Stark Reflections On Writing And Publishing

In this episode Mark interviews Diane Devenyi, a former tax lawyer who shifted her focus to education reform, and her new book Dear Genius, Harness the Hidden Power in your ABCs. Prior to the main segment, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, invites listeners to submit reflections for forthcoming episode 300 welcomes new patrons and shares a few words 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 chat, Mark and Diane talk about: Diane's start in a non-creative realm, with the belief she was going to be a tax lawyer Publicly announcing at an educational meeting that she was there to re-vamp education on the planet back in 1999 Universal design: AKA "Learning for everyone" How the current education system was built to support an earlier century of humans -- ie, creating workers rather than thinkers The Alvin Toffler Quote: "The illiterate of the 21st century

Mark interviews Oskar Söderberg, a thirty-five year old husband, father of two, and full-time IT employee about his writing life and the process leading up to publishing his debut novel, The Broken Pyromancer, coming in March 2023. Prior to the main segment, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and a few words 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 chat, Mark and Oskar talk about: Oksar's long-held perspective of how cool writers were, with the romanticized images he always had Writing and self-publishing a book back in 2017, which did not work out well, and which he ended up taking down His main takeaway from that experience His first novel, which is with an editor as the interview was being conducted and is coming out in 2023 What the Sweden Amazon site is like How Kindle Unlimited is not available in Sweden What platforms

Mark interviews writer, narrator, and creative Alicia McCalla about her work creating thrilling stories of courage, bravery and strength featuring kick-ass Black women leads in SciFi, Fantasy & Romance. Prior to the main segment, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, thanks new Patrons, shares a personal update, and a few words 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 chat, Mark and Alicia talk about: How Alicia is two different versions of a superwoman and the way her brand is quite powerful Courage, bravery, and strength The strong women in Alicia's life, and her legacy Sharing badass, strong, and powerful black women who use their spunkiness, brains, and abilities Recognizing the power of a black Star Trek captain Dressing up in cosplay as a Starfleet captain when going to get a Covid booster shot How ground-breaking Nichelle Nichols' role in the

In this solo episode, Mark reflects on how continues to be inspired by teacher, mentor, and friend Jim Turcott. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor segment. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLe

Mark interviews Malcolm Coon about his plans for overcoming the "back-burner" state of his writing projects, why he doesn't plan on giving up should his writing income ever get to "that" level, his goal of completing a short story every month this year, and more. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update inside of the word about this episode's sponsor segment. 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 Malcolm talk about: Malcolm's full time work in tech while simultaneously having wanted to write since 1997 A falling out Malcolm had with a partner in his tech business and how that led to working on a tech thriller that he worked on, but abandoned after about a month His long-time love of reading fantasy, which led to deciding to write fantasy Getting serious about his writing in about 2011, discovering various writing podcasts, and realizing that this

Mark interviews Canadian author Edo van Belkom about his life in writing, and the January 2023 the Paramount+ TV series adaptation of his Silver Birch Award-Winning Novel WOLF PACK by Jeff Davis and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a brief personal update, welcomes new Patron Dharma Kelleher, 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 and Edo talk about: An old picture of the two of them at a "Sci-Fi Saturday" multi-author event from the late 90s where Mark was one of the managers (Attendees were David Shrogryn, Edo van Belkom, Carolyn Clink, Robert J. Sawyer, Douglas Smith, Andrew Weiner, Mark Leslie, Sally Tomasevic, Marcel Gagne) Edo's journey as a writer, beginning with his first published short story being published in an annual "Year's Best" anthology Writing abo

Mark interviews Liz Worth, a professional tarot reader, a poet and author. 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. In their chat, Mark and Liz talk about: The many things that Liz "slings" Satisfying that craving Liz and her husband have to be surrounded by "vintage things" via owning an antique shop The importance of helping take something inherited off someone's hands in a meaningful way and to someone that will find use in it How Tarot, the occult, and writing have always been a part of Liz's life, and her mother's influence in this area Growing up going to psychic fairs, learning astrology and card reading Being draw to punk and goth culture in the 90s in high school Making her own goth zine (Last Breath Escapes), photocopying it, and making it available through a local record store Doing someth

Mark interviews Juliette N. Banks, a bestselling, wide author who writes steamy contemporary and paranormal page-turning romances. Prior to the interview, Mark shares recent comments, welcomes new patron Dharma Kelleher, and shares 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 and Juliette talk about: Juliette always believing that some day she would be a published author, but it was something she never chased Juliette's marketing background at a book she wrote in 2012 that was published by Random House in 2013 The significant and tight Covid related lock-downs in New Zealand Juliette's adaptation to reading a lot of eBooks during the pandemic The incredibly expensive cost of print books in New Zealand Writing an archangel series and a vampire series Launching her books and reader magnet in Jan and March of 2021 Work

To kick off the new year, Mark shares a Jan 3, 2023 article from the Written Word Media blog on the Top 10 Publishing Trends for 2023. Prior to the interview, Mark share 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. Links of Interest:   Written Word Media: Top 10 Publishing Trends for 2023 Join Written Word Media as an Author Be a guest on the Stark Reflections Podcast Superstars Writing Seminars (Save $100 with code: STARKSSWS2023 Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los An

Mark talks with Elizabeth Ann West about her writing and using AI tools such as Sudowrite for intriguing new types of collaborations. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a comments from recent episodes, 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. During their conversation Mark and Elizabeth talk about: Elizabeth's start in indie publishing back in the "early days" of self-publishing The Jane Austin Fan Fiction that Elizabeth writes for a living The panic in the writing community with the dropping of chatGPT (GPT = Generative Pre-trained Transformer) What Public Domain content is and a look at the grey area of AI generated content and copyright Changes to Public Domain and copyright law related to Disney and Mickey Mouse How Public Domain is really important to culture Some of the areas where AI has already been integrated into the tools we use

