Discovered Wordsmiths

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1735766305/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1735766305&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=b3b8a6f09044af21aedc73015260ec5f

Personal Website https://www.byrongifford.com

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/byron_gifford/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/byron.gifford.52/

Byron lives in Michigan and is a father. He has moved for his career several times and the stress of moving with young children led him to write his book - Life with Graffy, discovering bravery.

The book is about a boy that struggles with moving, which is something Byron's own son struggled with.

Byron loves Stephen King, especially the latest

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1982137975/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1982137975&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=edcf73f607aac48c416c9b1d13389d96

A great local bookstore is Prince books and coffeehouse

Transcript

Stephen 0:49Welcome to another episode of discovered wood Smith. Today I'm talking with Byron Gifford, who has he is a father and he's written a children's book based on his life experiences of moving with two small children. It is called life with grafitti discovering bravery. So if you have kids, this would be a great book to read. It has great lessons in it, and some wonderful pictures and illustrations that Byron has done himself. Again, I hope that you've been enjoying these interviews, finding some good books and new authors that you enjoy. And if you're a writer that you've been sticking around for the episode be where we discuss topics that are of interest to new writers. So if you like what you hear, please give us a review. Give us some stars or thumbs up wherever you listen to the podcast. And here's Byron. Oh, well, Byron, thank you for joining me today. I appreciate you take some time to talk to us about you and your book.

Byron 1:48Excellent. Thank you, Steven, proud to be here. Very glad to talk to you and have your audience learn something from this.

Stephen 1:54I hope so. And I think we've got a lot to talk about. So tell us a little bit about who you are, where you're from your background, things you like to do besides writing stuff like that?

Byron 2:04Okay. Well, most importantly, I'm a father, a husband, and an executive that's worked in the banking credit union industry for over 25 years. I'm originally from Berlin, Illinois, and eventually moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. While I was in Michigan, this is where I started my banking career, developing my skills myself into what's really been a wonderful career so far. And I mentioned that because I've relocated for my career six times across the United States, and three of those with young children in those household moves. And the emotional impact on my young kids is really what fueled one of the story ideas for my new book.

Stephen 2:48I think that's great. I think some of the best stories have always come from personal experiences and getting out your feelings on things. Yeah. So tell us a little bit more about that book setting, got inspired, fueled by your kids? Tell us a little bit more about it.

Byron 3:09Sure, about the book. So life with Grassi discovering bravery, was published this month officially,

Tory joins me again to discuss what he has gone through in setting up his business entity for publishing. There are many choices and reasons to use one type or another.

He also discusses using Sigil for formatting his book. Sigil is an open source epub editor. It is not for the faint of heart, but is powerful.

https://github.com/Sigil-Ebook/Sigil/releases/tag/1.4.3

Transcript

Stephen 0:49So welcome again to the podcast is going to be part B. That's how I'm doing. I'm now a part A and B. So now what we're doing is discussing a topic that has to do with new authors that new authors encounter. and sent to us said, Well, I just published a book and had to go through setting up the entity and the taxes, things and various things that affected that as a new business as a new author as a new book. So we're going to talk about a few of those.

Tory 1:19Yep. And it's good to be back, I actually listened to your part B with with Penny Appleton. Yes. And I liked the concept of splitting it out. That's what a cool idea.

Stephen 1:30It was actually more her idea, though, I had been kind of looking for something to do different. So I loved it. And I'm glad she threw that out there. And now it kind of hits two different markets. So Part A is like for readers. And Part B is for writers. So I can go after both.

Tory 1:47Well, exactly. And and if you if you were able to like follow up every year or two with with a few authors, you could you could kind of follow along with that strategy, as they talked about versus yesterday happened.

Stephen 2:03Right? Yeah. I love that. Yeah. So we were talking about the rock rain book in part A, and you read that with Jim Crow, who I'm sure was digging out from about 15 inches of snow earlier this week. Here in Ohio, Lucky us. Some of that this way. It'll probably come. But you know, the way the winds blow and all the Great Lakes, it all just dumps between here in New York. Um, so tell us, what were some of the things you had to get set up, and what you had to do and what you would recommend.

Tory 2:40So I first of all, I decided that this one book, I'm going to go wide with it. And I'm going to do a kind of a multi approach sort of strategy. So I went in and set up an author account at Amazon and did the same thing with Apple books. And with Apple books, that actually took about two weeks because you have to you have to do it a step at a time they have to verify it. Right. So you when you go in there, you put one of the things you have to decide is are you uh, are you a, you know, an LLC, or a C Corp? Or are you a sole proprietor?

