Stark Reflections On Writing And Publishing

Mark interviews author, publisher and RPG gamer Peter M. Ball who has been engaged in experimental and digital publishing since the very beginning of its appearance in the book industry. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In the interview, Mark and Peter talk about: Peter being a night owl who is most comfortable starting to write at about 10 PM at night and working through the night How, through necessity with a regular life schedule, Peter will get the writing done first thing in the morning Peter having wanted to be a writer since he was quite young The way that most of the work he has taken on in his life has been somehow affiliated with the writing world Describing the Gold Coast of Australia as Miami with slightly less charm The undergraduate degree focus which mostly avoided genre fiction How you can never escape

Mark interviews Jeff Elkins about his writing, about dialogue and character voice, about his new book The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now, and more . . . Prior to the interview, Mark shares the winners of the complimentary tickets to BookMARCon, the surprise winners of complimentary pizza, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation Mark and Jeff talk about: Jeff's "nickname" as "The Dialogue Doctor" as well as his background as a writer What Jeff has seen in the past eight years that he has been involved in the indie author space The latest novel Jeff released in March 2023 co-authored with J.P. Rindfleisch called NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services which is described as "Ghostbusters meets The Office" The first collaboration Jeff had done with his best friend years ago Wanting to reengage in and looking for a

Mark interviews Lindsay Buroker, a full-time independent fantasy and science fiction author who has written over a hundred novels, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list, and has been twice nominated for a Goodreads Readers' Choice Award. Prior to the interview, Mark shares an extremely short personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation Mark and Lindsay talk about: Lindsay's first appearance on the Stark Reflections Podcast, back in December 2018 The last time they saw one another in person, back in Vegas at 20BooksVegas a few months prior to the global pandemic Lindsay's start in self-publishing, which started just prior to Christmas in 2010 How she had been about to hit the publishing button for her first book when she received an offer back from an agent - and she decided to just go ahead and hit that "publish" but

Mark interviews Dana Claire, an award-winning author and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Book Brush about her writing, about Book Brush, and about the virtual BookMARCon conference. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a word from this episode's sponsor.   You can find out more about BookMARCon at https://bookbrush.com/bookmarcon/ During their conversation, Mark and Dana talk about: Dana's background as a creative person as a writer, including the influence of her mother, an English teacher, and her college experience Joining forces with her mother who wanted to write a children's book, and Dana who wanted to write an adult book - and the resulting young adult book they decided upon Losing her mother unexpectedly, and then honoring her mother's memory by releasing the book the had planned on Some of the issues and errors Dana made when publishing her first book (The Connection) Dana's experience and background doing marketing and promotions for major companies Being an

Mark interviews Paul Austin Ardoin about his new book From Zero to Four Figures: Making $1,000 a Month Self-Publishing Fiction. Prior to the interview, Mark welcomes new patrons, shares comments from recent episodes and a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation Mark and Paul talk about: How Paul has wanted to be a novelist since he was six years old University being all about literary fiction, and never finishing that "great American novel" he kept trying to write The way that writing a genre he was passionate about (mystery) was what made the major difference for Paul Paul's wife giving him a great idea for a main character, a former nurse who becomes a county coroner The fact that there are distinct seasons in Milwaukee Paul being a pantser, or discovery writer How literary fiction didn't gell with Paul's writing style What is really me

Mark interviews, actor and writer C. C. Humphreys about his new novel Some Day I'll Find You. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During the interview Mark and Chris talk about: Chris's new epic romance saga novel Some Day I'll Find You and how it's partly based on his own parents Having to imagine his parents in their early 20s in the precarious situations they found themselves in How this novel related to Chris's previous historical novel from the same era, Chasing the Wind The common theme of "characters in peril" in Chris's novels The consistent question of "what would I have done" during this significant era of history as well as in situations taking place around the world even today How the spark for a novel always begins with story and characters The various ways that Chris conducts research for different historical

Mark interviews Riley Odell, an autistic writer of horror, humor, and bizarro stories. As an autism/neurodiversity advocate, Riley is working on a speculative fiction anthology about neurodiverse characters written by neurodiverse writers called Divergent Realms: Speculative Stories About Neurodiversity. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation, Mark and Riley talk about: How Riley first started off writing by creating silly comic strips back in the third grade, moving to prose fiction by the time he was about twelve years old, and has pretty much been writing ever since Years of working on various unfinished projects, but having found a groove just a few years ago The ways in which his wife has helped Riley with his writing Riley's two short story collections (Vile Visions and Od

