The TufFish Show

Welcome Diane Grimard Wilson 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's courage to share her experience with a brain injury demonstrates the underlying the driver for why she writes. We talked in depth about her writing and editing process to bring forth her memoir.

Diane Grimard Wilson is a Chicago peak performance coach, licensed clinical professional counselor and has board certification as a fellow in neurofeedback. Her clients include physicians, leaders, executives and creatives. Diane is host of the Genius: Sciencing Our Human Potential podcast where she interviews leaders and other personalities for their human stories on resilience, change, and coping with the global pandemic. She recently released her second book, Brain Dance: My Journey with Invisible Illness, Second Chances, and the Wonders of Applied Neuroscience, which hit best-selling status in the first week.

Visit: www.GrimardWilson.com 

www.GeniusPodcast.Us 

www.BrainDanceBook.com

Book purchase links: 

https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Dance-Journey-Invisible-Neuroscience-ebook/dp/B093CKZ8N8/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=brain+dance+diane+wilson&qid=1626972442&sr=8-3

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/brain-dance-diane-grimard-wilson/1139316992

Welcome Meg Dendler 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.

The power of the draft is at the crux of this incredible conversation with Meg! Allowing space in between writing and editing, working with beta readers and critique groups, self-editing and working with your editor are all key elements that we talk through in depth to take your first draft and get it to the best version possible for publication. Meg also shares valuable insights for how to work through the editing process as well as tips for writing children's and sci-fi books.

Meg has been writing since the early 1990s and has over 100 articles published. She has won multiple awards for her Cats in the Mirror series about alien rescue cats, based on her own household of kooky felines. Her fairy tale book, Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate Princess, won Best Juvenile Book of 2018 from the Oklahoma Writers' Federation. Meg's newest science fiction novel, The Tigran Chronicles, delves into how humans treat animals and tiger conservation. Meg also freelances as an editor and proofreader.

Visit https://megdendler.com

Book purchase links:

Why Kimba Saved The World, https://www.amazon.com/Kimba-Saved-World-Cats-Mirror-ebook/dp/B00BB2S7AG

Vacation Hiro, https://www.amazon.com/Vacation-Hiro-Cats-Mirror-Book-ebook/dp/B00FGX6C5S

Miss Fatty Cat's Revenge, https://www.amazon.com/Miss-Fatty-Cats-Revenge-Mirror-ebook/dp/B00KZ1YF5K

Slinky Steps Out, https://www.amazon.com/Slinky-Steps-Cats-Mirror-Book-ebook/dp/B01DB65ER8

Kimba's Christmas, https://www.amazon.com/Kimbas-Christmas-Cats-Mirror-Book-ebook/dp/B07T31TPM9

Max's Wild Night, https://www.amazon.com/Maxs-Wild-Night-Meg-Dendler-ebook/dp/B00W8FOKS8

Dottie's Daring Day, https://www.amazon.com/Dotties-Daring-Day-Meg-Dendler-ebook/dp/B01MS4CZM3

Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate Princess, https://www.amazon.com/Bianca-Brave-Frail-Delicate-Princess-ebook/dp/B075KQ8FQ7

The Tigran Chronicles, https://www.amazon.com/Tigran-Chronicles-Meg-Dendler-

Welcome Jennifer Swanson 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 fun and fascinating conversation with Jennifer about writing STEAM middle grade books! Leveraging her background and passion for writing, Jennifer makes it her goal to ensure physics, engineering and math are fun and easy to understand. We talked in depth about blending what you know with what you like to write and what you can sell, which includes understanding your target reader and being willing to change point of view.

Science Rocks! And so do Jennifer Swanson’s books. She is the award-winning author of over 45 nonfiction books for children. Using her background in science and history that she received from the U.S. Naval Academy, and her M.S. in Education, Jennifer excels at taking complex facts and making them accessible, compelling, and humorous for young readers, Jennifer's passion for science resonates in in all her books but especially, Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact and Beastly Bionics, which both received Florida Book Awards and NSTA BEST STEM book awards. Her Save the Crash-test Dummies book received an NSTA BEST STEM Award and a Parent’s Choice GOLD Award. Jennifer has been a featured speaker at the Tucson Book Festival, National NSTA conferences, the Highlights Foundation, the World Science Festival (twice), the Atlanta Science Festival (twice) and the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival in 2019. You can find Jennifer through her website www.JenniferSwansonBooks.com.

Visit https://www.JenniferSwansonBooks.com

Book purchase link for The Secret Science of Sports: Math, Physics, and Mechanical Engineering Behind Every Grand Slam, Triple Axel, and Penalty Kick https://www.blackdogandleventhal.com/titles/jennifer-swanson/the-secret-science-of-sports/9780762473038/

Welcome to The TufFish Show, which feature authors from different genres and businesses, but they all have one thing in common – they had a message or story they wanted to tell and courageously got out of their own way and made it happen. This show will inspire you to do the same because when you hear someone else’s story, you get the guidance and encouragement to keep going and get your book out in the world, too. 