Stephen 3:25Right?

Tory 3:26And you know, along with that, are you using your social security number as a tax ID? Or do you have an Ei n? Right? So I thought about that for a while. And then also with with Amazon or Apple, you have to decide if you're going to use, you know, an ISV and that you buy or just go with Apple's asi and they assign you

Stephen 3:49right there. You said like four sentences, and there's already 500 million things, I think. So let's back up one sec. So what why did you choose to go wide? Because when you do that, obviously, you can't be in Kindle unlimited. If you're going with anything else. And then why did you start with Amazon and apple? And are you gonna go with Google? And I guess why didn't you use something like draft to digital? What were your choice? Or what were your decisions? Why did you come to those decisions?

Tory 4:25One, I'm gonna go with Amazon and apple and then also data digital for everything else. Okay,

Today's guest is Tory Element who has co-authored a book with Jim Kukral called Rock Rain. This is Tory's first book and we discuss writing with a co-author.

Tory is retired Air Force and has been working as a fitness trainer along with writing.

One of his favorite book series:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AP9XIK0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00AP9XIK0&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=5f87620a8d4f3edfcd557928fa47ba0d

https://toryelement.com/

Tory Element Home Page

He also is a fan of Auntie's Books

TRANSCRIPT

Stephen 0:45Sorry, welcome. official opening of the podcast, even though we've been yakking for like 15 minutes. Yeah, good morning, Steve, how you doing? I'm doing great. So let's get started talking author stuff. Tell us a little bit about you and who you are outside of writing outside of your book.

Tory 1:07Um, two things. I'm retired Air Force I did 22 years in the Air Force retired about 10 years ago. And I decided my last year in airports, I was going to start started getting more into fitness. So I wouldn't got certified as a fitness trainer. And kind of been doing that since. But the same time I also decided I wanted to write the stuff I love to read, which is sci fi kind of Action, Adventure stuff. So my last year in Air Force, I started, started writing, and then quickly learned how much I didn't know about writing. spent the next 10 years learning about writing.

Stephen 1:48Nice. Well, I'll get back to that in two seconds, because I have a great question on that one. So the fitness, you and I were talking about this off the air, so to say, Tell everyone a little bit about what you're doing with that where you're going with your fitness?

Tory 2:04Well, I've always been fit in the military, you kind of have to maintain a certain fitness level. But my dad died early from cancer. And I think I think that kind of helped me get more serious about my own fitness. So I got into more fitness. And then I started a thing. Once I got out of the Air Force, I'm like, What am I gonna do? I did, I did have a business degree that I really was interested in using. So I just got certified and started doing personal training and then mind a group training. And that's I've been doing ever since here in Spokane and Fairchild Air Force Base in a local gym down the road here. So a lot of classes, hit style, and cycling. And then you know, one on one, training my, my specialty and my stuff I have to concentrate on is weight loss or fat weight loss, help people lose weight, and move better, basically, is what I concentrate on.

Stephen 3:05And we're talking, we're both 15 ish, especially for people at our age group. If you've learned sedentary life, now it's starting to catch up to you and you need to. And that also affects a lot of authors. Because obviously, you're gonna be sitting a lot if you write

Tory 3:24exactly and and I'm developing a online fitness course, with authors very much in mind.

Stephen 3:33I love that. Because that's what this is all about authors. Besides the fitness, you said you what you got into writing, you've spent a large part of the last 10 years learning to write. And I find that significant because we've probably both been on the forums, listen to other podcasts with authors like, well, I just sat down over the weekend and wrote my first 3000 or 300,000 word book. Now how do I publish it? You know, several? Why? Why did you want to get into writing but you chose to learn? You said,

The podcast has been going strong for 6 months. If you look at the list of authors interviewed and their books, they are quite a diverse group of wonderful people. If you have not, find the type of book you like to read and click that category on the podcast. I encourage you to check out the authors and read their books.

I also wanted to update everyone on my own writing. I have plans for books and stories to come out throughout the next several months. It is a very exciting time and there will be lots of new adventures to read. I also include writing lessons and activities for kids in my books. If you are a teacher or homeschool parent, check those out.

If you are interested in keeping up with The Bookstore Project, check it out here. There is a network of authors that are working together and putting a bunch of our books in local and independent bookstores. They are donations because it's something we can do to help our favorite bookstores during these tough times. If you live in an area with one of these bookstores, please visit them and check out the books.

