Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews writer, director, playwright and actor, Rod Carley and they talk about his new novel Kinmount.

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

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

During their conversation, Mark and Rod talk about:

• How, when he was young, Rod would come home from school every day and work on a picture book
• Joining a musical as part of the chorus in grade 9
• Theater offering a sense of collaboration and inclusion
• Having Canadian poet bpNichol as a creative writing instructor in university, and how this legendary writer was a huge influence
• The work Rod did adapting and editing Shakespearean scripts into modern settings by finding more recent historic parallels to moments, themes, and events from the original plays
• Writing musicals based on the history of Northern Ontario
• An overview of the premise and setup for Rod's first novel, A Matter of Will
• Rod's latest novel, Kinmount, which is about a theater director trying to put on a Shakespeare play (Romeo & Juliet) in a small town
• The common mis-perception of Romeo & Juliet as a romantic story rather than a tragedy
• How Romeo & Juliet is, in many ways, a tragedy of toxic masculinity
• Balancing humanity with hilarity in the writing of this book
• The subtle elements of magic realism in Kinmount and A Matter of Will and how it has to come from an organic place in the story
• One of the things Rod has done when directing MacBeth ("the Scottish play") to break the curse/spell associated with that play
• How the first week of July in North Bay there is a massive shadfly infestation
• Launching a novel during the 2020 Pandemic
• Pivoting to a virtual book launch, and hiring a small local marketing firm to assist with that
• One of the pros of having a virtual book launch, which allowed for attendees from afar
• Getting onto the long-list for the Stephen Leacock Medal and the support Rod received from Terry Fallis
• Some of Rod's influences that include Robertson Davies, Mordecai Richler, David Sedaris, Kurt Vonnegut, and more
• How Rod prepares for doing a live (or virtual) reading of his work
• The way Rod's work in theater has informed his ability to compose dialogue
• Modern adaptation (what Rod calls "responsible adaption") of Shakespeare's society and how, back in Shakespeare's day, people were used to speaking and listening a lot more rapidly, so a typical Shakespeare play wasn't as long in duration as a modern version
• And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the adaptations that can happen with creative work and how authors might consider their own work re-adapted to different formats.

Links of Interest:

• Rod Carley's Website
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
• Kevin Closs Music
• Episode 29 - Terry Fallis on Writing with Authenticity, Humor, & Passion
• Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• 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

Rod's first novel, A Matter of Will, was a finalist for the 2018 Northern Lit Award for Fiction. His non-fiction short story, A Farewell to Steam, was featured in the anthology, 150 Years Up North and More. His literary fiction short story, Botox and the Brontosaurus, is featured in Cloud Lake Literary's inaugural online review. Rod is also an award-winning director, playwright and actor, having directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions to date including fifteen adaptations of Shakespeare. He is the Artistic Director of the Acting for Stage and Screen Program for Canadore College and a part-time English professor with Nipissing University. Rod was the 2009 winner of TVO's Big Ideas/Best Lecturer competition. KINMOUNT is his second novel.

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

In this episode Mark interviews Denise Massar about her memoir "Matched," about adoption, and about the work being done to find the right publisher for the manuscript.

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

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

During their conversation, Mark and Denise talk about:

• Denise's memoir about adoption called "Matched"
• The process of private domestic newborn adoption and how it is different than the systems used to be
• How competitive the process is
• How adoptive parents are tasked 100% with finding their own birth mom
• The diverse range of women in a position of being pregnant and not wanting to keep their baby
• How the search for a birth mother can feel seedy
• Adoption being a hot-button topic, potentially as hot-button as the topic of abortion
• Seeing how an open adoption could be, with Denise's son Henry, and comparing that to her own adoption, which was secret/hidden
• How easy it was for both Denise and Mark to find their birth mothers thanks to the opening up of information, and the internet
• The impact of the "yes, I am your mother" message Denise was sent
• Calling the mother who raised her, her mother, and her birth mom her birth mother
• How Denise has always been a writer, and that she got her MFA in writing, but that this memoir was her first tangle product
• The process of finding a publisher for her memoir which was an unexpected journey after finishing the book
• Hiring Jane Friedman to critique her query letter
• What a book proposal is, what "comp titles" are
• The popular "adoption wheel" of shame/depression/etc
• The agent query process for Denise
• How the book went out on submission the day that most of the United States went into pandemic lock-down in 2020
• The importance of an author being seen as current and relevant by a potential publisher
• The title "Matched" and consideration of creating a more intuitive/SEO based title for the book
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the concept of how an editor goes to bat for a book at the editorial round table and other concepts discussed in the interview.

