On this episode of Authoring Onward, I chat with Emily Jon Tobias about gesture in writing, her winding path to publication, and so much more! This is going to be one of the final episodes of Authoring Onward. We have had a great run, but as both Joy and I are moving on to new adventures, it’s time to say goodbye for now. We will still have the arc…

This week, I chatted with Cynthia Newberry Marten about so many things: releasing books close together, writing characters at different ages and stages, and her 50-state book tour. Wow! Have a listen. About Cynthia Cynthia Newberry Martin’s (she/her/hers) first novel, Tidal Flats, won the Gold Medal in Literary Fiction at the 2020 Independent Publi…

This week, Joy and I had a great chat with Marjorie Hudson about writing southern fiction as a transplant to the south, finding a writing community, and so much more! Have a listen for a great chat and an excerpt of her work. About Marjorie: “I grew up in the North,” Marjorie says, “but I got here as fast as I could.” Marjorie Hudson was born in a …

We’re back for Spring 2023! And for the first episode of the season, I chat with Cheryl King about her historical fiction, the way she finds inspiration by participating in writing contests, and so much more. Have a listen! About Cheryl: After 12 years in the newspaper business, I got the teaching bug and became a middle-school language arts teache…

This week, Joy and I chatted with my author buddy Michelle Nott about her new book, Teddy Let’s Go, writing quiet books, persistence, pivoting, and so much more! It was a great chat full of lessons for children’s and adult writers alike. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Also, this is the last episode of our autumn season. See you in early 2023…

This week we talked about writing your passion with Julie Carrick Dalton. Julie writes powerful stories that deal with climate issues. We talked about the value of writing your passion, creating characters readers connect with, and so much more! About Julie: Julie Carrick Dalton is the Boston-based author of The Last Beekeeper and Waiting for the N…

Hello and happy Thanksgiving! We’re back from break. We had a great chat with author Allen Klein. He shares about the therapeutic benefits of humor and many lessons learned from his long career in publishing. Have a listen… and a laugh! About Allen: Allen’s Site Allen’s TED talk Ever hear of a “Jollytologist®”? Well meet the world’s one and only Al…

This week, Joy and I chat with Valerie Nieman about her books and the vivid setting she creates. Ever wondered how to deepen your own settings? Have a listen for Valerie’s tips and exercises to craft unforgettable settings. Reminder: We’ll be out next week for the holiday. Be back at you in two weeks! About Valerie Valerie Nieman is the author of f…

This week, Joy and I chatted with historical fiction author and book coach Susanne Dunlap. We had a great chat about research inspiration, mining one’s own family or local history for story ideas, and much more! About Susanne: Susanne Dunlap is the author of twelve works of historical fiction for adults and teens, as well as an Author Accelerator C…

This week on the podcast we chatted with PJ McIlvaine about one of my favorite topics (because it’s something I am always trying to tweak and figure out myself) work/life balance for writers. Have a listen and learn from her wealth of experience. We also chatted about PBPitch, the Twitter pitch event for picture book writers and illustrators, of wh…

This week, we chatted with Liz Alterman about resilience, writing groups, and her path to publication. Have a listen to her great advice and inspiring story of persistence! About Liz: Liz Alterman lives in New Jersey with her husband and three sons. She spends most days repeatedly microwaving the same cup of coffee and looking up synonyms. Get in t…

This week on the show, I chatted with author, podcaster, and veteran of public radio Kitty Felde. We had a wonderful chat about her middle grade mysteries and her podcasts as well as podcasting for authors. Being a guest is a great way to dip your toes into podcasting if you’re curious about it or simply to get some publicity if you prefer being a …

This week, I’ve got Joy back on the show with me as we talk about her course, Create a Discussion Guide for Your Book. We’ve all seen lists of discussion questions in the back of books, but have you ever considered creating such a guide for your own book? Joy talks about why discussion guides matter–and not just for children’s and YA, what makes a …

I’m back for the autumn season! You can look forward to weekly episodes of Authoring Onward until shortly before Christmas. And I’ve got some awesome announcements! First, former guest Joy E. Held is joining the podcast. She’s doing some work behind the scenes, but you’ll also hear her voice a bit more in future…including an episode happening very …

