Kobo Writing Life Podcast

In this episode of the KWL Podcast, we were joined by Hanna Wheeler, translator and copywriter who has worked on translating several Kobo Originals titles (check out Iris Visser's books )! Hanna grew up in a bilingual family and is fluent in both English and Dutch, and has translated a variety of titles, from biographies to children's pictures and more! Her work is expansive; some of her previous...

In this episode, we spoke with science fiction, fantasy, and young adult fiction author Nicki Pau Preto ! Nicki is a Sunday Times best-selling author of six books across these genres in both the middle grade and young adult fiction categories. Her latest YA fantasy release is Ghostsmith , the sequel to Bonesmith ! These two books make up the House of the Dead duology , a "dark young adult fantasy...

In this episode, we are joined by Renee Rose and Lee Savino , best-selling authors who have written over 20 titles together! The best-selling Bad Boy Alpha series is the result of their collaborative effort to write spicy wolf-shifter books. Their collaboration goes all the way back to 2015, when they first met at a writing conference and became fast friends. Lee and Renee had so much great advice...

In this episode, we are joined by Clayton Noblit, senior book marketing manager at Written Word Media . Clayton has been a voracious reader his whole life and, after working in financial start-ups, moved to Written Word Media and has been there ever since. Clayton loves working with indie books and indie authors and has a lot of great advice to offer the community! As an expert in digital marketin...

In this episode, we are joined by Nora Decter, writing instructor and author of How Far We Go and How Fast , her debut YA novel that won the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize in 2019 . Nora's latest book, What's Not Mine , is described as an "absorbing, darkly funny story of family, addiction, and survival." We spoke to Nora about her writing career, writing YA before transitioning to writing adu...

In this episode, we spoke to indie author, writing craft expert, podcaster, and all-around talented rebel author Sacha Black ! Sacha is the author of several writing craft books, host of The Rebel Author Podcast , and writer of adult sapphic fantasy fiction under the pen name Ruby Roe . Sacha is also a regular speaker at author conferences around the world, and offers writing craft courses with th...

In this episode, we are joined by Malorie Cooper, author and co-founder of The Writing Wives, where Malorie and her wife Jill offer author coaching and author marketing services! Mal writes science fiction titles under M.D. Cooper and non-fiction titles under Mal Cooper, with a focus on Facebook advertising and helping indie authors market their books for the better. Check out Malorie and Jill's m...

In this episode, we are joined by author, conference organizer, and ghostwriter Jessie Kwak to discuss all things writing and publishing! Jessie is the author of over fifteen books, including series like The Nanshe Chronicles and The Bulari Saga , as well as standalone thrillers such as From Earth and Bone . Jessie's expansive career has encompassed so many aspects of publishing and she had lots o...

In this episode, we are joined by Vancouver-based Bal Khabra, debut author of hockey romance novel Collide! Bal started out as an avid reader of romance and reviewer of romance titles, and after reading over 150 romance novels in one year, decided she was ready to write one! That novel, Collide, was picked up and published by Penguin Random House after starting out as a self-published work. We can...

In this episode, we spoke with Patrick E. Horrigan, academic and author of American Scholar , published by Lethe Press . Since recording this episode, American Scholar was shortlisted for the 2024 Lambda Literary Awards in the Gay Fiction category. Congratulations, Patrick! Patrick is also the author of two other novels, plays, essays, and more. He and taught literature for twenty-five years at LI...

In this episode, we are joined by Jeff Adams and Michele Lucchini, online and digital accessibility experts who work at UsableNet, whose goal is to "make the digital world more accessible and usable." Jeff and Michele recently wrote and published their first book together, an amazing guide to all things digital accessibility, Content for Everyone: A Practical Guide for Creative Entrepreneurs to Pr...

In this episode, we are joined by author Alison Cochrun, writer of the best-selling romance novels The Charm Offensive and Kiss Her Once For Me . Her latest work, Here We Go Again , is a "new queer rom-com following once childhood best friends forced together to drive their former teacher across the country." Here We Go Again is available now from Simon & Schuster Canada! We had a great time heari...