Transcript

Stephen 0:52Welcome to another episode of discovered word Smith. This is the host Steven, I hope you've come with me and enjoyed the episodes we've had. So far. It's been six months. And that pretty much astounds me that there are that many new authors that will want to and need to get out there get heard, and we'd like to discuss their books. If you have not checked out the author's we have interviewed if you have not checked out the previous episodes, check out the authors check out the books on the website, I've tried to categorize them as to what style genre the writers books are. So look for the books that you like, let these authors know you like their books, give them some reviews, these authors work just as hard as other authors that you may see in the stores, but they aren't as known. That's why I started this podcast. Now, you may notice that my latest episodes are in two parts. The last one I'd had with Penny Appleton or Jackie Penn is in two parts. The first part is the interview, just like I've done, where I talked to the author, find out about them find out about their book. And this is great for readers. So check out part A, Part B is the same author. But this time we sit and discuss a topic that is of interest to other writers, not necessarily readers. So I've broken it in the two parts this way. And I'm addressing the needs of two different groups. Now I know most writers are also readers. So that may be of interest to you, A and B. But if you're just a reader, check out the a an upcoming future episodes with other writers we're doing the same thing. And it's an interesting conversation because new authors sometimes think that their problems are just for them. But lots of new authors have the same problems. That's what we're gonna be talking about discussing trying to help other new authors, other writers out there. So check it out. I've got several episodes in the can, as they say ready to go. And I've got a few more coming up. So it should be nonstop every week and episode. Now, me personally, as I mentioned before, I have booked one of town magician out, it's done. It's out there, people have been reading it, I feel great. I have a lot of short stories to go with that. And Book Two is about to come out. I've been working on a few things and got a little sidetracked. I've got a sequel to book one. That's a novella that I want to get out before book two. So I really think Book Two is coming out before Christmas. Still, I guess that's one of the benefits and problems of being a independent self published author is you can release whenever you want. But that doesn't always mean you know exactly when it's coming out. So I apologize. But look for that the sequel novella,

Joanna's Mindfulness book - https://www.thecreativepenn.com/mindset/

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/book/structuring-your-novel/

KM Weiland book and workbook

https://thecareerauthor.com/threestorymethod/

J and Zach story method

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0999296345/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0999296345&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=8072ad1746fb6eddf1f071323c377062

Some links may be affiliate links

TRANSCRIPT

Stephen 0:50In this episode of discovered word, Smith, I continue talking with Jackie Penn, who writes us Penny Appleton. Instead of interviewing This time, we're actually discussing a topic of concern, which at the moment, is how to keep writing, when times are tough. We've all been dealing with the shutdown lockdown of our countries of our place of business of our stores. And sometimes that can affect you as a writer. And we discussed this a little bit back and forth. It's a new format for the podcast, I hope you like it, let me know what you like or don't like about it, or if you have ideas for future topics. So here's the continuing discussion with Jackie pan.

Jackie 1:32I'm a bit stuck at the moment. And I go back to her books. And so I've got the successful author mindset here next to me, because it's partly covered that I've just published one. So the sum of your Christmas wedding has, has just gone out. So it's now out on Amazon. So that makes five and I'm a bit tired. But I thought during this time, I should be getting on with the next book. So I've got three good ideas. And one of the people on Joe's website, Jane Dixon Smith, she's she's our cover designer, and she's designed me three covers for the next three books. So I find it easier to work when I visually have got the idea. So the three covers of them. Anyway, I'm a bit blocked. So this is from Joe's book, the successful author mindset. She said, if you're blocked after finishing a book, when you think you should immediately start another one. Here's an excerpt from my journal a week after finishing gates of hell, her fifth full length novel, my mind is completely empty. I will never have another idea. What if this book is the last one? Or what if I never have any more ideas, my whole life is now bound up in writing books, and being an author. And if I can't write another one, I'm finished. I'm broken. This is underneath. I've written a number of other novels since then. So clearly that feeling is temporary. And I now understand that the emptiness is just another part of the creative process. So don't worry, fill the creative well. And then trust emergence, do some research, read other things. Think of your mind as a pipe, you have to put things in at the top for the ideas to come out and the bottom, take a break. So that's been really helpful because you think it's only me, I'm all alone doing this. But actually, you're not everybody feels like that.

Stephen 3:26Do you get patches. And I love that. And I get other patches where I feel overwhelmed with life and work. And I just have a hard time writing as for ideas that I have too many of sometimes. And I have to watch so I don't jump to between one and the other and never finish anything.

