Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers hosted by Mark Stevens

We’ve got advice this time all the way from Japan. Charles Kowalski is only a few weeks away from the release of his first novel, Mind Virus, but it’s been a long road to reach this point. And Charles knows it was all meant to be. He had just the right amount of encouragement, he says, at just the right time to keep going, to not give up. Charles Kowalski is a two-time winner of the Action/Thrille...

Teresa Funke is a high-in-demand coach who assists writers with all sorts of advice for every step of the process. As a writer and self-publisher, Teresa has has done some creative and innovative things that have worked. And a few that have not. So she wanted to share what she’s learned, to help others avoid making the same mistakes. Today, with decades of experience under her belt, Teresa talks a...

Michael Haspil has a soft spot for villains. He also a mountain of patience. His journey to publication was so long he still doesn’t believe Graveyard Shift will actually be in the hands of readers in mid-July. On the podcast, Mike talks about that bumpy road to publication for his first urban fantasy and he sheds light on the many benefits of working with a good critique group. He also talks abou...

It’s been about 17 months since we had Margaret Mizushima on the Rocky Mountain Writer podcast, way back on episode number 23. At the time, her debut novel "Killing Trail" was a few weeks from publication and the buzz was just building for the Timber Creek K-9 mystery series. Now, her second book “Stalking Ground” is a finalist for the Colorado Book Award, the release of her third, “Hunting Hour,"...

The guest is Terri Benson, the Western Slope coordinator and education coordinator for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Terri provides a detailed rundown of the day-long PubCon 2017, an educational event in Golden, Colorado on Saturday, April 29.

Sleeper Protocol started with one sentence on a blank page. The sentence became a short story. Then the short story became a novella and soon Kevin Ikenberry realized he needed to write the story as a full-length novel. Now, Sleeper Protocol is a finalist this year in the genre fiction category for the Colorado Book Award. Kevin is a life-long space geek and retired Army officer. He’s a former man...

Kevin Michaels is the author of the just-released Still Black Remains, a novel that takes readers down into the gritty streets of New Jersey with gangs and the Mafia. Michaels is the author of the critically acclaimed debut novel Lost Exit, as well as two entries in the Fight Card Books series: Hard Road and Can't Miss Contender. Michaels' short stories and flash fiction have also appeared in a nu...

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers is getting ready to publish a new short story anthology in 2018: False Faces: Tales of Fakes, Frauds, and Facades This time on the podcast co-editors Angie Hodapp and Warren Hammond walk us through the careful process they have developed for selecting and editing stories between now and the anticipated publication in September of 2018. Angie Hodapp holds a BA in Engl...

After seven years of writing and re-writing, Run Away Home is due out later this year or early next from Red Adept Publishing. On the podcast, Diane talks about the inspiration for her first novel and why she couldn’t let the idea go, even after dozens of rewrites. Diane Byington has been a tenured college professor, a yoga teacher, a psychotherapist, and executive coach. She has raised goats for...

Freelance editor Anita Mumm is the guest. Anita recently made the switch from working at a Denver-based literary agency to establishing her own editing and critique services firm. Anita also made the switch from living in the big city to living in a small town in the Colorado mountains. On the podcast, Anita gives a rundown on the services she offers through her well-named business, Mumm’s the Wor...

Abby J. Reed is the guest with her first novel, When Planets Fall. The young adult science fiction fantasy comes out later this spring from Soul Mate Press and it has already drawn nifty advance praise. Kirkus Reviews has already called it “propulsive” and “sharply crafted.” On the podcast, Abby talks about a disorder she deals with called chronic migraine and how it ties in with the characters an...

This episode is a quick chat with Lisa Manifold about the process for submitting nominations for the Writer of the Year and the Independent Writer of the Year.

This episode of the Rocky Mountain Writer is a chat with Lisa (a.k.a. LS) Hawker. LS Hawker's third novel, End of the Road, was published last month by the Witness Impulse imprint of Harper Collins. Lisa offers fun, interesting and heartfelt stories about her books, including an amazing story about her path to publication that took a significant turn on a famous date, 9/11. Lisa talks about making...

