POD printing
The more than 35 free online email text-based courses that Reedsy has available. (Which provide a daily 5 minutes per day way for an author to learn something new that they are interested in)
How Reedsy makes money, and a comparison to another company that offered services and wasn’t transparent about their business model
Ricardo’s impression of the industry having just returned from London Book Fair
The predators whose practices prey on the hopes and dreams of writers and Ricardo’s frustration with these companies
Trends in the maturing indie publishing community that Ricardo is paying attention to both in English language markets as well as in Europe in German, French and Italian
Why authors shouldn’t just jump in and hire a marketing expert (one of the most common questions Ricardo receives) and the Book Marketing 101 Free Course on Reedsy that helps authors learn the core basics that can help them before they look at hiring a book marketer

After the interview, Mark shares his thoughts and reflections on the free resources available, specifically calling out some of the free Reedsy resources that Ricardo mentions and how authors might be able to incorporate those types of free learning opportunities into their daily routine.

He thanks the patrons who are supporting the podcast on Patreon and thanks listeners for offering him their free time in listening to the podcast.

Use this affiliate link to sign up for a free account at Reedsy and get a $20 credit towards any purchases there.

Links of Interest:

Reedsy
Ricardo’s Article on 12 Book Marketing Mistakes Authors Make - https://blog.reedsy.com/book-marketing-mistakes/
The Creative Penn Podcast
Kindlepreneur website
Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores & Libraries
Free Friday Frights
NINC (Novelist’s INC) Conference
Haslam’s Bookstore
Sixty Spooky Seconds about the ghost of Jack Kerouac

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 017 - Focusing on Your Readers with Steena Holmes

20 april 2018 | 64 min

In this episode, Mark interviews Steena Holmes.

Steena Holmes is an Award winning USA Today and Amazon best-selling author from Calgary, Alberta who writes psychological suspense, family drama, women’s fiction and sweet romance. She publishes under an Amazon-owned imprint as well as her own self-publishing imprint, is a fan of reading, of chocolate and of traveling. Speaking of traveling, Steena, who is a wife and the mother of three daughters, has created an authentic and dynamic relationship with her readers, who she has been a caring and loving tour guide through as she took them on a unique journey with her on her path through writing. In our conversation, we talk a lot about the importance of this relationship with her readers and in always putting them first.

Before the interview, Mark provides a personal update on the following items:

His half-marathon training schedule
His recent short fiction writing, including a zombie story to appear in Z IS FOR ZOMBIE
Some non-fiction writing he has been doing, both short articles as well as the new book he is working on about writing and publishing (which he has written 14,000 words for so far this week)
The status of the #FreeFridayFrights project, including some underwhelming responses and views from his recent Friday the 13th Facebook live and YouTube posted videos – but, (AND THIS IS IMPORTANT), why this isn’t something to be down about

Mark then shares this week’s Terrible Tongue Twister, sponsored by Findaway Voices.

This week’s twister (especially since you won’t be able to understand what the poor boy is trying to say) is:

Three sweet switched Swiss witches

Watch three washed Swiss witch Swatch watch switches.

Which sweet switched Swiss witch watches

Which washed Swish Swatch watch switch?

In their conversation, Mark and Steena talk about:

Steena’s hot new release, The Forgotten Ones, a psychological suspense novel that explores the deep dark secrets that are kept hidden from family
The inspiration behind the writing of The Forgotten Ones, which came from a really dark time and place in Steena’s life
How, despite the darkness of the novel, this was the easiest novel of the more than thirty books that Steena has written
Steena’s first novel, Finding Emma, which was a runaway bestseller and the differences between that novel and her latest novel
The journal that Steena took her readers on as she slowly migrated across genres
The promise that a writer makes to readers with every book that they release and the importance of honoring that promise
The emphasis Steena placed in focusing on the readers rather than the sales with each book’s release
One of Steena’s pet peeves in a “Don’t Do This” bit of advice for authors
How an author can create a genuinely authentic relationship with their readers
The tremendous response that Steena receives from readers after she shares a personable and relatable post on her blog
Ways that an author can be personable and relatable without revealing personal and private details about their life or their families lives
How Steena writes different books in different ways and in different locations to help create a distinction between book projects
The way Steena plans on dealing with a recently missed deadline
The juggling of writing books for a publisher and her self-publishing imprint
Attempts to retain the creative writing into different parts of the day
How in the first six months of publishing, Steena made a mere $100; but, in the first month of Finding Emma’s release, she sold 10,000 copies
How the readers of Finding Emma kept wanting more and more of the characters and their stories and the various ways Steena fulfilled their needs (without realizing that many of those things were things that a writer supposedly “couldn’t do”)
The lesson Steena learned when someone called her out on rushing a book to press by saying “You’re better than this, and your readers deserve better than this.”
Steena’s “Branding with Intent” series of emails for writers

After the interview, Mark reflects about Steena's talk about being personable and someone that readers could relate to. He also reflects on authenticity.

Links of Interest:

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 016 - Crowd Funding and Audience Engagement with Natasha Bajema

13 april 2018 | 50 min

Stark Reflections Episode 16 – Crowd-Funding and Audience Engagement with Natasha Bajema

Mark interviews Natasha Bajema, a fiction author who lives in Washington, D.C. and has been an expert on national security issues for over 18 years, specializing in weapons of mass destruction (WMD), nuclear proliferation, terrorism and emerging technologies.

In the introduction, Mark performs a Terrible Tongue Twister, sponsored by Findaway Voices and also goes off on a rant about how much time and energy authors waste worrying about Amazon’s latest “scandal.”

In the interview, Mark and Natasha discuss:

Natasha’s background working for the United States Department of Defence in National Security for 18 years, specializing in Weapons of Mass Destruction and how recent research into emerging technologies has inspired some of the concepts in her new trilogy
The original nuclear conspiracy trilogy she had originally been working on before she followed a whim to pursue the ideas behind the novel Bionic Bug
The challenge that a new writer faces when attempting to build up their audience and how Natasha faced that fear of “publishing to crickets” by engaging in crowd funding
Nanowrimo and the roll it has played in her life as a writer
The conversation Natasha had with Mark at the Smarter Artist Summit in Austin in the spring of 2017, and how that chat played a role in the turning point she was stuck at
The Kickstarter Project that Natasha launched and her reasoning behind it
The decision behind various rewards offered, including the “uber” limited edition idea Natasha was inspired about from listening to Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn podcast
Where in her life as a full-time employee she finds/makes the time to write (which works out to about 10 hours per week)
The book launch party at Wicked Bloom (an actual setting from a scene early in BIONIC BUG) taking place on April 18th and how she is dealing with that as an introvert
Why Natasha is publishing the book, as part of a soft launch strategy, only on Kobo and the five-star reviews the book has already received there
Why Natasha is going to wait much longer before releasing the books on Amazon
The difficulty putting aside a huge passion project Natasha had been investing in (at least emotionally) since 2010 in order to pursue the BIONIC BUG trilogy
The importance of patience and discipline in Natasha’s long-term strategy as an author, and the family traits that she believes she inherited
Natasha’s passion with the intersection of what is technologically possible and what society will accept and adopt (such as wondering whether or not Americans will ever accept a technology like self-driving cars)
The love Natasha has for the works of Michael Crichton and similar styled techno-thrillers that rely on speculation about near real-time science and technology
Natasha’s new podcast where she will be talking about emerging technologies similar to the things that she likes to write about and then include an excerpt from her novel as well as insights into the inspiration behind the writing of that chapter

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of the investment that Natasha made into every single decision as she gathered information for her publishing journey and the choices she made related to not looking for short-term gain, but, instead, with a focus on the long-term strategy. He reflects on how this speaks directly to advice he admires from an author friend, James A. Owen, and shares a short audio clip from James’ Drawing Out The Dragons book that further illustrates this point.

