In 2006, Time magazine called Jamaica the most homophobic place on earth.

Gianni Holmes is a single mum and indie author of gay or MM romance, with dozens of titles to her name and Facebook fan group of over 2.5 thousand. Although writing in this genre poses risks to her, it has also meant financial independence, creative freedom, and the opportunity to help marginalized readers feel seen and safe.

In this week's episode, Gianni shares how she built up her career in this unique genre, how she ensures her work authentically reflects her readers and how she keeps her personal and author lives separate while still building her writing and reading community.

Connect with Gianni on her website: https://www.gianniholmesauthor.com/books, through her Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/giannifirsts or via email at [email protected].

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Have you ever questioned whether you deserve to be a writer? Or what you should be writing?

Anna Conathan never wanted to be a screenwriter, and yet found herself working in LA for some of the world's biggest production houses including Disney, Sony, Warner Brothers, and Paramount. 

Then motherhood hit and she not only felt like an imposter in her highly paid Hollywood role, but was totally drowning with medical complications and depression. The one thing that stayed consistent throughout her journey, helping her find her place and herself despite all of the challenges is her voice. 

In this episode, Anna shares this journey and how she is supporting other moms and writers find their own voice and place in the world as a writing and life coach and chief creative officer at LUMO Leadership (https://www.lumoleadership.com/) and Luscious Mother (https://www.lusciousmother.com/).  

Connect with Anna on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annaconathancoaching, on her website: http://annaconathancoaching.com, on Instagram at annaconathancoaching or email her at [email protected]. 

Resources mentioned: Anne Lamont's Bird By Bird

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Have you ever thought about doing stand up comedy? Or maybe you want to infuse a little more comedy in your sit down kinda writing?

Jacqui Pirl is a mom and writer who decided the only way to get over her post-divorce depression was to surround herself in comedy. She had zero background when she signed up for a stand up comedy class several years ago and is now touring the US entertaining audiences with humour about momming, middle age and all things women. 

In this episode she shares how she took the plunge and what she has learned about writing for the stage in the process, as well as how her process differs from her other work writing fiction and non-fiction. Connect with Jacqui on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/jacqui.pirl.1, or Instagram @pirljacqui

Connect with the These Mums Write Community

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Get my freebie guide on creating more time to write: https://www.subscribepage.com/tipsforfindingtimetowrite

Find out about upcoming workshops on creativity and writing for mums by joining my newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/c1z8b4

Do you feel like you aren't getting the most out of your writing time? Or that your books aren't selling as well as they should?

Becca Syme is an author, coach, youtube/podcast host and creator of the Better-Faster Academy. She is a USA Today bestselling author of small-town romance and cozy mystery and also writes the 'Dear Writer' series of non-fiction books. She has also individually coached thousands of authors toward better success in their careers and lives.

Basically, that's a really long way of saying she knows a crap ton about helping authors write and sell more books.

In this episode, Becca responds to two questions posed by the These Mums Write Facebook group: how do I become a more productive writer?; and what can I do if my books aren't selling? The long and the short of it: it's all about understanding what kind of writer you are and where you are in the process.

Connect with Becca through the Better Faster Academy at https://betterfasteracademy.com/You can also listen to her share more writing advice through her youtube/podcast channel, The Quitcast: https://betterfasteracademy.com/podcast/#

Connect with the These Mums Write Community

Join the These Mums Write Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesemumswrite/

Get my freebie guide on creating more time to write: https://www.subscribepage.com/tipsforfindingtimetowrite

Find out about upcoming workshops on creativity and writing for mums by joining my newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/c1z8b4

So you want to get your picture book out in the world but you don't have the funds to pay for it yourself and the publishing industry is moving at a sloth-like pace?

Janey Merry is a mum who was facing this exact predicament after completing the manuscript of her debut picture book, Ready, Set, Sloth. So she decided to launch a kickstarter campaign. Not only did she raise enough funds to cover the production of the book, but she got to meet a baby sloth in the process. 

In this episode, learn all about this crowdfunding newcomer's winning strategy and the many spinoffs that have happened since.  

Connect with Janey on her website: https://www.janeymerry.com.

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Have you ever considered writing Christian fiction? If you have passed it by because the genre rules seem too rigid, it may be time to look again. 

Allison Wells is mom of four and author of four traditionally published Christian fiction novels, and one self-published sweet romance novel, Two Princes (released last month).

