The Author's Mind

What if your book isn't selling because you're reaching the wrong people — not because you wrote the wrong book?

Dr. Judith Briles has published over 40 books, sold more than 1 million copies, and spent 25+ years as "The Book Shepherd" helping authors navigate publishing. In this episode, she breaks down the exact author marketing strategy that turns 500 loyal readers into a sales force that works harder than any social media algorithm.

You'll learn: ✅ Why book marketing for authors has nothing to do with follower count ✅ The one thing most authors resist — and why it kills their sales ✅ How to build an author platform that actually converts readers into buyers ✅ Judith's in-person book signing system for capturing direct reader contact ✅ Amazon keyword strategies to get your book in front of real readers ✅ The "90% marketing" rule every published author needs to hear ✅ How to market your book without perfectionism keeping you stuck

Whether you're launching your first novel or your fortieth, this conversation will permanently change how you think about growing your readership.

🎙️ Guest: Dr. Judith Briles — The Book Shepherd

🌐 Judith's Website: thebookshepherd.com

📚 Shilo Creed's Books: shilocreed.com

Subscribe for weekly conversations with professional authors → @TheAuthorsMind

Adele Royce, author of the Neon Diaries and a Kirkus Star recipient for Summer's Blood, reveals how she transitioned from romantic comedies to writing thrillers that grip readers from page one. Hosted by Shilo Creed (42 novels, 1.4M copies sold).

In this episode: • The prologue trick Adele uses to hook readers before chapter one • Why your thriller's opening 250 words determine whether someone buys the book • How to plant twists in plain sight (Chekhov's gun done right) • What changes when you switch genres — pacing, tension, and reader expectations • Why Adele writes her prologue LAST — and how it changes everything • The Kirkus Star: what it means, how it happened, and why awards don't always translate to sales • When characters become so real they start writing themselves

Adele Royce is the author of the Neon Diaries thriller series, including Summer's Blood and Slipper Girl.

🎙️ New episodes every week. Subscribe for direct access to how today's professional authors think, write, and craft fiction — no theory, just real experience.

Connect with Adele: adeleroyce.com

Get chapter one of Plunged for free: https://shilocreed.com/412-2/

#ThrillerWriting #WritingCraft #AuthorInterview

What if the difference between a bestseller and a book that stays buried isn't talent — it's flow state? LISTEN TO EVERY MINUTE OF THIS POD! Then check out this link... www.TheSukha.co/for/writers

Steven Puri spent his career at the crossroads of Hollywood and technology. Visual effects for Braveheart, Independence Day, True Lies, and Seven. Senior executive at multiple motion picture studios. $20M in venture capital raised.

And now — tools used by creative professionals worldwide to do their best work without burning out.

In this episode of The Author's Mind, Shilo Creed and Steven Puri break down the exact system behind entering deep creative flow — and why most writers are unknowingly working against their own brains.

What you'll learn:

✅ What flow state actually is — and why the classic definition changes how you write

✅ How your chronotype determines when to write vs. when to edit

✅ The exact music parameters (60–90 BPM, non-vocal, long melodic passages) that trigger deep focus

✅ Why "Himalayan Dream Rain" is the #1 focus sound for writers — and the neuroscience behind it

✅ Why hard distraction blockers fail — and what actually works instead ✅ How community accelerates output even for solitary writers ✅ The "One Big Thing" method for protecting your most important creative hour ✅ Why multitasking is a myth — and how context switching burns your creative energy

✅ What AI really threatens for writers — and what it can never replace ✅ The "Other Thing" principle that unlocks your best creative breakthroughs

"Reels break your brain. Short form videos break your ability to concentrate. Full stop." — Shilo Creed

"If you align your boat with the current, it carries you, it magnifies your efforts." — Steven Puri

About the Guest: Steven Puri is the founder of the Sukha Company. He's done visual effects for major Hollywood blockbusters, served as a senior executive at multiple motion picture studios, and raised over $20 million in venture capital. He now helps creative professionals enter deep, timeless flow state — and finish their best work faster, without burnout.

About the Host: Shilo Creed is the author of 42 novels with 1.4 million copies sold. He is the host of The Author's Mind and Studio Magic.

