Hear us Roar

Our latest podcast is with Lyn Liao Butler (The Tiger Mom's Tale, Berkeley, July 2021). Hear how Lyn taught herself to write by tearing apart (literally and figuratively) novels she enjoyed, analyzing their story structure, their characterizations, and their narrative arcs and how she is a stalwart plotter, often going months without writing a word while she's planning her next book in her head. We discuss what it's like to have your pub date pushed off not once but four times, what she's learned by writing in two different genres (women's fiction and suspense) and how she turned her blooper reels into a social media hit on Instagram as @lynliaobutler.

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Lyn Liao Butler was born in Taiwan and moved to the States when she was seven. Before becoming an author, she was a professional ballet and modern dancer, and is still a personal trainer, fitness instructor, and yoga instructor. She is an avid animal lover and fosters dogs as well as volunteers with rescues.

When she is not torturing clients or talking to imaginary characters, Lyn enjoys spending time with her FDNY husband, their son (the happiest little boy in the world), their three stubborn dachshunds (Lokie, Mochi, Cash, and Pinot in heaven), sewing for her Etsy shop, and trying crazy yoga poses on a stand-up paddleboard. So far, she has not fallen into the water yet.

To learn more about Lyn, click here.

Amanda came to novel writing from a background as an actress where she had previously penned scripts for herself and others both for films and on the stage, but found she had to use very different muscles when it came to crafting a novel-length story loosely based on a real-life situation she and her husband experienced in New York. But during the querying process, her years of going on auditions and her experiences with the subjective nature of casting helped her keep an even keel as she researched to find a home for her contemporary women's fiction, first with agents and eventually through a small press/digital first approach.

Amanda Johnson is an award-winning actor and the author of the women's fiction novel East of Manhattan (June 2021). She is also a voiceover artist, host, and producer. She has written articles for Medium and About Amazon. As a screenwriter, her works include "Alice in Astoria" and "Babymoon" as well as the stage play "Jennie." She is currently developing the television series "Tapestry Brewing" and is in pre-production for the proof-of-concept short film based on the series. After fifteen years on the east coast, Amanda now lives in her native Seattle with her family. Her favorite things are dark chocolate, the color lime green, playing on the beach with her son, Alice in Wonderland, and craft beer.

To learn more about Amanda, click here.

As an essential worker during the pandemic, Kristina learned first hand what it was like to have little control over either the risks or rewards of her job so after she finished her novel (loosely based on the story of a Standard Oil heiress paired with themes and imagery from Taylor Swift's album Folklore), she went a different route. Taking control of the process, she became art director and model for her cover, learned formatting and book production, and got busy building her author platform including an IGTV interview show. Now a full-time writer, Kristina is once again taking risks and financing her new career through her knowledge of and success in the stock market.

Kristina Parro is a speech-language pathologist turned author, investor, entrepreneur, and lover of wisdom. Her debut, Lucky: A Novel, was published in June 2021 and is inspired by Taylor Swift's folklore and the incredible true story of Standard Oil heiress Rebekah Harkness. You may have seen Kristina on Instagram, where she hosts live conversations with other writers and creatives.

To learn more about Kristina, click here

Amanda talks about the book that gave her permission to write "outside the lines", what she learned about her own life through exploring the narcissistic antagonist in her novel, and the process of identifying where her book fit on the genre shelf. She also takes us step by step through her process of learning, through podcasts and YouTube videos, how to create her own book on Vellum and launch it into the world, and her eventual decision to pull it back and do a total rebranding with a new cover and the addition of a Part 2.

Amanda Jane Schiller is an up and coming indie author of women's fiction. Her stories follow women who are anything but the typical housewife, making imperfect and almost impossible decisions. She began writing the same month her son was born and started pursuing a Bachelors of Science in biology which she has since completed. Amanda lives in the Midwest with her son and two kitties and greatly enjoys spending her free time hiking, attending heavy metal concerts, and playing video games.

To learn more about Amanda, click here.

Our guest this week is the person that generally hosts this podcast Maggie Smith (Truth and Other Lies, Ten16 Press, March 2022) and she's interviewed by book editor and women's fiction author Tiffany Yates Martin, WFWA 2021 Scribe. Hear Maggie's story of how her book went through various iterations before she found a plot which could highlight the relationship between a daughter, her mother, and her mentor; how she had to pivot when her first publisher went bankrupt; and what an author needs to be prepared to do if they want to make a smash with their debut's launch.

In a career that's included work as a journalist, a psychologist, and the founder of a national art consulting company, Maggie Smith now adds novelist to her resume with the publication of her debut, Truth and Other Lies. In addition to her writing, Maggie hosts the weekly podcast Hear Us Roar, where she interviews debut authors about their novel and their path to publication and blogs monthly for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. A board member of the Chicago Writer's Association, she's Managing Editor of their Write City Magazine, and coordinator of Book Nook, which highlights Chicago-area independent bookstores. She resides in Milwaukee WI with her husband and her aging but still adorable sheltie.

To learn more about Maggie, click here.

Mary Camarillo grew up in North Carolina. Her father worked in aerospace and was transferred to Southern California when she was fourteen. After high school, she went to work for the post office. It might be genetic--both her grandfathers were railway mail clerks. She sorted mail, sold stamps, worked in the accounting office, went to night school, and earned a degree in business administration and eventually, a CPA license.

To learn more about Mary, click here.

When Tavi wrote this debut about four female roadies who take a break to spend time at a Tuscan villa where each examines her life, she based them on women she knew from her time as a lighting specialist touring around the country with rock stars like Norah Jones. It was only after the book was complete that she realized she should run the characters by their real-life counterparts (luckily they were both flattered and helpful). We also discuss how the last year felt like a crash course in marketing and how hiring outside paid help, from editors to publicists, can be tricky.

Tavi Taylor Black settled in the Northwest after circumnavigating the United States, from Maine to New York, Florida to Texas. For over fourteen years she worked as a lighting technician, production assistant and tour manager. In 2008 Tavi earned an MFA in creative writing from Lesley University in Boston. Tavi's debut novel Where Are We Tomorrow? was a finalist in several contests, including the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the 2021 NYC Big Book Award. Her next novel, a historical fiction set in coastal Maine, is set to be published in January 2023. Tavi hosts a writing podcast, The Personal Element, where she and co-host Christine Junge read personal essays and talk about what makes them so good.

To learn more about Tavi, click here.

Jenn Bouchard (First Course, Touchpoint Press, June 2021) combined her interest in food, her love of New England's coastal towns, and her belief in the power of reinvention to write a debut with both romantic themes, a strong sisterhood component, and a seaside setting. Early in her writing journey, Jenn made a point of going to author talks for inspiration, even driving hours in the rain to meet her idol, Jennifer Weiner. And you'll love the creative ideas she came up with to market her book, including various atypical venues.

Jenn Bouchard's debut, FIRST COURSE, was a finalist in the American Fiction Awards and the Independent Author Network Awards in the Women's Fiction category, among other distinctions. Her short stories have appeared in the Bookends Review, Litbreak Magazine, the Penmen Review, and the Little Patuxent Review. She is currently editing her second novel, PALMS ON THE CAPE. She is an avid cook, volunteer for good causes, and devoted Red Sox fan. A high school social studies teacher of twenty-two years, she lives with her husband and two children in the Boston suburbs.

To learn more about Jenn, click here.

Our guest on the podcast this week is Kathleen Basi (A Song for The Road, Alcove Press, May 2021). We discuss the importance of how you pitch your book in your query letter (by changing her focus and repositioning her novel, Kathleen raised her request rate from zero to 25%), how she had to learn to simplify her plot points rather than pile more on, and what it felt like to have two great agent offers on the table at the same time and how she made her decision.

Kathleen M. Basi is the quintessential jack-of-all trades writer: musical composer and songwriter, feature writer, essayist, nonfiction author, and of course--storyteller. Basi spent her childhood drawing inspiration for stories from the fields and trees on her family's farm...when she wasn't climbing on tractors and jumping off hay bales. Now, as mother to three rambunctious boys (read that: always breaking something!) and one chromosomally-gifted daughter (Down syndrome: more alike than different!), she doesn't have to look any farther than her kitchen table.

To learn more about Kathleen, click here.

This week's interview is with Kris Clink (Goodbye, Lark Lovejoy, Spark Press, April 2021). You can tell by listening that this is an author who can't help adding a bit of humor to her narratives despite dealing with serious subjects like the death of a spouse and PTSD. We discuss how she finished her debut and immediately started querying, only to find it needed serious developmental work. After working with an editor for over a year, she eventually decided to go with a hybrid publisher when agents wanted to change her story from women's fiction to straight-up romance and advised her to jettison a sub-plot she considered the backbone to her story.

Kris Clink is the author of Goodbye, Lark Lovejoy and Sissie Klein is Completely Normal, which have received praise from Bustle, Midwest Book Review, Kirkus, Women.com, Lone Star Literary, Brit + Co., Travel and Leisure Magazine, and Entertainment Weekly, among others. Set in middle America, her novels are laced with love, heartbreak, and just enough snark to rock the boat for the relatable characters as they confront transformative challenges. She's a member of the Women's Fiction Writers Association and The Author's Guild. Her work has been published in Moms Don't Have Time to Write on Medium, diyMFA, Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, Women Writers Women's Books. She is the host of Kris Clink's Writing Table, a podcast about books and writing. Calling Texas home for most of her life, Kris now lives in Kansas where she and her husband have filled their empty nest with two spoiled rotten pups.

To learn more about Kris, click here.