The guest this week is Carol Van Den Hende (Orchid Blooming, Azine Press, September 2022). We talk about what happens when a character you weren't expecting comes onto the stage and demands to be heard, how Carol bought back the rights to her first book so she could stretch herself and become the publisher of her 3-book series, how she's incorporated her life goals into her writing journey, and how she teaches writers to think of their personal brand as a promise they make to their reader which can in turn help them make choices about where to put their time and energy.

CAROL VAN DEN HENDE is an award-winning author who pens stories of resilience and hope. Her novels Orchid Blooming and Goodbye, Orchid draw from her Chinese American heritage, and have won 30+ literary and design awards, including the American Fiction Award, IAN Outstanding Fiction First Novel Award, and Royal Dragonfly Awards for Cultural Diversity and Disability Awareness.

Buzzfeed, Parade, and Travel+Leisure named Carol's books a most anticipated read. Glamour Magazine recommended her "modern, important take on the power of love." The International Pulpwood Queens selected Goodbye, Orchid as a 2022 Bonus Book-of-the-Month and Orchid Blooming as a 2023 International Book-of-the-Month.

Carol's mission is unlocking optimism as a writer, speaker, strategist, Board member and Climate Reality Leader. One secret to her good fortune? Her humorous hubby and twins, who prove that love really does conquer all.

To learn more about Carol, click here.