Jackie 3:48Yes. This I can understand that. Especially since I'm retired and I live on my own and do you have a family and another job and you know that that's quite difficult, isn't it? You've actually got to do the discipline of setting aside the time when do you write

Jacqui Penn writes under the pseudonym of Penny Appleton. She lives in England, but has worked and lived around the world. Her daughter, Joanna Penn (The Creative Penn podcast), helped her with the first books.

They say write what you know and Jacqui has chosen to write sweet romance. Her latest book is a senior romance, which I loved as it's not the typical romance you think about for this genre.

https://www.pennyappleton.com/

Penny Appleton home page

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07253KFZ3/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07253KFZ3&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=3b64b49577e61e954fd4daaa2097c2c1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LTLJVYM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B08LTLJVYM&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=d54f6250d4672a6064fe98669db02d88

In part B of the podcast, we discuss how to keep writing when times are tough.

Some links may be affiliate links

TRANSCRIPT

Stephen 0:51Today, I'm talking to Jackie Penn, who writes under the pseudonym of Penny Appleton. She writes sweet romance, and she writes sr, sweet romance, which I think is great. And I really wanted to talk to her. As an aside for everybody that is a writer listening to the podcast, her daughter is also Joanna pen, which I'm sure you've all heard of. When we did the interview and talked Jackie and I chatted for quite a while had a great time, and she suggested we discuss something other than just doing an interview. So you'll notice this interview is broken into two parts, and future interviews and podcast episodes are going to be broken into two parts. So I think, Jackie, for that great idea. So here's Jackie. And if you like the podcast, you like what you hear, please give the other episodes Listen, go check out the author's books, give the podcast some likes to help promote it to get more readers and more writers finding other new writers and readers finding other new books to read. Here's Jackie. All right. Well, today on the podcast, we have Jackie who writes us, Penny Appleton. Welcome to the podcast. Jackie.

Jackie 2:04Thank you very much, Stephen. It's a pleasure to be here and to hear your lovely American voice.

Stephen 2:11I feel the same way. I interviewed somebody from Scotland and my wife said Oh, let me talk to him. Is your wife Scottish? Oh, no, not at all. She's Finnish. Right. But she likes the accent. Very much, though. So. Alright. Well, Jackie, tell us a little bit about who you are. where you're from little bit about your background outside of writing.

Jackie 2:34Okay, well, I'm 73. That sounds very, very old. I was born in 1947. And thank you my writing and my background. I really am a country girl, not in the American sense of you know, thank God, I'm a country boy, but English country. So me and having worked and lived in the United States. I have lived in parts of the country like Boise and Idaho and Oregon. And English countryside is very rolling and gentle green hills and beech trees and oak trees and birdsong and plowed fields and horses and cows. And so I was brought up in that. And that's my favorite place to be really, and it's the background of the books that I write. So from there, I went to university in London, and became a teacher of English and drama. And I'm an introvert, but like many introverts capable of being an extrovert when you're on stage, to me, and lots of actors and actors, actresses, introverted, but they're capable of being extroverts. So my preferred way of relaxing is to read and to be very quiet. But as a teacher,

Shay Siegel wrote her first novel, Fractured, based on trials she's dealt with during her life. As a young girl, she experienced selective mutism, which would not allow her to talk in certain circumstances.

Her book is a YA that has a football player discovering that other people in the world has problems that he wasn't even aware of. She hopes to continue writing more books dealing with mental health issues in teens and young adults.

https://www.shaysiegel.com/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087DXJ3W2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B087DXJ3W2&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=9d3dfa7cf15a0e16f3ca778bfc88fd9f

Transcript

Stephen 0:49Well, Shay, thank you for coming on the podcast. I appreciate it. Um, to get started, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself outside of writing life?

Shay 1:00Um, yeah, thanks for having me. Um, I am from the east end of Long Island, New York. For the past couple years. I've lived in South Carolina, first in Columbia. And now I recently moved to Charleston. But I kind of split my time between South Carolina and New York at the moment. All my family's still in New York. I went to college at Tulane University in New Orleans, where I got my BA in English, and I was also a member of the women's tennis team. And after that, I went on to grad school for my MFA and writing at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.

Stephen 1:45Wow. So you've been all over. I love being New Orleans. Actually, I was supposed to be on a writers conference on Halloween in New Orleans, and it got cancelled because of all the COVID stuff, which was very sad. Oh, yeah, that's too bad. It's such a fun city. So, real quick, the tennis team, were you actually on a scholarship, or we just joined the team?

