Discovered Wordsmiths

Overview

Sandy wrote a memoir story about a trip her family took over 50 years ago when she was a young girl. They lived in Alaska and decided to take a driving trip to visit family - two women and a bunch of kids.

She recounts her research from a bunch of letters written at the time and historical events that were happening.

Her Book

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1735037605/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1735037605&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=b9596845ac539ee2b60f3063bf4dd179

Her Favorites

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07816ZMCQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07816ZMCQ&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=67b3391e623bcbf8fb80c59e96d30127

YouTube

https://youtu.be/foe1hK-3H38

Transcript

About

Lori and I are both members of the Cleveland Writer's Group - Write, Publish, Polish. Dave and the group has helped both of us with our writing goals.

We discuss looking for a writer group to fit your writing needs and the benefits of writer groups.

One resource that she has used is the Midwest book review. These are the types of connections and resources you can get from being in a writer's group.

YouTube

https://youtu.be/4u7p6mjZg-g

Transcript

Stephen 0:46The magic of editing. But Welcome back, Laurie, I know you have moved, but we're on episode two, we try and trick everybody and make them think that we're doing something magical on different weeks, it's, but we really just kind of roll right into it. So let me ask you. Now, I know you're you don't like technology very much. So when you're writing, what do you use to write with what do you write your your book out with?

Lori 1:13as well, in the, when I was first writing my book, I would go to the library, the Cleveland Public Library downtown, and I had wonderful librarians there that really are kind of who's inspired me to write the blog, I would go into word I would go and you know, Microsoft Word, and I would just type on Microsoft Word. And that's, that's how I started doing it. I had, I had the articles I wrote on paper, and then I would type them into Word, you know, to create a Word document.

Stephen 1:50So from the library, did you save it to a thumb drive or a cloud? Or did you just print it out every day?

Lori 1:59I would just print it out then after you know, after I and then I was able to create like, you know, a book.

Stephen 2:06And have you done anything? just writing longhand? Or you do any other? Any? Do you use a software now? Or do you do anything different now?

Lori 2:17No, because I'm, I'm pretty much done with the book writing journey. I'm pretty much done with it. You know, I for a while I thought well, maybe I'd like to start a blog. But it's kind of hard, because I'm not familiar. Like you said, I'm not really familiar with the new technology. So I'm not really quite sure how to even do a blog or start a blog.

Stephen 2:41So we're going to talk a little bit about it falls right into some of the softer stuff. You mentioned the Cleveland writer group, publish polish and write publish and polish i think is what it is that they had horn runs at. I've been a member of you're a member of. And you said that Dave in the group helped you a lot. What what all did you get out of it? Because there's lots of different groups out there, and some are better than others. I know with Dave's group, they do critiquing a little bit. But what all have you gotten help with from the writers group?

Lori 3:19Um, well, Dave Van Horn is is just he's so such a positive, helpful. Guy, and I think he told me that he has his group starting up again, yo, now with all this COVID stuff. You know.

Stephen 3:38I think they've actually been doing zoom meetings, which I've attended a couple, but now I guess they're meeting over and Hinkley instead of at the airport.

Lori 3:46Right there. Yeah. You know, so that was really good that he was able to start up his group again. One of these days I'm going to try to get there, but it's kind of far. But yeah, he Dave Van Horn has done a lot of seminars at the library. I'm writing and his groups. And he also told me that that's where you're from, is his group.

About

Lori is a Clevelander, and has used her life experiences to write a book that she wants to help others.

Lori was diagnosed with schizophrenia and has dealt with the disease most of her life. She would like her book to help others and the change people's opinions of those suffering from schizophrenia.

Her Book

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JB1S6K2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B08JB1S6K2&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=e0c26c64c637e75feeefed360cffaa3f

YouTube

https://youtu.be/WgeBc1fPOmY

Transcript

Stephen 0:46Hello wordsmiths, welcome to fall, I can't believe summer's over. Hopefully all you writers out there got all your writing goals done in all your readers got all your reading goals done, because hey, we're into the end of the year now. We've got Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and then New Year's all coming up, bam. And before you know it, I know that's how summer kind of went for me. Bam, right? So today, we've got a special episode. Earlier, in the podcast run, I had someone on ran, who talked about mental health, and dealing with mental health and had written a book. This time, I've got another author who has been dealing with schizophrenia. And she has written a book about it to help others and her life struggle and what she's learned from it. So it's a hard subject. And a lot of times people don't want to deal with it and talk about it. But that's what we can do with our writing. We can bring these subjects to light we can bring them out and help others learn and become more comfortable about it. Because if you're more comfortable about it, you can talk about it. So Laurie has a lot to say about her book and schizophrenia in general. And we have a good discussion about it. So before I ramble on for too long, here's Laurie. Lori, welcome to discover wordsmith podcast. How are you doing today?