Links of Interest:

• Denise Massar's Website
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Medium
• Are Editors Responding to Submissions During Coronavirus? (Article)
• 5 Things I Wanted My Son To Have From His Birth Mother (Article)
• Episode 108 - Silver Linings with Talena Winters
• Episode 163 - Getting a Creative Edge with Mickey Mikkelson
• The Creative Penn Episode 546 - Global, Wide Self-Publishing with Mark Leslie Lefebvre
• Top 35 Canadian Book Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021
• Lawrence Hill
• Findaway Voices
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• 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

Denise Massar, an adoptee and adoptive mom, lives in Orange County, California with her husband and three kids. A Washington State native, she earned her MA in English Literature from Central Washington University. Denise enjoys: Thrift store wandering, reading in bed with Aussie licorice (red), sweaty spin classes, salt air, and the belly laughs of her kids.

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

In this episode Mark interviews Diana Wink, fiction author, blogger and film director.

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 work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Diana discuss:

• How Diana wrote poems in Russian and German when she was young and also wrote a novel when she was 11
• Asking about how she could combine music, visual art and storytelling together, which lead to her interest in film
• Loving the writing and the planning behind projects such as films
• How the shooting is the most stressful part of a film, and in editing it's often about regret
• The way that everyone can have ideas that feed off of one another in a collaborative film project - What it's like to see the reaction of a live audience to a film at a film festival - How, in film, if you don't have a budget, you have to first find it - which isn't necessary when writing fiction. And how this led Diana back into writing
• Diana's dystopian sci-fi trilogy under the name DF Wink
• How science fiction and dystopian fiction can be a mirror held up to current events and reality
• The documentary style podcast format that Diana uses
• A slogan Diana uses: "There is a platform for every outstanding story and you have one to tell"
• That similar problem most writers often have with actually writing their first novel
• Diana's book for writers: The Business-Minded Creative and why she put it together
• How Diana built her website (storyartist.me) using the principals of storytelling
• The struggle Diana faces because of all the different passions and areas of creativity that she engages in
• How Diana is fueled by every interview that she does for her podcast
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few things about what Diana said that inspired him, he thanks his patrons and listeners of the podcast.

Links of Interest:

• Diana Wink Website
• DFWink Website
• StoryArtist.me
• Findaway Voices
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• 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

Diana Wink is an author, blogger and film director. With a passion for stories since she can remember, she studied film making and made a career as director of successful short films (awarded in festivals) and advertising.

In 2015, she decided to go back to her roots and finally finish her first fiction book. Since then, she attracted 5-star reviews, raving fans and written many more novels.

On Story Artist, she decided to share her creative journey and help content creators in new and effective ways because her credo is: There is a platform for every outstanding story. And you have one to tell.

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

From mystery to romance and science fiction—from heartfelt essays to poetry that moves the soul, FRESH STARTS is a bold new anthology of tales from the Pikes Peak Writers. Mark interviews three of the contributors to this anthology in celebration of the new book's release on Friday April 9, 2021. Prior to the interview Mark shares a word from this episodes sponsor...

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

In the interview Mark talks with:

Joshua Clark ("Nolan's Bucket List: Snow Edition" / Cover Designer) Josh is a writer, bookseller, graphic designer, and designer of the cover of Fresh Starts. He graduated with an art degree from Colorado State University-Pueblo. Josh is an active member of Pikes Peak Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and was the former Speakers Coordinator for Pueblo West Writers. His short story, 'The Galaxy Got a Whole Lot Bigger,' received a Silver Honorable Mention in Q4 of the 2020 Writers of the Future Contest. He is now busy writing his next novel.

Bowen Gillings ("Dawn Trouble") Bowen Gillings is an award-winning author whose quirky tales range from superhero suspense to divine family squabbles. He is a devout travel enthusiast, committed martial arts dabbler, and closeted RPG nerd. He enjoys cooking, the outdoors, good whiskey, and good friends. Born in Wisconsin, he grew up in South Dakota's Black Hills, matriculated in Minnesota, and then bounced around Europe with the Army. He's lived on both coasts, danced on the Great Wall of China, and driven a Volvo from Alaska to Louisiana before settling in Colorado with his wife and daughter.

Terry Odell ("My Name is Marjorie") Although Terry Odell had no aspirations of becoming a writer until long after receiving her AARP card, she's now the author of over thirty novels, novellas, and short stories. She writes mysteries and romantic suspense, but calls them all "Mysteries With Relationships." Her awards include the Silver Falchion, the International Digital Awards, and the HOLT Medallion. A Los Angeles native, she moved to Florida where she spent thirty years in the heat and humidity. She now enjoys life with her husband and rescue dog in the cooler, dryer climate of the Colorado Rockies, where she watches wildlife from her windows.