In this week's episode, we spoke to Jodi Drake, a bestselling author who writes multiple series under the name J.L. Drake! Jodi's series span over thirty books, and these include the Broken Trilogy , the Quiet Mafia series , and her latest, Havoc of Sins , which begins with Grim – available to read now! For more info on her series, check out her reading order guide here . Jodi spoke to us about he...

In this episode, we spoke to award-winning author Bethany Maines, whose romance-fuelled action-adventure novels include Eye Contact and Bulletproof Mascara , among many others. Bethany is a multi-genre author who has written in many genres and sub-genres, including action-adventure, mystery and suspense, science fiction and paranormal romance. She's also a hybrid author who has experience working...

In this episode, we are joined by Kiki Chatfield, CEO and founder of The Next Step PR . Kiki spoke with us about her PR company, why she founded it, her best marketing tips for authors, the conference she runs, Authors in the Bluegrass , and so much more! Kiki is always open to hearing from readers and authors alike and is enthusiastic about helping others as much as she can. She had so much great...

In this episode, we are joined by best-selling Canadian author Emily Austin, whose debut novel Everyone In This Room Will Some Day Be Dead was nominated for the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour, to discuss her latest release, Interesting Facts About Space ! This title is available today and was one of our top reads of last year – we were so grateful to received ARCs of this must-read new release....

In this episode, we are joined by best-selling author of the book series that became a TikTok sensation,  Playing for Keeps ! Playing for Keeps is a steamy, romantic hockey romance trilogy that have taken Booktok (the bookish side of TikTok) by storm. We were so excited to talk to Becka and hear all about her writing journey, the realities of both self-publishing and traditional publishing, and, o...

In this episode, we are joined by Lisa Shaughnessy, founder of The Writing Retreat Sampler and creator of The Writing Retreat Directory . The Writing Retreat Sampler is a series of virtual events that help writers find writing retreats that best suit their writing and publishing goals, and The Writing Retreat Directory is a free directory that features more info on writing retreats across the glob...

In this episode, we sat down as a team to talk about everything do with Kobo Writing Life that took place over the last year! KWL Director Tara, Author Engagement Manager Laura, Promotions Specialist Rachel, Kobo Originals Lead and Content Coordinator Vanessa and Content Coordinator Terrence all shared highlights from their work in 2023, including insights into Kobo Plus, the Kobo Plus expansions...

In this episode, we are joined by New York Times and international bestselling author Elena Armas, author of The Spanish Love Deception and The American Roommate Experiment ! Elena is a life-long romance fan who got started writing and publishing three years ago. We chat with her about her latest rom-com romp, The Long Game , which is a small-town, contemporary sports romance between a soccer exec...

In this episode, we are joined by Bethany Lopez , a USA Today best-selling, multi-genre author who has written over thirty books! Bethany is a prolific author with multiple ongoing contemporary romance series to her name, as well as several paranormal romance series under the pen name DJ Bryce ! Her latest release on Kobo is a box set of her popular series, The Jilted Wives Club , available now. B...

In this episode, we are joined by New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Jenn Sterling, writing as J. Sterling, whose latest series, Fun for the Holidays , features holiday romances for every season. Check out her latest instalment, The Thanksgiving Hookup ! Jenn is also the author of dozens of books across several series, and is the author of sports romances, celebrity romances, new adu...

In this episode, we spoke to Brett Riley, author of fiction, screenplays, and creative non-fiction. Based in Las Vegas, he also teaches creative writing at the College of Southern Nevada. We had a great chat about his works, writing in the horror genre, his love of comic books, and his sci-fi and fantasy YA series with elements of the otherworldly and monstrous, Freaks . We also learned so much fr...

In today's episode, we are joined by Elizabeth Barone, author of over a dozen novels, with one of her latest releases published by Kobo Originals! Stagwood Falls: Love in Ink is a contemporary romance taking place in the fictional town of Stagwood Falls and the tattoo parlour – and the women who work there – at the heart of it. A Touch of Gold and the Love in Ink series are described as "Virgin Ri...

In this episode, we are joined by fantasy author, LGBTQ+ sensitivity reader, and international speaker and presenter October K. Santerelli! October's latest book, City of Day , was published this past February and is the first in a planned trilogy. We were so excited to have October on the podcast after first hearing him present on neurodivergency and the creative process at Superstars Writing Sem...