Mark speculates that Natasha’s diligence and patience are going to lead to a greater long term success as an author and applauds her for taking this important and difficult long-term view.

Links of Interest:

Natasha’s website

Natasha’s WICKED BLOOM Podcast

James A Owen’s website

James A Owen’s Drawing Out the Dragons

Findaway Voices

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 015 - The Process of a Writer's Life with Kevin Tumlinson

5 april 2018 | 55 min

The smooth and sexy-toned Kevin Tumlinson is an award-winning and bestselling thriller author, with books available in hundreds of countries worldwide. With a long-standing career in film, television, radio, and podcasting, Kevin is a seasoned world traveler, and has produced documentary programming and films ranging from historic aviation to military history. His debut novel, a thriller, and the first in his Dan Kotler Archeological Thriller series was a 2016 Shelf Notable Indie award winner.

Kevin's love for history, archeology, and science has been a tremendous resource for his writing. With thrillers, science fiction and genre-crossing books, including the non-fiction books the 30 Day Author and Writing a Better Book Description, Kevin has more than 30 novels, novellas and stories under his belt.

Kevin is also the Director of Marketing for Draft2Digital, one of the most beloved and author-centric distribution platforms for independent authors.

He lives in Texas, but works in random coffee shops, cafés, and hotel lobbies around the world.

In the pre-interview introduction to this episode, Mark shares a few updates that include:

How T S Paul (from Episode 13) ended up doing on Kobo in March as well as his continued growth (well ahead of the normal slow curve for sales growth on Kobo)
His training (or lack thereof) for the end of April Waterloo half-marathon
His rediscovery of the love of writing short fiction (and the #FreeFridayFrights he launches this week)
A thank you to the latest Patreon supporters of the podcast
This week’s Terrible Tongue Twister, AKA “Twisting by the Fool” – this time done in the voice of the guard from the French castle, as played by John Cleese, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail

In their chat, Mark and Kevin talk about:

The fact that Kevin was always a writer and how Kevin wrote his very first “book” when he was five years old
The early dictation that Kevin did with a cassette tape recorder when he was a child (dictating his own versions of the Encyclopedia Brown mysteries)
His introduction to reporting and journalism in high school and his first professional earnings as a writer ($10 per column)
The “nice advance” with a “terrible contract” that Kevin signed early in his writing career and then made the tough decision to leave, and pay back that advance
The Vimeo and YouTube web series Kevin and a few friends had planned, and how that story turned into a novel
Kevin’s move from writing science fiction and into thrillers and how that led to his best-selling and award-winning novel
Kevin’s goal to get 12 books in total written in the Dan Kotler series by the end of 2018
The pattern of alternating between writing novels and short stories that Kevin is considering
The basic minimum daily word count goal that Kevin sets for himself. (It is currently 2500 words)
How, regardless of what’s on his plate or calendar, that the writing for Kevin comes first. (As in, the very first thing that he does in the morning)
Stephen King’s quote about Art or Writing being a support system for life (and not the other way around)
The genesis and desire behind Kevin’s creation of the Wordslinger Podcast
How inspiration for writing and creativity can come from any source, or virtually any conversation, not just from authors and writers
A bit of a background on Draft2Digital and Kevin’s role as Director of Marketing at this author-centric company
How the “caring about the author” was something that always stood out the most when Kevin was initially looking at Draft2Digital as an author himself
How working at Draft2Digital has opened a lot of additional doors for Kevin
The automated in-matter and the amazing Book2Read offering that Draft2Digital provides to authors, book bloggers or anybody who wants to create a universal book link that connects to everywhere the ebook is sold online (including the ability to add affiliate codes for Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, etc into those links)
The newly launched Author Pages that Draft2Digital has recently released, which connects back to the Books2Read content

After the interview, Mark reflects on something that Kevin mentioned, which was PLAN vs PROCESS, and the importance of having a flexible process. Mark spends some time thinking about how focusing on the process rather than the initially failed plan has benefited him in multiple ways in his personal life as well as his recent attempt to evolve into a full-time writer.

Mark spoke openly about the process of transitioning in more personal detail on Episode 77 of the Inner Dominatrix Podcast, with host Dana Pharant back in December of 2017 (while he was in the midst of the latest transition in his life)

Mark also shares that he was recently a guest on Patricia McLinn’s new AUTHORS LOVE READERS podcast, where he and Pat had a fun time talking about the story behind the story of writing, where inspiration is found and other reader-centric questions about the writing life.

Links of Interest

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 014 - 5 Ways To Use Free To Build Your Author Platform

29 mars 2018 | 32 min

This episode is a solo one where Mark shares the 5 Ways mentioned in the title, and then goes on to reflect how the chat with T S Paul in the previous episode, combined with the concept of FREE helped inspire a new project that he is launching in April.

The Terrible Tongue Twister in this episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. Click here to learn more about Findaway Voices. The tongue twister this week is introduced by a terrible spoof that Mark does of the Dire Straits song "Twisted by the Pool" modified to "Twisting by the Fool."

FIVE WAYS TO USE FREE TO BUILD YOUR AUTHOR PLATFORM

1) To Get People Hooked on a Series

Mark quotes from studies done at Kobo on how the first book in a series set to free can result in new readers and boosted sales for an author.

2) To Get People to Sign up to Your Author Newsletter

Authors such as Mark Dawson and Nick Stephenson have not only perfected this craft, but they have also shared great free information on how to do this and also offer courses that include in-depth training.

3) To Get Readers / Reviews

Free giveaways are something used in order to get reviews of a person's book. There's a great article at Written Word Media on how to get book reviews on Amazon

4) To Get Feedback / Engage with Readers

Sometimes selling isn't the main goal. Sometimes a writer is looking to get feedback or merely have someone read their work. Platforms like Blogger or Wordpress, where authors can post their work and let people read it for free fit here. Also, places like Wattpad Mark share his own experience of using Wattpad to share the first draft of a novel, and how that led to a very positive experience.

5) Limited Time offers of FREE to drive returning traffic

Mark talks about how author Kristine Kathryn Rusch offers a weekly Free Fiction Mondays, as well as an interesting story of how she, unknowingly, made life easier for a reader fan. He talks about M L Buchman and his monthly free "Ides of Matt" offering. And then he mentions how T S Paul (from Episode 13) uses a 24 hour monthly free short story offering.

Mark then shares how the concept of free, inspired by the three authors mentioned immediately above, combined with the element of making something a habit with regularly returning visitors and some of his own previous experiments and successes, led to the creation of new project he is launching in April.

Mark shares how his involvement in a weekly blogging meme called Half-Nekkid Thursdays led to the creation of an HNT Darth Tater SPUD WARS storyline that he rolled out over a few months and which drew a strong following and actively engaged audience.

He then shares how he adapted two short stories into a story that was rolled out in real time over 9 months via a blog from the main character's point of view. That also attracted readers from around the world as well as highly engaged reader interaction. Entitled, I, DEATH, the blog was then re-adapted into a novel that was published in 2014.

That all led to Mark's desire to want to do something like that again, and shares how he had been listening to Mark Dawson's Self-Publishing Formula Podcast where James interviewed Cecelia Mecca about engaging with your readers using Facebook Live.

This is something Mark had been playing with for the past year or so and enjoyed the process as well as the engagement and feedback from it.

So he adapted the three elements, all related to previous success:

1) Offering reading for free 2) Engaging with readers 3) Facebook Live videos

Into FREE FRIDAY FRIGHTS #freefridayfrights which he'll be starting next Friday - Friday April 6, 2018 and rolling out weekly via www.markleslie.ca/freefridayfrights a free piece of writing (alternating between fiction and non-fiction) that will be available for 24 hours. But also, on that Friday, since different readers consume differently, he'll do a Facebook Live video of either a reading of the fiction then talking about it and answering questions, OR talking about the non-fiction article answering questions.

