Hear us Roar

Listen to my interview with Densie Webb where we discuss the pluses and minuses of working with a small press, the value of writer networks, how readers often prefer true-to-life endings over happily-ever-afters, and how not every writer works best with an outline.

Densie Webb (not Denise) has spent a long career as a freelance nonfiction writer and editor, specializing in health and nutrition, and has published several books on the topic. She grew up in Louisiana, spent 13 years in New York City, and settled in Austin, TX, where it's summer nine months out of the year. She is an avid walker (not of the dead variety, though she adores zombies, vampires and apocalyptic stories), drinks too much coffee, and has a small "devil dog" that keeps her on her toes.

The fiction bug bit her several years ago and she now has two novels, her debut women's fiction novel, When Robins Appear, published by Red Adept Publishing and a paranormal romance, Le Reméde, published by Wild Rose Press. She also had her essay: Boob Job Regrets: In Appreciation of Your Previously Small Chest, included in an anthology compiled by Randy Susan Meyers, titled Women Under Scrutiny: An Anthology of Truths, Essays, Poems, Stories & Art. All proceeds from the anthology go to Rosie's Place in Boston, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women. And her flash fiction piece, The Prank, was in the top ten finalists for Women on Writing's Summer 2019 Flash Fiction contest.

To learn more about Densie, click here.

In my interview with Bhaswati, we discuss how her grandmother's short stories about life as a Pakistani during the partition of India in 1947 provided the seed for her story, how she had to drop a fascinating plot line because she could not locate the necessary historical research, and the difference between the non-fiction writing she's done throughout her career and the tools she needed to learn to flesh out her debut novel.

Bhaswati Ghosh writes and translates fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her first book of fiction is 'Victory Colony, 1950'. Her first work of translation from Bengali into English, 'My Days with Ramkinkar Baij' won her the Charles Wallace (India) Trust Fellowship for translation. Bhaswati's writing has appeared in several literary journals. She lives in Ontario, Canada, and is currently working on a nonfiction book on New Delhi, India.

To learn more about Bhaswati, click here.

Hear how KJ worked with Author Accelerator's founder, Jennie Nash, for a year before querying, how her previous platform as a well-known non-fiction writer paved the way to quickly finding an agent and a publisher, and how she researched independent bookstores to identify the best candidates to receive a sample copy. And what it's like when your editor calls you on a random Thursday evening during the pandemic to tell you Reese Witherspoon has picked your debut novel as her December 2020 book club selection.

KJ Dell'Antonia is the author of the The Chicken Sisters, a New York Times bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon book club pick and a timely, humorous exploration of the same themes she has long focused on in her journalism: the importance of finding joy in our families, the challenge of figuring out what makes us happy and the need to value the people in front of us more than the ones in our phones and laptops, every single time. She wrote and edited the Motherlode blog at the New York Times and is also the author of the viral essay Why I Didn't Answer Your Email and the book How to Be a Happier Parent.

To learn more about KJ, click here.

In this interview, you'll hear how an early family tragedy provided the inspiration for her story, how her research took her down rabbit holes filled with bugs, how she made a grumpy main character someone readers still want to spend time with, and how parting ways with her first agent led to a perfect fit with not only another agent but a brand-new imprint for women's fiction as well.

Rachel Mans McKenny's essays and humor have appeared recently in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Elle, InStyle, Catapult, McSweeney's, and other outlets. She teaches at Iowa State University, and can be found @rmmckenny on Twitter, and as @rachelmansmckenny on Instagram.

To learn more about Rachel, click here.

In this episode, Jaye and I discuss how finding her grandfather's WWI draft card paired with the time she spent living in New Orleans provided the seeds for this historical women's fiction, how the protagonist's name was taken from an old Constance Bennett film, and what it requires in terms of time and energy to publish your own work.

JAYE BURKE is a southern historian, genealogist, and bestselling author whose focus is primarily set in the 19th and early to mid-20th centuries. She is a member of Women's Fiction Writers Assn., Romance Writers of America, Georgia Writers Assn., and Independent Book Publishers of America. A former advertising artist and copywriter, Jaye is originally from Birmingham, Alabama, a former resident of New Orleans and Mandeville, LA, and now lives with her husband in Atlanta, Georgia.

To learn more about Jaye, click here.

In this interview, Grace and I discuss the 25 "life lessons" her older characters imparted to her heroine, how Grace used her beta readers as developmental editors for her manuscript, her decision to use two publicists for different aspects of marketing, and how her absolute best decision was making a book trailer that conveyed not only the story line of her novel in less than two minutes but lent her legitimacy when she approached media contacts and book clubs.

Grace Sammon is an entrepreneur, educator, speaker, and storyteller. She has started and managed two for-profits and two not-for-profit companies. For nearly 30 years, Grace and her team worked in the United States toughest institutions, the American High School. She has worked in 32 states and with Tribal Nations, with small businesses and with large Federal Agencies. Having written three books and numerous articles in the area of education, she is utilizing skills built up over decades as she re-invents herself with her debut novel, The Eves, which is an intergenerational story about lives lived well and lives in transition. It is a novel that challenges each of us to ask who we want to be in the world, regardless of our age. Grace grew up on Long Island, NY and spent most of her life in the Washington, DC area. She currently lives on Florida's west coast with her husband and a small herd of imaginary llamas. You can follow her on Facebook and Instagram at @GraceSammonWrites.

To learn more about Grace, click here.

In this podcast Madeleine and I discuss how working how working with a developmental editor for three years was instrumental in teaching her what she didn't know about writing, how she researched the difficult subject matter including sexual abuse which occurs in her book, and how an early childhood experience resulted in her life-long interest in true crime.

Madeleine Van Hecke writes dark stories to help women navigate the shadow side of life. A psychologist, former college professor, and author of two nonfiction books, Van Hecke returned to writing fiction during her retirement years. Her debut novel, Once You Know, is a story of one flawed women's struggle to survive betrayal and move herself and her family toward healing. Once You Know won the 2020 First Place in Women's Fiction Incipere Award given by Entrada Publishing.

To learn more about Madeleine, click here.

In this interview we discuss how Paula returned to writing after a 20-year hiatus and switched from romance to women's fiction and why she signed up to go exclusive with Amazon's KDP program. If you've ever wondered about what it would be like to publish your own books, don't miss Paula's advice on finding fans through newsletter subscription programs, how you need to write and edit quickly to satisfy your readers, and the joy that comes with controlling your own destiny as a full-time writer.

Paula Adler is a born and raised Texan who doesn't care what the DNA results say… she's way more than 12.6% Scottish. If she's not writing, she's probably off SCUBA diving or dancing.

To learn more about Paula, click here.

Angela Terry (Charming Falls Apart, Spark Press, August 2020) talks about how her novel's protagonist was inspired by a woman Angela met casually at a bachelorette party, her decision to publish with a hybrid press rather than self-publish, and how she finds the late-night hours her best time to shut off the rest of the world and concentrate on her writing.

Angela is an attorney who formerly practiced intellectual property law at large firms in Chicago and San Francisco. She resides in San Francisco with her husband and two cats. She is also a Chicago Marathon legacy runner and races to raise money for PAWS Chicago—the Midwest's largest no-kill shelter. Her debut novel, Charming Falls Apart, is a 2020 Best Book Awards Finalist. Her second novel, The Trials of Adeline Turner, will be published in September 2021.

To learn more about Angela, click here.

During a wide-ranging talk about such diverse topics as the effect of language on how we view war to a discussion on finding mentors within books themselves to what it means to nurture your creative spirit and grow your talent, Katey reveals herself to be a disciplined, intelligent writer and teacher who thinks deeply about how language and the written word can shape our lives.

Katey is the award-winning author of Flashes of War (stories) and Still Come Home (novel), both published by Loyola University Maryland's Apprentice House Press. Honors for her work include the Linda Flowers Literary Award, Indie Fab Book of the Year from Foreword Reviews, a Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of America, four Pushcart nominations, and writing fellowships in eight states. Still Come Home was named 2020 Indie Fiction Book of the Year by the Chicago Writers Association. .She lives in Celo, North Carolina, and is the founder of Maximum Impact, a transformative mentoring service for creative writers that has been recognized by both CNBC and the What Works Network.

To learn more about Katey and her mentoring program, click here.