#FlowState #WritingAdvice #HowToWriteANovel #FictionWriting #WritersBlock #DeepWork #AuthorLife #WritingCommunity #StudioMagic #TheAuthorsMind

Most authors write their characters. J. Vaelorin becomes them — and it costs him.

In this episode of The Author's Mind, Shilo Creed sits down with dark fantasy author Justin Anderson (J. Valorian), creator of the Valorianverse, to explore what it really means to write grief, trauma, and mental health into fiction — not as a message, but as the invisible architecture underneath every word.

Justin reveals how his method of embodiment writing — channeling his characters so deeply it can trigger his own depression — produces the kind of emotional realism that makes readers feel seen. You'll discover:

• The subtle character "ticks" that reveal trauma without ever naming it
• How grief manifests as a physical force in his world (the Hollow-Born)
• Why dark fantasy needs humor to survive — and how to balance both
• His mother's 30-year career in mental health and how it shaped his writing
• Why his website is built as a shelter, not a storefront

If you're writing dark fiction and want to know how emotion becomes an engine — not exhaust — this episode is for you.

🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations with working authors on craft, process, and the thinking behind the story.

📖 Learn more about J. Valorian's world: valorianverse.com

Connect with Shilo: [email protected]

Want to write a novel readers can't put down?

In this episode of The Author's Mind, Shilo Creed talks with romantic fantasy author P.K. Stuart about the fiction craft tools that make stories feel alive: believable villains, realistic dialogue, suspense, fight scenes, character development, and the mindset it takes to actually finish a book.

P.K. shares how she approaches writing as a pantser, why deep character work can become its own kind of outline, and how she once wrote a 40,000-word biography just to understand one antagonist. We also talk about why villains must believe they are right, how to make dialogue sound natural, why every scene needs goal, motivation, and conflict, and what writers should know before committing to a series.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

• How to write villains readers actually fear • How to make dialogue sound real instead of forced • Why suspense depends on real consequences • How to write fight scenes with emotional conflict • Why character development matters before drafting • How goal, motivation, and conflict can strengthen every scene • What finishing a novel teaches you that planning never can • What P.K. Stuart learned from writing a five-book series

If you are writing a novel, drafting a fantasy series, struggling with dialogue, building a villain, or trying to finish your first book, this episode is full of practical fiction writing advice.

Guest: P.K. Stuart Series: Time's End First book: Inside the Tree Line Website: pkstuart.com

Subscribe to The Author's Mind for more conversations on writing craft, fiction, publishing, author mindset, storytelling, and the creative life.

#authortube #writingadvice #novelwriting #fictionwriting #howtowriteanovel #writingtips #writingvillains #writingdialogue #fantasywriting #authorinterview

How do you write historical fiction that feels real without drowning your reader in research?

In this episode of The Author’s Mind, Shilo Creed sits down with Canadian novelist, literature scholar, and criminologist Cinda Gault to talk about writing historical fiction, creating believable characters, and transforming years of research into a story readers actually want to finish.

Cinda shares how she built novels around real historical figures, including Isabel Gunn, a woman who disguised herself as a man to work in the Canadian fur trade. She explains how writers can use history as inspiration without letting facts overwhelm the story, why strong characters are built from choices rather than circumstances, and how to decide which details belong on the page.

This conversation is especially helpful for writers who want to create vivid settings, strong female characters, believable historical worlds, and fiction that keeps readers immersed.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to write historical fiction that feels alive
• How much research should actually go on the page
• Why story must come before historical accuracy
• Creating strong female characters from real history
• The difference between what really happened and what readers will believe
• How genre affects suspended disbelief
• How sensory detail makes fiction feel real
• Why writers need editors, fresh eyes, and honest feedback
• What to do when your novel becomes “gnarly”

If you are writing historical fiction, developing stronger characters, or trying to turn research into a compelling novel, this episode will help you think more clearly about what belongs in your story — and what should stay in your notes.

🔔 Subscribe to The Author’s Mind for weekly craft conversations with professional writers.