Mark interviews Angelique Fawns about her writing as well as the intel she provides on short fiction markets for other writers. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their discussion, Mark and Angelique talk about: Angelique's background in freelance writing, journalism and her 25 years working in corporate television What Global TV is, for the benefit of non-Canadians Her preference for not having to be constrained by the truth, which led to her passion for fiction over non-fiction/journalism Some of the logistics of doing promotional short videos for Global TV The silver lining of shattering her ankle and how it led to finally sitting down and writing fiction Entering the fiction world in 2018 and not being able to find markets for selling short fiction Writing in active present tense because of her background in b

Mark interviews Alexandria Brown from Rising Action Publishing about her role in acquisitions and works with sub-agents on subsidiary rights. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their discussion, Mark and Alex talk about: Alexandria starting off doing lifestyle and other non-fiction publications such as Thought Catalog from New York Her first two books that focus on dating and romance, and mental health and traveling the world Getting her PhD at the University of Gloucestershire The focus on how to write trauma in fiction in Alex's PhD (How cross-cultural characters and trauma can impact fiction and bind people together) How Alex got involved in starting up Rising Action Publishing with a co-owner she met in Humber College The tremendous value, uniqueness, and diversity that independent publishers can bring to the

Mark interviews Denise Baden, Professor of Sustainable Practice at the University of Southampton, UK, about her eco-themed writing, and the Green Writing Project which she initially set up in 2018. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation, Mark and Denise talk about: Denise's varied background in a number of different areas, including being a sales rep for cookbooks How a work of fiction (the satirical thriller STARK by Ben Elton) was what inspired Denise to become a "Greeny" Teaching in the area of sustainability and how Denise's nature is not necessarily suited to academia How "narrative transporation" allows a reader, when immersed in a story to take on the thoughts and feelings of a character The way that talking about catasotrophy and spreading fear doesn't neces

Mark interviews Lisa M. Lilly, writer, attorney, and podcaster about story structure and the idea that writers don't need to make full time writing a priority or goal. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a thank you to those who support this podcast at patreon.com/starkreflections During their conversation, Mark and Lisa talk about: The mysteries and supernatural thrillers that Lisa writes, the non-fiction books for authors, and the podcast that she hosts How Lisa continues to practice Law, but is no longer doing it full time Writing not having to be a full-time thing, and Lisa's latest book "Fiction Writing as Your Second Career" The kind of Law that Lisa practices The "floating around" that Lisa did when she had too much free time when completely away from the responsibilities of the "day job" Lisa's "Awakening" series which is described as a cross between Rosemary's Baby and The Davinci Code How sometimes a small plot or story idea might be inspired by a real-life case L

Mark interviews Johnny B. Truant, the author of the Fat Vampire novels adapted by SyFy as "Reginald the Vampire" starring Spider-Man's Jacob Batalon. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During the interview Mark and Johnny talk about: How Mark and Johnny have known one another for more than 10 years Young Johnny who had always wanted to be a writer and convinced his high school newspaper to allow him to write a column for them Orbiting the same circles as Sean Platt and how the two met via working via places like Copyblogger and the Blog World Conference How The Self Publishing Podcast came from Johnny wanting to interview (and talk and learn from) Sean Platt and David Wright about the co-authoring and self-publishing they were doing Where the spark for the idea of "Fat Vampire" came from (the old "after-show" podcast they

Mark interviews his partner Liz Anderson about her work as a Principal within education, as the better half of a writer, and also as a fellow procrastinator and creative collaborator. This episode is sponsored by the awesome Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast who support this podcast and receive additional audio, video, and text content.   During the interview, Mark and Liz talk about: The elements of procrastination that bond the two of them together How Liz has learned to embrace procastination as a way to get the creativity flowing Liz's long-time practice of producing videos and short movies The "Last Minute Productions" Liz makes, leveraging the "L" and "A" of her initials into the branding The "show" (Isolation Station) that Liz started for the staff at her school during the pandemic and how that evolved into "Distance Daily" How these virtual shows allowed the staff to connect in a way that they never had been able to do before Mark's participation in Liz's "Distance Daily" show for a while dur

