What Were You Thinking?

Visit Heather's website.

Colleen Nelson is the author of 18 books, primarily young adult and middle grade (with one non-fiction in the bunch). Her books have earned many accolades and awards, the latest being The Forest of Reading's Silver Birch Award (2023, for The Undercover Book List). In this episode we chat about writing for middle grade, her process, and getting the right ending.

Watch the Forest of Reading announcement here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1659213838636531712

Carissa Hyde gave traditional publishing her best shot, but when she realized she was heading into depression, she hired a therapist and changed her strategy. Listen in as Carissa shares her journey to publication, full of up and downs and ending with a very positive experience.

Visit Carissa's website.

I fell in love with this book when I first read read a rough draft. Melissa and I are in a critique group together, and I was fortunate to put my eyes on this wonderful fantasy/spec fic story. In this episode, Melissa and I talk about her rocky road with an agent, getting Sue B to publication and how Melissa lets her characters run wild.

A short episode to update you with some news from past guests as well as some news from your host, Dana Goldstein.

No one thinks they'll ever go to prison, and that was certainly the case for Phyllis Taylor, author of The Prison Lady. When she was fired from her job at a law firm, Phyllis was stunned. Her 30-year career had come to a complete stop. But a friend forced her to come to an Oprah event, an action that would lead Phyllis to a new career behind bars: helping prisoners develop important life skills.

S.M. Freedman's author journey has been anything but typical. She self-published her first book, then was approached by a publisher who wanted to publish that book. She went back to the drawing board for rewrites and revisions. After she wrote the sequel, she self-published again. Her next novels were traditionally published, but S.M. learned so many lessons - about writing, publishing, and persevering.

Ali Bryan's words are everywhere: in her 5 novels, in anthologies, magazines, newspapers...pretty much anywhere the printed words can appear. She chased the dream of being a full-time writer and crossed the finish line. But just because you win one marathon, doesn't mean you'll win them all. Ali shares her writer journey candidly and with transparency in this episode.

Visit Ali's website.

Read the Day in the Life in the Calgary Guardian.

TINYabc stands for This Is Not Your average book club, and it most certainly isn't. Karen Sokoloff decided to create a paid-membership book club, a risk she wasn't entirely comfortable with, but took anyways. The result is a vibrant club that meets 4 TIMES PER MONTH, to meet authors, discuss books, and build camaraderie around the printed word.

Join the Facebook group.

Follow Karen on Instagram.

Nora Nickum, author of Superpod, wasn't always interested in writing non-fiction for kids. Her day job requires a lot of non-fiction writing - she is the senior ocean policy manager at the Seattle Aquarium. But don't let that dry title fool you. Superpod is a fasctianting narrative that will make you want to jump in, get your feet wet, and help the whales in our oceans.

Listen to the orcas: www.Orcasound.net

Investigate The Whale Trail: thewhaletrail.org

Learn more about Nora: https://www.noranickum.com/

Visit my substack: danagoldstein.substack.com