Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Paul Austin Ardoin about his new book From Zero to Four Figures: Making $1,000 a Month Self-Publishing Fiction.

Prior to the interview, Mark welcomes new patrons, shares comments from recent episodes and a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation Mark and Paul talk about:

• How Paul has wanted to be a novelist since he was six years old
• University being all about literary fiction, and never finishing that "great American novel" he kept trying to write
• The way that writing a genre he was passionate about (mystery) was what made the major difference for Paul
• Paul's wife giving him a great idea for a main character, a former nurse who becomes a county coroner
• The fact that there are distinct seasons in Milwaukee
• Paul being a pantser, or discovery writer
• How literary fiction didn't gell with Paul's writing style
• What is really meant by the "write what you know" advice from writing
• Some mistakes that can be made related to missing some of the important tropes in one's writing
• How Paul always approaches writing mysteries as a "pantser" or "discovery writer"
• One of the pitfalls of "pantsing" a mystery novel
• Making a lot of mistakes in the past five years, and being sure to include that in his new book for writers
• The definite plan that Paul believes that many authors can put into place to get to $1000 a month
• How Paul approached writing this book as something that just didn't seem to exist for writers, offering them a way they could approach it, including an important mindset shift
• The value of series to a reader not having to go through the process of "finding something to read next"
• The importance of setting a more reachable goal such as $1000 a month rather than the commonly shared much higher revenue goals often pushed on writers
• Reader expectations and why it's such an important element for writers to pay attention to
• The marketing pitfall authors can fall into when they believe their book is unique and "defies" genre
• Sharing the many mistakes Paul has made as an author in this book
• The important question about how readers are going to find your books
• Paul's "Costco" analogy of book marketing
• Focusing on the entry point novel
• How the "freebee seekers" are a part of the business
• The timeline that Paul lays out for this author journey
• Thinking about your first book as an advertisement rather than as your baby
• A few of the elements that are a part of this book that are mostly lacking in many of the books out there for writers
• The power of being able to make changes
• Advice Paul wish he'd had when he was first starting out
• And more . . .

After the interview Mark shares a few reflections about things that came up in the conversation.

Links of Interest:

• Paul Austin Ardoin's Website
  • From Zero to Four Figures
• Episode 300 - Celebrating 300 Episodes with Guest Reflections
• Episode 301 - Procrastinating Partners Collaborating with Liz Anderson
• Episode 166 - Wording Around with Kathy Mac
  • Other episodes with Kathy Mac
• Episode 280 - The Jozie Planner
• The 12 Hour Walk (Audio for Patrons) and Blog Post
• Findaway Voices
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Paul Austin Ardoin is the USA TODAY bestselling indie author of The Fenway Stevenson Mysteries and The Woodhead & Becker Mysteries. He holds a B.A. in creative writing from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an M.B.A. in marketing from the University of Phoenix. His book Zero to Four Figures: Making $1,000 a Month Self-Publishing Fiction was published in June 2023.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews, actor and writer C. C. Humphreys about his new novel Some Day I'll Find You.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During the interview Mark and Chris talk about:

• Chris's new epic romance saga novel Some Day I'll Find You and how it's partly based on his own parents
• Having to imagine his parents in their early 20s in the precarious situations they found themselves in
• How this novel related to Chris's previous historical novel from the same era, Chasing the Wind
• The common theme of "characters in peril" in Chris's novels
• The consistent question of "what would I have done" during this significant era of history as well as in situations taking place around the world even today
• How the spark for a novel always begins with story and characters
• The various ways that Chris conducts research for different historical periods that he writes about
• The book All the Fine Young Eagles: In the Cockpit with Canada's Second World War Fighter Pilots by David L Bashow which contained beautiful details about Canadian fighter pilots
• The playlist Chris compiled related to songs that were a part of the research he did into that era
• The book launches Chris will be doing when in Toronto (June 7th at Noonan's Pub) and Perth (June 9th at 7 PM at The Book Nook), then at Book Warehouse (Vancouver) on the 14th, as well as the free stage show in Toronto
• Tips Chris would provide for authors who are preparing to do a reading of their work
• How Chris enjoys doing launches at pubs and the live reading Chris did from the 5th oldest pub in England in the summer of 2022
• A potential additional novel idea set in this same universe that Chris has been noodling over
• Chris's fascination with the ambiguity of war
• Advice that Chris would offer to beginning writers
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on those historic moments when people had to take a stand, as well as the idea of hosting a book-related event at a pub or other typically non-bookish locale.

