Behind the Debut

In this episode, I chat with WJR Pollard, who shares his varied journey from the army, construction and maximum security prison guard to writing and self-publishing his debut book - Chosen - the first in his norse-inspired epic series, Chronicles of Orn.

In our conversation you’ll hear:

- Why creating a map was Will’s first step in planning his book and his favourite tool for doing that

- The biggest challenge he faced in the writing process and what he has to STOP himself doing

- How Will plans battle scenes so they don’t become formulaic

- The first thing he does before he starts the revision process and how this saves him time (and money) at the editing stage

- The surprising discovery he made about himself while writing Chosen and the challenges he faces with promoting it as a non-salesy writer (something a LOT of us will resonate with)

CONNECT WITH WILL

WJRPollardWriter.com / Instagram / Threads

Azgaar Fantasy Map Generator

Buy Chosen as a paperbook or ebook here

BEHIND THE DEBUT

Listen on your favourite podcast players including Apple podcasts, Spotify and Pocketcasts

If you’re interested in appearing on the show, drop me an email to [email protected]

Show music by music_for_video from Pixabay

CONNECT WITH MICHELLE

Join me on Substack at michellreeveswrites.substack.com where you'll find all the latest episodes of Behind the Debut, plus behind the scenes chat about author life, books, writing, publishing and more.

In this episode of Behind the Debut I chat with Bronek Carr about his debut non-fiction book: “Master Notion” a practical roadmap to transforming my favourite productivity app - Notion - from a simple note-taking tool into a powerful personal and professional workspace.

In our conversation you’ll hear:

How Bronek's debut book wasn’t originally planned to be a book!

The tool that he definitely would NOT use again for writing a book and the one that he prefers

The mindset issues that held Bronek back

The advice he’d give his pre-published self

CONNECT WITH BRONEK

BreakingRocks.net / Instagram / Linked In

Buy ‘Master Notion’ on Amazon

BEHIND THE DEBUT

Listen on your favourite podcast players including Apple podcasts, Spotify and Pocketcasts

If you’re interested in appearing on the show, drop me an email to [email protected]

Show music by music_for_video from Pixabay

CONNECT WITH MICHELLE

Join me on Substack at michellreeveswrites.substack.com where you'll find all the latest episodes of Behind the Debut, plus behind the scenes chat about author life, books, writing, publishing and more.

Welcome to the first episode of the Behind the Debut podcast! Today I chat with Christine aka C.W. Rose about her debut romance novel Ocean Song.

In our conversation you’ll hear tons of behind the scenes details including:

* Christine’s great tips on how to deal with critiques from others (including beta readers and even industry professionals)

* How she stayed motivated while writing after taking 12 months to outline Ocean Song

* How she embraced her own passions in the story

* A way to reframe marketing so that she can actually enjoy promoting her book

* A piece of advice that she’d give her pre-published self which is so relevant for all of us as writers.

CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE

Instagram / Threads / Goodreads / Twitter/X / cw-rose.com

Buy ‘Ocean Song’ on Amazon

BEHIND THE DEBUT

Listen on your favourite podcast players including Apple podcasts, Spotify and Pocketcasts

If you’re interested in appearing on the show, drop me an email to [email protected]

Show music by music_for_video from Pixabay

CONNECT WITH MICHELLE

Join me on Substack at michellreeveswrites.substack.com where you'll find all the latest episodes of Behind the Debut, plus behind the scenes chat about author life, books, writing, publishing and more.

Welcome to Behind The Debut, a podcast to shine a light on first-time authors and their incredible journeys to publication. I’m your host, Michelle Reeves, a traditionally and self-published author myself, and I love chatting with other writers. If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a book, wondered how authors make it happen, or just love hearing the behind-the-scenes stories of debut writers, then this is the podcast for you!

Most bookish podcasts focus on established, bestselling authors—but what about those at the very start of their journey? That’s where Behind The Debut comes in.

Each episode, I’ll be talking to a debut author about their experience—how they got started, the obstacles they faced, and what it really took to bring their first book into the world. You’ll hear about the highs, the lows, the lessons learned, and the moments that made it all worthwhile.

If you’re a writer yourself, you’ll find plenty of inspiration and insight into what it’s really like to go from blank page to published book. And if you’re a reader, you’ll get to discover incredible new authors before they hit the bestseller lists.

So, whether you're looking for motivation for your own writing journey or just love hearing about the creative process, I’d love for you to join me. Subscribe now to Behind The Debut on your favourite podcast platform, and don’t forget to follow along for new episodes.

You'll find the show notes on my Substack at michellereeveswrites.substack.com