Odyssey of a Novel

Welcome back to another episode of the Odyssey of a Novel pod, the podcast where I sit down with indie authors to learn all about the journey and the work that led to their completed novel. Today I’m joined by Heather McMahon! Heather McMahon is an indie author and typewriter poet residing in Columbus, Ohio. Her debut book, I Was Always Worthy , came out in June 2025. It is a collection of poetry...

Welcome to another episode of The Odyssey of a Novel pod, the podcast where I sit down with self-published authors to learn about the journey and the work that led to their published novel. Today’s episode is part two of my conversation with Kristie Wolf, the Amazon best-selling romance author. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who is currently an indie author and trying to build their busi...

My guest today is Kristie Wolf, an author four times over who is known for her heat-packing romance novels, including the Project Viper series and the Blood Snow series. I believe that you, like me, will be obsessed with Kristie after this conversation and also be a romance novel convert. Award-winning author Kristie Wolf weaves tales about fearless heroes and badass heroines who fight for justice...

BIG NEWS: This is our very first video episode! If you want to watch the conversation, head over to our YouTube page, or you can watch it on Substack. All episodes are still available in audio format on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. My incredible guest today is Priscilla Zorrilla. Priscilla is a writer and coach focused on the moment people know what’s true and choose to move past it anyway. After a...

Welcome back to the Odyssey of a Novel podcast with host Emily Elizabeth. This episode is going to look a little different than our normal episodes. As you may recall, the podcast was founded in the spirit of education, learning, and helping other aspiring authors learn about the process of publishing their book while highlighting self-published authors. In today’s episode, Emily sat down with Kri...

Happy 2026, readers and writers! I’m super excited for the year and have lots of updates to share with you, as well as a preview of upcoming episodes. I’m also trying out something new! I think my internet held out enough that on Substack and my YouTube page, you can see the video companion to this episode. Get full access to The Writer on the Water at emilyebaker.substack.com/subscribe

This is the Odyssey of a Novel pod, the podcast where I sit down with self-published authors to learn all about the journey, the tools, and the work that led to their published book! I’m your host, Emily Elizabeth, and today we’re back with Sarah Razner, the author of In Name Only. We dig into her writing process: * What does and does not help her write? * The surprising way she designed and forma...

Welcome back to the Odyssey of a Novel pod, the podcast where I sit down with self-published authors to learn all about the journey that led to their published book! I know it’s been a while, some large life events kept me from being able to record and edit more episodes, but I’m so excited to be back! On today’s episode, I chat with Sarah Razner, a Wisconsin-based writer and the author of In Name...

Welcome back to the Odyssey of a Novel podcast, where I sit down with self-published authors to learn all about the journey that led to their published book! Today is part two of my conversation with Elle Wither, where we dig into the nitty-gritty of her writing process. Elle is the author of the romantasy novel The City of Skies, the first in the Stargem Series, available for pre-order now. Today...

Welcome back to the Odyssey of a Novel podcast, where I sit down with self-published authors to learn all about the journey that led to their published book! I’m your host, Emily Elizabeth, and today I’m chatting with Elle Wither, author of the Romantasy novel The City of Skies, the first in the Stargem Series. Elle holds bachelor's degrees in Music, History, and Education. Growing up surrounded b...

Today is part two of my conversation with Angelina Kelly! Kelly is based in British Columbia and is the author of the fantasy novel The Source of Storms, the first in the Stormbound Series. The Source of Storms tells the story of Halja, the daughter of a selkie who is ostracized in her homeland for her fae lineage. As the King and High Priestess begin to hunt down those who are “fae-touched,” Halj...

On today’s episode of Odyssey of a Novel, I sit down with Angelina Kelly, author of The Source of Storms, the first book in her Stormbound Series. Angelina Kelly was born and raised in remote coastal Alaska, where she developed a deep connection to wilderness and nature. She earned a master’s degree in conservation biology and spent ten years working as a wildlife and fisheries biologist. Now she...

Thanks for tuning into the Odyssey of a Novel! This is a podcast where I chat with self-published authors about the journey that led to their finished book or books. Today’s episode is part two of my conversation with Daniel Firth Griffith, author of five self-published novels: four nonfiction and his most recent, a Celtic myth retelling called The Plain of Pillars. We pick up where we left off la...

Thanks for tuning into Odyssey of a Novel, the podcast where I chat with self-published authors about the journey that led to their finished book. Today, I talk with Daniel Firth Griffith, author of five self-published novels: four nonfiction and his most recent book, The Plain of Pillars, a Celtic myth retelling. My conversation with Daniel spanned almost an entire afternoon and was so chock-full...

In the first episode of Odyssey of a Novel Podcast, I sat down with Jules Dyrud, the author of Majesties , the first in a four-part fantasy series. Jules is a self-published author and also a full-time Middle School Language Arts Teacher. She tells me all about what writing means to her, why she thinks her writing routine is crazy, and how a difficult moment in her classroom was the impetus for he...

As I navigate the waters of publishing, I am torn between the traditional publishing route and self-publishing. But every time I speak to a self-published author, I find myself inspired by their story, their belief in themselves, and always wanting to learn more. One night, in a deep slumber (when all my best ideas come to me and also when I find solutions for all of the world’s problems), I had a...