This episode features a chat with historical novelist Marc Graham and the latest installment of Writer's Rehab from Natasha Watts. Marc is back on the podcast a few weeks before the launch of his debut novel, Of Ashes and Dust. In fact, we caught Marc just a few minutes after he returned home from attending an out-of-state workshop for writers about growing and building your online audience. Marc...

One reviewer said David Atkinson’s novel Apocalypse All The Time combines absurdism, science fiction and sly commentary and offers something reminiscent of Orwell, Kafka and Swift. This time on the podcast, David Atkinson discusses his latest work and talks about his writing process, including his eclectic approach to reading – some 200 to 300 books a year. He also talks about he blends work as a...

The guest is Jamie Raintree, who is presenting this month’s free workshop (Saturday, Jan. 21) for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers in downtown Denver. The presentation is called "Your Most Productive Writing Year" and on the podcast Jamie offers highlights from her approach to planning your writing and your writing career. Jamie also talks about her debut novel Perfectly Undone, due to be published...

The first episode of The Rocky Mountain Writer for 2017 begins with the second installment of Writer's Rehab. This quick lesson with Natasha Christiansen deals with sprucing up your vocabulary. After that, the guest is Suzie Brooks, who launched the independent publishing house Literary Wanderlust three short years ago and watched it blossom. The house has a busy year ahead. Suzie talks the submis...

This time on the podcast the guest is Frederick Bloetscher, who has an entry in the latest RMFW short story anthology, Found. Fred’s story is “The Old Coyote” and it’s his first work of fiction. Fred also talks about the inspiration for the story and, being someone who works in water issues on a national basis, the conversation veers for a while into the inevitable topic of climate change. Fred Bo...

The Rocky Mountain Writer debuts a brand new feature – Writer’s Rehab with Natasha Watts. In this occasional segment about the craft of writing fiction, Natasha offers brief tips and strategies for braking bad habits. First up are some ideas for writers who aren’t hitting the necessary word counts in their first draft. Following Natasha, an interview with the man behind Hex Publishers, Josh Viola....

On this episode, a chat with fantasy paranormal romance writer Robin Owens. Robin chats about a recent column she wrote about her love of an audio books and about the two series she has up and running. We also reminisce about RMFW—Robin was one of three individuals, along with Sharon Mignery and Christine Jorgensen, who were named this year by RMFW as “honored guiding members," those who were arou...

This time on the Rocky Mountain Writer we have another writer who contributed to the RMFW short story anthology "Found," published last September. Rachel Craft, who writes as Rachel Delaney, had a story called “Every Drop of Light” included in that new anthology. Rachel Craft is a full-time engineer and part-time writer. After deciding to pursue writing as a second career, she discovered RMFW and...

In June of 2012, Barbara Nickless and her family were told to evacuate their house in Waldo Canyon, northwest of Colorado Springs, because a wildfire was bearing down. Authorities told Barbara to plan on being gone for a few days. Instead, Barbara’s house burned to the ground, one of hundreds of houses lost in that devastating fire. Earlier this year, Barbara published her first novel, a mystery t...

On this episode, it's Conan the Grammarian – in person. For a couple of decades now you have read Conan’s column in the monthly newsletter from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and now Conan is out with a book titled Conan the Grammarian – Practical Guidelines on Grammar and Craft for Fiction Writers. The writer behind Conan is Susan Mackay Smith, former RMFW president. Yes, Conan is a she. On the p...

And now for something different, samples from the new RMFW short story anthology Found. There's a little something for everyone from these seven stories, all submitted to meet the anthology’s theme, "Sometimes things are better off lost. And sometimes they were never meant to disappear. Either way, when they're found, everything changes." Readings included in this episode are by Nathasha Watts, Te...

We've got J.D. Dudycha back on The Rocky Mountain Writer with his brand new baseball novel, Chasing The Dream. This one is a thriller and completes his baseball trilogy that began with Sitting Dead Red and Paint the Black. But wait, there's more. J.D. is preparing a book of short stories and a box set for December release. He also has plans for two new series in 2017. On the podcast, J.D. talks ab...