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PODCAST

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If you"re an aspiring author and want insights into what"s involved in launching a book into the world, this is the podcast for you. Maggie Smith, author and blogger, interviews debut novelists from the Women"s Fiction Writers Association discussing not only the inspiration behind their book, but also their insights into the writing process, the best advice they ever got, and the joys and sometimes pitfalls they encountered on their path to publication.

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All Episodes

28:28

264: Janie Emaus- Author of The Advice Columnist

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2025/02/13

This week’s guest is Janie Emaus (The Advice Columnist, Bombay Circle Press, October 2023). The inspiration for Janie’s book was a flip on the “notes to your younger self” trope as she imagined it’s the older protagonist being given life lessons instead. Janie’s childhood dream to become a songwriter faded when she discovered she couldn’t carry a tune but she soon segued into telling stories, gaining a following with the boomer crowd with her humorous essays for AARP. After parting ways with a top

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39:10

263: Cheryl Walsh - Author of Unequal Temperament

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2025/02/06

This week’s guest is Cheryl Walsh (Unequal Temperament, American Buffalo Books, September 2023). We discuss her writing process, which entails months of thinking and writing about what she wants to write about before she starts, and how the concept of unequal temperament in baroque music became the central metaphor for her main character’s situation as well as providing her unique title. Our wide-ranging talk pinged between her research into meteorology and opera to harpsichords, community

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28:53

262: Ann Marie Jackson - Author of The Broken...

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2025/01/30

Our guest this week is Ann Marie Jackson (The Broken Hummingbird, She Writes Press, October 2023). After stints at the US State Department in Southeast Asia and China, Ann Marie and her family immigrated to San Miguel de Allende, a thriving ex-pat town in central Mexico which also became the setting for her debut. Ann Marie has been active in non-profit organizations in the area, first building homes and then co-founding a micro-lending organization and how that desire to give back to her adopted

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33:14

Deborah_King_Podcast_261_January_2025.mp3

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2025/01/16

This week’s guest is Deborah King (Glory Bishop, Red Adept Publishing, June 2019). A prompt in a writing class set the stage for what became Deborah’s trilogy of The Bishop Women, two books that follow the named character and eventually a prequel which narrates the tale of her mother. Hear Deborah describe her creative process, including the voices that “speak” to her, her experience querying a 130,000 word debut novel, and how writing a chapter a week for Vella brought its own unique share of

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40:14

260: Lynne Golodner - Author of Woman of Valor

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2025/01/02

Our guest this week is Lynne Golodner (Woman of Valor, Scotia Road Books, September 2023). Once Lynne decided to stop writing fiction “on the side” and make it her focus, she leaped in with both feet, moving from a pure pantser to a more hybrid plotter, and solidifying her author brand as “creating compelling Jewish characters” which also drives her marketing focus. We discuss how this niche informed her decision to forego traditional publishing and opt instead to form her own publishing company,

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29:58

259: Delise Torres - Author of One Tough Cookie

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2024/12/19

This week’s guest is Delise Torres (One Tough Cookie, Alcove Press, July 2023). Described as a Latina Fleabag, Delise’s novel is both a women’s fiction and a romance and she purposely made choices in both character and venue to make it more appealing in the marketplace before she queried. We discuss the revisions both her agent and later her publisher asked for, the challenges of marketing a book when you live overseas, and how Delise benefitted from several programs WFWA offered including critique

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34:50

Kristin_Kisska_Podcast_258_December_2024.mp3

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2024/12/12

Our guest this week is Kristin Kisska (The Hint of Light, Lake Union Publishing, August 2023). Listen to hear how two revisions at the tail end of the publishing process unlocked deeper meanings in her novel, how the grief in the story had to be toned down, and the thought-provoking question Kristin uses at book clubs to promote discussion. We discuss the pluses and minuses of publishing with an Amazon imprint and how placing short stories in anthologies benefitted not only her networking efforts

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27:08

257: Jude Hopkins - Author of Babe in the Woods

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2024/12/03

This week’s guest is Jude Hopkins (Babe in the Woods, The Wild Rose Press, June 2023). We discuss how women often make poor life decisions when it comes to relationships, how finding the right developmental editor led to rearranging her opening chapters which led to an offer and how challenging it is to market a debut novel. Then we segue into the phenomenon of people “wanting” to write a book but letting life get in the way and the messages Jude uses to avoid that kind of procrastination in her

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39:22

256: Nigar Alam - Author of Under The Tamarind Tree

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2024/11/21

Our guest this week is Nigar Alam (Under The Tamarind Tree, G.P.Putnam & Sons, August 2023). We discuss the ten years she spent educating herself about writing before finding her agent in an unusual way (it involved Twitter). Hear how her first conversation with her editor took place while Nigar was stranded in Turkey during a snowstorm, and how writing a book set in Pakistan had the serendipitous effect of bringing her closer to her parents. If your dream is to sign with a Big Five publishing

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31:26

255: Joanna Monahan- Author of Something Better

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2024/11/14

This week’s guest is Joanna Monahan (Something Better, Blue Ink Press, June 2023). Initially starting out to write a YA novel about a reunion, Joanna worked with a book coach and eventually decided to switch to a coming of (middle) age novel about second chances. She discovered her small press through networking channels including the weekly WFWA newsletter and social media contacts and was realistic with her marketing ideas, setting both modest goals (things she could control like her launch

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28:31

254: Cindy Maynard- Author of Esperanza's Way

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2024/10/31

This week’s guest is Cindy Maynard (Esperanza’s Way, Historium Press, June 2023). The inspiration for Maynard’s book came from her 500-mile trek of the Camino de Santiago in Spain at the age of 67 and her curiosity about what it would have been like for a woman making the same journey in the 13th century. Combining her love of history with her avid interest in the natural world, she fashioned a story that included the “physicians of the day” who dealt primarily in herbal medicine. She brings out a

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28:10

253: Barbara Dullaghan: Author of Secrets in the...