After the interview, Mark reflects on a few of the things the chat with Joshua, Terry, and Bowen made him think about.

Links of Interest:

• Pikes Peak Writers
• Pikes Peak Writers Anthology: Fresh Starts
• YouTube Video of Interview
• Findaway Voices
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win

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

In this episode Mark shares details about the recent "A Canadian Werewolf in New York" promotion he ran in March 2021 centered around an International BookBub Deal. He also shares some articles with tips from BookBub and Written Word Media.

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

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

In this episode Mark shares details about his Canadian Werewolf Promo, including the high level strategy used as well as the results.

He splits the intro to the promo and the results between sharing four articles from BookBub and Written Word Media about promotions.

Over all costs for the promotions run were $347.44.

Overall earnings from the promotions were $610.17.

Which resulted in a net gain of $262.73.

Links of Interest:

• Findaway Voices
• Articles mentioned in this podcast
  • BookBub
    • The Best Day of the Week to Discount eBooks
    • Do BookBub Deals Work for Permafree Books Multiple Times?
  • Written Word Media
    • The Best Book Promotion Sites
    • The Best Way to Promote a Book on Bargainbooksy
• 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
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win

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 Jenn T. Grace, a nationally recognized business strategist, speaker, and award-winning author who is passionate about helping people share their stories of adversity.

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

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

In their conversation, Mark and Jenn discuss:

• How, from the earliest age, Jenn had always wanted to be a "Dear Abby" type of writer
• A 2012 advice column that was an early "Dear Abby" dream-come-true for Jenn
• The LGBTQ inclusion consulting work that led to very random questions and great learning opportunities to share
• The "raw and real" level of vulnerability that helps to break through the noise and clutter
• How authors don't often include their story enough in non-fiction to connect with readers in a way that they don't expect
• The way you can tell, when writing a memoir, if you're going deep enough into the emotional resonance of a story
• Jenn's memoir House on Fire, which she released in Sept 2020 and how she had no choice but to have to share that story
• How Jenn likes to think about writing, which is a solo event, as a team sport
• The profound experience Jenn had of listening to her narrated memoir in another person's voice
• How most people confuse memoir with autobiography
• The admiration that Jenn has for Dani Shapiro as a memoirist
• The difference between a writer coach and an author coach
• Publish Your Purpose Press, the service that Jenn runs to help thought leaders create their books
• The "Getting Started for Authors" program and how it can help writers earlier in their journey
• Jenn's role in helping writers to recalibrate their focus and purpose and to ensure they're always attending to that "North Star" for their project
• How writing a memoir as a piece of fiction is one strategy that writers can use when the stories they need to share are so raw and exposing
• The emotional, personal, and legal ramifications related to sharing true stories about other people
• A "second pass" approach to changing identifying details/features/descriptions that can be done, but only after the core writing and re-writing is completed
• Strategies for how to change names, locations, specifics in a memoir
• The value of Jenn's other non-fiction books inspired from her "Dear Abby" writing
• The personal satisfaction of helping other people realize their dream of writing a book

After the interview Mark shares a reflection about the importance of emotional resonance in writing memoir or fiction.

Links of Interest

• Jenn T. Grace Website
• Publish Your Purpose Website
• Wide for the Win
• Findaway Voices
• 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
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Jenn T. Grace is a nationally recognized business strategist, speaker, and award-winning author. Guided by the mantra, "Change happens in business," Jenn believes social change happens first in the workplace before spilling over into mainstream society. She has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.

Passionate about helping people share their stories of adversity, Jenn is the Founder of Publish Your Purpose Press, a publishing company that includes the PYP Academy, with programs that teach aspiring authors how to publish their books. In addition to publishing 60+ books that share the stories of others, Jenn has written six.

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 Jenn Taylor, Mom of 18 and The Naked Podcaster about raw, open and honest conversations, vulnerability, and more.

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

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

In his personal update, Mark shares a number of things:

• The audiobook release of Fear and Longing in Los Angeles, and the inclusion of Alicia Witt's music
• The launch of Wide for the Win and multiple events associated with that
• The release of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine #10 which Mark guest edited

Mark also welcomes new Patron David Perlmutter, thanking him and all patrons for supporting the podcast.