Mark thanks listeners and reminds them of three ways to support the show:

1) Via Patreon (with bonus content available)

2) By Leaving a review of the show on the podcatcher of your choice

3) By sharing the podcast with a friend who would benefit from it

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 013 - Going Your Own Way with T S Paul

23 mars 2018 | 57 min

In lucky episode 13, Mark interviews author T S Paul about not listening to people who told him he was “crazy” with the ideas he had for his writing plan. T S Paul (AKA, Scott) writes Science Fiction, Space Opera, Military, Cookbooks, and Paranormal Fiction. His books used to be exclusively available thru Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited, but towards the tail end of 2017 he started to publish a number of his books wide to Kobo, iBooks, Nook and Google Play.

This episode’s Tongue Twister is sponsored by Findaway Voices. Mark attempts to do the tongue twisted in the voice of Brian’s Mum from the Monty Python movie, LIFE OF BRIAN. The tongue twister source is from a 2013 MIT research document (USA Today Article: World's Toughest Tongue Twister - no kidding)

In the interview, Mark and Scott discuss:

The fact that TS Paul is not a pseudonym. It’s his real name. The S is for Scott and the T stands for an undisclosed name. (Despite the fact that Mark tries to trick him into saying it)
The fact that Scott doesn’t have an author newsletter, nor has he worried about starting to build one, or a domain name for that matter. The majority of his relationship with his fans happen via his blogspot blog (tspaul.blogspot.com) and his Facebook Author page
The fact that he has only been writing since February of 2016 and using the blog and Facebook page since then. (3500+ followers on Facebook – 300 to 600 hits a day on the blog)
The “Wilson Wednesday” free short story that Scott released on his blog every week. (with 45 short stories posted there in 2016)
The fact that he bundled the stories into single volume story collections [EDITORIAL NOTE: Scott uses the term “anthology” but I have always subscribed to the idea that an anthology is a curated collection of stories from multiple authors, so I’m inserting the term “collection” in place of “anthology”] – into two different ebook volumes for that time period
The Jack Dalton Monster Hunter series he started in Feb of 2018 and the release methodology he uses:
- Each new book’s release (about 10,000 words) is on the first of the month
- On the third Wed of that month, readers can read the entire book content on his blog for free (for a 24 hour period)
- The fact there is also a buy button on that post for those who’d rather just read the ePub or mobi version on the retailer of their choice. And the fact that there’s a pre-order button for the next month’s release in the series
How Scott has heard the words “you’re out of your mind” many times before
The $1.99 price point he has used (which, historically, was considered a really poor price, possibly the WORST price for an eBook) – but it’s important to remember that those studies were related to full sized books (ie, 40,000 to 150,000 words) rather than shorter works (most of Scott’s ebooks are in the 10,000 word range)
- Sales for Book One (from Feb 2018) – of more than 1500 units
- Sales for Book Two (so far – mid March) are in the realm of a little over 500 copies
Scott’s background as a bookseller who previously worked at Waldenbooks
How Scott managed to use targeted ads to build up his Facebook followers, which started off with boosting a post on his author page of a picture of his cat, Merlin (and targeting science fiction readers who loved cats)
Scott’s theory about Facebook ads, which doesn’t include a direct ROI, but to keep the ads in front of people’s faces (using the old 7 touches/7 views methodology of marketing)
How Scott built a sales base for himself in the Netherlands on Kindle, building that market from 2 EUR a month to 50 EUR a month
The reason why this new series Scott is publishing was published wide to all eBook retailers (Kindle, Kobo, iBooks, Nook and Google, etc) rather than exclusive to Amazon using the KDP Select exclusivity option, which is how he started publishing
The reality that Scott is a six-figure author (in 2016 he earned $100,000 and in 2017 he earned a lot more than that), and so losing a couple of thousand dollars from not getting Kindle Unlimited reads wasn’t a big deal to him
Some of the real stats of Scott’s sales which include the Athena Lee series earning about $2500 to $3000 per month on Kindle (18 titles)
How, when he launched wide, he earned about $200 on Kobo in January 2018, but that, by Feb, he had earned $1000 and for March at the point of the interview (the 20th), he had earned $700 on Kobo
Scott’s cover designer, Heather Hamilton-Senter (http://www.bookcoverartistry.com/) and the fact that he has ordered 18 new covers for his new series
How Scott went from being on partial disability, finding it difficult to find a job and being a whale reader and then moving on to becoming a writer based on a kick-in-the-pants he received from Michael Anderle (of 20Booksto50K fame)
How the 1970s movie Smokey and the Bandit was part of the inspiration for Scott’s latest marketing/publicity experiment: A van with a wrap that features artwork from his book covers
The fact that Scott is a “modified pantser” and that his pre-ordered book covers and titles are the high level “outline” that he uses to write his stories

After the interview, Mark talks about how this conversation with Scott and a recent listen of a speech by Arnold Schwarzenegger came together to inspire him.

He also introduces his new Patreon page for those interested in contributing monetary support to this podcast.

Links of Interest:

T S Paul's Blog
T S Paul's Facebook Page
T S Paul Instagram
T S Paul's Fergus The Unicorn's Facebook Page
T S Paul's Fergus The Unicorn on Twitter
Findaway Voices
Arnold Schwarzenegger 6 Rules of Success (Abbreviated)
Arnold Schwarzenegger 6 Rules of Success (Full Speech)

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 012 - Six Rules of Success with Arnold Schwarzenegger

23 mars 2018 | 10 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 011 - The Power of Free with Musician and Composer Kevin MacLeod

16 mars 2018 | 35 min

In Episode 11, Mark interviews Kevin MacLeod, the writer, composer and producer for the music used in this podcast.

Kevin MacLeod is an American composer and musician who is perhaps best known for his distribution of royalty-free library music through his website, Incompetech.com.

He has made over 2,000 self-composed pieces of music available for download under a Creative Commons 3.0 license which basically allows anyone to use his music for free as long as he receives attribution.

This open spirit has led to his music being used in millions of YouTube videos and thousands of films. As of July 2016, MacLeod had over 2,300 composer credits listed on the Internet Movie Database and his music has been used in Martin Scorsese's 2011 film Hugo, several commercial video games, and videos by online content creators such as CollegeHumor and Good Mythical Morning.

The Terrible Tongue Twister on this podcast (which Mark stumbles over) is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can find out more about Findaway Voices on www.starkreflections.ca/findaway

In their discussion, Mark and Kevin talk about:

Kevin’s history as a musician and the origin of the launch of the incompetech website
The debate between openly giving away one’s work for free VS the “exposure doesn’t pay my bills” concept
Kevin’s philosophy on exposure that includes the following concept: “100% of the people who have never heard you, don’t like you.”
The importance of a service like Patreon that can help people support artists who are freely making their work available
The tens of thousands of videos and games out there where Kevin’s music is used and how that can lead to sales or custom work
Kevin’s thoughts on when he misses the target of his intended audience with a particular piece he composes
The core basics of the equipment needed as a musician in the digital realm
The types of conferences that Kevin gets the most value in attending
The conflict Kevin faces, as an introvert at conferences who loves hanging out with people while, at the same time, finds it an overwhelming experience that requires multiple “solo” breaks during the day
How his daily work process and work schedule continues to change over time and basic on the projects on his plate
One of the ways inspiration strikes, which is not in experiencing something brilliant, but instead, experiencing something terrible and imagining a composition that he feels might have worked better in that instance
How, when your job is to create media, every single activity can be a tax deduction
Kevin’s belief that everyone has the same job: to make life easier for other people
How connecting with other musicians and composers is an important aspect of Kevin’s world
Measuring a Starfleet captain based on the number of times his Enterprise has blown up
Kevin’s words of advice for those interested in pursuing a creative passion (whether it be composing music or another creative pursuit)

After the interview, Mark takes about two specific elements from the interview that he wants to reflect on.

