Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers hosted by Mark Stevens

At the Colorado Gold conference last month, Nathan Lowell gave a workshop called "A Field Guide To Amazon." The room was packed. On the podcast this time, Nathan offers the highlights from that standing-room-only session. Nathan talks about Amazon rankings, about the possible advantages of going all-Amazon, about e-book promotions, the importance of your Author Central page and the difference betw...

The Lucky Hat Mine is J.v. L. Bell’s first novel and it officially launches on Saturday, Oct. 1. The novel is a “light mystery” for all ages—it’s set in the 1860’s of Colorado, more specifically, Idaho Springs. On the podcast, J.v. L. Bell talks about what inspired the story, her approach to research to get the details right and how she found beta readers on Goodreads. She also reveals that she fo...

The guest this time is writer Jason Evans, who discusses the highlights of a workshop he presented at Colorado Gold called "Writing Authentic African-American Characters." On the podcast, Jason offers some ideas for giving African-American characters something he calls “agency." He has a few book recommendations for research and he talks about what inspires him to write historical fiction set in t...

The brand new short story anthology from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers is called Found and today on the podcast we start a new mini-series with various writers whose stories were selected. First up is Claire L. Fishback. On this episode, we chat with her a bit about what inspired her story “Remembra” and we hear about some other projects she’s got going, too. Most of this episode is Claire's read...

At RMFW's big annual Colorado Gold conference this month, Julie Kazimer (a.k.a. j. A. Kazimer) gave a workshop called Twenty-Five Things I wish I knew Five Years Ago – Moving from Pre-Published to Multi-Published. Among those 25 tips was one very simple suggestion: don’t publish crap. On the podcast, Julie dives a bit more into her workshop tips and talk about her publishing career, which didn't s...

Kevin Wolf is on the podcast on the eve of the launch of his first novel, a Colorado-based mystery called The Homeplace. Kevin won the Tony Hillerman prize for this book last year and the reward was a publication deal with St. Martin’s Press. Kevin talks about his experiences with a big publishing house, how he developed his cast of characters for the story and his straightforward and understated...

This episode is a live recording of the Thursday, Aug. 18 panel at the Tattered Cover featuring three Writer of the Year finalists (Mark Stevens, Christine Goff and Carol Berg) and three Independent Writer of the Year finalists (Lisa Manifold, Nathan Lowell and Sue Duff, although Sue was not present). The panel was quizzed by 2015 Writer of the Year Susan Spann. The 2016 Writer of the Year for RMF...

The guest is Shannon Baker, author of Stripped Bare (Tor/Forge), the first in the Kate Fox mystery series. Set in the isolated cattle country of the Nebraska Sandhills, it’s been called "Longmire" meets "The Good Wife." Shannon Baker also writes the Nora Abbott mystery series (from Midnight Ink), a fast-paced mix of Hopi Indian mysticism, environmental issues, and murder set in western landscapes.

On the podcast this time is vocal coach Dylan Yates, who is giving a master class for writers at Colorado Gold in September. Yes, writers, at some point, must also get out there and talk. Dylan Yates is also the author of an award-winning novel, The Belief in Angels. She has a teaching career that spans public schools, theater direction for regional and national theaters, and vocal training in cor...

Wendy J. Fox, author of the forthcoming The Pull Of It, is the guest this time. The Pull Of It debuts in late September from Underground Voices. Wendy Fox is also the author of The Seven Stages of Anger and Other Stories, which won won the inaugural Press 53 Award for Short Fiction. Her fiction, essays and interviews have appeared in ZYZZYVA, the Tampa Review, The Missouri Review and The Pinch, am...

Laurence MacNaughton's It Happened One Doomsday debuts this month (July, 2016) and it's already off to a roaring start. Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, RT Book Reviews and Library Journal have all weighed in with glowing comments and Barnes & Noble is getting behind the new title in a very big way. On the podcast, Laurence MacNaughton talks about the approach to writing It Happened One Doomsda...

In mid-June, Jennifer Kincheloe got word that her first mystery, The Secret Life of Anna Blanc was nominated for a Macavity award in the historical category—one of the top prizes in the mystery writing field. Her first novel was originally a winner at Colorado Gold -- just a few years ago. This time on the podcast, Jennifer talks about her path to publication and how she goes about researching her...

