Florida Writer Podcast

Asking "What If?" can drive your plot and characters into mysterious circumstances. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen asks Dan Petrosini how he can create twists no one sees coming. From picking up the phone to call the local sheriff's office and keeping notes on his computer to the old Moleskin notepads, Dan likes to keep his audience on the edge of their seats by asking "What If?"

Dan is a USA Today and Amazon Best Seller who wrote his first story at the age of ten and enjoys telling a story or joke.

Dan gets his story ideas by exploring the question; What if?

In almost every situation he finds himself in, Dan starts exploring what if this or that happened? What if this person died, was hurt, or did something unusual or illegal?

Dan's non-stop mind spin provides him with plenty of material to weave into interesting stories.

A fan of books and films that have twists and are difficult to predict, Dan crafts his stories to prevent the reader from guessing correctly. He writes each and every day, forcing the words out when necessary and has written over twenty novels to date. It's not a matter of wanting to write, Dan simply has to.

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

Writers are known for their struggle. We think of Poe and his addictions. Fitzgerald and his lust for romance. Or Hemmingway and his insistence of waking every day to write at least one sentence, fighting the demons that chased him. But we don't talk much about neurodiverse writers. This week, host Alison Nissen chats with Loretta Lynne Finan about the gift of neurodiversity.

Loretta Lynne Finan is a neurodiverse writer from a long line of Irish-American yarn spinners. She lives in small town Florida with her musician husband where they spend their days puttering around with DIY home improvement projects and creating art for its own sake.

Read "Nothing But" at the Ekphrastic Review.

Sex sells. So does erotica. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Dr. J. Donna Jennings, Ph.D., a retired sex therapist and author who not only writes in this lucrative field but coaches others on how to write quality, steamy romance. Need I say more?

Dr. J. Donna Jennings, Ph.D. (she, her) is a retired sex therapist and college human sexuality professor (FSU & TCC) now an author, and editor. In her 47 th year in the sexuality field, she continues her mission to empower others to embrace their sexuality holistically. Her fiction, nonfiction and editing projects embody this belief. She is an editor for Rosy, a sexual wellness platform for women. Dr. J. hosts two podcasts, The Sexuality Space and Purple Sex & Erotic Whims. Her latest book, Purple Sex & Love Beyond Your Dreams: A Women's Journal to Explore Your Sexual Self from Orange Blossom Publishing is out on August 15, 2023. Charlotte the Pirate Queen will be out in Sexy Strangers with Cleis Press on September 12, 2023.

Poetry is a powerful medium for emotional exploration, self-discovery, and healing. Through writing or reading, the artistic expression of pain, growth, and resilience can be transformative and nurturing to the soul. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and poet Nylda Dieppa chat about how poetry helps her make sense of life's complicated lessons.

Nylda Dieppa is a poet, writer, facilitator, mother of five, and grandmother of six. She started dreaming of changing the world when she discovered words. Learning to read at three years old, she's loved literature and art since. Nylda was born in Indianapolis, IN, raised in Puerto Rico, and lives in Orlando, FL with a sweet pup called Canela. She has a Master's in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University, New Orleans, a degree in Fashion Design from Fashion Institute of Technology, and postgraduate work towards a Ph.D. in Intercultural Theology.

Dieppa is the author of Alborada: A Poetic Memoir Across Cultures, which won a Royal Palms Award from the Florida Writers Association in 2015 and a 2016 International Latino Book Award for its cover illustration inspired by Nylda's original pastel drawing. Orange Blossom Publishing published the second, enhanced edition in May 2023, under the new title Alborada: A Cross-Cultural Memoir in Poetry. Her work has been published in Cadence, "Of Poets and Writers," "Somos en Escrito," "La Respuesta," and "America" magazines. She has read her work at various venues including The Ear Club, Medgar Evers College, and The Cornelia Street Cafe in New York City, the Polasek Museum in Winter Park, Florida, and Casa Aboy in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Nylda Dieppa is the Vice-President of the Florida Writers Foundation, a literacy-promoting nonprofit. She nurtures a community of creatives reawakening society through her website nyldadieppa.com and newsletter "Word Sketches." Alborada: A Cross-Cultural Memoir in Poetry is available at Orange Blossom Books as well as on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Memoirs are tricky; you must first expose your life's struggles on paper, then permit the audience to see your most vulnerable moments. Now, imagine doing that and sharing your story with your ten sisters' stories of foster care, child abuse, separation, and reunion after 43 years. In this Florida Writer Podcast, Host Alison Nissen chats with Rev. Barbara Lane about the challenge of sharing all 11 stories.

Rev. Barbara Lane integrates her life experiences of being a foster child, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, entrepreneur, speaker, child advocate, educator, ministerial counselor, and author into her writing. By sharing her own personal journey, Barbara destigmatizes the fate of child abuse survivors, leading her to write her memoir Broken Water. In addition to her twenty-five year service in private practice as a ministerial counselor, Barbara's educational background in human development, social sciences, and family psychology with a focus on child abuse, inspires her to share her expertise on interrelated issues: the family, family separation, the foster care system, attachment and bonding, child maltreatment, relationship formation, the resilience of the human spirit, healing from trauma, and the power found in having faith in something greater than the self. When not writing, you will find Barbara enjoying nature, reading, swimming, playing sports, and people watching. She especially enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. Barbara lives in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia with her husband, Jim, who remains her childhood sweetheart.