The first is Kevin's advice for creators, that is similar to advice we heard in Episode 10 from Jean Leggett of One More Story Games. And it's the importance of starting small, of actually working at your craft, at practicing, at getting better, at just DOING IT. Interesting that Kevin's take as a musician is similar to Jean's in terms of story.

The second thing is a much bigger topic - and it's how free CAN work quite effectively in the rights ways at allow greater discoverability of an author's work which can lead to sales, to income, to opportunity that might not have previously existed.

Mark then shares a clip from his 2009 to 2011 short fiction podcast PRELUDE TO A SCREAM, with a piece of music from Kevin called "Noir Mild Tension"

Links of Interest:

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 010 - Jean Legget of One More Story Games

8 mars 2018 | 30 min

Episode 10 features a great interview with Jean Leggett, CEO and co-founder of One More Story Games. After her husband Blair's near-death experience in 2012, the two embarked on a journey back to his childhood hometown to each pursue their life's passion which includes the company One More Story Games and their software, StoryStylus, which simplifies video game creation for storytellers to create, publish and share story-based games.

In their discussion, Mark and Jean discuss:

The origin of the company One More Story Games that involves the creation of interactive narrative story games
How StoryStylus is the underlying engine of One More Story Games that allows authors the ability to create a narrative-based game without needing to have technical know-how
The 10 minute game that an 11 year old girl created using this software which is called “Attack of the Killer Zombie Cats”
The game adaptation of the Charlaine Harris novel Shakespeare’s Landlord featuring Lily Bard (part of a five-book series by the author)
Julia Gibson, the voice actor for Lily Baird in the game
The “smart games for smart women” and “games for word nerds” branding that One More Story Games employ, which breaks the mold for stereotypical violence of many video games
How story is the central driving mission of this company
Where authors who are interested in using this tool can start
The “how to” YouTube videos authors can use to get started using StoryStylus
Jean’s recent TEDx Talk: “What 10 year olds taught us about our gaming tech startup”
The experience of being hired by Microsoft to teach a group of 7 to 12 year old girls and how they each gravitated to areas that best suited their personalities and talents
How important music is towards adding an atmospheric ambiance in a game
What is possible when you say YES to imagination and you don’t shut people down
The award-winning game Danielle’s Inferno created by Olivia Rivard and inspired by her story of the same name (Tied for Toronto Game Devs 2017 #1 PC Game of the Year)

After the interview, Mark talks about the inspiration he derives from a company like One More Story Games and how a great tool like StoryStylus offers new hope and opportunities for writers. He then compares the training he has been doing for a half-marathon with the writer journey and goals he has been working on and addresses ideas on how he is planning on getting both the training and the writing back on track.

Links of Interest:

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 009 - Collaborative Publishing with Chuck Heintzelman from BundleRabbit

1 mars 2018 | 35 min

Featuring an interview with Chuck Heintzelman of BundleRabbit.com.

Chuck lives in Spokane, WA with his beautiful wife and three children. Each day he juggles his passion for writing with his family, a full-time job as a computer programmer, and the inevitable curve ball life seems to throw.

In the introduction to the show, Mark talks about being on the Oregon Coast at the Fiction River writer workshops which leads into this week's post-interview "reflection" about rejection for writers. He also talks a little about the success he has had with Findaway Voices (the episode's sponsor) for short audio books and how he measures success.

In their conversation, Mark and Chuck talk about:

The origin and inspiration for Bundlerabbit, a service inspired by Storybundle and Humble Bundle, that allow authors to combine their ebooks into bundles
Chuck’s “What if?” related to that which began with: “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a more DIY option for authors and publishers?”
The basic concept which is a single website you can go to where you can upload content, curate bundles and communicate about bundle collaborations with other authors
How Bundlerabbit solves two major issues:
- The ability for readers to get the bundled material from a retailer they already buy from (rather than having to side-load the content to their Kindle, Kobo, etc)
- Revenue splitting and other accounting issues that authors might run into when trying to manage a multi-author collaboration
How Joanna Penn and her desire to see a “collaboration engine” helped inspire Chuck to add a feature called “collaborative publishing” which includes:
- The ability for a curator/editor/publishing project manager to set unique author split percentages for a project and use this tool to publish on behalf of the publisher and take care of the monthly revenue split
- Using this tool for management of co-authoring a single title (rather than bundling multiple works together)
The percentage that Bundlerabbit keeps (ie, the business model and how Bundlerabbit can afford to operate)
Some of the forthcoming features that Bundlerabbit will be releasing that are related to the ability for authors and publishers to better communicate with one another and share information, marketing assets, etc.
The potential for using Bundlerabbit for author/translator collaborations (and how that might compare to an existing platform like Babelcube)
The original OOPS name for Bundlerabbit: Bundles Express Dot Com and the amusing “Bundle Sex Press” term that Chuck didn’t originally see.

After the interview, Mark talks about the FICTION RIVER anthology workshops and how it works. He takes an in depth look at rejection, and the importance of a writer to understand what rejection most likely means and how that lies directly to an ideal reader or ideal editor

Links of Interest

Bundlerabbit for authors
Chuck’s Website - http://chuckheintzelman.com/
- Story Chuck dot com
- Story Tools
Kydala Publishing (Chuck’s Publishing Imprint)
Chuck's Author Page on Amazon
WMG Publishing
- Workshops
- Fiction River
  - Editors Choice
  - Feel the Fear

--------- This episode has been sponsored by Findaway Voices. Findaway Voices provides all the tools that an independent author or small publisher needs in order to get into the digital audiobook market.

Check them out at www.starkreflections.ca/findaway.

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Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 008 - Author Promotions with Ricci Wolman from Written Word Media

22 februari 2018 | 43 min

Featuring an interview with Ricci Wolman, founder and CEO of Written Word Media about the challenge that authors face with the most common questions they often have when first starting out; questions that include the following:

How do I get the right people to discover my new book?
Where can I find people to review my book on Kindle and the other retail websites?
Is there a way for me to increase my visibility and my sales on multiple retail platforms?

--------- This episode has been sponsored by Findaway Voices. Findaway Voices provides all the tools that an independent author or small publisher needs in order to get into the digital audiobook market.

Check them out at www.starkreflections.ca/findaway.

---------

In the interview, Mark and Ricci talk about:

How Written Word Media was born out of Ricci’s background as a consultant and her desire to help her mother sell a book that she had published
The way that Freebooksy was slowly built, using a small curated list of recommended free books (as a platform where Ricci could occasionally slip her book into the mix and help boost sales)
The ongoing experimentation and playing that Ricci performed on the Freebooksy brand that helped it to continue to grow into a site where authors asked if they could pay to have their works featured there
What each of the current service brands within Written Word Media are used for:
- Freebooksy – to feature/promote free books
- Bargainbooksy – featuring discounted books under $5 USD (But books $2.99 and below perform best)
- Red Feather Romance – both free and discounted/bargain books in the steamy contemporary romance category
- New in Books – a general promotional tool for newer release exposure rather than for discounted/bargain priced titles. (More of a FULL SERVICE promotion for authors)
The importance of reviews to helping to sell a title and the importance of having some reviews on your retail listing for a book
The advent of digital audiobooks and the current work that is happening to test out a “new in audiobook” style of notification
How Written Word Media adds between 20,000 to 30,000 new readers to their reader pool every month (meaning writers who come back two or three months later to do an additional promotion ends up going to a larger batch of new readers)
The over 12 million promotional emails that Written Word Media sent out in the month of December 2017
The critically important value of “HELP THE AUTHOR” that is at the core of Written Word Media
Some of the book industry trends from the past year that Ricci is most interested in
A bit about the husband/wife team aspect of managing the business as a couple
How savvy authors understand that a marketing expense is made up of both dollars spent as well as time spent; and that a lot of things that look to be free might end up costing more in terms of time than originally expected
- Authors should ask these questions every time they go to take marketing action:
  - What is this costing me in dollars?
  - What is this costing me in time?
  - What results do I think I’m going to get? (And how confident am I in those results?)