The guest is writer and attorney Lisa Adams, who is giving a master class at Colorado Gold conference in September called Avoiding Real Life Drama, The Nuts & Bolts of Tax Law. Lisa Adams is an Arizona-based attorney. Her expertise is in federal tax law, federal Indian law, criminal law and procedure, and complex business transactions. As a writer, do you know the basics of what counts as income o...

Writer Heather Webb stops by the podcast to give a sneak peek of the four-hour master class she'll be giving at Colorado Gold, RMFW's big three-day conference in September. Her class is called Nailing an Agent-Grabbing Opening and it will give participants a chance to learn what makes an opening grabby, or trite, and how to win an agent's eye. Heather also catches us up on all her projects, includ...

This time on the podcast we welcome back RMFW Writer of the Year Susan Spann, author of the forthcoming The Ninja’s Daughter. Susan is giving a master class at Colorado Gold in September and she’s here this time to give us a sneak peek of that class, Writing a Killer Mystery. Susan talks about the key elements every mystery writer needs—the crime, the sleuth, clues, the setting, how to ramp up ten...

The first in a series of conversations with key presenters who are coming to Colorado Gold, RMFW’s big annual three-day writing conference, in September. This time the guest is Stuart Horwitz, who is leading a master class on Friday, Sept. 9 and that workshop follows the approach in his new book, Finish Your Book in Three Drafts: How to Write a Book, Revise a Book, and Complete a Book While You St...

Registration for Colorado Gold, RMFW's big three-day conference in September, is now open and this podcast provides a thorough preview from conference chair Corinne O’Flynn. There are several new features to the conference this year including “Hook Your Book” sessions, new options on the master class schedule, an expanded author signing sessions, additional author readings, the mentor room and mor...

This podcast is about getting involved. Specifically, it's an interview with former RMFW Writer of the Year Linda Hull and her journey of getting involved in both Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and Mystery Writers of America. Last week in New York, Linda was one of the co-presenters at the Edgar Awards for the best novel in juvenile fiction. Her work with writing organizations, however, started wi...

Aimie K. Runyan's first novel, Promised to the Crown, launches this week. The novel is set in 17th Century France and New France, a.k.a. Canada. The idea for the book started for Runyan in third grade when she took an instant interest in the French language and soon, an even deeper interest in everything to do with France. Her interest in France stayed with her through high school and college and...

This week on the podcast, a two-part preview of Genre Con, a day-long educational event taking place in Golden, Colorado on Saturday, May 14. First up is Terri Benson, who serves in a dual capacity as RMFW’s Western Slope liaison and education chair. Terri provides some insights into how Genre Con will run and what attendees can expect from both the morning group session and the afternoon breakout...

Betsy Dornbusch writes epic fantasy. She's also dabbled in science fiction and she has written and published short stories that have appeared in over a dozen magazines and anthologies. Her first fantasy novel came out in 2012 and her latest trilogy is wrapping up, after Exile and Emissary, with Enemy, coming soon. She just announced the sale of a stand-alone, The Silver Scar. On the podcast, she t...

Eleanor Brown is the New York Times and international bestselling author of The Weird Sisters. Brown's first published novel created a splash. The Weird Sisters was an Indie Next pick, an Amazon Best Book of the Month, and a Barnes & Noble Book of the Month. On April 30, Eleanor is giving a free workshop in Littleton, Colorado called "Flammable Characters." On the podcast she gives us a preview of...

Warren Hammond is the author of the KOP series of novels -- KOP, Ex-KOP, and KOP Killer -- as well as the standalone The Tides of Maritinia. The first three mash up mystery and sci-fi, the standalone Tides is more of a spy thriller set in a watery, distant planet. On the podcast, Hammond talks about the inspiration for the KOP series and getting the rights back and re-publishing them, with new cov...

J. L. Abramo was born in the seaside paradise of Brooklyn, New York on Raymond Chandler’s fifty-ninth birthday. His seventh novel was just published and it's set in the town where he was born. Brooklyn Justice is a series of interconnected stories featuring private eye Nick Ventura. Abramo is the author of Catching Water in a Net, winner of the St. Martin’s Press/Private Eye Writers of America Awa...

This episode is a live recording from workshop held Saturday, March 12 in Denver at the Ross Cherry Creek Branch Library. The workshop was designed as a primer for the annual Colorado Gold Contest, which opens April 1. The workshop was hosted by contest co-chair Pam Novak and veteran contest winner Kevin Wolf. This live recording runs just about an hour. As Pam makes clear, many questions about th...