Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers hosted by Mark Stevens

In this episode, we talk with Susan Spann, recently announced as the 2015 Writer of the Year for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Susan talks about her switch from writing unpublished historical fiction to published mysteries, about the moment of inspiration for the Shinobi Mystery series, her writing process and the Twitter hit #publaw.

In this episode, we talk with book cover designer Kirk Douponce, who has produced over 1,000 covers for publishers and writers in his career. He's also one of the workshop presenters at the 2015 Colorado Gold Conference, to be held in September in Denver, Colorado. Kirk's workshop is titled, "Book Cover Design--Your Most Important Marketing Tool." We also chat with Susie Brooks, chair of Colorado...

In this episode, we talk with speculative fiction writer Chris Mandeville. In addition to recently publishing her first novel, Seeds: a post-apocalyptic adventure, Chris will teach a four-hour master class at the Colorado Gold Conference in September. The class is "Everything You Need To Know to Write a Novel." Chris talks about her writing process, her inspirations and what she'll cover in the cl...

In this episode, we talk with Jack Marshall Maness, whose first novel, Song of the Jayhawk, the first in a trilogy just won the 2015 Colorado Book Award in historical fiction. Jack talks about his writing and research process and about the writer's collective that supports his writing and publication efforts. He also reads the opening passage from this novel.

On this episode, we talk with Janet Lane, whose romance Traitor's Moon was just named as the winner in the historical category for the Holt Medallion Award. Janet talks about her long journey to publication and about the transition from being a traditionally published author to doing everything herself, right down to using her daughter for the covers of her books.

Historical Novelist Heather Webb talks about "Becoming Josephine," "Rodin's Lover" and the master class she will be giving as part of the Colorado Gold Conference in Denver. Her workshop is called "I Hear Voices - The Art and Craft of the Distinctive Voice." She also chats about her work in progress and an anthology she developed that will be out next year (2016) from Harper Collins.

2015 Holt Award Finalist Tina Ann Forkner (“Waking Up Joy”) talks about her process for writing romance, describes how she makes time for her art, and shares her thoughts about how fiction is categorized. And science fiction writer James Norris previews a free RMFW workshop he’s giving on June 13 (1 p.m. in Castle Rock) about boosting character conflict using a free software, Lucid Chart.

On the third episode of the Rocky Mountain Writer podcast, mystery writer Gwen Florio calls in from Missoula, Montana where she played a key role in the reporting that led up to Jon Krakauer’s new non-fiction book, “Missoula,” about rape and sexual assault at the University of Montana. Florio also talks about what’s new with her mystery series featuring reporter Lola Wicks. Also, Jim Heskett, the...

On the second episode of the Rocky Mountain Writer podcast, RMFW Colorado Gold Contest Chair Chris Devlin talks about what's new in the 2015 version of the contest, which is now open to all aspiring writers. Note: Contest closes June 1! Also, 2015 Writer of the Year nominee Susan Spann, author of the Shinobi Mysteries, including the forthcoming Flask of the Drunken Master (St. Martin's Press, July...

In the inaugural podcast, host Mark Stevens interviews RMFW Writer of the Year Shannon Baker about her new book contract; chats with writer Charles Senesman about his tips on writing the dreaded "synopsis" that every writer needs to query or pitch; and talks with Colorado Gold Conference "goddess" Suzie Brooks about the upcoming three-day event in September.