This week on Authoring Onward, I chat with Paul Attaway about finding that creative voice within, whether it’s finding the initial inspiration to write or breaking writer’s block as you go forward. Have a listen! About Paul: Paul was born and raised in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Paul and his wife, Lyn, met in college at Georgetown University and we…

I’m so pleased to be editing, writing, and podcasting from an actual writing desk this week. It’s not in its final position, but behold! Sooo much better than the wobbly folding table where I’ve done most of my work for the past three years. What a glamorous author life, right? Today’s episode is about 7 things that didn’t work for me in my author …

I’m back! After a bit over a month of kid activities, the whole family getting covid, then catching up after recovering from covid, I’m so glad to be podcasting again. And as we emerge from the busyness that is the end of spring, it’s a great time to think about how summer will change our writing schedules. So for this coming back episode, I reflec…

Today is a little different on the show. I got a bee in my bonnet about something and decided to do this episode as a response and to take the time to also script the show so that it could stand alone as a blog post below for greater accessibility. Authoring Onward is a show about all things to do with the writing life, and you all know that two of…

I hope you are all having a lovely spring (or fall in the other hemisphere). For today’s spring break episode, I’m talking about how understanding your why for writing helps you make choices in your author career. Understanding your why is just one of the things I cover in my brand new course: Stellar Self Publishing for Picture Books. And you can …

I talk a lot about ideals on this show, how to organize your time, how to manage your writing and author business, but life isn’t like that. So on today’s episode, I get real. This is the mess of my author and editor life. And in the case of housework, it is literal mess! Grab The Messy Author Planner 2022 or the undated version. Get your book edit…

Today’s episode is a joint one with Let’s Start Writing, so if you also subscribe to LSW, no need to listen to both–they are the same! Today’s tips episode is about what to do when you’re writing along on one project and a shiny new story idea comes up, tempting you to cheat on your current manuscript. What do you do with these ideas? Are they an i…

This week, I chatted with author Edward Di Gangi about his book, his book launch, what went well and what he’d do differently. It’s a whole book launch analysis. If you’re getting ready for a launch or looking ahead to one, this is a great episode to help you in decision making. About Edward: Edward Di Gangi was adopted at birth in New York City. A…

Thousands of writers write a book in a month during National Novel Writing Month, but what about writing so fast that you’re publishing a book each month for two years! That’s what cozy mystery author ACF Bookens has done. Of course, she’s not writing them the same month they are published–there’s editing, formatting, etc. to be done–but she’s main…

It’s our second critique episode! This time, I talk to horror author Ghost Lady. We go over the sales page for one book and the first page of a manuscript for a work in progress. Hopefully you all learn a little something about creating a compelling first page and about crafting a sales page that appeals to your readers. Missed last night’s webinar…

This week, I’ve got something a little different on the show, the first book sales page critique. Author Sean kindly volunteered to go first. I go over his book’s sales page from cover to description to categories. I hope you all learn a little something about presenting and selling books. If this is a format that you find helpful, please let me kn…

They say truth is stranger than fiction, so is it any wonder that history can inspire great fictional stories? In this episode, I chat with fellow mystery writer and podcaster Landis Wade about his historically inspired mystery, and about researching and writing fiction with a historical bent. Have a listen! Landis Wade is a recovering trial lawyer…

I’m so glad to be back this week. Last week the podcast took a short break because of Covid-related school closures (thank goodness my family all okay, though). Today I’m chatting about one of the rookie mistakes I see newer authors make, which is modeling themselves on household name authors or making choices they’ve been advised against because a…

This week’s solo episode explores the ways fear holds us back in our writing and book promotion. What are some common ways we get held back? And what can we do about it? The good news is that this is normal. It happens to all of us. It’s also something we can chip away at with time, patience, and a little help from our writer buddies.…

It’s character time! Just as I’m getting ready to start a new mystery for the upcoming Mysteries, Midsummer Sun, and Murders anthology, I had the chance to interview Carrie Knowles about creating and developing characters. We had a wonderful chat about the importance of character development, finding inspiration for characters, creating nonhuman ch…

This week, I honored my commitment to working more sustainably in 2022 and did something I’ve never done before. I took a mental health day. So I thought this week would be a great time to talk about writer burnout and how to avoid it. I’m joined by artist and writer e’Layne Kelley to talk about how to recognize burnout, how to avoid it, and how to…