Florida Writer Podcast

The life of a firefighter is not for the faint of heart. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen talks with retired Fire Captain Cindie Schooner-Ball about her book Sister in a Brotherhood, Stories from My Life as a Female Firefighter. Cindie shares her journey from first responder to award-winning author and the challenges she experienced as both a firefighter and a new author.

Cindie Schooner-Ball began her career as a first responder with the fire service in the mid-80s. She recognized early on that to succeed as both a firefighter and a woman in a mostly male workplace would require perseverance, grit, and the ability to command respect.

Over her three-decade career, she pushed herself to tackle new challenges and rise into leadership positions. She became an EMT and then a paramedic, while also earning a degree in fire science. When she finally achieved the rank of captain, she was the only woman at the induction ceremony.

Now retired, she loves speaking to people about her experiences as a first responder and as a woman in a male-dominated industry. She lives with her husband Mark, and her German shepherd, Chewie, in Florida.

Did you know that only 1% of LinkedIn users create content, and they get 9 billion impressions a week? In this Florida Writer Podcast, Host Alison Nissen chats with LinkedIn Content Creator Kathryn Montbriand about how writers can make LinkedIn work for them.

Kathryn Montbriand is a former Fortune 500 leader who took a career sabbatical after 10 years at a large financial institution. During this reset, she rediscovered her love for writing (it became quite clear when she noticed the hundreds of pages of reflection and journaling she had accrued).

She has a knack for making the complex simple and pulls that thread through all the creative work she does: creating leadership content, helping people refine their career stories, and even writing a book about the transition from the corporate world to the next thing.

One of her preferred places to write these days is on LinkedIn - and she is here to share with us some of her lessons learned while finding her 'business' writing style and growing engagement on the platform.

What is your preferred social media platform? Discover why LinkedIn could be the place for you!

Co-Host of the Wild Women Who Write Take Flight Podcast, Gaby Anderson has released her debut novel. South of Happily goes beyond the usual themes of marriage, divorce, and family history. She gets down to the heart of who is Katy Kiss, an astute young woman caught in the maelstrom of betrayal, grief and self-doubt. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Gaby about her journey of coming of awareness for both the character and author.

Gaby Anderson is a first generation Hungarian-Canadian, born in Montreal, Quebec. When she was a year old, her family moved to New Jersey, then Paris, back to Canada, and finally to the U.S. where she's lived ever since.

She's married to one of her best friends from college, has two amazing daughters, and many (many) animals from the local shelters.

Her first memory of writing is from elementary school. After getting into a fight with a friend, she composed a story about turning her into a potato. Eventually the two made up, but the spark was lit, and a writer was born.

Gaby has worked in the restaurant industry, commercial and group travel, private aviation, and pharmaceutical instrumentation. She currently works in behavioral health management.

Her husband calls her a Renaissance Woman with mad-skills.

This means she can catch a softball with one hand while holding a giant turkey leg with the other.

Story collector Dr. Paul Thornton joins host Alison Nissen on the Florida Writer Podcast to chat about his writing journey and favorite pastime, cruising. He collects other people's stories and shares them in his The Joy of Cruising Trilogy.

He explains that at age 58, during an impromptu speech, he noticed the burden of his "harrowing brush with death, journey of recovery from trauma, resilience and ultimately transformation" was lifting, and his provocatively titled memoir White Man's Disease was born.

Paul's memoir is described as "Gripping and inspiring" and won the North Street Book Prize. He followed that up with a trilogy of creative nonfiction cruise books. Despite their very different subjects, at the heart of White Man's Disease and The Joy of Cruising Trilogy is passion and how passionate people do wondrous things. He now shares his love with others in The Joy of Cruising Podcast.

Professional Behavioral Analyst and business consultant Steve Gavatorta shares tips on how to finish plan and finish your manuscript. In this Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen chats with Steve about writing and marketing and the importance of embracing your work's title.

Steve Gavatorta, owner of the Steve Gavatorta Group, specializes in empowering individuals and organizations in identifying, developing, and exceeding performance goals. Steve's had the privilege of coaching and training thousands of high performers across an array of industries. From small businesses on the move to Fortune 500 companies, Steve collaborates with organizations to build foundations, set goals, and eclipse their highest potential.

Steve is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA), a certified Myers-Briggs practitioner, and accredited to coach and train for Emotional Intelligence (EQ). He is a two-time published author, and his new book In Defense of Adversity: Turning Your Toughest Challenges Into Your Greatest Success won Richter Publishing's Amazon Best Seller Award for 2018.

