Hear us Roar

Ever wonder whether your novel would make a good audible book? Kelly's the one to listen to since her book is ONLY available in that format, through Audible Originals. Hear how this came about (she got the offer, THEN found an agent), why Audible thought it was a perfect fit for them (5 POV characters), and how marketing an audiobook both differs and resembles publicizing print and e-book formats.

Kelly lives in Vancouver, BC and when not writing or reading, can be found spending time with her husband and two daughters with—depending on the time of day—either a cup of coffee or a glass of wine in her hand. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @bykellyduran.

To learn more about Kelly, click here.

Jae's historical fiction, set in 1663 describes a barely-known woman Lidia Wardell, a Quaker, who defied her community in demanding religious freedom and was publicly whipped for her ideas. Jae spent years both researching and writing this debut, delving into historical documents, researching her own family history (she's a distant, distant relative) and found her publishing house at the very first pitch session she attended.

Everyone has a history and a story. Jae uses the most alluring stories from the chronicles of her own ancestry to create timeless tales of everyday people making history. On her quest to capture the essence of walking in their footsteps, she travels and uses her pencil and camera lens to imagine them in their own surroundings. Jae lives on the Tennessee River in Alabama with her husband and companion pooch.

To learn more about Jae, click here.

Jamie Beck, an author with 15 romance books under her belt, has made the switch to women's fiction with her latest release. Find out why she made the switch, how she's changing her branding, and her advice to writers about how to find and embrace your unique voice.

Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Jamie's Beck's realistic and heartwarming stories have sold more than three million copies. She is a two-time Booksellers' Best Award finalist, a National Readers' Choice Award winner, and critics at Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist have respectively called her work "smart," "uplifting," and "entertaining." In addition to writing novels, she enjoys dancing around the kitchen while cooking and hitting the slopes in Vermont and Utah. Above all, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family.

To learn more about Jamie, click here.

Sharina's book follows four long-time friends as they reach their thirties and reevaluate the directions their lives have taken. She describes one of the inspirations for the story was an Oprah interview with Viola Davis, Alfre Woodard, and Gabrielle Union, where they were lamenting the lack of parts available to Black women. Sharina decided then and there to write a book that would offer four woman of color a challenging role and the result is her debut novel. Let's hope Netflix is paying attention!

Sharina earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgia State University. After college, she pursued a career in digital marketing and public relations. Although her profession required writing, she decided to pursue a career in writing in 2012. Sharina's contemporary romance series under the pen name, Rina Gray, was named Book Riot's 100 Must-Read Romantic Comedies. When she's not writing, she can be found with her head stuck in a book, yelling for her favorite NBA teams, and spending time with friends and family. She resides in Atlanta with her husband and son.

To learn more about Sharina, click here.

Kathleen debut earned a starred Kirkus review and a comparison to Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies. Listen as Kathleen describes how she used her experiences as a high-school English teacher to explore the world of helicoptering parenting and viral rumors, and how she worked together with her agent for a solid four months to revise her book for submission (which paid off when it sold after a mere three weeks). it was was a best books pick by Real Simple, Newsweek, People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and the New York Post.

A teacher for 20 years before she published her first novel, Kathleen is particularly interested in the topics of motherhood, ambition, competitive parenting, and the elusiveness of work-life balance. Her sophomore effort, Are We There Yet?, publishes in March 2021. She is a life-long Minnesotan and lives in Minneapolis with her family.

To learn more about Kathleen, click here.

Our 50th Podcast. Hard to believe but yes, we've reached a milestone. And who better to celebrate it with than Alison Hammer, an argent supporter of her fellow scribes through her Facebook group, Every Damn Day Writers, where she shares her love of all things NaNoWriMo, how she couldn't survive without her writing buddy, and how she launched her book smack dab in the middle of the pandemic.

Alison has been spinning words to tell stories since she learned how to talk. A graduate of the University of Florida and the Creative Circus in Atlanta, she lived in nine cities before settling down in Chicago. During the day, Alison is a VP Creative Director at an advertising agency, but on nights and weekends you can find her writing upmarket women's fiction. Alison is represented by Joanna MacKenzie of Nelson Literary Agency. Her debut novel, "You and Me and Us" is out now from William Morrow (HarperCollins), and her second novel, "Little Pieces of Me" will be released in Spring 2021.

To learn more about Alison, click here.

Sally was born in rural China, soon moved to Hong Kong when it was still a British Colony, then to Canada and eventually to California and Lili, her heroine in her debut novel, follows that same path. You'll be moved by Sally's thoughts of how right now we're all in a state of feeling lost and how she hopes her book can offer readers hope for a brighter future.

She graduated college from McMaster University in Ontario of Canada. Besides writing, she also enjoys using her professional license to counsel clients on ow to achieve optimal health and wellness. She currently lives on the East Coast with her husband and two children.

To learn more about Sally, click here.

After writing a well-received YA book, Diane decided to make a switch to women's fiction and wrote her novel primarily during NaNoWriMo for the sheer joy of exploring time travel and second chances. We discuss how important a close writing partner has been for her, not so much for trading pages, but to share the ups and downs of being an author.

Diane has been a tenured college professor, yoga teacher, psychotherapist, and executive coach. Also, she raised goats for fiber and once took a job cooking hot dogs for a NASCAR event. She still enjoys spinning and weaving, but she hasn't eaten a hot dog or watched a car race since. Besides reading and writing, Diane loves to hike, kayak, and photograph sunsets. She and her husband divide their time between Boulder, Colorado, and Dunedin, Florida.

To learn more about Diane, click here.

Donna and Maggie talk about the value of an MFA, how she's found success with Facebook Ads, the role libraries have played in her life, and how she once spotted her fictional character at a coffee shop while traveling in Michigan.

A writer from Maryland whose fiction and nonfiction pieces have been published in Adelaide Literary Magazine, Scarlet Leaf Review, Columbia Magazine, and the Baltimore Sun, Donna is a previous award-winning journalist and video writer-producer. A graduate of the University of Tampa MFA in Creative Writing, she authored Coffee Killed My Mother and is currently working on a second novel. When not writing, she enjoys hiking and listing to live music--especially one of her husband's bands. She credits her grade school teacher, Sister Madeline Cecilia with discovering (and inspiring) her writing abilities.

To learn more about Donna, click here.

Hear how being a finalist in the WFWA Rising Star Award provided the stepping stone to finding her agent, the experience of doing an extensive R & R for a publisher only to have them quit the business a week later, and how she doesn't focus on word counts or page goals so much as concentrating on a time commitment in her writing practice.

Rebecca is an author of fiction, a veterinarian, and a clinical research scientist who lives and writes in North Carolina. Fiction writing is the space where her creative side comes out to play, and her writing centers on characters who discover that life is not a spectator sport. She has three grown sons, two crazy dogs, and one patient husband. When not busy writing, she loves hiking, travel, and (of course) curling up with a good book.

To learn more about Rebecca, click here.