The search for spirituality and proof of reincarnations intertwine in this Florida Writer Podcast between host Alison Nissen and Lynn Demarest chat about Lynn's book The Soul Gene. While the novel was written 10 years ago, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, it's more important than ever to ask yourself, is there a soul gene?

Lynn Demarest was a newspaper reporter in South Florida in the 1980s. He then became a computer programmer. The Soul Gene is his debut novel.

Experts say you should write in only one genre. But who are these experts and should we listen to them? In this Florida Writer Podcast, Mary Flynn and Host Alison Nissen chat about why tapping into and writing about all of our interests–regardless of the genre–makes us better (and happier!) writers.

Mary Flynn is an award-winning author of fiction and poetry, as well as a celebrated speaker. A highly diverse writer, Mary has medaled in nearly all of her genres. Her powerful debut novel, "Margaret Ferry," won a gold medal in fiction, a silver medal in religion, and a silver medal in Christian writing. She is working on her third novel. Her Disney leadership book is also a silver medal winner.

A former full-time staff writer for Hallmark Cards, Mary's observational humor has appeared in the Sunday New York Times, Newsday and other dailies and magazines. One of her award-winning short stories appears in the esteemed The Saturday Evening Post's Anthology of Great Fiction. She was a winner in the Writer's Digest poetry competition.

Mary was also a full-time writer and editor creating stories and comprehension exams for the leading publisher of guided reading materials used in the U.S. public school system.

During her fourteen years as an international conference speaker for Disney Institute, the second most recognized training brand in the world, Mary appeared before almost three-quarters-of-a-million people, often sharing a conference platform with names such as Malcolm Gladwell and Tony Robbins.

Mary has an on-air role as host on Salem Radio. Her books are available online and through bookstores, as well as through her website. Be sure to visit Mary at maryflynnwrites.com.

Want an inside look at the world of finance? Interested in earning massive amounts of money? As a mentor to those who wish to have 100M careers, Emmy Sobieski tells host Alison Nissen she entered the world of writing with the encouragement of her boss. She chose to turn her career experience as a top finance fund manager into something that could inspire others.

Emmy Sobieski, CFA, the author of $100M Careers, is currently COO of Performative Speaking and COO and co-founder of Competitive Storytelling, Inc. both of which help founders with world-class ideas share their stories to change the world.

Emmy previously co-managed the #1 ranked Nicholas | Applegate Global Technology Fund in 1999, up over 495%. Emmy's institutional investing experience includes 25 years working for investment firms representing diverse strategies (aggressive growth, momentum, value), asset size (responsible for up to $6B in assets), and type (mutual funds, RIAs, insurance cos, hedge fund). Emmy is a manager and co-founder of GMR (developer of utility-grade Solar, Battery, and Wind farms), former co-founder, executive, and advisor to multiple funds and startups. Emmy is a regular panelist and keynote speaker on Web3, Privacy, Payments, ESG, and AI.

Emmy is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and has a USC MBA and a BA in Economics from UCSD. Highlights of Emmy's athletic accomplishments during the 25 years as an institutional investor include multiple national and global rankings in dressage, culminating in 2005 with a 9th place in the US trials for the World Cup Team, Silver in the 2017 US Masters Championships in the 100-meter and 400-meter dash (50-55 year old division), 2017 AAU North American Champion Women Overall Physique Division bodybuilding, all age groups). Emmy has placed in the top 3 in her age group in both marathons and ultramarathons. Learn more at www.emmysobieski.com

After a head injury, Drew Robinson decided to turn his stress and anxiety into a play. While he never published that one, it opened the door to discovering his creative side.

Host Alison Nissen chats with light and quirky author Andrew John Robinson, a transplanted New Englander, whose first novel, Lexa and the Gordian Maze of Terra, a children's science-fiction work, and its sequel, Lexa and the Smugglers of Cyclo, both published by Amira Press. Many of his short stories are on www.grubstreet.ca. Dragonspeak: Drew, the Boy Who Talked to Dragons is his first children's fantasy. It was a finalist in the 2010 RPLA Royal Palm Literary Award).

He was Regional Director of Central Florida for the Florida Writers' Association, a non-profit group dedicated to helping writers, and president of Cricket Cottage Publishing, LLC, which he sold a few years ago. He now leads the Orlando Chapter of the group. Married, he has one daughter, which is why many of his stories revolve around strong and determined women. His time travel fantasy, Worst Date, Greatest Adventure, was published by Champagne Book Group and is similar to Outlander. The sequel, Worst Date, Greatest Challenge, is coming out this year, and he is working on the final book in the trilogy. Champagne also published his teen vampire adventure book, Vampire Academia, and he makes it clear that it is not like Twilight!

His screenplay Wiccans' Lair was produced by PC Productions, an indie film company here in Central Florida, and he has a library of more than a dozen more running the gamut from family-friendly fantasy to rom-com and even musicals. He currently writes comedy skits for the group "The EGOs", which are shown on YouTube and their streaming service ENV.

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Florida Writers Group

Florida Writer host Alison Nissen sits down with Nancy J. Cohen, author of 30 published works, including the cozy mystery series Bad Hair Day Mysteries. Nancy loves feedback from readers and her favorite question is when will the next book be published. Fortunately for her fans, Star Tangled Murder has just been released.

Nancy advises anyone interested in jumping into the cozy mystery market should have an amateur sleuth who lives in a distinctive location and a cast of recurring characters.

Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have been named Best Cozy Mystery by Suspense Magazine, won the Readers' Favorite Book Awards and the RONE Award, placed first in the Chanticleer International Book Awards and third in the Arizona Literary Awards.