After the interview, Mark shares details from his own recent experience with booking a Freebooksy promotion for a horror title and outlines the cost and the return on his investment for the promotion.

Links of Interest:

Written Word Media Main Site
Written Word Media Facebook Page
Written Word Media on Twitter
Contact Page for Written Word Media (you WILL hear back from a real/live person)
Findaway Voices

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 007 - Picturing Creative Balance with Scott King

16 februari 2018 | 38 min

In the introduction Mark talks about the newly announced Book2Pod service announced by Jim Kukral on the Sell More Books Show podcast and shares two of the voices available (Nigel and Jessica) to talk about one of the things he likes best about it (freeing authors to be able to work on their next book).

Authors interested in testing the service out can do so at https://www.book2pod.com/testdrive/

The main content of the podcast is an interview with Scott King, writer, photographer, podcaster, overall creator.

Scott has worked as a college professor teaching photography, digital arts, and writing related classes. He now works full time as a game photographer and author. As a board game photographer, he shoots games for websites, online stores, and for other marketing needs.

Scott has also served as a reporter for the school newspaper and although another student was assigned the article about the movie King was determined to write it, demonstrating his willingness to break down barriers (like the ones in traditional publishing), he snuck into a press conference where Gary Marshall was meeting with local media. The next day Scott was hired and he’s been working in the entrainment industry ever since, and continuing to work relentlessly at producing the many novels and non-fiction writing projects that he continues to create.

--------- This episode has been sponsored by Findaway Voices. Findaway Voices provides all the tools that an independent author or small publisher needs in order to get into the digital audiobook market.

Check them out at www.starkreflections.ca/findaway.

---------

In the interview Mark and Scott discuss:

How Scott balances the various creative endeavours that he engages in which include photography, various genres of adult fiction, YA fiction and non-fiction, a board-gaming calendar, among other pursuits
Scott’s school of thought of putting the story and the art first and not worrying about writing to market
The board game photography that Scott does and how he leverages that for a unique board-game calendar project, producing a single mass-produced base version, and then, based on Kickstarter support levels, unique custom calendars where backers can choose their own unique 12 images from the hundreds available
The joy of being a board game photographer and how, unlike a reviewer, where there will be criticism involved, Scott gets to celebrate new games by showing them off in interesting ways via the images he creates
Elements from the photography world that have helped inform Scott’s writing, including such concepts as contrast (ie, the dark areas making the lighter areas look brighter)
The “problem with humans” in a photographer’s life and how you really need to get a “performance” out of them for a good captured moment
The way that Scott structures his work day for writing, marketing, publishing and photography
Scott’s favourite coffee shop when he lived in Houston, and how he went to try out the vibe of the neighborhood coffee shops in various towns just outside Pittsburgh to help determine where he and his wife would be moving to
Scott’s favorite style of coffee (because coffee is a huge part of his writing life)
The origin behind Scott’s Lovecraft-themed “Chooseable Adventure” young adult novel The Eye of Hastur
How the book has been enjoyed by kids (particularly young boys) who don’t like to read
The learnings of using Kickstarter that Scott has reaped via the various projects he has run over the years
An interesting new board game that Scott is looking forward to playing where the playing experience changes each time the game is played
The steel mill industry crash and how that has affected the landscape and towns near Pittsburgh as well as the phenomenon of the “missing generation”
The legacy of the Primanti Brothers Pittsburgh area sandwich/burger shop and the local fascination with French Fries on almost everything
Scott’s podcast, The Creators Cast and the reason why he started it
How Scott’s non-fiction projects were derived from his passion for teaching and how that helps him also continue to grow as a creator
The multiple hats that a writer has to wear including the craft of writing, the business of writing, marketing, and how to balance all of those things

After the interview, Mark reflects back on something Scott mentioned related to balancing one’s spending with income and then considering that a book that was published might not earn back its investment immediate, but it keeps on earning money over time.

Mark takes a look at the finances involved in publishing a book using a range of realistic prices and the looks at how many units are needed to sell at various price points in order to earn that investment back.

Links of Interest:

Scott King's Website

Scott King's Podcast: The Creator's Cast

Scott King's Books

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 006 - What's Wrong With Indie Publishing?

9 februari 2018 | 26 min

Today's episode is a little bit different. It's a solo one, rather than an interview. But this week I wanted to do a solid reflection, or perhaps even a rant, on something I've been thinking about a lot, especially in the last few weeks.

This episode is entitled "What's Wrong With Indie Publishing" or rather, "3 Things I Worry About And That I Think Could Improve Indie Publishing"

I went with the first title because it's a bit shorter and has a more active tense to it.

--------- This episode has been sponsored by Findaway Voices. Findaway Voices provides all the tools that an independent author or small publisher needs in order to get into the digital audiobook market.

Check them out at www.starkreflections.ca/findaway.

---------

The title of this episode is WHAT'S WRONG WITH INDIE PUBLISHING. But the purpose isn't to slam, it's to support and help self-publishing, indie publishing and all the amazing opportunities that come out of the evolution of publishing in all its aspects.

I love self-publishing, and actually started in this space back in 2004 with a POD collection of short stories called ONE HAND SCREAMING. That experience opened up my eyes to the possibilities that occurred when you didn't have to wait for the gatekeepers of traditional publishing.

ISSUE ONE: POWER Versus RESPONSIBILITY.

Digital publishing has removed the gatekeepers of traditional publishing. You don't need approval from someone sitting behind a mahogany desk in New York to say you are good enough to be published. You can create a free account at Amazon, at Kobo, at Apple, at Nook, or at Smashwords or Draft2Digital or one of a dozen other great aggregators who'll distribute your book, and you'll have your ebook live in anywhere between 3 to 48 hours.

But, to paraphrase a quote from Jeff Goldblum's character in the original Jurasic Park move, "You were so busy wondering if you could that you didn't stop to think if you should."

We have given writers the ability to push the buttons, to publish direct; this amazing power. But we haven't given them all the support, all the information, all the elements to help them make intelligent and informed decisions.

The only players that seem to invest heavily in attracting newbees are the sharks, the predators, the "Author Solutions" style companies out there whose business model isn't to make money selling books, it's making money off of the hopes and dreams of authors; by selling them snake oil, selling them un-necessary marketing packages, etc.

That's why conferences that fous on helping provide writers with a well balanced perspective of traditional publishing and digital publishing, including self and indie publishing are a gold mine.

But you don't need to attend an expensive conference. There is so much information available for free. Is it possible that so much of the amazing free information is being ignored the same way that people tend to put little stock in something that they have acquired without a cost?

If you paid, even a little, for that advice, would it be worth more to you? Would you weigh it more carefully? Consider this: the time you spend reading and listening to free information DOES cost you. It costs you time; an investment of your time that you could have spent writing. Remember that cost, consider that cost, and carefully consider all the free advice and information that can help you wield that power with great responsibility.

ISSUE TWO: THE "MAINSTREAM" OF INDIE PUBLISHING

Have you ever watched a group of 5-year-olds play soccer?

They're all just chasing after the ball. The ball goes left, the entire mob follows it left. The ball goes up-field, the entire mob scrambles to chase it.

One person takes the ball and is making their way down the field and the entire rest of the field of players chase madly after them, a chaotic scrambling. Nobody is playing their own position, nobody is leveraging their own skills and spots and overall strategies. They're just madly bouncing around the field mindlessly chasing the ball.

