Hear us Roar

Reyna worked for many years as an appellate attorney in New York and brings that knowledge to bear in a legal thriller/coming of age/romance story that follows a young female public defender as she navigates not only a case involving a possible miscarriage of justice but also personal challenges as she struggles to decide what kind of person she really wants to be. Reyna wrote her first draft in s...

Megan's debut novel is set in Nepal, and features a mother who wants nothing more than to be accepted and loved and a daughter who longs for the freedom the world outside her isolated rural village can offer. 2018 saw Megan produce not only her first full-length novel but also her first child.  She's an award-winning writer of literary fiction. She has a BA in English from Colorado College, a Mast...

Ann talks about the extensive research she did for this WWII novel (including reading the seven volumes of Winston Churchill's series TWICE), how her best marketing successes have been old-fashioned face-to-face contacts and using super-fans to spread the word, and how she's working on a two-part video series to share what she learned about self-publishing with others considering this route. Ann c...

Ever wonder what the term hybrid publishing means and whether it might be right for you? No, it's light years away from the old vanity presses but yes, it offers you the chance, for a fee, to be intimately involved in your book's title, cover art, back blurb, and publicity. Listen to our interview with Julie Maloney and her experience with one of the most respected hybrid publishers in America tod...

Johanne's debut novel takes place during The Great Depression in Canada. Here how she loves reading the classics because of the beautiful language, how a kind godmother brought her out of her shell as a child, and how she spent eleven months being GI Joe in the Canadian military reserves. She's worked in sales and management most of her career.  In 2017 she did a complete flip and now works in a g...

Sally shares how her non-fiction books led her to discover the joys of fiction , how a writing group prompt inspired this first novel, and her advice for anyone considering the self-publishing route. Although Come Back is Sally's first novel, she's no stranger to writing. Shortly after losing her first husband, Sally published Find the Love of Your Life to share how she and Dave found each other....

Irene talks about why she choose the novel format rather than writing a memoir, how the stigma of Alzheimer's disease compares to cancer, and how a horoscope in her local paper galvanized her to finally start writing her story. Much of Irene's early non-fiction pieces focus on a family caregiver's journey, especially as that journey relates to taking care of a family member with a terminal illness...

Listen to Rachel discuss the life-changing trip to Italy that inspired this debut novel, the experiences that led her to finally publish through a small press, and how a piece of her is up in space orbiting the planet for the next few thousand years. Rachel enjoys reading and writing, preferably set in exotic places. She has traveled to Italy and India and plans to expand her journeys beyond count...

Denitta describes how setting her first novel in Kansas City during the Roaring '20's was an historical goldmine, why she thinks you should write at least two books before publishing, and how she learned everything she needed to know about self-publishing from one on-line course. Denitta Ward writes historical and contemporary fiction from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. After decades of wri...

Elena talks about the challenges of writing in two historical periods, how her WFWA critique group helps her by being tough, and how she uses writing instead of television for stress relief. Elena was born in Ukraine and came to New York City as a refugee with her family at age 17. She is somewhat obsessive about travel, but, when at home in San Antonio, can be found browsing through bookstores or...

Hear how humor writer Marianne Hansen had to overcome self-doubt before she could write her book, what made her decide to self-publish, the differences between NYC and Montana, and how she thinks meals that come in a box are the best thing going. writer, wife, mother of 3 and purchaser of shoes.  I live in Montana with my family and dog princess Ginny.  I spent the first half of my life in Connect...

Eldonna tells us why she set her book in the 1960's, how she can still remember what it was like to be eleven, why she chose a children's Sunday school song for her title, and how her decision to donate a kidney to a stranger became an award-winning PBS documentary. She grew up in a large family nestled between cornfields and churches in the provincial Midwest. She eventually escaped the harsh win...

Hear Carrie's story of how she utilized everything from InstaFreebies to Book Funnel to Book Bub to publicize her novel, how in her thirties she finally realized books by contemporary women could actually be considered literature, and why Calgary's city-wide Zombie Days scares her to death. Carrie Mumford has lived on both the East and West coasts of Canada, and many places in between. She complet...

Barbara talks to us about coming to terms with how your life turned out, teen-age rock idols, and how to judge the quality of a mattress. Barbara's articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times ,  Consumers Digest, Parents Magazine, American Baby,   Westchester Magazine,  and  Writer's Digest,  and online at BrainChildMag.com, GrownandFlown.com, WorkingMother.com, NextAvenue.com, TheMani...

Julie, now a NYT's best-selling author for The Last Flight, talked to us right after the debut of her first novel about Pitch Wars, writing at 3:45 a.m. in the morning., and how she finds balance in her life. Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, Julie grew up reading books on the beach while everyone else surfed. After attending college at University of the Pacific, and a brief stint worki...

Anna Quinn is a writer, teacher, and the owner of The Writers' Workshoppe and Imprint Bookstore in Port Townsend, WA. She has thirty years of experience teaching and leading writing workshops across the country. Her writing has appeared in Writer's Digest, Psychology Today, Literature Circles and Response, Practical Aspects of Authentic Assessment, Instructor, Manifest-Station, Lit Fest Anthology...

A native New Yorker and captivating storyteller with a flair for embellishment, Jennifer Irwin currently resides in Los Angeles with two cats, a dog, and her boyfriend. After earning her BA in Cinema from Denison University, she worked in advertising and marketing, raised three boys, and ultimately became a certified Pilates instructor. While she has written screenplays and short stories since her...

Hear how Lori's debut novel was inspired by her mother's life. It is a LGBTQ-themed historical novel set in the 1930s and 40s about a young woman who struggles to define herself in a world where she does not seem to fit. It was a Foreword INDIES 2017 Book of the Year Awards Winner, and a finalist in the following contests: Self Publishers Review 2017, Golden Crown Literary Society in two categorie...

Sweta talks about her debut novel, a story of a grieving daughter and abuse survivor who must summon the courage to run a feminist conference, trust a man she meets over the internet, and escape a catfishing stalker to find her power. Born in India, Sweta writes about women, multiculturalism, wellness, and identity. Sweta, whose work has appeared in The New York Times , amongst other publications,...