Lori 2:11Okay, how are you? Good.

Stephen 2:13And just of note to everyone that's watching the video, you're at the local library, they offer rooms, and you can rent to get video meetings and do these types of things. So I'm a big proponent of pushing the library. So it's good to see some things that the libraries do that people may not know about. So they have meeting rooms and all sorts of great things. Right. Laurie, tell us a little bit about yourself, who you are, where you're from, and what you like to do outside of writing.

Lori 2:44I am from I was born in Lawrenceville, Ohio. I've lived East I've lived West. But my favorite is the east side. I like the east side. And right now I live in South Euclid.

Stephen 2:58All right. What do you like to do besides writing?

Lori 3:01I like to read Actually, I actually love to read and I love to write. With my book, I was able to create a book because every thing that have life experiences I've had in my life, I was able to make a book out of experiences that I've been through. And I love to write. Okay, that's how the book came about is I just had experiences that that were able to create a book.

Stephen 3:32When did you start writing? And then what made you finally start or want to write this book?

Lori 3:39You know, like I said, I had things I went through, like different experiences. And I would write them down. Like I would write like, write down things that happened to me. experiences I've had, like I said was a was making me able to create a book.

Stephen 3:57Have you written all your life? Or is this recent?

Dave spent 15 years writing his first book. Off and on.

This is an interesting topic since many authors take years to write their first book, but once that is done, they don't spend nearly as long on subsequent books.

Find out what Dave has to say about taking so long to write his first book. He shares his advice for how to succeed and what you need to be aware of, no matter the amount of time to finish the writing.

Dave lives in Southern California - San Dimas of Bill & Ted fame - and is a teacher. He has spent 15 years to write his first book about a teacher that runs for president.

The lessons he tries to teach his kids were applied to his book. They've discussed it in the classroom, but Dave tries to bring in other books for the kids to read and discuss also.

Dave's book - Fool's Luck

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1649601247/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1649601247&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=87651d9495f89f6d6513b5ba2204bde7

Dave Millbrandt Author Website

http://www.davemilbrandt.com/

Some of Dave's favorite books:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785230955/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0785230955&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=a309b03757a1e6a467d792ba9356bbf1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094N2FFBW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B094N2FFBW&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=4ca02fdf5e704ae7dc0cf2a5f3c19b12

A Favorite Bookstore

https://www.lastbookstorela.com/

Even though Jessica is fairly new to her writing career, she has taken some risks that have helped build her confidence and achieve heights she didn't think possible - including winning a writing contest.

We discuss how risks help your career and can change your mindset for even more success.

As a great bonus - Jessica is taking a risk and sharing a story that she hasn't made public before. So I encourage you to download No Room and give it a read.

No-RoomDownload

Jessica is a teacher in Colorado and also works in the library system. She just released 2 things- a devotional for anime and a novella collection with a bunch of friends.

She has tried to include deaf characters in her writing, and we discuss how that is good for the community and affects the writing.

Jessica's Book:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094Q1PX7P/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B094Q1PX7P&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=32dd2cff0099aab0ab5f31b8dfbc289c

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B098FJN798/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B098FJN798&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=53b9a2d9fa3ccccefc20226bfac43ac8

Jessica's Website:

https://jessicabertrand.com

Favorite Books:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LPLU4K/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004LPLU4K&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=9f7594f003af3c4a05d7ca1bf29e616f

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086HW5X1S/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B086HW5X1S&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=1e38ae1d5491d4386b8274335d3dac91

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09CXH1W44/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B09CXH1W44&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=c5f4cbd445ee7948fb343e20971bb894

Favorite Bookstore

I have known Rhys most of our lives. We have talked about books (mostly Stephen King), movies (mostly B stuff), and comic books in those intervening years.

On this episode, I talk with Rhys about his reading and what he likes. He started young and read adult books by 3rd grade. His habits haven't changed much since then.

We also are doing a podcast where we discuss lesser known horror movies. Check it out - Horror Lasagna.

Back talking with Jess about his learning experiences in marketing. He conveys ways he has marketed his first book that cost him money but wasn't necessary to spend that money. Most of the marketing he has been able to learn and do himself.

He has been successful using PR techniques - including getting reviews through bloggers and review sites. A site he recommends is literarytitan.com

Jess lives in the Pacific Northwest, but has live all over, including Alaska.

Like a lot of musicians, he enjoys music and plays the piano.

Jess is very inspired by John Macdonald, and runs a website devoted to him: https://worksofmacdonald.com.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M92742L/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07M92742L&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=45fcd210894b844248d034da3d22714c

Find his website at https://jesslederman.com