But here's the reality. There isn't a single ball. Yes, you can and should learn from others, you should pay attention to the great experiments that others are doing, but you need to know where your own ball is going, where it's going to be, and you need to work towards that.

Brandon Sanderson gives a talk where he shares a joke about the publishing industry. He says that the minute a new author finds a way to break a hole in the gate that prevents new successful authors from "arriving" the industry madly scrambles to go patch that hole so that nobody else can get in that way.

It's cute and funny, but it's sort of true. And it's true in the indie author community. There's no point looking for the holes that other people made and slipped through. Those holes might be closed, either by the saturation of everyone else trying to squeeze through those holes, or those holes just naturally close up due to changes in to atmosphere.

You need to focus on your own unique path, find your own unique niche, your own unique holes; keep poking, keep working, focus on your strengths, focus on your long term goals - you'd be surprised how much luck happens to those who work tirelessly in pursuit of their own unique path and vision.

ISSUE 3: EXCLUSIVITY

So much of what is possible in self-publishing today is possibly because of the launch of the Kindle and specifically the amazing free tools that Amazon created in Kindle Direct Publishing.

It's ironic, then that Amazon is the company that continually forces authors into one of the largest ongoing debates in the indie author community - known as "GOING WIDE OR BEING EXCLUSIVE."

In some spaces, the divisiveness between GOING WIDE and BEING EXCLUSIVE can get as passionate and as vicious as the Left Wing and Right Wing Division that the United States has been living in the shadow of for the past couple of years.

I know there are plenty of authors who are making a killing publishing direct to Amazon and being exclusive to Amazon using the SELECT option within KDP. And I'm glad that those authors are making great money, many of them are bringing in 5 figure incomes every single month, are easily hitting 6 and 7 figure incomes every year.

But I would argue that if you are exclusive to a single giant corporate retailer, you can't in all honesty, call yourself an indie author. You're not an independent author. You're a corporate author. You are reliant on a single powerhouse retailer for all of your income.

I'm not going to go about fear mongering and speculate on what might happen if Amazon disappears or they without warning, change the rules.

I'm happy for those who are making a real living off of writing due to being exclusive to Amazon. If you are reaching your personal goals for writing; if you're making an awesome income being exclusive to Amazon; that's great. I hold nothing against you - other than your use of the term "indie" or "independent" author. I would argue that you can't truly call yourself that. Perhaps there should be a term for it.

If not "Corporate author" or "Author whose income is 100% dependent on a single company and whatever whims it chooses" then perhaps just be honest and call yourself an "Amazon author."

I say it jokingly, but part of me is serious, part of me just wonders.

And I don't really have a solution to this, because I truly believe that every single author has to make decisions and follow paths that are right for them. Let's just not use an incorrect term to describe or define ourselves, shall we?

Links of Interest:

Findaway Voices (Sponsor)

Superstars Writing Seminars

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The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 005 - Global Audiobook Opportunities for Authors with Kelly Lytle from Findaway Voices

1 februari 2018 | 40 min

In the introduction, Mark talks a little about being in Colorado attending Superstars Writing Seminars in Colorado Springs, CO and the importance of understanding the business of writing and publishing. He shares that he will be doing Facebook Live videos of his experience at Superstars on his Stark Publishing Facebook page.

This episode features an interview with Kelly Lytle from Findaway Voices. In their conversation, Mark and Kelly talk about:

How Findaway Voices is a single service built to help independent authors and small publishers create and distribute their audiobooks, and that they are a fully non-exclusive platform to the largest network of audio sellers in the world (retailer, library and K through 12 markets)
The pay per use model that Bibliotheca (3M) has. Meaning the library doesn’t need to pre-purchase the audiobook in advance. It is listed (like on any major retailer), and the purchase doesn’t happen until the library patron checks out that title
The background to Findaway Voices as part of the larger Findaway family.
- Their “flagship” product, for example, was the Playaway Device, a single title pre-loaded audiobook player that is about the size of a deck of cards, with built in play and pause buttons. These devices have been hugely popular with the library market (as an easy to merchandise and easy to use for patrons who weren’t savvy about digital check-outs or even using CD audiobooks) and the military
- Pre-loaded tablets called “LaunchPad” that are also in the library markets
- The platform called Audio Engine. The world’s largest business-to-business audiobook service
Kelly’s own background as a passionate reader with a thirst for storytelling. Even though he worked on Wall Street and in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns, his compass kept pointing back to that original passion and joining Findaway a little more than four years ago
To Dad, From Kelly, the memoir Kelly wrote about his relationship to his late father who passed away in 2010.
Kelly’s experience going to TuneIn’s studio in Santa Monica, California to record the audiobook himself
How Findaway works with authors and as well as the sign-up and vetting process they use for narrators.
Mark’s very positive experience getting his short story collection Active Reader produced by Findaway Voices and how pleased he was with Eric Moore’s recording. Which leads to the question of how a writer might be able to request to work with the same narrator again for a future project, or a narrator that they have already chosen (even if that narrator isn’t already part of the Findaway Voices talent pool community)
How to use Findaway Voices to upload an audiobook that you already have produced in order to leverage their distribution channels
The price control that the author/publisher has on their audiobook (which is a critical differentiation of the way that Amazon’s ACX sets the price and doesn’t allow that control to the copyright owner)
The urgent quest for Audiobook promotion platforms to provide a “BookBub” or “Bargainbooksy” style service, and the existing awesome audio review sites, such as BookRiot or AudioFile
How they are seeing authors make hundreds of dollars through the aforementioned library “pay per use” model, which is a huge opportunity, as well as through sites most authors might not be paying much attention to, including Playster.
A recommendation for authors to also make sure that the narrator, and not just the author gets the free Audible download codes to help promote the book.
The partnership that Findaway Voices has with Draft2Digital.com that allows an author to easily port their ebook’s metadata over to set up an audiobook at Findaway. Also, Kelly’s respect for the “author-first” approach to authors that Draft2Digital employs in everything they do
The notion of format-agnostic consumption of stories and the growth this means for authors

After the interview, Mark talks about the importance of publishing wide and shares his own experience with earning revenue from Findaway Voices via sales channels that weren’t even on his radar. His belief was that he would make most of his money from the audiobook sales via Audible, the Amazon-owned largest retail site for audiobooks, but the reality was, the majority of his earnings came from several other sales channels. He talks about the recent progress from Apple, Google and Kobo in the past week as an example of “you never know, so it’s best to be available everywhere.”

He then shares a second reflection on how the investment related to the creation of an audiobook file is an important reminder to authors of focusing on the long-term, on looking at the various investments they make, not just in money, but in time, and in education.

Links of Interest:

Findaway Voices Website
Findaway Voices on Twitter
Kelly’s book: To Dad, From Kelly
Mark’s Findaway produced books:
- Active Reader: And Other Cautionary Tales from the Book World
- Collateral Damage: A Sin-Eater Midadventure
Superstars Writing Seminars

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 004 - Optimizing Your Author Brand with Robert J. Sawyer

26 januari 2018 | 52 min

Mark chats with Canadian Science Fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer. Sawyer is one of only eight writers in history — and the only Canadian — to win all three of the world’s top Science Fiction awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (the full list of such winners: Paolo Bacigalupi, David Brin, Arthur C. Clarke, Joe Haldeman, Frederik Pohl, Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert J. Sawyer, and Connie Willis).