Links of Interest:

• C.C. Humphrey's Website
• Some Day I'll Find You (Penguin Random House)
• Noonan's Pub
• The Book Nook Perth
• Episode 32 - Hubrid Publishing with C.C. Humphreys
• Findaway Voices
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Chris (C.C.) Humphreys - born in Toronto, raised in London - has played Hamlet in Calgary, a gladiator in Tunisia, waltzed in London's West End, conned the landlord of the Rovers Return in Coronation Street, patrolled the Sun Hill beat in The Bill, commanded a starfleet in Andromeda, voiced Salem the cat in the original Sabrina, and is a dead immortal in Highlander. He is also a playwright, audiobook narrator, creative writing teacher and award-winning author of historical fiction and fantasy. He has written twenty two novels including The French Executioner, The Jack Absolute Trilogy, Vlad-The Last Confession, A Place Called Armageddon, Shakespeare's Rebel, Chasing the Wind and his recent modern thriller, One London Day. Plague won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel. He has been translated into thirteen languages. His fantasy work includes The Runestone Saga and the recently published high epic series Immortals' Blood beginning with Smoke in the Glass. His other fantasy series, The Tapestry Trilogy, has just been re-launched beginning with The Hunt of the Unicorn. This Summer sees the publication of his WW2 thriller, Someday I'll Find You. He lives on Salt Spring Island, BC. Visit him at: https://www.authorchrishumphreys.com/

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Riley Odell, an autistic writer of horror, humor, and bizarro stories. As an autism/neurodiversity advocate, Riley is working on a speculative fiction anthology about neurodiverse characters written by neurodiverse writers called Divergent Realms: Speculative Stories About Neurodiversity.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Riley talk about:

• How Riley first started off writing by creating silly comic strips back in the third grade, moving to prose fiction by the time he was about twelve years old, and has pretty much been writing ever since
• Years of working on various unfinished projects, but having found a groove just a few years ago
• The ways in which his wife has helped Riley with his writing
• Riley's two short story collections (Vile Visions and Odd Ordeals) and his novella entitled My Weird Nightmare Baby
• How landing on the title Vile Visions felt perfect
• Being drawing to writing speculative fiction because Riley has long been a reader of those genres
• Inspiration from the world for writing horror and the types of horror that appear in Vile Visions
• How comedy and horror work on two different sides of the same coin
• The anthology Riley is reading for and publishing, Divergent Realms, and how it was inspired
• Why a call for neuro-divergent writers only is important
• The honor system for submissions that include a cover letter explaining how neurodiversion applies to them
• The types of stories Riley is hoping to receive for the anthology
• The submission window (June 1, 2023 until the last day of August 2023), the story length requested (2000 to 5000 words)
• Where, online more can be found out about this anthology (horrortree.com) and the email to send submissions to ([email protected]) and what payment will be offered for submissions
• Riley's connection to the Odell Brewery in Fort Collins, CO (which Mark nerds out on)
• How Riley will be doing a bit of work with Melissa Dalton-Martinez of The Book Break
• The expected timeline for the release of the anthology, which is spring 2024
• How writing with Autism and ADHD is never made easier, but can sometimes be made easier, including strategies like taking a lot of basic writing advice with a grain of salt
• How forcing yourself to write when you're not ready to write can create a negative association with writing which makes things worse
• Advice Riley would offer to other writers
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on Riley taking a solid DIY ethic to fix a hole in the publishing world, as well as the importance of adapting advice into something that works best for YOU in your particular situation.

