The TufFish Show

Welcome Michelle Cox to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. Visit https://www.jennifermilius.com/tuffish to learn more.

A few of the nuggets Michelle shared during our chat included: tips for historical fiction research and balancing information overload, the audiobook process she followed as well as things to think about when deciding a publishing path.

Michelle Cox is the author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as “Novel Notes of Local Lore,” a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. Her books have won over 50 international awards and have been praised by Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Foreword, Elle, Redbook, Brit&Co., POPSUGAR, Buzzfeed, and many others.

Unbeknownst to most, Michelle hoards board games she doesn’t have time to play and is, not surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also marmalade. She lives in Chicago with her husband, three children, and one naughty Goldendoodle and is hard at work on her latest novel.

Visit https://michellecoxauthor.com/

Book purchase links:

A Girl Like You

A Ring of Truth

A Promise Given

A Veil Removed

A Child Lost

Welcome Ryan Dalton to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. Visit https://www.jennifermilius.com/tuffish to learn more.

Ryan and I talked in depth about the querying process and success tips for working with beta readers. He also shared how music plays a part in his writing process. 

Ryan Dalton spends his time thinking up stories when he's not wearing a cape and fighting crime. He's a singer, a voiceover artist, a pretty decent amateur chef, and a lover of all things geek. Ryan lives in an invisible spaceship that's currently hovering St. Louis, Missouri.

Visit https://www.ryandaltonwrites.com

Book purchase link: The Last Adventure

Welcome Saralyn Richard to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. Visit https://www.jennifermilius.com/tuffish to learn more.

"Stories are magnets" is one of the many wisdom nuggets Saralyn shared. Leveraging empathy, life experiences and observation, Saralyn explains how every book is a mystery or puzzle, no matter the genre during our conversation. She also talked about her latest book (and first thriller) launching early 2022.

Award-winning and best-selling author, Saralyn Richard was born with a pen in her hand and ink in her veins. A former educator, she loves connecting with readers. Her humor- and romance-tinged mysteries and children's book pull back the curtain on people in settings as diverse as elite country manor houses and disadvantaged urban high schools. A member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America, Saralyn teaches creative writing and literature at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and continues to write mysteries. Her favorite thing about being an author is interacting with readers like you.

Visit http://saralynrichard.com

Book purchase links:

A Murder of Principal

Bad Blood Sisters

Welcome Judith Keim to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. Visit https://www.jennifermilius.com/tuffish to learn more.

Judith's tips for writing book series and handling multi-book launches were some of the fantastic nuggets she shared during our conversation. We also talked about things to consider when participating in a book anthology. So much goodness shared!

Judith Keim is a hybrid author who both has a publisher and self-publishes. Ms. Keim writes heart-warming novels about women who face unexpected challenges, meet them with strength, and find love and happiness along the way. Her best-selling books are based, in part, on many of the places she's lived or visited and on the interesting people she's met, creating believable characters and realistic settings her many loyal readers love.

She enjoyed her childhood and young-adult years in Elmira, New York, and now makes her home in Boise, Idaho, with her husband and their two dachshunds, Winston and Wally, and other members of her family.

Visit https://judithkeim.com

Book purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FTHWKYK/

Welcome Melissa Face to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. Visit https://www.jennifermilius.com/tuffish to learn more.

Melissa and I talked about when it's ok to call yourself a writer, putting yourself out there, and the importance of a positive supportive community. Whether it's a writing critique group or one you cultivate between family and friends, that encouragement along with self-care are so important to taking care of yourself, and as a result, your writing. She also shared a book that she's read three times because it's been that instrumental in her writing journey.

Melissa Face is the author of I Love You More Than Coffee, an essay collection for parents who love coffee a lot and their kids...a little more. Her essays and articles have appeared in Richmond Family Magazine, Tidewater Family Magazine, Scary Mommy, and twenty-five volumes of Chicken Soup for the Soul. She lives in Prince George and teaches world literature at the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts and Technology. Read more at melissaface.com.

Visit https://melissaface.com/

Book purchase link: I Love You More Than Coffee

Welcome Alexa Bigwarfe to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. Visit https://www.jennifermilius.com/tuffish to learn more.

What a fabulous conversation with Alexa! What started with the desire to move through grief from the loss of her daughter to following her ability to solve puzzles, Alexa has published several books, started her own publishing company, and is the host for a successful virtual multi-day publishing event and all with the goal to serve others. During our chat, Alexa shared invaluable tips for thinking through publishing routes, target audience/readers, and the power of relationships. 