Mark has a chat with Amy S. Peele, an Amazon best-selling and award-winning author. They discuss her medical mystery series, her healthcare background, comedy, laughing yoga, and so much more. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a question from recent a episodes, an update regarding looking for guests (especially newer writers) for the podcast, 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 and Amy talk about: Having been an RN since 1974 and the life-long friends she has maintained her entire life Leveraging the "two best friends" theme in her mystery series as the two main protagonists Spending thirty-five years in organ transplants Deciding to kill people she didn't like in real life as fictional characters in her novels Writing the three murder mysteries after she retired in 2014 because she still had "transplants" that she needed to

In this solo episode Mark reflections on a couple of topics: AI in creativity and writing to market with passion. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes and patreon, 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. Links of Interest:   EP 280 - The Jozie Planner with Jo-Ann Carson and J.C. McKenzie EP 86 of the Fantastic Comic Fan Podcast (with guest Mark Leslie) EP 453 of Sell More Books Show Superstars Writing Seminars (Save $100 with code: STARKSSWS2023 Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in

In this extra, slightly shorter episode sponsored by the patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast, Mark reflects on an episode of David Richman's Stop Making Yourself Miserable podcast where he discusses the power of crowds. David's Podcast, Stop Making Yourself Miserable is a series of short (usually 15 minute) episodes where David shares an insight and reflects on what we can learn from it, or how we can grow. Links of Interest:   David Richman's Website David Richman's Podcast (Stop Making Yourself Miserable) Episode 54 Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canad

Mark interviews J.C. McKenzie and Jo-Ann Carson, a mother and daughter team of Vancouver Island authors who share a strong desire to organize their hectic writing lives and have created the JoZie Planner for Authors by Authors. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes and patreon, 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, J.C. and Jo-Ann talk about: How J.C. was indoctinated into the writing world via her mother, Jo-Ann being a creative person and writer Returning to Canada from New Zealand and how a combination of reading a lot and some vivid dreams led to the first book she wrote Looking at the first two books she wrote which she considers were a "hot mess" SHIFT HAPPENS, J.C.'s third book, and first published book, and the other 6 books that were published by The Wild Rose Pre

Mark interviews Michael La Ronn, the author of over 80 science fiction & fantasy books and self-help books for writers. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares 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. During their conversation, Mark and Michael talk about: How long it has been since Mark and Michael saw one another Michael getting back on the travel circuit and being one of the guest speakers for Superstars Writing Seminars in Feb 2023 How Michael got extremely ill in 2012 with an extreme case of food poisoning combined with a hospital infection he acquired, and how that laid him up for a full month Taking the time to realize, while he was stuck in the hospital how he'd been working in a dead-end job and not being the writer he wanted to be Having a beautiful vision of being a successful published writer, and the feeling of happiness that

Mark interviews Danielle Kaplan about her new book I Married a Thrill-Seeker. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares 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. During their conversation, Mark and Danielle talk about: Danielle's background before she decided to write her new book The irony of doing a thesis in brain-injury, with most of them involving motorcycle accidents How Danielle, who was considered a moderate who "followed the rules" first met her "wild and crazy" husband Steve back in university Moving to Toronto, Canada to start her life with him and continuing her career in the medical field Having written for medical publications prior to this first book Steve's life as an adventure rider on his Harley Davidson motorcycle when on a trip in the Yukon Keeping all her correspondence and personal journals during the tragic events followin

Mark has a chat with several authors from the ASK THE AUTHORS 2022 book edited by Kaye Booth. Prior to the main segment, 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. Links of Interest: The Writers Career Toolkit StoryBundle Writer Beware Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groov

Mark interviews Diann Floyd Boehm, an award-winning author of children’s books who writes stories to inspire readers to be kind, like themselves, and Embrace Imagination! Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update, recent comments 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 Diann talk about: How Diane started off as a teacher - from 4 year olds all the way up to 8th grade Becoming one of the self-taught tech-knowledgable teachers in the system early on, falling in love with computers, and realizing how much she could help students Enjoying and preferring writing long-hand despite being comfortable with and adept at using a computer The process of developing and writing children's books and the parallel inspiration for both children and adults that can exist within them The beauty of what can happen when people op

Mark interviews Samantha M. Bailey, the author of WOMAN ON THE EDGE, a USA TODAY and #1 national bestseller, and WATCH OUT FOR HER, an instant #1 national bestseller about her twenty-year writing journey. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares 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. During their conversation, Mark and Samantha talk about: How long Mark and Samantha have known one another and how long it has been since they've chatted, and Samantha's previous guest spot on this podcast Samantha's latest thriller WATCH OUT FOR HER and the 13 weeks it spent on the Globe and Mail bestseller list in Canada The book's presence on numerous indie and chain bookstores as well as non-bookstore locations across Canada including Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart, and Costco, where it was a buyer's pick How everyone in the retail space was so good to Samantha

Mark interviews Michelle Oucharek-Deo, a writer, speaker and art therapist about her fiction writing journey, creative therapy, and her time management philosophy of the 42 Minute Hour. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares 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. During their conversation, Mark and Michelle talk about: How Michelle became an art therapist 28 years ago, working with people from 3 to 103 years old Using art and the process of art-making as a process for healing A memory from Grade One involving being in the library and dreaming of one day being a writer Being a creative writing major in university and how that didn't align with Michelle's vision Sitting down to do some writing in her mid-30s and then again in her 40s; then diving in to engage in fiction writing Michelle's first fiction and how it relates back to her life as