In their conversation Jenn and Mark discuss:

• What Jenn does, coaching women executives, primarily Moms and what that can do to stress levels, sleep, motivation, exercise, and time
• The coaching certifications that Jenn has and the fact that people don't ask often enough if a coach has a certification
• NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programing)
• Jenn's role as Mom, executive, single mom, etc.
• The importance of not feeling that you're failing on all fronts when juggling all the balls and how it can happen to the best of us
• How we take our own struggles and use that to make it faster, harder, smarter for others to do the same things
• The numerous Jenn Taylor brands
• When the opportunity to write a book first happened to Jenn and how she treated it like a job, and had tremendous support for her husband to make it happen
• How, as of April 8th Jenn will have been a Mom for 29 years
• How having a book was like having a child and the way Jenn was inspired to want others to have the same feeling
• The way that learning about abuse her children had suffered allowed Jenn to open up regarding stories of struggles toward success
• Jenn's book HELLO, MY NAME IS . . . WARRIOR PRINCESS
• How we don't have to accept the labels that people put on us and letting go of those negative labels
• The origin of the creation of Wonder Woman and how that resonated with Jenn
• How a joke about wanting to be able to work at home without having to wear pants lead Jenn and her husband to come up with The Naked Podcaster brand
• Jenn asks her guests to bare it all in an uncomfortable moment emotionally, so she's willing to be uncomfortable and bare it all physically in support of them
• How everything that Jenn does has to come from a place that is raw and genuine
• How in Western culture we often see nakedness as something sexual
• The fact that Jenn has only has two rude comments in the past four years of The Naked Podcaster show
• The "Stripping with my Daughters" segment of Jenn's show that's about being very raw and is always on a topic that they choose to discuss
• Why Jenn asks her guests for a bullet-point list in advance of the interview
• The time Jenn found out during a live chat with her daughter about a planned suicide that was prevented via a circumstantial phone call that happened
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on those who have opened up and been vulnerable in order to reach out and ask him questions about writing and publishing and how hearing Jenn talk about her experiences, reminded him of the great honor this has been.

Links of Interest

• Jenn Taylor's Website and Social Media Links
• Website: http://www.momof18.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/momofeighteen/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/momofeighteen/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MomOfEighteen Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/momofeighteen/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-taylor-96442b98/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUYzMhPtJ2PpgmXMJTgP3oA? Podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-naked-podcaster
• Wide for the Win
• Findaway Voices
• 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
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Jenn Taylor is Mom Of 18 and The Naked Podcaster and is a Mindset Coach and Motivational Speaker.

She is an NLP Practitioner and has 15+ years in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer, has written the blog - Mom's Running It - for 9 years, and is a published author of a self-help memoir "Hello, My Name Is... Warrior Princess".

She teaches Compounding Joy, bringing fast, easy, actionable exercises to people to increase their joy and gratitude. She is also married to an amazing man in Reno, NV, is a runner, minimalist, and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. Find her at momof18.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

In this episode Mark shares an excerpt from the introduction to the March 2021 book Wide for the Win, in which he shares his vision of what truly wide publishing is.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares a brief personal update as well as a word from this episode's sponsor.

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

The Chapter of the book that Mark reads from a draft of Wide for the Win is:

• Introduction: Prefatory Disclaimers, A Note on Biases, and How to Use this Book
  • What is Wide?
  • No, Seriously. Get to the Bloody Point: What is Wide?
  • Disclaimers
  • A Note on Biases
  • An Admission of Exclusivity
  • My Numbers on Wide
  • How to Use This Book

Links of Interest

• Wide for the Win
• Findaway Voices
• 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
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

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

In this solo episode, Mark shares three short sections from his forthcoming book Wide for the Win.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares a brief personal update as well as a word from this episode's sponsor.

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

The three chapters/segments that Mark reads from a draft of Wide for the Win are:

• Amazon's Exclusivity Program is Called KDP Select, Not KU
• My Biggest Pet Peeve About Amazon Exclusivity
• I Don't Hate Amazon

Links of Interest

• Wide for the Win
• Findaway Voices
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

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

This episode features an excerpt from Mark's forthcoming book Wide for the Win, which was also shared on an Alliance of Independent Authors online article.

To "go wide" or "publish wide" is to distribute and sell books via multiple platforms, rather than limiting yourself to a single outlet, usually Kindle (the only retailer with a blatant exclusivity program).

Publishing wide is a common recommendation for long-term, sustainable, and scalable growth.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update that includes a forthcoming promo run and the exhaustion he is recently feeling with multiple book launches in a relatively small window, as well as a word from this episode's sponsor.

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

In the reading of the book excerpt/article excerpt, Mark shares ideas for authors at different stages of publishing wide.

• At the Start of Your Indie Writer journey
• Coming out of a Tour of Duty in KDP Select
• Returning to WIDE
• You've Been WIDE and You're Not Selling

Links of Interest

• For Independent Authors: The Ultimate Guide to Publishing Wide (ALLI article)
• Wide for the Win
• Findaway Voices
• 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
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

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