Allison is not your typical Christian fiction writer. In this episode, she describes how she is challenging the genre to introduce themes not typically addressed, such as prostitution and rape to offer readers a more realistic experience. She also shares what she loves about the genre, what it means to her, and tips for anyone looking to push the boundaries of this or any other genre.      

Connect with Allison via her website: http://www.allisonwellswrites.com/

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Get my freebie guide on creating more time to write: https://www.subscribepage.com/tipsforfindingtimetowrite

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Is it time to reinvent yourself into a published novelist?

Jessica Payne is a mum, author and the host of #MomsWritersClub on Twitter and YouTube. And just a few years ago, she wasn't any of that. 

Jessica came to writing after already building a career in healthcare as a nurse practitioner. Though she has created a pretty impressive new author life for herself in a fairly short amount of time, don't be fooled. Jessica's debut novel, Make Me Disappear, a psychological thriller releasing next month by Bookouture, wasn't her first crack at novel-writing. The book that landed her an agent was actually her fourth.

In this episode she shares the secret to her success: applying what didn't work in her earlier manuscripts to refine her genre and voice, leveraging her lived experience in healthcare and above all, never giving up on herself. She also shares tips on becoming a high-performing writer gleaned from her role supporting other mums through the #MomsWritersClub. 

Connect with Jessica via website (https://jessicapayne.net) or on Twitter @authorjesspayne.

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Get my freebie guide on creating more time to write: https://www.subscribepage.com/tipsforfindingtimetowrite

Find out about upcoming workshops on creativity and writing for mums by joining my newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/c1z8b4

Do you dream for more for you and your family, but you don't know where to start? KK Allen is a single mom and in 2014 she asked her boss for a raise. It turned out to be the best raise she didn't get because his refusal and her desire to earn more for her son motivated her to start trying out this KDP thing her friend had mentioned. Eight years later she has grown that experiment into a bestselling romance brand with over a dozen award-winning titles to her name and tens of thousands of followers on Tik Tok and Instagram.

In this episode she dishes on the habits and boundary setting she has developed in that time to maintain her impressive output, shares what skills from her previous career that continue to serve her, and how she developed her brand, including her approach to creating book-sales-generating content.

Connect with KK via her website (kkallen.com), on Instagram (kkallen_author), on Tik Tok (kkallenauthor) or through her Facebook group (Forever Young with KK).

Connect with the These Mums Write community

Join the These Mums Write Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesemumswrite/

Get my freebie guide on creating more time to write: https://www.subscribepage.com/tipsforfindingtimetowrite

Find out about upcoming workshops on creativity and writing for mums by joining my newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/c1z8b4

Being a mum can make writing a challenge, but it can also be a source of inspiration and drive. Lisa Bournelis is a mum and change management specialist who recently published a children's novella about her son’s experiences with OCD during the pandemic, Louie and the Dictator. 

In this episode she shares how her son's struggle motivated her to write her debut book and what she hopes to accomplish it. She also shares change management tools that she applied (and you can, too) to get the book done in an impressively short time-frame despite feeling overwhelmed as a newcomer to the publishing industry.  

Connect Lisa via her website: https://makeoneshift.com or via Instagram: @makeoneshift. Lisa will be hosting a book signing at the Chapters / Indigo in downtown Vancouver (1033 Robson Street), on Saturday, 21st May from 1-3 pm. Learn more about the genesis of Louie and the Dictator in Lisa's recent TedX talk, Three Questions that will Change Your Life, https://youtu.be/-phsazjlhkc.

Connect with the These Mums Write community

Join the These Mums Write Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesemumswrite/

Get my freebie guide on creating more time to write: https://www.subscribepage.com/tipsforfindingtimetowrite

Find out about upcoming workshops on creativity and writing for mums by joining my newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/c1z8b4

Do you have a mom-friendly support network to help you get your words on the page? Frustrated with the added pressure of the 2020 COVID lockdown and the feeling of never being able to get to "me time" to write, English novelist, poet and magazine editor Nikki Dudley decided to do something to help other mums in her situation. Nikki founded a writing development program just for mums called Mumwrite which recently produced it's second anthology and has inspired countless mums in England and Europe to get back to the thing they love: writing. In this episode, Nikki shares the biggest challenges her Mumwrite students face and how she helps them overcome them.  

Connect with Nikki via her website, https://www.nikkidudleywriter.com/ or via Twitter @nikkidudley20. You can also learn more about upcoming Mumwrite workshops and programs at https://www.mumwrite.com/

Connect with Jackie and the These Mums Write community:

Learn more about my April 7 workshop on overcoming writer burnout and procrastination

Join the These Mums Write Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesemumswrite/