EPISODE 178E

Today I talk about having a word or verse for the year, something to help us focus or to encourage us toward this year's goals. But sometimes that point of focus changes - and you get even more focused! That's what happened to me this month. I hope my experience encourages you that this is the start of something great!

EPISODE 177T

I just finished helping a friend get his very first book up on Amazon - woohooo!! We're both very excited as this is something he's wanted to do for a few years! It occurred to me that I could share what I know about repurposing your writing and maybe help you get a book together too!

I hope you find this to be a helpful episode! Good luck and happy writing! :-D

EPISODE 176I

http://www.reginascott.com/index.htm (Regina Scott) has published over 45 historical novels, winning awards and fans along the way. She loves history, so she finds research fun, not boring at all. Today she tells us about some of the amazing fun - that is, research - she's done in the name of fiction, and helps us see what we can do as well.

Since she writes Regency romances (and explains what that is) as well as Christian historical romances, we talk about her two newest books today. https://amzn.to/3aDY4GP (A Distance Too Grand) came out in October from Revell, and is an adventure about a photographer traveling with an Army unit so she can photograph the Grand Canyon. The book came out during the 100th anniversary year of this wonder of the world being preserved as a national park.

Because I absolutely love Regency romances, we also talk about her newest, https://amzn.to/2RjAoQp (The Matchmaker's Rogue), book one in a new series released just this month.

You can find all of Regina's books wherever books are sold, and you can find Regina at http://www.reginascott.com/index.htm (her website), and on https://www.facebook.com/authorreginascott (Facebook) and https://www.pinterest.com/reginascottpins/ (Pinterest).

EPISODE 175I

Today's guest is https://lynetteeason.com/ (Lynette Eason), author of the new book, https://amzn.to/2NqVFWk (Collateral Damage). With over 60 books published, Lynette has a lot of experience in creating new characters, new series, and all kinds of interesting plots.

Lynette shares how she starts a book, how she gets started writing for the day, how she found law enforcement and military experts to ask questions, how she works with her critique partner, and so much more. She suggests you find the people you need to help you early on. Then you can ask these experts a few questions here and there over the course of writing the book rather than asking them all your questions and "please, read my whole book" at the end. :-D

She mentions several great references including the https://killernashville.com/ (Killer Nashville conference), https://www.writerspoliceacademy.com/ (Writers Police Academy/MurderCon), https://groups.io/g/Crimescenewriter2 (Crime Scene Writers), and more.

You can find Lynette on https://lynetteeason.com/ (her website), Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and find her books wherever books are sold. Be sure to check out https://amzn.to/2NqVFWk (Collateral Damage), book one in her new series, Danger Never Sleeps.

It's time to plan out our new year, to think about what worked last year and what didn't. But don't just write down a bunch of hoped-for goals, consider how much time you'll need to do them all compared to how much time you actually have.

I go through several good first steps to getting the big picture under control as well as talk about what I've been learning from James Clear's book, Atomic Habits, and Charles Duhigg's book, The Power of Habit.

This is going to be our best year yet! Welcome, 2020! :-D

EPISODE 173E

As you start the new year, it's important to remember that over-planning and over-scheduling can lead to stress, disappointment, and - worst case scenario - burnout. To avoid that and enjoy your work all year long, plan some white space into your schedule. Some extra room in your calendar so you can move things around when necessary, and to take a little time out sometimes to stare at the ceiling and daydream. It'll boost your energy and your creativity, and lead to a more peaceful - and possibly more productive - life.

EPISODE 172I

Interviewing the lovely Patricia Bradley was an exercise in paradoxes. Hearing this sweet Christian woman pronounce in her soft, Southern drawl, "Oh, I love to talk about murder. It's just fun" was just the beginning of my mind bending to look at things differently. :-D But I should have expected nothing less after I read the tagline for her website: Where love and faith cross paths...with murder.

Patricia writes romantic suspense and says that murdering your characters is a great way to kill off your anxieties. (I think I'm going to try that! :-D ) What follows is a fun conversation about how she writes - an encouraging look at writing for pantsers!

My biggest takeaway was when I realized that Patricia writes the scenes with the murderer or psychopath's point of view without knowing who the bad guy is - so it's just "he or she" - and later she'll have an ah-ha moment about who that person is in her story. I can't wait to try this!

Patricia has a lot of great stuff on her blog, and she also suggests several other blogs/websites including:

Suspense Sisters: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fsuspensesisters.blogspot.com%2F2018%2F06%2Fhot-new-inspirational-suspense-and.htmlandredir_token=KbqFf8Ju75bIHYKsRs5mkGtiEy18MTU3Nzg3MDQxMkAxNTc3Nzg0MDEyandv=xlWSibqiZ04andevent=video_description (https://suspensesisters.blogspot.com/...)

Learn How to Write a Novel: 

https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Flearnhowtowriteanovel.com%2Fblog%2F2018%2F06%2F05%2Fgetting-into-your-characters-headwhen-the-character-is-a-psychopath%2Fandredir_token=KbqFf8Ju75bIHYKsRs5mkGtiEy18MTU3Nzg3MDQxMkAxNTc3Nzg0MDEyandv=xlWSibqiZ04andevent=video_description (http://learnhowtowriteanovel.com/blog...)

Writers Police Academy: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.writerspoliceacademy.com%2Fandredir_token=KbqFf8Ju75bIHYKsRs5mkGtiEy18MTU3Nzg3MDQxMkAxNTc3Nzg0MDEyandv=xlWSibqiZ04andevent=video_description (http://www.writerspoliceacademy.com/)

Alicia Rasley's site: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aliciarasley.comandredir_token=KbqFf8Ju75bIHYKsRs5mkGtiEy18MTU3Nzg3MDQxMkAxNTc3Nzg0MDEyandv=xlWSibqiZ04andevent=video_description (http://www.aliciarasley.com)

Harlequin Heartwarming blog: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fheartwarmingauthors.blogspot.com%2Fandredir_token=KbqFf8Ju75bIHYKsRs5mkGtiEy18MTU3Nzg3MDQxMkAxNTc3Nzg0MDEyandv=xlWSibqiZ04andevent=video_description (http://heartwarmingauthors.blogspot.com/)

The Crime Scene Writer Yahoo Group:

https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.yahoo.com%2Fneo%2Fgroups%2Fcrimescenewriter%2Finfoandredir_token=KbqFf8Ju75bIHYKsRs5mkGtiEy18MTU3Nzg3MDQxMkAxNTc3Nzg0MDEyandv=xlWSibqiZ04andevent=video_description (https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/c...)

She also loves to use James Scott Bell's book, Super Structure, as she writes.

You can follow Patricia Bradley on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter and on her blog: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fptbradley.com%2Fblogandredir_token=KbqFf8Ju75bIHYKsRs5mkGtiEy18MTU3Nzg3MDQxMkAxNTc3Nzg0MDEyandv=xlWSibqiZ04andevent=video_description (https://ptbradley.com/blog)

EPISODE 171I

James Scott Bell is a Christy Award-winning and International Thriller Writers Award-winning author in several fiction genres, and a beloved and sought-after writing teacher. He has written many nonfiction titles on the craft of writing, including several for Writer’s Digest Books. In today’s episode, Jim talks about how he got the idea for his craft book, Write Your Novel From the Middle.

EPISODE 170T

Today's guest is - ME! :-D In https://selfpublishingformula.com/episode-100/ (January 2018), James Blatch interviewed me on https://selfpublishingformula.com/spf-podcast/ (The Self Publishing Show Podcast) (then called Mark Dawson's Self Publishing Formula Podcast) about time management for writers. I've been teaching a class called https://www.writenowworkshop.com/ (Going the Distance) for over a decade, helping other writers plan their time so they can get more done.

I thought this would be a good overview of all the things I teach in my course, and give you something to mull on in the back of your mind while you're cooking or shopping or wrapping presents or lying on the beach. (Hello, Southern Hemisphere!) In January, I'll come back with more practical details you can use to make 2020 your best year yet!

EPISODE 169I

Today Ellen Martin is back and discussing her Radical Rx - her path from overworked entrepreneur to fighting cancer and winning with a whole new health plan.

As author entrepreneurs, we have to be careful not to work ourselves to the point of burnout - as I've talked about on several episodes - or worse, a terrible illness. What can we do to keep our health at its best while also getting our work done? And what might be done if we've pushed ourselves too far?

Ellen is not a medical professional, and we are not giving medical advice, but she shares what has worked for her, and encourages us all to start taking better care of ourselves today.