Links of Interest:

• Riley Odell's Website
  • Riley Odell's Facebook Page
• Findaway Voices
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

RIley Odell is an autistic writer of horror, humor, bizarro and stories about autism. He is the author of the books Vile Visions, Odd Ordeals and My Weird Nightmare Baby. As an autism/neurodiversity advocate, Riley is working on a speculative fiction anthology about neurodiverse characters written by neurodiverse writers called Divergent Realms: Speculative Stories About Neurodiversity.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Angelique Fawns about her writing as well as the intel she provides on short fiction markets for other writers.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their discussion, Mark and Angelique talk about:

• Angelique's background in freelance writing, journalism and her 25 years working in corporate television
• What Global TV is, for the benefit of non-Canadians
• Her preference for not having to be constrained by the truth, which led to her passion for fiction over non-fiction/journalism
• Some of the logistics of doing promotional short videos for Global TV
• The silver lining of shattering her ankle and how it led to finally sitting down and writing fiction
• Entering the fiction world in 2018 and not being able to find markets for selling short fiction
• Writing in active present tense because of her background in broadcast
• The work Angelique does finding and sharing information about markets for short fiction for other writers
• The Guide of All Guides market listing that Angelique has published based on the research she has done
• "Re-printing" her short fiction via her "Read me a Nightmare" podcast
• How working with an editor (Scott from DreamForge) helped Angelique revise a good story into a great story
• Balancing working a full time job, managing a farm, and having an active family life along with writing
• Not buying the idea that there's no money in short fiction
• The fickleness of luck in a writer's life and how the harder you work and the more lightning rods you plant, the more likely the right luck will happen
• The consistent message of "I think I'm successful because I didn't give up" from many of the world's most known and successful writers
• How what looks like success often doesn't show the numerous rejections and failures behind the scenes
• What Angelqique would advise to writers who are frightened of rejection
• A true and very cautionary tale about a writer who had impressed a series of editors and quit just when he was at the verge of that "breakthrough" submission
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few of the things Angelique spoke about, as well as the way she has adapted her "day job" skills into her writing.

Links of Interest:

• Angelique Fawns Website
  • Read Me a Nightmare Podcast
  • EP 33 - Browsers & Interview with Mark Leslie
• Findaway Voices
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Angelique Fawns is a journalist and speculative fiction writer. She began her career writing articles about naked cave dwellers in Tenerife, Canary Islands, and hosting a radio show in Mooloolaba, Australia. Now she works full-time making television commercials for Global TV in Toronto. She writes fiction for fun and uses her journalism skills to promote editors, publishers and authors. She has her own podcast, Read Me A NIghtmare where she features short, dark stories and interviews creators in the industry. She lives on a farm north of the city with her husband, daughter, horses, cows, far too many cats, and a Potcake rescue dog. Her very first sale was to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. You can find her work in DreamForge, Allegory, The School Magazine, and two Third Flatiron anthologies. "The Last of the Gen Xers" is a 2022 Tangent Online Recommended Read. Her writing groups include the Wulf Pack and The Dreamcasters.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Alexandria Brown from Rising Action Publishing about her role in acquisitions and works with sub-agents on subsidiary rights.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their discussion, Mark and Alex talk about:

• Alexandria starting off doing lifestyle and other non-fiction publications such as Thought Catalog from New York
• Her first two books that focus on dating and romance, and mental health and traveling the world
• Getting her PhD at the University of Gloucestershire
• The focus on how to write trauma in fiction in Alex's PhD (How cross-cultural characters and trauma can impact fiction and bind people together)
• How Alex got involved in starting up Rising Action Publishing with a co-owner she met in Humber College
• The tremendous value, uniqueness, and diversity that independent publishers can bring to the market that traditional publishes often aren't able to
• Their partnership with Black Bird Books from South Africa
• Why it's really important for independent publishers to be part of a supportive and collaborative community
• How Alex and Tina did a lot of freelance editing in order to generate enough capital to get their publishing business started
• Leveraging subsidiary rights for things like audio rights to help bring in money for publishing expenses
• How the publishing partnership between Alex and Tina is very much like a marriage
• The types of fiction and non-fiction that Rising Action Publishing is looking to acquire
• The difference between domestic suspense and thrillers
• The wonderful challenge and problem of getting so many great submissions as a publisher
• Some of the errors that some writers have made when making submissions
• A few of the books that Rising Action will be releasing
• Advice that Alexandria would offer to writers near the beginning of their journey
• And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few of the things that Alexandria talked about and goes into detail explaining how the big traditional publishers of today have a lot more in common with indie authors than at first meets the eye.

Links of Interest:

• Rising Action Publishing
  • Submissions
• Findaway Voices
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Alex Brown has over ten years of experience in marketing and creative writing. Alex has a Bachelor's in Communications with a major in Public Relations, a Master of Fine Arts - Creative Writing from the University of Gloucestershire, and is a Creative Writing Ph.D. Candidate currently at the University of Gloucestershire. She has two traditionally published nonfiction books. She's a member of the Women's Fiction Writers Association. Alex's primary role is acquisitions and marketing as well as working with sub-agents on subsidiary rights.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Denise Baden, Professor of Sustainable Practice at the University of Southampton, UK, about her eco-themed writing, and the Green Writing Project which she initially set up in 2018.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Denise talk about:

• Denise's varied background in a number of different areas, including being a sales rep for cookbooks
• How a work of fiction (the satirical thriller STARK by Ben Elton) was what inspired Denise to become a "Greeny"
• Teaching in the area of sustainability and how Denise's nature is not necessarily suited to academia
• How "narrative transporation" allows a reader, when immersed in a story to take on the thoughts and feelings of a character
• The way that talking about catasotrophy and spreading fear doesn't necessarily inspire people into positive behaviors
• Studies of how people react to negative/distopian fiction pieces as opposed to ones that focus on positive action or behavior
• Denise's worry about eco-anxiety
• The books that Denise has written that include elements of climate solutions
• How almost 90% of readers adopted at least one of the solutions that were presented through character behavior in the stories
• The Green Stories Project that Denise first set up in 2018 and the various prizes associated with the free contest
• Being approached by Herculean Climate Solutions to produce an anthology collaboratively (No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save the Planet)
• Natural Burial, why it's important and a bit about how it works
• Looking at existing properties, such as comparing James Bond to Jack Reacher, and the way the two characters behave in significantly different ways in relation to sustainability and high or low carbon behavior
• How it's not policy or govertment mandates that will get us out of this ecological mess, but that it's the culture and behavior of the average person that will
• And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the power of fiction to change the world, and shares a personal story of how reading two different novels dramatically changed and impacted his own life.

Links of Interest:

• Denise Baden's Website
• The Green Stories Project
• Herculean Climate Solutions
• Snap! The Power (Original Video)
• Findaway Voices
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Denise Baden is a Professor of Sustainable Practice at the University of Southampton, UK. She has published widely in the academic realm and also in fiction. Her eco-themed rom-com 'Habitat Man' was published in 2021, followed by 'the Assassin' and 'No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save the Planet' in 2022. Her most recent research explores the use of storytelling to promote green behaviours, looking at how readers respond to eco-themed stories. In 2018, Denise set up the Green Stories Writing project that challenges writers to embed green solutions in their stories via a series of free writing competitions. These are open to all, and 17 competitions have been run so far, which have resulted in several publications. Denise is listed on the Forbes list of Climate Leaders Changing the Film and TV industry and speaks regularly on how to write for a cause.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Lisa M. Lilly, writer, attorney, and podcaster about story structure and the idea that writers don't need to make full time writing a priority or goal.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a thank you to those who support this podcast at patreon.com/starkreflections

During their conversation, Mark and Lisa talk about:

• The mysteries and supernatural thrillers that Lisa writes, the non-fiction books for authors, and the podcast that she hosts
• How Lisa continues to practice Law, but is no longer doing it full time
• Writing not having to be a full-time thing, and Lisa's latest book "Fiction Writing as Your Second Career"
• The kind of Law that Lisa practices
• The "floating around" that Lisa did when she had too much free time when completely away from the responsibilities of the "day job"
• Lisa's "Awakening" series which is described as a cross between Rosemary's Baby and The Davinci Code
• How sometimes a small plot or story idea might be inspired by a real-life case Lisa has worked on or heard about
• Lisa's book "Super Simple Story Structure" and how it related to her passion and knowledge of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and that led to the basis for her podcast
• Things Lisa learned about doing the podcast weekly the first year, then every second week during the second year
• The decision of whether to quit doing a thing or to try doing it a different way
• Considering your writing as a 2nd career rather than as a "hobby"
• The powerful impact of allowing yourself to "daydream"
• Advice that Lisa would offer to authors who is balancing their full time work, a busy personal life and their writing
• If you can't set a habit by day or time, then add some other sort of habit to help trigger your brain that it's "time to write"
• What's next for Lisa
• And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the important perspective that not all writers need to aspire to writing full time, as well as the passion behind creative projects (which seems to be a recent common theme in his world).

Links of Interest:

• Lisa M. Lilly's Website
  • Buffy and the Art of Story Podcast
  • Writing as a Second Career (Website)
    • Book: Fiction Writing as a Second Career
    • Book: Super Simple Story Structure
    • Book: Buffy and the Art of Story (Season One)
• Findaway Voices
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

An author, attorney, and podcaster, Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the Q.C. Davis mysteries and the bestselling four-book Awakening supernatural thriller series. Writing as L. M. Lilly, her books on writing include The One-Year Novelist: A Week-By-Week Guide To Writing Your Novel In One Year, Super Simple Story Structure: A Quick Guide To Plotting & Writing Your Novel; and Fiction Writing As Your Second Career. She also hosts the podcast Buffy and the Art of Story.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews Johnny B. Truant, the author of the Fat Vampire novels adapted by SyFy as "Reginald the Vampire" starring Spider-Man's Jacob Batalon.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During the interview Mark and Johnny talk about:

• How Mark and Johnny have known one another for more than 10 years
• Young Johnny who had always wanted to be a writer and convinced his high school newspaper to allow him to write a column for them
• Orbiting the same circles as Sean Platt and how the two met via working via places like Copyblogger and the Blog World Conference
• How The Self Publishing Podcast came from Johnny wanting to interview (and talk and learn from) Sean Platt and David Wright about the co-authoring and self-publishing they were doing
• Where the spark for the idea of "Fat Vampire" came from (the old "after-show" podcast they did called "Better Off Undead" for horror fans
• Johnny wanting to explore the "sameness taken to the extreme" in Reginald, the fat vampire
• How not being exclusive to Amazon actually led to Johnny selling the option and license for FAT VAMPIRE to become the TV show "Reginald the Vampire"
• The expression "enthusiasm is free"
• What it was like watching the TV show "Reginald the Vampire" based on Johnny's novels
• Prepping for releasing a companion podcast to the TV series
• Spending three days on the set of the recording of the television program
• Johnny's views on the power of story and how they can help break through those psychological walls and the blocks that someone might put up to a different perspective by introducing readers to a "maybe they're just like me" train of thought
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of storytelling in creating connections between people and empathy, sharing a few quotes from an articile in Discovery magazine, as well as the reality of when an author's work is adapated for media.

Links of Interest:

• Johnny B. Truant's Website
  • Fat Vampire to Reginald the Vampire: The Journey so Far
• Sterling and Stone Website
• Discover Magazine Article: How Reading Fiction Increases Empathy...
• Findaway Voices
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Johnny B. Truant is the bestselling author of Fat Vampire, adapted by SyFy as "Reginald the Vampire" starring Spider-Man's Jacob Batalon. His other books include Pretty Killer, Pattern Black, Invasion, The Beam, Dead City, and over 100 other titles across many genres.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews his partner Liz Anderson about her work as a Principal within education, as the better half of a writer, and also as a fellow procrastinator and creative collaborator.

This episode is sponsored by the awesome Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast who support this podcast and receive additional audio, video, and text content.

During the interview, Mark and Liz talk about:

• The elements of procrastination that bond the two of them together
• How Liz has learned to embrace procastination as a way to get the creativity flowing
• Liz's long-time practice of producing videos and short movies
• The "Last Minute Productions" Liz makes, leveraging the "L" and "A" of her initials into the branding
• The "show" (Isolation Station) that Liz started for the staff at her school during the pandemic and how that evolved into "Distance Daily"
• How these virtual shows allowed the staff to connect in a way that they never had been able to do before
• Mark's participation in Liz's "Distance Daily" show for a while during the time when she was without a Vice Principal
• The ongoing daily "Flair Fun" video announcements segment that initiated during the pandemic but continue to this day at Liz's school
• The value of the particupation from the entire school community in these daily videos that allows for a deeper sense of connection and being seen and heard and part of something bigger
• The way Liz practices the role of being an elementary school Principal
• The important revelation during a Grade 8 graduation that was an eye-opening moment for Liz
• The difference between being an auditory learner and a visual learner
• What it's like for Liz living with Mark the writer
• The "spies" Liz has watching for Mark to not engage in particular activities on social media
• How while Liz had long been creative and producing vidoes, it was a long time before she felt comfortable getting in front of a camera
• Mark and Liz's first creative collaboration, doing the "Stuck in This House Here with You" parody of the Steelers Wheel song "Stuck in the Middle with You"
• The way that we "paint" and fill spaces with things that tell a story or prompt people to see a space differently
• The decision fatigue that can happen for a reader and how Liz appreciates being able to just keep reading the next book in a series
• Liz's love of Joanna Penn's J.F. Penn thrillers and Kevin J. Anderson's "Dan Shamble" zombie P.I. novels
• Some of the creative endeavors Liz is interested in exploring this coming summer

Then Liz turns the tables on Mark and asks him some reflective questions.

Links of Interest:

• Parody Videos
  • Stuck In This House Here With You (Parody Music Video with Liz)
  • Kay-Tell Presents: Isolation Parody Songs (Parody Music Video with Liz)
  • The 2022 Aurora Awards Opening Sequence (Hosted by Liz and Mark)
    • The Full 2022 Aurora Awards Ceremony
  • Mark's Tavern: Where Everybody Shares Your Name - Pilot (Cheers Parody)
    • Mark's Tavern: Dad Jokes Matter
    • Mark's Tavern: Tension
    • Mark's Tavern: Mister Bright Side
    • Mark's Tavern: Death by Coffee
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark celebrates the 300th episode by sharing reflections from listeners, past guests, and other podcast hosts.

The guest reflections, in order and with links:

• Edwin Downward
  • Edwin's website
• Stanley B. Trice
  • Stanley's website
• Sacha Black
  • The Rebel Author Podcast
  • EP 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel
  • EP 155 - Rebellious Reflections with Guest Host Sacha Black
• Johnny B Truant
• Sean Platt
  • Sterling and Stone
  • Reginald the Vampire (Fat Vampire)
• Honoree Corder
  • Honoree's Website
  • EP 198 - Multiple Prosperous Wins in Marketing and Publishing
• Connor Whitely
  • Connor's Website
• Brian Cohen & H. Claire Taylor
  • Sell More Books Show Podcast
  • EP 240 - Character, Story, and Industry Alignment with Claire Taylor
  • EP 241 - Indie Publishing Has a Creep Problem
  • EP 254 - Best Pages, Ads, and Newsletters with Bryan Cohen
• Kevin J Anderson & Rebecca Moesta
  • WordFire Press
  • Superstars Writing Seminars
  • EP - Writing Through Change, Tragedy, and Trauma with Kevin J. Anderson
• Joanna Penn
  • The Creative Penn
  • EP 2 - Living the Health Writer's Life with Joanna Penn
  • EP 148 - A Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn
  • EP 212 - A Conversation with Joanna Penn on Co-Authoring The Relaxed Author
• J. Thorn
  • J. Thorn's Website
  • EP 21 - Real-World Connections in a Digital World with J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon
• Kaye Booth
  • Writing to be Read
  • EP 277- Live Chat with Ask the Authors 2022
• Kevin Tumlinson
  • Kevin's Website
  • EP 15 - The Process of a Writer's Life
  • EP 82 - D2D Ask Us Anything - Part 1 of 2
  • EP 83 - D2D Ask Us Anything - Part 2 of 2
  • EP 86 - D2D Marketing Questions
  • EP 93 - D2D Ask Us Anything Aug 2019
• Matty Dalrymple
  • The Indy Author
  • EP 116 - Taking the Short Tack
  • EP 216 - Podcasting for Authors
  • EP 226 - Reflective Round Table - Dec 2021
  • EP 231 - Reflective Round Table - Questions that Should be in a Writing Course
  • EP 258 - Reflective Hangout Highlights
• Lindsay Buroker
  • Lindsay's Website
  • 6 Figure Authors Podcast
• Ron Collins
  • Ron Collins
• Julie Strauss
  • Julie's Website
  • Best Book Ever Podcast RSS Feed

Links of Interest:

• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0