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2024/10/24

My guest this week is Barbara Dullaghan (Secrets in the Hollow: A Sleepy Hollow Novel, MindStir Media, March 2023). Hear how her home town of Tarrytown, renamed Sleepy Hollow to revitalize the town’s tourist industry, serves as the backdrop to Barbara’s coming-of-age debut novel, how her local writing group’s format based on prompts led to her initially writing in vignettes, and how she pitched her novel to agents at a top NYC writing conference even though it wasn’t written yet (hint: not

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33:41

252: Donna Norman-Carbone- Author of All That is Sacred

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2024/10/11

Our guest this week is Donna Norman-Carbone (All That is Sacred, Red Adept Publishing, June 2023). Hear how two separate events, one with a well-known medium, came together to provide the inspiration for this award-winning debut, the advice Donna got from a famous author, and how the timing of her publisher’s offer caught her off-guard. We discuss what she did to create five different major characters and the fun swag that resulted as well as how networking with a fellow debut author led Donna to

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30:22

251: JJ Elliott- Author of There Are No Rules For This

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2024/10/03

This week’s guest is JJ Elliott (There are No Rules For This, She Writes Press, May 2023). We discuss how a family tragedy formed the backdrop for this debut which JJ wrote to challenge herself rather than with an eye to being published, how picking up a random book to read led her to a retreat that reawakened her love of writing, how she resisted the lure of big-name publishers who wanted to change her core message, why she changed her initial title, and how this last year has been one of saying

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29:39

250: Tracey Buchanan- Author of Toward the Corner of...

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2024/09/26

This week my guest is Tracey Buchanan (Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace, Regal House, June 2023). When Tracey was tapped to write a script for an historical re-enactment troupe in her small Kentucky town, little did she realize it would propel her into a whole new career as a novelist. We discuss the life lesson her lead character learns during the course of her book which wound up being one Tracey herself experienced, the difference between developmental editing and working with a book coach,

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33:11

249: Rachel Corsini- Author of Sushi and Sea Lions

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2024/09/19

Our guest this week is Rachel Corsini (Sushi and Sea Lions, Creative James Media, May 2023). What started out as journal entries morphed into Rachel’s debut which she wound up writing in standalone scenes rather than chronologically, later splicing them together using the Save the Cat story structure. We discuss her query process in depth, which resulted in 100 rejection but also 20 agent requests for full manuscripts and three offers from small presses. She went with Creative James Media and

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26:51

248: Dorette Snover- Author of Tales of the Mistress...

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2024/09/12

This week’s guest is Dorette Snover (Tales of the Mistress – Historical High Adventures of a Bread Apprentice in Medieval France, indie published March 2023). We discuss how this historical fiction centering on an agrarian society has tie-ins to Dorette’s career as a chef, baker, and founder of a culinary school which sponsors cooking classes in not only the states but southern France. A story that took almost 20 years to complete, we delve into listening to other’s advice vs. finding your own

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39:09

247: Kelly Huston - Author of Tex Miller is Dead

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2024/09/05

Our guest this week is Kelly Huston (Tex Miller is Dead, self-published May 2023). Kelly and I discuss how winning several writing contests not only provided her with inexpensive professional critiques but also added to her author credentials during her agent search, the unique challenges of writing humor, what makes a book a rom-com, and why she and her agent finally parted ways. We then segue into why she’s embraced the indie path to publication (including the freedom to write what she wants

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34:48

246: Jane Rubin - Author of In The Hands of Women

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2024/08/29

This week’s guest is Jane Rubin (In The Hands of Women, Level Best Books, May 2023). Jane’s novel, an historical fiction set in 1908 NYC and centering around both the suffragette movement and early reproductive rights issues, was inspired not only by Jane’s great grandmother but also her lived experience as an ovarian cancer survivor. Her health concerns drove her decision to forego an agent search and push for an expedited pub date with a small press, which has led to two published novels and a

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29:53

245: Hope Gibbs- Author of Where The Grass Grows Blue

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2024/08/22

Our guest this week is Hope Gibbs (Where The Grass Grows Blue, Red Adept, May 2023). Hope looked around as her kids left for college and thought what now? The result is this southern women’s fiction/contemporary romance mash-up that’s won 13 major writing awards and been licensed by Blackstone for an audiobook release. We discuss how a chapter her editor had her take out because it didn’t advance the story later became the perfect epilogue, how she joined WFWA and immediately binge watched every

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309 results

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