Connect with Cinda Gault:
cindagult.com

Connect with Shilo Creed:
shilocreed.com

Get ProWritingAid:

https://prowritingaid.com/

#historicalfiction #writingtips #authortube #characterdevelopment #creativewriting #writinghistoricalfiction #fictionwriting #novelwriting #writers #theauthorsmind

Most writers think readers quit because the plot is boring. They're wrong. According to Stanford-trained, Amazon #1 bestselling novelist Rick Glaze — readers quit because the stakes weren't high enough to begin with.

In this episode of The Author's Mind, Shilo Creed sits down with Rick Glaze — author of Eight Pieces of Eight, Amazon bestseller, and one of the most unconventional storytellers working today — to dig into what separates fiction that gets put down from fiction that gets devoured.

What you'll learn:

• The real reason readers abandon your novel (and the stakes fix that changes everything)
• Why Rick's editor told him his book "starts on chapter four" — and what that taught him about modern readers
• How Rick wrote an entire novel from his dog's point of view (and why it works)
• The "Universal Fantasies" framework: how to write stories readers crave but would never live themselves
• How to develop your unique author voice (hint: it starts with mimicry)
• Why marketing is no longer optional for serious novelists

Rick brings 20+ years of sailing the Virgin Islands, a Stanford creative writing background, and a songwriter's ear to fiction — and it shows in every answer.

Whether you're writing your first novel or your fifth, this episode will change how you think about keeping readers on the page.

🔔 Subscribe to The Author's Mind for weekly craft conversations with professional novelists.

www.rickglaze.com

Get Chapter One of Shilo's novel, Plunged for free...

https://www.tactical-press.com/get-plunged-chapter-one-for-free

Contact Shilo: [email protected]

What do Hollywood screenwriters know about story structure that most novelists never learn? In this episode, two professional authors pull back the curtain on the rules that actually make fiction work — from writing villains that terrify readers to the editing secrets behind the world's greatest novels.

Richard Sparks (40+ years as a professional scriptwriter, the man who wrote the sketch that launched Rowan Atkinson's career) and Gerald Everett Jones (11 published novels, 20+ book awards, Hollywood-based author and publisher) join Shilo Creed for a no-fluff conversation on the craft that separates published authors from aspiring ones.

In this episode:

• Why a stronger villain automatically creates a stronger hero — and how to use that to your advantage
• The "set up and payoff" rule that is the heart and soul of every great story structure
• What screenwriting disciplines teach you that novel writing alone never will
• How Pride and Prejudice — arguably the greatest novel ever written — was shaped by its editor, and what that means for YOUR manuscript
• The "backward integration" technique: how to plant seeds earlier in your draft once you've discovered a plot point later
• Why P.G. Wodehouse needed 300 pages of notes before writing a single word of his "effortless" prose
• Dan Brown's single most important rule for keeping readers hooked on every page
• What "keeping the reader's suspended disbelief sacred" really means — and what happens when you break it

🔗 Guest Links

Richard Sparks —

richardsparks.com

Gerald Everett Jones —

geraldeverettjones.com

Puerta Books and Media — Gerald's publishing imprint

📚 Books Mentioned

Jonathan's Journal by Gerald Everett Jones — Gerald's new historical fiction novel The Light in His Soul: Lessons from My Brother's Schizophrenia — co-authored by Gerald Everett Jones and Rebecca Schaper Richard Sparks's New Rock fantasy series

Referenced Works:

• The Hero with a Thousand Faces — Joseph Campbell
• The Art of Dramatic Writing — Lajos Egri
• Aristotle's Poetics
• Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen
• Invisible — Paul Auster
• Under Milk Wood — Dylan Thomas
• Murder on the Orient Express — Agatha Christie

📖 Resources Dan Brown's Writing Masterclass —

masterclass.com

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) —

nami.org

The Author's Mind gives aspiring fiction writers direct access to the thinking and craft of professional authors. No theory — just real experience.

🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Most authors never think about dyslexic readers — and they're leaving a massive audience on the table. Dyslexia expert and professor Russell Von Brocklin breaks down exactly how the dyslexic brain processes fiction, and what you can do right now to write stories that reach every reader.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How the dyslexic brain actually processes text (and why your current structure may be losing these readers)
• The "specific-to-general" narrative technique that keeps dyslexic readers locked in
• Why audiobooks aren't optional — they're essential — and what separates a great narrator from a good one
• How to use AI to build better outlines, refine your antagonist, and even decode publishing contracts
• The real story behind dyslexia as a "superpower" — and the Shark Tank data that proves it

Russell spent his career guiding parents and students from guesswork to a real game plan. His program produced results three times more effective than leading dyslexia transfer programs — at less than 1% of the cost.

If you write fiction and you've never thought about the dyslexia audience, this is the episode that changes that.

🔗 Connect with Russell Von Brocklin:

dyslexiaclasses.com

📚 The Author's Mind — More Resources: New episodes every week for fiction writers who want real craft, not theory. Subscribe:

https://www.youtube.com/@theauthorsmind-shilocreed

⏱️ Chapters:

0:00 — Why dyslexic readers are your most overlooked audience

1:10 — Russell's story: how he "solved dyslexia"

2:11 — The law school breakthrough that changed everything

3:11 — Program results: 3x more effective at 1% of the cost 4:00 — Inside the dyslexic brain (the neuroscience)

5:20 — Writing as a measurable output: what that means for authors

16:19 — How to write a book blurb that actually works

20:13 — Casey's story: 8 grade levels in 6 months

22:09 — How many Shark Tank investors are dyslexic? (The answer surprises)

23:11 — Dyslexia as a superpower

34:57 — Reed's story: from 11th to 64th percentile in 8 months

#dyslexia #writingtips #fictionwriting #authorsofyoutube #writingprocess #dyslexic #storytelling #writingadvice #selfpublishing #booktok

A reader bought ALL SIX of Danielle Orsino's audiobooks — then told her she'd sell more if she were a man. Here's what that reveals about the brutal reality of being a female fantasy author today.

Danielle Orsino (author of The Legacies of Light and Dark series, Hall of Fame martial artist, and former nurse) joins The Author's Mind to talk craft, combat, and the industry bias no one wants to admit exists.

In this episode:

• 🥋 The martial arts secret behind her fight scenes — Danielle holds black belts in ITF Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Wushu, MMA, and boxing. She physically films her fight scenes from multiple angles on her phone before writing a single word — and it shows. She even worked on a WWF Super Bowl commercial with The Rock.
• ✍️ She's a "chaos writer" — no outlines, no plotting — and yet she's delivered 6 books in a complex mythic dark fantasy world. Her martial arts discipline is what keeps the chaos structured.
• ⚔️ How to write realistic fight scenes — why she never puts more than 4 people in a fight (because she's actually done group sparring), how to write from both attacker and victim perspectives, and the body mechanics most writers get completely wrong.
• ⭐ How to survive bad reviews — the "yearbook picture" mindset, the Henry Cavill method, and why Goodreads is not always an author's friend.
• 🚹 The gender bias in fantasy publishing — why female Fae writers get automatically lumped into "romantasy" and "smut," what it costs in sales, and whether writing as D.M. Orsino would have changed the trajectory of her career.
• 🌍 Building worlds readers can't leave — why her books aren't "fast fantasy," how she compares to old-school Dune and Brandon Sanderson (not Sarah J. Maas), and how she uses maps, artwork, and playlists to deepen immersion.
• 💌 Building a loyal reader community — how a cozy mystery author sending 10,000 birthday cards changed how Danielle thinks about newsletters (including her puppies Carlos and Penelope, who now have their own fan base and character cameos).
• 🏥 Going public with a health crisis — how myasthenia gravis and early onset inclusion body myositis forced Danielle to step back from appearances, and why she eventually chose to share it with readers.

New release: 📖 A Fool's Journey (Volume Two of The Legacies of Light and Dark) — available now.

📚 Find Danielle Orsino's Books: Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Bookshop.org

🔗 Connect with Danielle:

• Instagram:

  @DMOrsinoAuthor

• TikTok:

  @DMOrsinoAuthor

• Website & Newsletter:

  dmorsino.com

✉️ Suggest a guest or topic: [email protected]

The Author's Mind — No theory. No workshopping. Just the real craft and process of working authors.