In their conversation, Mark and Rob talk about:

The fact that Rob was the very first science fiction writer in the world to have a website (sfwriter.com) which has grown to over 1 million words of text and more than 800 documents since it launched in 1995, including documents about the craft and business of writing and publishing
The text-heavy nature of Rob’s website and how he still manually codes his website in HTML
The SEO involved in the creation of the SFWriter website using the three main key words: “science fiction writer” and how that has led to Rob being on the first page of search results for those in the media looking to talk to a sci-fi writer for various commentary on events (example, anniversary of the moon landing, cloning, the death of a famous science fiction writer, etc)
How optimizing his brand and SEO has led to just under 1000 radio and television interviews
The way that Rob’s novels are typically grounded in real-life scientific research, such as his latest novel, Quantum Night, which is about psychopathy and what might happen if a psychopathy were to get into the office of the President of the United States
The way Rob was able to pivot in the marketing of the book after Donald J. Trump became the US President
The brilliantly supportive way that Rob’s US audiobook publisher (Audible) worked quickly to resolve the issue of a few funny incorrect pronunciations that a US narrator made with a couple of “Canadian” words
Advice for authors regarding dividing up your IP by format as well as by territory and how the aggregate of the sale of rights of each unique division adds up to far more than a single “world rights” offer would typically be
How Rob used KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and KWL (Kobo Writing Life) and other direct to retailer and distribution platforms to publish to iBooks, Nook and other markets using the rights that he did not sell to a publisher (ie, direct selling an “international edition” of a book like QUANTUM NIGHT where publishers only purchased Canadian and US rights)
How each new format that emerges for a book enlarges the audience, rather than cannibalizes upon the previous format editions
The ABC Television program (FlashForward) which was based on Rob’s 1999 novel of the same name and details about his involvement with that experience
The approved changes in the television adaptation (which includes changing the “flash forward” from 21 years to 6 months) that helped to make the story more palatable for a US network television audience yet retained the important theme of “fate VS freewill”
How a scene in that novel, published in 1999 had a scene which predicted the existence of the Espresso Book Machine, which can print and bind a paperback in about 15 minutes right inside a bookstore
The changes within publishing since Rob’s first novel was published in 1990
The different royalties received on the self-published version (70%) VS the traditionally published version (17.5%) of Rob’s novel Quantum Night and a reflection on the time most likely spent by the author and by the publisher on a single book (typically a 12:1 ratio) and how that changes the perspective of the 3:1 split in the publisher’s favor
A teaser for Rob’s next novel about the Manhattan Project, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2020 and how that ties in to Rob’s marketing plans for the book and himself
The figure Rob has in mind for selling the Canadian, American and British rights to a publisher and, if his agent isn’t able to secure those numbers, his plans to release it independently
The odds that a book will never be made into a movie, including stats on how only 3 out of the 53 novels that have so far won the Nebula Award (often seen as the “best science-fiction novel” of the year) have been made into movies (They were: Dune, Ender’s Game and Flowers for Algernon)
The approximate 16 years that Rob’s Nebula Award winning novel The Terminal Experiment has been optioned for film rights (but with no film ever having been made so far)

After the interview, Mark reflects upon two elements from the conversation. First he looks at the manner by which Rob has acted as a linchpin within the writing and publishing community, mentoring other writers, assisting beginners and always looking to connect people together. Then he explores the way that, when Rob is talking about one of his novels, he focuses on the high level concept that makes people think or makes people want to engage, rather than a "blow by blow" of the plot details. He encourages writers to look for a similar thing in their own work.

This podcast was sponsored by Findaway Voices – a company that gives authors and publishers everything they need to create professionally-narrated audiobooks and reach listeners in more than 170 countries through the world’s largest audiobook distribution network Links of Interest:

Robert J. Sawyer's Website
Rob on Twitter
Rob's Facebook Author Page
The "How to Write" section of Rob's website
Misc links to media Coverage of Rob
Video of Rob's launch of WATCH at McMaster University

Robert J. Sawyer — called "the dean of Canadian science fiction" by The Ottawa Citizen and "just about the best science-fiction writer out there these days" by The Denver Rocky Mountain News — is one of only eight writers in history (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the science-fiction field's top honors for best novel of the year. Rob — who holds honorary doctorates from the University of Winnipeg and Laurentian University — has taught writing at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, Humber College, and The Banff Centre.

The 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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 003 - Reading Data with Sinead McElhinney from Kobo

19 januari 2018 | 30 min

Mark interviews Sinead McElhinney, PR Coordinator on the Communications team from Rakuten Kobo in Toronto, Ontario about some interesting reading data that Kobo released near the end of 2017. They discuss the analysis of reading data, understanding core eBook readers better, as well as some of Sinead’s favorite things about her role in the book industry.

During the chat, they discuss:

Where she started and how she got her start at Kobo
Her role in marketing and the on-brand customer/reader experience
The double-edged sword of social media
The difference between using social media for personal use and for a corporation that needs to keep its target demographics in mind
Details about the top “actually read” books from the previous year and the data dissection performed on this reading data
Just because something is a bestseller doesn’t mean that it is a book that has been read through to completion. IE, looking at books that were actually finished can be meaningful data
The binge-reading that Sinead does the same way some others might engage in binge-watching a show via Netflix
Some common themes in the most popularly read books
The dynamic engagement with both writers and readers that Sinead participated in when visiting the Romantic Time (RT) Booklovers conference in Atlanta in May 2017
The diversity within the many different types of romance readers that Sinead discovered at RT Booklovers
The launch of audiobooks at Kobo in late summer of 2017 and some of the things they learned about the types of books people prefer reading in eBook format versus listening to
The integration of OverDrive library borrowing in the Kobo Aura ONE

After the interview, Mark reflects on the evolution of storytelling and how, in oral storytelling, the creator could receive immediate and instant audience feedback that might help them to adjust their story's tone, pacing and other elements on the fly. He touches upon how story, as a written medium in print format, completely divorces that connection when the act of reading becomes a solitary pursuit, but that digital reading brings back an intriguing degree of those elements that writers and publishers could likely benefit if analyzed effectively.

He shares his own experience telling ghost stories to live audiences and how, as a storyteller, he can easily adapt the tales based on audience reaction. He discusses the interesting metrics that a platform such as Wattpad.com offers to writers about the demographics of their readers and other reading stats. He also talks about the "real time" blog story I, DEATH that his novel was based upon allowed him the luxury of adapting the story as it was being rolled out based on reader reaction. And, finally, he suggests that platforms like Kindle and Kobo wield a fascinating opportunity related to the type of in depth reading data that Sinead was talking about that can significantly benefit writers and publishers.

Links of Interest:

Kobo PR - http://news.kobo.com/

Mark and Sinead on the KWL Podcast at RT (Romantic Times) – Episode 84

“How to be alone, but not lonely” - An article Sinead wrote about unplugging for a weekend in a style that Henry David Thoreau would certainly appreciate.

Related Articles on Reading Data From EBooks:

What Canadians Read in 2017 (Most Read and Longest Reading Session Titles)
Behind the Digital Screens: Reading habits of the industry’s most valuable customers
Kobo Writing Life Titles Top Best-Selling and Best-Read lists
The Guardian: Ebooks can tell which novels you didn’t finish

Sinead McElhinney is the Public Relations Specialist at Rakuten Kobo Inc in Toronto, Ontario, where, among other things, she manages Kobo’s PR agencies in Canada, the United States, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Australia. She believes in uniting professionalism and personality and is committed to the notion that the right story has the ability to spark meaningful change.

This podcast was sponsored by Findaway Voices – a company that gives authors and publishers everything they need to create professionally-narrated audiobooks and reach listeners in more than 170 countries through the world’s largest audiobook distribution network

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 002 - Living the Healthy Writer's Life with Joanna Penn

12 januari 2018 | 46 min

Mark interviews Joanna Penn of www.thecreativepenn.com about her latest book The Healthy Writer: Reduce Your Pain, Improve Your Health, And Build A Writing Career For The Long Term (co-authored with Dr. Euan Lawson) and they also have a discussion about trends in publishing and speculation about the opportunities that might be coming for writers.

In his introduction to the episode, Mark announces that Findaway Voices is now an official sponsor. He shares his own experience with using Findaway Voices to create audiobooks and also his plans for some forthcoming projects.