Mark celebrates the 300th episode by sharing reflections from listeners, past guests, and other podcast hosts. The guest reflections, in order and with links: Edwin Downward Edwin's website Stanley B. Trice Stanley's website Sacha Black The Rebel Author Podcast EP 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel EP 155 - Rebellious Reflections with Guest Host Sacha Black Johnny B Truant Sean Platt Sterling and Stone Reginald the Vampire (Fat Vampire) Honoree Corder Honoree's Website EP 198 - Multiple Prosperous Wins in Marketing and Publishing Connor Whitely Connor's Website Brian Cohen & H. Claire Taylor Sell More Books Show Podcast EP 240 - Character, Story, and Industry Alignment with Claire Taylor EP 241 - Indie Publishing Has a Creep Problem EP 254 - Best Pages, Ads, and Newsletters with Bryan Cohen Kevin J Anderson & Rebecca Moesta WordFire Press Superstars Writing Seminars EP - Writing Through Change, Tragedy, and Trauma with Kevin J. Anderson Joanna Penn The Creative Penn EP 2 - Living the H

Mark interviews Kerrie Flanagan and Cary Bergeron from CraveBooks. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During the interview, Mark, Kerrie and Cary talk about: A bit of a background about Kerrie's writing, publishing, and industry experience, including her multiple previous appearances on the Stark Reflections podcast Cary's experience running a marketing agency and how CraveBooks was initially a side project that grew into something bigger The challenge with many of the promo sites and the fact they don't "save" or "keep" the details from an author of previous promotions What CraveBooks.com is and how it works as a marketing platform tool for authors How CraveBooks owns and operates about eight of those sites, but also has connections via third party promotion sites How Kerrie and Cary met and s

Mark interviews Sudbury area writers Matthew Del Papa and Vera Constantineau. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a few listener comments reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During the interview, Mark, Mat and Vera talk about: Vera and Mat's backgrounds as writers How humor is always going to show up in almost anything that Vera writes Haibun Poetry, which is a form that combines haiku and with prose poem Mat's very first book of "railroad stories" and how a lot of his work is focused on his home town of Capreol, Ontario What's funny about disability? How humor can be a coping mechanism for dealing with frustration Vera's love of poetry and fascination with Japanese forms of writing How poetry is a way of giving the shortest word picture imag

Mark interviews Jo Buer, a gothic suspense and literary fiction author from New Zealand who describes herself as a sucker for the supernatural, time travel, and all things woo-woo.  Prior to the interview, Mark reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.   You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In their conversation, Mark and Jo talk about: The many different ways that Jo is "bookish" Being able to go back all the way to when she was five years old, and how Jo fell in love with her school's library Writing about a gift she was given when she was six years old and the belief she had, even then, that her writing was stellar and would capture the attention and praise of her teacher The devastation and determination that early experience left her with as an author Publishing her first book,

Mark interviews Canadian Epic Fantasy author Richard H. Stephens about finally realizing a life-long dream of writing, about how his fourteen book fantasy series was inspired by hearing an Iron Maiden song in 1982, and about selling print books at in person events. Prior to the interview, Mark reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.   You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In their conversation, Mark and Richard talk about: Richard's epic fantasy writing, which is told in trilogy batches, all within the same universe How the song "Run to the Hills" from Iron Maiden in the early 1980s put the story that became his first trilogy into his head, but also how Richard's serious start in writing didn't start until 2017 How his first novel was called "The River Styx" for the first 33 years t

Mark chats with Dharma Kelleher who writes action-driven thrillers that explore the complexities of social and criminal justice in a world that favors the privileged. She is one of the only openly transgender authors in the crime fiction genre. They talk about that and a lot more. Prior to the interview, Mark reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, provides a personal update and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.   You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In their conversation, Mark and Dharma talk about Dharma's "long, torrid" life-long affair with writing, and beginning to write on a manual typewriter in their teenage years What happened in the intervening years, including getting a degree in journalism Coming out as transgender, initially to self in college, and then later on. And the challenges of doing that in the deep south of the US Celebratin

Mark interviews Jeff Adams and Michele Lucchini about their new book, CONTENT FOR EVERYONE: A Practical Guide for Creative Entrepreneurs to Produce Accessible and Usable Web Content. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.   You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In their conversation, Mark, Jeff, and Michele talk about: Their new book, released March 1, 2023 entitled CONTENT FOR EVERYONE and who the book is for Their backgrounds working at Useablenet and how it relates to this new release Jeff's Big Gay Fiction Podcast, which has been going on for eight years now Pioneering digital accessibility with UseableNet Thinking about accessibility as an opportunity or a basic expectation It being hard for Jeff and Michele to not notice acce