Lana McAra has discovered how to market her books with impact by embedding her life's purpose into her stories in subtle ways—and sell books at the same time. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Lana on how you, too, can use her technique to create a bond with audiences to sell more books and make an impact by asking "what do I love" and "how can I help?"

Lana McAra is an award-winning, international best-selling author and ghostwriter of 43 titles through traditional publishing with a million books sold. She won The Christy Award for her historical novel Reaping the Whirlwind and her mystery series, Colorado, sold more than 250,000 copies. She has been teaching how to write fiction for 20 years.

Jamie Blaine and Vicky Lanzone became friends after Vicky signed up for an online marriage support site. The story unfolds when, late one night, Vicky writes that the weight is too heavy and each day is a battle to survive. She admits there are pills and the note is written. Jamie replies: Instead of ending your life, why not try changing it first? What do you really have to lose?

Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen chats with Jamie and Vicky about their woven memoir about finding hope in strange places.

Vicky Lanzone is Program Manager for Street Life Ministries in Bay Area, California. She sometimes dreams of a career as a stand-up comedian. Jamie Blaine is the author of Midnight Jesus and Mercy Never Sleeps, and his writing has been featured in publications around the world. He is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author. Raw, real, funny and ultimately redemptive, Life is Crazy & We're All Going to Die offers a view of humanity beyond social justice, past denominations, deeper than the platforms, political causes or lines that divide us.

Writers labor diligently on their works-in-progress. But when it comes to marketing, they often throw their hands up in the air and want to quit before their message is ever shared.

Naresh Vissa, founder and CEO of Krish Media & Marketing. and host Alison Nissen chat about ways two ideas authors need to know when marketing their books:

• Direct Marketing: Delivering a message to your email list with a call to action
• Direct Messaging: Sending a text message to your target audience with a call to action

Naresh is also generously offering a FREE copy of one of his books. Simply fill out the Contact Form and let him know you learned about it on the Florida Writer Podcast. Be sure to tell him your selection:

• FIFTY SHADES OF MARKETING: Whip Your Business Into Shape & Dominate Your Competition
• PODCASTNOMICS: The Book of Podcasting... To Make You Millions.
• FROM NOBODY TO BESTSELLING AUTHOR! How to Write, Publish & Market Your Book.

Naresh Vissa is Founder & CEO of Krish Media & Marketing, Publisher of Krish Publishing, and author of the #1 bestselling books FIFTY SHADES OF MARKETING: Whip Your Business Into Shape & Dominate Your Competition and PODCASTNOMICS: The Book of Podcasting... To Make You Millions.

His latest book is FROM NOBODY TO BESTSELLING AUTHOR! How to Write, Publish & Market Your Book talks about self-publishing from ideation and writing to publishing and marketing. It walks readers through, step-by-step, how they can produce a bestselling book. It's hit #1 in a category on Amazon.

Are you up-to-date on the latest genre termonology? In this week's Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Jeffray Harrison about Magical Realism, Fabulism, Low Fantasy, and High Fantasy. What's the difference? What do you need to know?

Jeffray Harrison is a high school English teacher at a private school in South Florida, trying to squeeze writing time between work and spending time with his family, including his wife, four children, and two grandchildren. In what little spare time remains, he likes to train for triathlons and play open world video games. He has published one novel titled Thy Father's Glass, releasing in May 2023. In addition, he has had short stories published in literary journals such as Every Day Fiction and Wilderness House Literary Review. Twitter - @mixedandblended Instagram - @mixed_and_blended Blog - www.mixedandblended.com Author website - www.jeffrayharrison.com

In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen asks Bryan Carrier about shifting genres from children's author to writing about a female boxer in the novel Rise Up! Against Domestic Violence, where the protagonist, a survivor of childhood domestic abuse, uses her boxing prowess to propel her to challenge the reigning world champion. Alison and Bryan discuss how the main character took over his plot to reveal her true motives.

A Cleveland, Ohio native, Bryan Carrier acted in leading Community Theatre roles before shifting to stage design and set building. He also wrote children's stories and historical pieces about the Vietnam Wall, Oklahoma City Bombing, and others.

Moving to Florida to escape the brutal Cleveland winters, he settled on the sunny beaches in the Tampa/Clearwater area. He has retired from the printing industry and lives with his wife and two dogs.

Bryan is the author of the children's books "Glasses for Wally," "Billie Bop's Robot, BeBop," "There's Something Fishy About My Fish," "Stinky Stella," "I Fired My Dog," and "Farty Marty."

Bryan's latest release is Rise Up! Against Domestic Violence, Books One and Two in this popular Rise Up series are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kindle.

Florida WritersCon is the premier gathering of Florida writers. Empower your writing at the 2023 Florida WritersCon! October 20-22, 2023 @ Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs