Hear us Roar

This week's podcast is with Kimberly Nixon (Rock Bottom,Tennessee, indie-published, April 2022). Using an apocryphal family legend about her grandmother as the springboard, Kimberly set out to tell the story of an impoverished woman during the depression who went to prison for robbing trains. We discuss the delicate balance of giving yourself permission to change characters and details to further the narrative while also honoring your family's memory, how critique partners and mentors were crucial to her writing journey, and how she thinks of the first draft as an outline or sketch and her subsequent revisions as coloring in the lines to make the story come alive.

Kimberly Nixon is an emerging author of biographical fiction. She was blessed with a plethora of family stories, featuring strong, determined—and sometimes wild—characters. She wrestles these personalities into her works of fiction. She is a member of the Women's Fiction Writing Association, Alliance of Independent Authors, and the Writer's League of Texas. Kimberly lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Paul most of the year and travels for adventure when she can.

To learn more about Kimberly, click here.

Our latest podcast episode features Kris Spisak (The Baba Yaga Mask, Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, April 2022). Kris, the previous author of three non-fiction books on writing, always knew her first novel would center around Ukraine, the country of origin of her grandparents and extended family. Little did she know that the initial concept would take 8 years to come to fruition and then, through an odd set of circumstances, would be published only 5 weeks after everyone in the world was talking about Russia's invasion of that country. We discuss how, at first, she was reluctant to capitalize on the news cycle but then realized the release of her book provided her with a unique opportunity to share her knowledge of the Ukrainian people—their customs, history, folk tales, and historical significance. She was even able to turn speaking events into opportunities to partner with charitable organizations, resulting not only in greater visibility for her novel but donation opportunities to help the country she loves.

Kris Spisak's debut novel was inspired by her family's experience in the post-WWII Ukrainian diaspora and has been called "A complex, poetic tale" by Kirkus Reviews. She wrote her first three non-fiction books— Get a Grip on Your Grammar: 250 Writing and Editing Reminders for the Curious or Confused (Career Press), The Novel Editing Workbook (Davro Press), and The Family Story Workshop (Davro Press)—to help writers of all kinds sharpen their storytelling and empower their communications. Kris has been spotlighted in Writer's Digest and The Huffington Post for her work as an editor and author dedicated to helping other writers. When not working on her own projects, she is an active speaker, workshop/webinar leader and career strategist.

To learn more about Kris, click here.

Listen here to our interview with Zoe Disigny (The Art of Traveling Strangers, Mascot Publishing, February 2022). Hear her story of initially querying agents with a 20,000 word manuscript, her thoughts on how her own self-perception changed during the writing of her novel, how she went about choosing a hybrid publisher, and how she was able to enrich her book through weaving in knowledge from her previous career as an art historian.

Zoe Disigny holds a master's degree in art history and taught college courses throughout her career. She also worked as an art gallery director, a lecturer for The Norton Simon Museum of Art, and recently as a Road Scholar lecturer.

Zoe has led numerous art tours in Europe and, at one point, established a business in Paris offering art history adventures for American tourists.

Ms. Disigny's short story ONLY AN ART CLASS was published in The Potato Soup Journal in 2020, and her writing appears in the Pulpwood Queen's WORK IN PROGRESS: a collection of excerpts Anthology, edited by Mandy Haynes and published in 2021.

Zoe produces a newsletter called "For Lovers of Art and Travelers at Heart." When not traveling, Zoe and her artist husband divide their time between the mountains and the beach in Southern California.

To learn more about Zoe and sign up for her newsletter, click here.

Here's our latest podcast with Sarah Branson (A Merry Life, Sooner Started Press, April 2022). Our discussion ranges from what it's like to build a world that's set 300 years in the future but still keep it character-driven ("Like historical fiction that just hasn't happened yet") to a wise coach's advice to Sarah about marketing an indie book ("No one can buy a book they haven't heard of") and why she decided her very long book was really a series of four and then chose to release them all within a single year.

Award-winning author Sarah Branson was a midwife for close to thirty years, helping families welcome their little ones into their arms in the hospital, at a birth center and at home. Now she writes tales of action, adventure, revenge, and romance featuring airborne pirates. Her stories are set against the backdrop of an Earth changed by fires, floods, and pandemics, but are firmly rooted in the strength and resiliency of the human spirit.

Sarah first started conjuring stories of pirates when her family hopped a freighter to Australia when she was seven. She has since grown up, traveling extensively across the US and the globe. She raised her family in Michigan and still longs to swim in Sturgeon Bay and Little Traverse Bay. She has a deep appreciation for people's strength and endurance and fully believes that badass women will inherit the Earth and the Earth will be better for it.

Her debut novel, A Merry Life, was chosen as the 2022 Connecticut Adult Fiction winner by the Indie Author Project and was named a 2022 Book of the Year finalist in the action/adventure and science fiction categories by the Independent Author Network. It is the first book in the series Pirates of New Earth. Books 2 and 3: Navigating the Storm and Burn the Ship are available now. The exciting conclusion of the series, Blow the Man Down is slated for February 2023. Sarah lives with her husband in Connecticut.

To learn more about Sarah, click here.

Listen here to our newest podcast with Maggie Giles (The Things We Lost, Rising Action, April 2022). We discuss how her book's concept is a twist on the Sliding Doors trope of "what if our lives had gone differently" and took her seven years to write, how she took a chance and signed with a novice publisher as their very first author, and how it's imperative that writers discuss with their significant other that writing is not a hobby, but a job and a passion and requires us to devote time to it like any other goal we want to achieve.

Maggie Giles is a Canadian author who is usually daydreaming about fictional characters. Always looking for a new creative outlet, Maggie dove into writing a novel head first. She has been a member of the Women's Fiction Writers Association since 2014 where she works as their Social Media Director. She lives in Collingwood. The Things We Lost is her first novel. Her second, Twisted, will be releasing with Rising Action September 19, 2023.

To learn more about Maggie, click here.

This week's podcast is with Jen Gilroy (The Sweetheart Locket, Orion Dash/Orion Books, March 2022). Unlike most of our guests, Jen has been publishing since 2017 but in the romance category, so we discuss what's involved in switching to a new genre while still holding tight to your unique creative voice. As a writer who thinks strategically about her career, Jen shares insights into how British and American audiences differ, what she's learned from working simultaneously in two genres with two different agents, and the authors who she looked to for inspiration while composing this dual-time-line story.

Jen Gilroy writes women's fiction for Orion Dash and sweet western romance for Harlequin Heartwarming—uplifting stories about women finding home, family and new beginnings–and finding themselves too. She's a Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist and was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Association Joan Hessayon award.

A dual British-Canadian citizen, Jen lived in England for many years and earned a doctorate in geography, focusing on British cultural studies and social history, from University College London. She worked in higher education and marketing before becoming a full-time writer. She now lives in small-town Ontario, Canada with her husband, teenage daughter and floppy-eared rescue hound. When not writing, she enjoys reading, ballet and paddling her purple kayak.

To learn more about Jen, click here.

Rundquist's book is an epistolary novel, written entirely in messages, primarily emails, between two friends, so it presented unique and tricky challenges in terms of dialogue and character development. We discuss Janet's belief in touching her current story on a daily basis to keep it fresh in her mind and how getting clear about what her goals were for her debut led to her decision to be her own publisher and she shares what she learned during the process.

J. Marie Rundquist believes a day isn't complete without time spent reading. Stories she loves best–to read and to write– feature characters from all walks of life who learn from one another. When she isn't writing, you'll find J. Marie exploring all the K-12 public education world has to offer through teaching, learning, and supporting others in their educational roles.

In spite of trying to live in other parts of the U.S., J. Marie accepted her fate and now embraces six-month winters in Minnesota, showing off photos of hiking in sub-zero temperatures. She lives in the Twin Cities with her family, two cats, and a never-ending supply of Dr. Pepper.

To learn more, click here.

This week's podcast is with Sita Romero (Words We Cannot Say, Red Adept Publishing, April 2022). Sita's background as a former doula informs her first novel, which she describes as a complex story of motherhood, infertility, and women's traditional roles. She purposely set out to explore narratives that are often quieted and found agents loved her book but struggled with how to sell it. It wasn't until she delved into her own feelings about what she wanted her book to be and why she wanted it published that she found the right path for her. We discuss the process of working with a publisher's editorial staff and how editing non-fiction is exactly the opposite of novel editing and what it's like to publish two books back to back in the space of only 3 months.

Sita Romero received her MFA in creative writing from Queens University of Charlotte. Before writing full-time, Sita worked in women's health for 15 years. She grew up in Florida and now lives in Virginia. Her debut novel, Words We Cannot Say (April 2022), is out now with Red Adept Publishing. Her debut memoir, Vanishing Shoals (July 2022), is out now with L10 Press Unzipped.

To learn more about Sita, click this link.

This week's interview is with Judy Lannon (Nine Days, Atmosphere Press, March 2022).A novice at writing, Judy was inspired to write her novel after advising a young woman about not only the emotions involved but the practical steps needed to deal with the passing of an aging parent. She describes herself as an undisciplined writer, not keeping to a regular schedule or setting word count goals but instead writing when the mood strikes her. Even though she didn't start marketing her book until after it was published, she's nevertheless found success with one-on-one selling in her New England community.

Judy was born and raised on the south shore of MA and considers herself fortunate to have spent all her childhood summers in Harwich Port, a small seaside community situated on Nantucket Sound on Cape Cod. "My mother would pick us up on the last day of school, drive us to the cape house for the summer, returning home sometimes as late as the morning of the first day of school."

Today Judy and her husband live in Orleans, still on Cape Cod, with their two perfectly imperfect standard poodles. She still spends as much time as possible on the beach, Nauset or bayside, running the dogs on the flats, looking for sea glass and always appreciating the beauty of where she lives.

Note: Nine Days reads like a memoir, but it is literary contemporary family fiction. Judy Lannon writes with wit, humor, and compassion, about family, living, and dying and describes her dramatic characters as complex and complicated with a sense of familiarity.

To learn more about Judy, click here.

This week's interview is with Lisa Roe (Welcome to the Neighborhood, Sourcebooks, April 2022). Describing herself as too anxious to be a pantser, Lisa describes how, for her, embracing a story structure frees her creativity, her rule of thumb for when to put a novel in the drawer and start over, and how her publisher used focus groups to not only choose her book's title but also its final cover design. A sucker for stickers to reward herself, Lisa shares exactly how much time each phase of her publishing journey took and how she enhanced her publisher's efforts to court influential bookstagrammers in the months leading up to her book's release.

Lisa Roe graduated from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and spent many years as an advertising creative director and copywriter in New York City until she accepted the tougher job of stay-at-home mom and turned to writing fiction — mostly to entertain her kids, but then to tell her own stories. A classic first born, reluctant empty nester, Dr. Doolittle wannabe, and the author of WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, Lisa lives in New Jersey with her husband and three incorrigible dogs.

To learn more about Lisa, click here.