Shay 2:10Um, well, I wasn't on a scholarship, but I was recruited to be on the team at Tulane. I played competitive tennis all throughout my childhood. And then through college, I actually lived at ever tennis Academy, my senior year of high school in Florida.

Stephen 2:29Wow. So you've really been all over the country to various schools and cities? Yeah, the East area, I guess. decided? Well, New Orleans. Um, okay. So, with all of that background, everything you've done, why did you decide to start writing.

Shay 2:50Um, so interestingly, I actually grew up selective mute, a lot of people are unfamiliar with what that is, or haven't even heard of it. And it's basically an anxiety disorders surrounding speaking. So I've always been very shy. But when I was younger, there were certain situations where I couldn't speak at all, specifically with people I didn't know well, or wasn't comfortable with. And especially in school settings. So when I couldn't speak, I would write writing was my voice in many ways. And pretty much the only way I felt comfortable expressing myself. So I didn't give much thought to writing when I was younger, because I was so focused on tennis. But when I look back on it, I was always writing poems or short stories. And then in college, when I had to declare a major and think about what I would start doing after college, I started realizing that other than tennis writing was really the one thing I really enjoyed. So I decided to enter the MFA program and pretty much been writing ever since.

Stephen 4:02I find that fascinating, because I've heard from so many writers authors that got into writing because they had something they were trying to overcome. And with you, what was it called? I'm sorry, selective mute. Yes.

Stephen lives in New Zealand, but has traveled the world when he was younger. His experience allows him a unique perspective in his art and books.

His earlier experience in screenwriting - including Jules Verne Mysterious Island - allowed him to realize he wanted to write.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0473539306/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0473539306&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=0df5e543a32f01f4ea4e2bec9012e43c

https://stephenbatt.com/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112089/fullcredits/

Here is a couple short films that Stephen has made:

Warm Gun - A short film I made a few years backhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxkbfFELAfMThe Making of Gotcha - A TV pilot I made a few years backhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJzvUzRgMWU

Some links may be affiliate links.

Today I talk with David Kouri from Texas. He is a thrill seeker and loves sports. In his past life he acted in theater and for TV before switched to behind the camera and writing.

His first book, Elyria, is a YA fantasy. When the main character discovers he is a 99 year old vampire and he's meant to save the galaxy, his life changes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086B71MTG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B086B71MTG&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=97e7c36c1e6a32914397ff9c6f81f9ae

Visit his website: https://www.davidkouri.com/This link is on his website as well but it is a direct link to read free chapters from the book: https://451a74f0-3559-4533-8004-71cc838e1292.filesusr.com/ugd/361fd0_1a19f92a5e7e4287b9d87014bb6e5a48.pdf

One of his favorite bookstores is Book People:

https://www.bookpeople.com/

And Edgar Alan Poe is a favorite author

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394716787/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0394716787&linkCode=as2&tag=saschneider-20&linkId=15ac5b888950809f5d93456fa5293553

Some links make be affiliate links

Thomas A. Brigger is a businessman, entrepreneur, traveler and author of Beyond the Higher Ground, a novel about intrigue and suspense amid the opioid crisis in Appalachia. With a background including construction worker, small business owner, instructional writer, real estate developer, builder, consultant and corporate executive, the author draws from his experience to recognize the nuances of human behavior. Proclaimed by a former instructor to be “potentially one of the great writers of the century”, Brigger set aside his business interests to concentrate on writing fiction, a craft that he mastered by writing short stories for most of his adult life. He writes from his home in Southwest Ohio, where he focuses on the variants of American life and matters of importance to American people.

Beyond the Higher Ground

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/164544967X?pf_rd_p=ab873d20-a0ca-439b-ac45-cd78f07a84d8&pf_rd_r=4WKR9415AFGACBQZG3CW

Book Description: Tasked with an assignment to manage the construction of a prison on a remote Appalachian mountaintop, Tucker Mason sees an opportunity to restart his life past the death of his wife and the recurring demons of his childhood. But strange occurrences at the house that he rented on Bright's Mountain and the suspicion of drugs being smuggled through the prison construction site create distractions that lead to violence, intrigue, and his own imperilment. Struggling under the weight of loss and guilt, he encounters a world that he never knew existed in the shadow of the emerging prison. With a unique perspective on the human condition, Beyond the Higher Ground takes its reader through a historical glimpse of Southwestern Virginia to a powerful exposition of the drug crisis that has devastated the region and the abject brutality of those who deliver it.