Sometimes we have this idea in our minds of what the writing process is suppose to look like and one of those preconceptions is that the idea flows and we have a pretty good first draft as a result. We might even have set ourselves up for loftier expectations by thinking we should have a complete and perfect version right out of the gates. In this encouraging solo episode, Jen talks about the power of the draft and reframing how to view having them.

To learn more about the TufFish and Jen, visit https://www.jennifermilius.com

Welcome Shayla Raquel 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 and fun conversation with Shayla! We covered writing in multiple genres, how to handle negative book reviews, overcoming imposter syndrome as a writer, author branding and so much more.

An expert editor, best-selling author, and book marketer, Shayla Raquel works one-on-one with writers every day and specializes in self-publishing. She is the author of the Pre-Publishing Checklist, “The Rotting,” The Suicide Tree, The 10 Commandments of Author Branding, and All the Things I Should’ve Told You. In her not-so-free time, she acts as organizer for the Yukon Writers’ Society and studies all things true crime.

Visit https://shaylaraquel.com/

Book purchase links:

Short story "The Rotting" in anthology (2018): https://shaylaraquel.com/shiversinthenight

The Suicide Tree (2018): https://shaylaraquel.com/thesuicidetree

The 10 Commandments of Author Branding (2019): https://shaylaraquel.com/10commandments

All the Things I Should've Told You (2021): https://shaylaraquel.com/allthethingsishouldvetoldyou

Savage Indulgence (coming fall 2021)

Welcome Vilayvanh Bender 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 started as a way to share her culture and childhood experiences with her children blossomed into a children's book that could reach more children. Vanh's efforts to write a book that helps to normalize different food was strengthened by working with a talented illustrator and incorporating feedback from beta readers. She offers great insights for why school visits are so valuable as well as ways to make them engaging for children.

Vilayvanh Bender immigrated to America with her family as a young Vietnam War refugee. Entering the United States without speaking English, her first goal was to become fluent in this new language. Cultural preservation, acceptance and not giving up on one’s dreams is very important to Vilayvanh. She is also a private practice Registered Dietitian based in Corona, California working with children and families. Vilayvanh lives with her husband and two girls.

Visit www.mommyeatsfriedgrasshoppers.com

Book purchase link for Mommy Eats Fried Grasshoppers: https://www.amazon.com/Mommy-Fried-Grasshoppers-Vilayvanh-Bender/dp/0989885038

Welcome Johanna Halley and Janae Seabloom from Hannah Bloom Books 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.

These childhood friends tag-teamed and brought their childhood dream of publishing a children's book, yet the original idea was put on hold to bring a second book into the world first. By playing off of each others' strengths and embracing change to switch gears, Johanna and Janae understood their debut book had a specific season and followed the flow. Johanna and Janae demonstrate the beauty and power when two talented individuals come together and co-author and market a book. 

Johanna Halley and Janae Seabloom are childhood friends, preschool co-teachers, and moms doing life together. They draw from both their experience in the classroom and life at home. They hope to create picture books that both children and adults love, and encourage early readers and pre-readers to gain confidence in literacy.

Visit https://www.hannahbloombooks.com

Book purchase links: 

A Day to Stay Home https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735868205

A Day to Stay Home/Un día para quesarse en casa https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735868213

Welcome Grace Sammon 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.

Grace shared so much goodness in this conversation from how to write with the "end in mind", working with editors and beta readers, and developing characters. To create an authentic feeling within the story, Grace shared some key tips for how to go about researching your book and what to do when you have too much information. Then once you have your book, you need to talk about it, so Grace shared key tips for how to be a podcast guest.

Grace Sammon is an educator, entrepreneur, and author. She has created four companies and written four books. Her debut novel, The Eves, is the story of lives lived well and lives in transition. It is a story about leaving your mark in the world at any age. Grace is committed to volunteering and enjoys tennis and pickle ball. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her husband and a small herd of imaginary llamas.

Visit www.gracesammon.net

Book purchase link: https://bit.ly/THEEVES

The TufFish Show is 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.

This week's solo episode, host Jen Milius talks about what story are you telling, and more importantly what are you believing. You are a gifted storyteller - your words can transport your reader to new worlds, new adventures, new ways of thinking, and even new mindset shifts for themselves and what they believe is possible. Your words are powerful for them, but also for you. So use this episode as a reminder to make sure the story you're telling and believing are supportive and encouraging about you.

Welcome Heather Legge 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.

Following her curiosity that initially started as market research for her business, Heather shared how she followed one breadcrumb after another to create her book. She worked with a book coach to help her find her voice, overcome writer's block and determine a publishing path.

Heather Legge is the founder of Envision Success, Inc and author of Lead With Moxie.

Since starting her firm in 2006, Heather has worked with hundreds of clients on strategic leadership, communication skills and productivity behaviors.  

Heather is a “recovering perfectionist,” data nerd, red wine lover, scuba diver, and has a love/hate relationship with running(!).  

Visit https://www.envisionsuccessinc.com/about/heather-legge/

Book purchase links for Lead with Moxie:

Details and signed copies: https://www.envisionsuccessinc.com/lead-with-moxie/

On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z1DNCWS