Kobo Writing Life Podcast

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. For the second episode of this series, we're bringing back an episode featuring Sagan Morrow from April 2021. Productivity strategist and author Sagan Morrow joins us on the podcast this week. Sagan tells us how she...

In this episode, we spoke to romantic fantasy author Imani Erriu, author of the recently released Heavenly Bodies , the first book in her beloved series of the same name. Imani is a lover of the fantasy genre (both as a reader and a writer), and her writing rose to virality on TikTok after she shared a single scene from her unfinished manuscript! Imani's next book, Fallen Stars , is the second in...

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. We're starting this new series with an episode from February 2020 all about writing retreats and writing communities! USA Today bestselling author Darcy Burke sits down with Steph and Tara to discuss the importance o...

In this episode, we are joined by author, animator, director, and co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, Michael Dante DiMartino! We were excited to talk to Michael about his latest self-published novel, Both Here and Gone , a coming-of-age YA novel about a fourteen-year-old boy named Jack, who "has experienced a perfect storm of grief and uncertainty with his father's s...

In this episode, we are joined by Kobo's own CEO, Michael Tamblyn! MT has been in the book business for much of his career, and he was directly involved with the founding of Kobo and its launch in 2010. MT is our "content guy" and is passionate about books and bookselling – including indie publishing. In this illuminating interview, we get to hear all about MT's career, his thoughts on reading and...

In this episode, we spoke to Jennifer L. Armentrout, best-selling author of over seventy books in multiple genres from fantasy to contemporary and suspense and back again – but all of her books contain strong elements of romance within their pages. Jennifer's romantasy series, Blood and Ash, is a TikTok favourite and beloved book series all around! The latest from JLA is her expansion of the Blood...

In this episode, we are joined by Barbara Kellyn , winner of the Kobo Originals Holiday Rom-Com Writing Contest for her novella, Polar Opposites ! Barbara is the author of five novels and two novellas, and has been dubbed by her readers as "the queen of banter." This was Barbara's first foray into writing contests – and she was delighted to have won! There was so much excitement this episode for t...

In this episode, we spoke to Holly Cassidy , also known as Hannah Mary McKinnon , author of holiday romance novels as Holly and thrillers as Hannah! Holly's latest, The Christmas Countdown , is a "charming holiday rom com about a young, recently heartbroken woman who is tasked by her sister to complete Advent calendar challenges in the lead up to Christmas to reignite her belief in herself, the ho...

In this episode, we are joined by New York Times and USA Today best-selling author and prolific writer Michelle M. Pillow , author of dozens of novels across several series. Michelle writes in the genres of fantasy romance, paranormal romance, science fiction, cozy mysteries, and more.  Michelle has sold over a million copies of her books and has written over 100 titles! Her prolific catalogue and...

In this episode, we spoke to Golden Angel, USA Today best-selling author of "heart-and bottom-warming romance," whose series include Masters of Marquis , Desire and Discipline , the Bridal Discipline series , and more! Golden's publishing journey began back in 2012 (but she's been writing even longer), and she became a full-time indie author in 2020. As the author of dozens of books across several...

In this episode, we spoke to Vancouver-based author and former ghostwriter, Katrina Kwan! Her romance novel debut, the rom-com Knives, Seasoning, and a Dash of Love is "a spicy romance between the talented and hotheaded chef Alexander Chen and his new hire Eden Monroe. When her bubbly attitude collides with his sharp edges, can they handle the heat between them or will their love be a recipe for d...

In this episode, we spoke to award-winning women's fiction and romance author Anna Gomez , whose publications (and accolades) are many! She has written numerous romance novels under the pen name Christine Brae, and is one half of the best-selling series co-authored with Kristoffer Poloha, From Kona with Love . This swoon-worthy series is in development for film and television and has been mentione...

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...