In Mark's interview with Joanna, they talk about:

The new book Joanna has co-written with Dr. Euan Lawson (The Healthy Writer) as a book she has written because it was something she needed to learn
The “letter to sugar” that Joanna shares in the new book and how it was affecting both her physical and mental health
How the decision to co-author this title came about (measuring the value that each brings to the project) and how Joanna and Euan worked on it together
How Joanna balances her three different personas (JF Penn, dark fantasy/thriller author; Joanna Penn, the optimistic writing and publishing personality, and Penny Appleton, the co-authored books she is writing with her mother)
The critical importance of scheduling one’s time into blocks of activities, including “time off” from particular types of activities
The role that personal connections can play in terms of building and sustaining a sense of community for a writer
How Joanna incorporates business related travel and decisions on which events to agree to speak at for helping with research for her fiction projects
The state of “burn-out” Joanna had reached almost two years ago and what inspired her to double-down on her own podcast instead of letting it go
A strategy for how writers and entrepreneurs can approach out-sourcing some of the work they need to do for their own goals and objectives
What has changed in the writing and publishing industry since Joanna started as a blogger and a podcaster almost ten years ago
The thing that surprised Joanna the most about what happened in publishing in the past year
The challenges that come with being an early adopter in the digital publishing space
The potential forthcoming shifts that are likely to be coming within the book industry within the next few years and what it means to authors
The story structure, drama, character development and masterfully storytelling from particular movies and television program like The Crown, which are also areas of opportunity for writers
What the advent of self-driving cars might mean for content creation and distribution

In his post interview wrap-up, Mark shares a short section from The Healthy Writer that has resonated with him, discusses the importance of optimism in a writer’s life, and then shares his own plans to train for a half-marathon later this year and how that ties back to an inspirational talk that Joanna gave in a backlist episode from her own The Creative Penn Podcast about a 100 Kilometer ultra marathon that she completed and what that taught her about her own writing.

This podcast was sponsored by Findaway Voices – a company that gives authors and publishers everything they need to create professionally-narrated audiobooks and reach listeners in more than 170 countries through the world's largest audiobook distribution network

Links of interest:

The Creative Penn (Joanna Penn’s website)
Joanna Penn on Twitter
Euan Lawson (Doctor and writer)
Euan Lawson on Twitter
The Healthy Writer
Joanna’s 9 Lessons Learned about Writing (from the KWL Blog – Episode 74)
Findaway Voices

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 001 - New Year, New Reflections

5 januari 2018 | 30 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 000

5 december 2017 | 1 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Perspectives and reflections on the writing and publishing life.

Om podden

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EP 408 - Definitely A Chat With Definitely The Real Alex Lifeson (AKA Tony Binns)

EP 407 - An Evening With A Drink And A Friend With Kevin J. Anderson

EP 406 - How Authors Can Engage With Their Library

EP 405 - Ask Not What Your Bookstore Can Do For You

EP 404 - Elbows Up, Canada!

EP 403 - The Magic of Combining Poetry and Playwriting with Richard Marsh

EP 402 - The Visible Author Method of Marketing with Laurie Cooper

EP 401 - Reflections From the Road: Superstars Writing Seminars 2025

EP 400 - Community Reflections

EP 399 - Post Publishing Marketing with Deborah Kevin

EP 398 - Multiple Outlets For Storytelling with Denise Baden

EP 397 - In It For The Creativity and Compassion with Ron Vitale

EP 396 - Waubgeshig Rice on Community, Publishing, and The Creative Journey

EP 395 - Rants and Reflections From The Road

EP 394 - Centerfold Stories with Charlotte Kemp

EP 393 - Book Adjacent Strategies with Jody Swannell

EP 392 - Pillars of Author Success with Emma Dhesi

EP 391 - Networking for Authors with Dale L. Roberts

EP 390 - Author Accounting Made Simple with D.F. Hart

EP 389 - "Now You've Gone" with Cathy Rankin and Ken K. Mary

EP 388 - Unconditional Boundaries with Andy Lidstone

EP 387 - Rambling Reflections From The Disappointing Aftermath

EP 386 - Inside Every Poem, a Raging Sea of Writerly Advice with Liz Worth

EP 385 - Rambling Reflections From The Road: Go West Not So Young Man

EP 384 - Rambling Reflections From The Road: World Fantasy Con 2024

EP 383 - 20 Haunting Years

EP 382 - From Page to Platform: How to Succeed as an Author Speaker

EP 381 - Showcasing Independent Bookstores, Publishers, And Authors with Andrew Snook

EP 380 - Passion Project Publishing with Brianna Wodabek

EP 379 - Simplifying Your Life & Work with Dre Baldwin

EP 378 - Multimedia Storytelling with Dominician Gennari

EP 377 - Pivoting Your Publishing Dreams with Denise Massar

EP 376 - Dianne Scott on Writing Historical Mysteries

EP 375 - One Hand Kickstarting

EP 374 - WMG Publishing Editor Round Table

EP 373 - Musings on Getting a Masters and Getting Married

EP 372 - Getting Paid For Authors Interviews and Book Reviews with Rick Hipson

EP 371 - Rambling Reflections From The Road July 2024 Edition

EP 370 - Questioning & Reflecting with Becca Syme

EP 369 - The DIY Author With Kaye Lynn Booth

EP 368 - Written Word Media with Clayton Noblit

EP 367 - Amazing Stories, Fanzines, and Community with Lloyd Penney

EP 366 - Bolts of Fiction with Daniel Willcocks and Samantha Frost

EP 365 - An Interview That's A Hug with Gail Carriger

EP 364 - 40 Years of Rubes® Cartoons with Leigh Rubin

EP 363 - Greatness Together with Sarah McVanel

EP 362 - The Book To Read Before Giving Up On Your Writing Dreams with Todd Fahnestock

EP 361 - The Author Wheel with Greta Boris and Megan Haskell

EP 360 - Foreign Rights Licensing with Roseanne Cheng of DropCap

EP 359 - Capturing the Flow with Aaron Palmer

EP 358 - The Way of the Parable Writer with Donn King

EP 357 - 50 Years of Short Stories with Kevin J. Anderson

EP 356 - The Midlist Indie Author Mindset with T. Thorn Coyle

EP 355 - Scribbling Pen Publishing with Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn

EP 354 - Lydia and David Sherrer on Power Couple Publishing

EP 353 - Tao Wong on the Toronto Indie Author Conference

EP 352 - Being The Hero of Your Own Story With No Margins Agency

EP 351 - Feverish Sore Throat Reflections

EP 350 - Infinite Resources with Jeff Krehmer

EP 349 - Edward Willett of Shadow Paw Press

EP 348 - Amanda Byrd on Direct Sales and AuthorsGoDirect

EP 347 - Library Advocacy Support with John Chrastka of EveryLibrary

EP 346 - 4 More Publishing Pitfalls for Authors

EP 345 - The Art of Libromancy with Josh Cook

EP 344 - Eric T. Knight on Fair Pay with StoryFair

EP 343 - Self-Publishing Lesbian Fiction (or Something Equally Non-Threatening) with Elizabeth Andre

EP 342 - Publishing Trend Reflections for 2024

EP 341 - Howling It Forward With Wulf Moon

EP 340 - Personality, Passion, Presentation, and Persistence with Todd Fahnestock

EP 339 - Romancing the Writing Life with Bobby Hutchinson

EP 338 - An Amazing F*cking Pivot into Sh!t-Tons of Money with James Fell

EP 337 - Collaborative Editing with Erika Steeves

EP 336 - Coming Out of The Writer Closet with Bradley Charbonneau

EP 335 - So You Failed NaNoWriMo

EP 334 - Welcome to the Stupidpocalypse with Brittlestar

EP 333 - 10 Things You Likely Didn't Know About Draft2Digital