Alexa Bigwarfe is a USA Today best-selling author and the founder and CEO of Write|Publish|Sell, a company dedicated to helping authors professionally self-publish and market their books. Her courses and training focus on author platform growth and creative ways to market books, especially for those who know nothing about marketing. She is also the founder and host of the Women in Publishing Summit and owns two hybrid publishing houses, Kat Biggie Press and Purple Butterfly Press.

Visit http://writepublishsell.com/

Book purchase link: Alexa's books

Welcome Susan Wilking Horan to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. Visit https://www.jennifermilius.com/tuffish to learn more.

Susan shared how having different writing goals helped her create the various books she's authored, including serving those who have been diagnosed with cancer or who love someone who has. We also talked about how to move through writer's block through simple changes and leveraging neuroplasticity. Such a powerful conversation! 

Susan Wilking Horan is a survivor of 3 different cancers, wellness advocate, lawyer, and speaker. She also has authored seven books and contributed to the ever-popular Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has also had the pleasure of working alongside her husband for many years at the family business, classic cartoon powerhouse Fleischer Studios. Find Susan at http://www.susanwilkinghoran.com

Visit http://www.susanwilkinghoran.com

Book purchase link: Betty Boop's Guide to a Bold and Balanced Life: Fun, Fierce, and Fabulous Advice Inspired by the Animated Icon

Welcome Diane Barnes to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. Visit https://www.jennifermilius.com/tuffish to learn more.

Diane and I share a background in journalism, and it was so cool to see how she leveraged hers throughout her path as an author. Diane shared so many nuggets as she talked about her writing process as well as the querying process. 

Diane Barnes is the author of More Than, Waiting for Ethan, and Mixed Signals. She is also a marketing and corporate communication writer in the health care industry. When she’s not writing, she’s at the gym, running or playing tennis, trying to burn off the ridiculous amounts of chocolate and ice cream she eats. She and her husband Steven live in Massachusetts and dream of moving to Turks and Caicos – at least for the winter months.

Visit https://www.dianembarnes.com

Book purchase links:

MORE THAN

Waiting for Ethan

Mixed Signals

Welcome Barbara Conrey to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. Visit https://www.jennifermilius.com/tuffish to learn more.

Barbara and I talked about how when you're an author, you're also running a business. This mindset shift is so important because it requires something different from you and requires you to put yourself out there. Barbara shares wisdom for how to go about this shift and frames it as though it's a marathon, not a sprint. She also shares how she took challenging emotions of anger and grief and channeled them into her first book that centers around a young child with glioblastoma.

Barbara Conrey is the USA Today Bestselling author of Nowhere Near Goodbye. Barbara worked in the health care industry for many years before opting for early retirement, which lasted all of three months. She then accepted a position in finance, for which she had absolutely no background. Four years later, she decided to write a book.

But not about finance.

Travel is a passion, along with reading, writing, hiking, and exploring antique shops. Barbara’s greatest passion is Miss Molly, her rescue beagle. There are stories to be told about beagles, and Barbara incorporates some of those stories into her books. Barbara lives in Central Pennsylvania, close to family and friends, and of course. Miss Molly.

Visit https://www.barbaraconreyauthor.com

Book purchase link: Nowhere Near Goodbye 

Welcome Lainey Cameron to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. Visit https://www.jennifermilius.com/tuffish to learn more.

Lainey shared one wisdom bomb after another as we talked about imposter syndrome, second book syndrome, and the importance of staying open to all paths for publishing. 

Lainey Cameron is a digital nomad and author of women’s fiction. A recovering tech industry executive, her 11-time award-winning novel, The Exit Strategy, was inspired by a decade of being the only woman in the corporate boardroom.

It’s been called a “rallying call for women to believe in themselves and join together” and tells the story of a Silicon Valley investor who first meets her husband’s mistress across the negotiating table.

A digital nomad—meaning she picks locations around the world to live (and write) for months at a time—Lainey is an avid instagrammer. She’s the founder and host of The Best of Women’s Fiction podcast, proud member and volunteer with Women’s Fiction Writers Association, believes community makes the author's life worthwhile, and is on a mission to obliterate the term aspiring writer.

Originally from Scotland, Lainey has a soft spot for kilts and good malt whisky.

Visit https://www.laineycameron.com

Book purchase link: The Exit Strategy