 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:  Pikes Peak Writers Pikes Peak Writers Anthology: Fresh Starts YouTube Video of Interview Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections Wide for the Win      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

Perspectives and reflections on the writing and publishing life. Mark Leslie Lefebvre, a writer, bookseller, digital publishing advocate, professional speaker, and publishing consultant explores inclusive and collaborative opportunities for writers and book publishing professionals via interviews, discussions, and reflections about the industry. (Mark's personal website is www.markleslie.ca)

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Books

        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's Website  Kickstarter for The Midlist Indie Author Mindset Fiction Titles Non-Fiction Titles   Thorn's Patreon Site Writers of the Future - Blog Post Announcing Mark as a Judge Stark Publishing Support for Authors Via Margins Agency ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link) 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 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 Only Monsters in the Building   The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard    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 356 - The Midlist Indie Author Mindset with T. Thorn Coyle

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:  Scribbling Pen Publishing  Scribbling Pen Publishing - Instagram   Cruising Writers Feb/Mar 2025 Cruise - Focus on Self Publishing The Uncollected Anthology Website  Uncollected Anthology Live Author Chat (April 10, 2024 - YouTube) There Ain't No Cure For The Winter Wolf Blues   2024 The Write Stuff StoryBundle (Limited Time Offer) WMG Anthology Workshop August 2024 Stark Publishing Support for Authors Via Margins Agency ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link) 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 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    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 355 - Scribbling Pen Publishing with Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn

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's Website Chenoweth Press Lydia Sherrer's Store EP 312 - The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now EP 266 - "Let's Talk Dialogue with Jeff Elkins," He Said Reflectively EP 157 - A Conversation with Jeff Elkins The Dialogue Doctor The Uncollected Anthology Website  Uncollected Anthology Live Author Chat (April 10, 2024 - YouTube) There Ain't No Cure For The Winter Wolf Blues   2024 The Write Stuff StoryBundle (Limited Time Offer) WMG Anthology Workshop August 2024 Stark Publishing Support for Authors Via Margins Agency ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link) 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 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    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 354 - Lydia and David Sherrer on Power Couple Publishing

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's Author Website Tao Wong's Publisher Website Toronto Indie Author Conference Stark Publishing Support for Authors Via Margins Agency StoryGarden Summit (Virtual) - March 2024 ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link) 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 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    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 353 - Tao Wong on the Toronto Indie Author Conference

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 hello@nomarginsagency.com 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  Facebook Blog   Stark Publishing Support for Authors Via Margins Agency StoryGarden Summit (Virtual) - March 2024 ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link) 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  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    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 186 - Fresh Starts: Tales from the Pikes Peak Writers

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