So God Told You To Write a Book - Now What?

Ever been in the Appalachian Mountains? No? Me either but after reading Cindy Sproles latest novel, I feel like I've been immersed in those hills and hollers. The Eyes Of River is set in the early 1900's in the Appalachians and follows a young woman through a harrowing flight to clear her name and save her brother's life...not to mention her own. In Episode 20 of Season 2 - the fina...

Ocieanna Fleiss has published books in a number of genres from memoir to romance to cozy mystery to devotional. It was hard to pick which one to chat about...so, we covered them all in Episode 19 of Season 2. We start with her memoir - Love Like There's No Tomorrow: How A Cardiac Arrest Brought My Heart To Life. At age 41, she literally died and had to be revived - more than once. But the int...

Eva Marie Everson is my guest in Episode 18 of Season 2. Her latest novel, Miss Beth Bettencourt , is being released on May 12, 2026. We discuss the evolution of that story from the combination of a Miss Abby column and a writing exercise into a full-blown novel set in small-town Georgia. We also get to delve into Eva's various ventures beyond her prolific writing career such as being the con...

Another debut novelist joins me in Episode 17 of Season 2. Karen Higgin's book A Garden Grows  is the first of three books scheduled in The Hills of Harvest series. Karen is traditionally published through Mountain Brook Ink but the journey to get to her recent book launch has taken years. While homeschooling her kids and teaching them about writing, a desire within her own heart opened up to...

Nova McBee is my guest in Episode 16 of Season 2. She is an award-winning author, a screenwriter and a world traveler. The adventures packed into her  Calculated  book series are inspired by her own adventure-filled life. Book #4 - Liberated - is slated to be released on June 30, 2026. Nova talks about the preparations she made after God told her to write a book - she studied her craft, practiced...

Episode 15 of Season 2 finds us exploring one teen aged girl's experience of living near a United States naval base in the Philippines during the Vietnam War - all through the lens of Mary Sheldahl's debut novel " Torn Between Two Worlds - The Cost of Forgiveness" . The book is based on Mary's own life experiences when she and her family were sent to the Philippines so tha...

Claire Holloway Is Winging It  is the first in Angela Ruth Strong's new contemporary romance series - High Flying Romance. Based on Angela's own experiences as a flight attendant, it will be released on March 17th. In Episode 14 of Season 2, you get a preview of what's behind the new book as well as many of her other books and series. You'll hear how Finding Love In Big Sky, Mo...

Steve Rzasa is a prolific author of science fiction and fantasy stories who also works as a ghostwriter for non-fiction books. In Episode 13 of Season 2, we get to explore a few of his many writing adventures including his soon to be released book The Null Razor Heist. This story is a full blown novel about a character Steve  developed in one chapter of Eon City Burnout - A Cyberpunk Anthology (re...

Katie Mathews was 16 years old when her life was turned upside down in a car accident that left her with a traumatic brain injury and a quadriplegic body. In her memoir, Unparalyzed: Shattering Limits While Finding Freedom , Katie shares her journey from anger, resentment and hopelessness to freedom in discovering the purposes of God for her life. Her revelation about the power of renewing our min...

I know I promised Season 2 would be all about my fellow Christian authors and their books...and I do start out the episode with a quick review of some my take-aways from the amazing authors I've had the privilege of interviewing thus far. But the rest of Episode 11 is devoted to my latest novel,  The Sabotage Scroll . You'll hear about the inspiration behind the book, the obstacles I had...

Welcome to the the second half of Season 2! We start off the new year with our first Young Adult Fiction writer - Kim Vandel. Her Under Fire series will be wrapping up this year with book 4 coming out in the Fall sometime. So there's a long on ramp for you to grab books 1, 2 and 3 and be ready for that final climactic volume. In Episode 10, we get to really delve into the world of indie publi...

If you've been looking for some inspiration and practical tips about branding your work, Episode 9 with Steve Brock is just the ticket! His new book - Brand Something Beautiful: A Branding Workbook for Writers, Artists and Other Creatives - is bursting with ideas to guide you through building your own brand. Our conversation ventures from Steve's personal 'why's' behind hi...

Heidi Gray McGill is my guest on Episode 8 of Season 2. Her newest Christmas novella - A Place to Belong - comes out on November 18th. It is the latest book in her Discerning God's Best series. Our conversation runs the gamut from how she first felt called to begin a writing career in 2020, to the why's behind publishing under her own imprint, to her ongoing process of learning the craft...

In Episode 7 we have the privilege of hearing from Val Barschaw who has walked with her husband - a heart transplant recipient - through 35 years of medical care. It was this very personal journey that gave Val the information, the experience and the passion to equip others who are facing hospitalizations for themselves or their loved ones.   Surviving the Hospital: Six Secrets Every Patient Shoul...

Ann Harrison is my guest for Episode 6 of Season 2. She is the author of a new devotional entitled Praying Through the Seasons: Seven Aspects of Prayer and Communion with God.  Ann is not only an author but a poet and freelance editor - she is also totally blind. She is tenacious about overcoming obstacles whether that be from technology, external forces or her own inner struggles. Throughout this...

Episode 5 takes us into the Historical Fiction genre with a saga about Tudor England in the 1500's - specifically into the life of Blessed Thomas Abel, the personal priest to Katherine of Aragon who was the first wife of Henry VIII. Theresa Abell Haynes' new book, The Queen's Priest , is also a personal tale for the author because Thomas Abell is one of her ancestors. Our conversati...

Ever read a Cyberpunk Anthology before? Maybe not but in Episode 4 of Season 2 we get to meet one of the 9 authors who collaborated on just such a work of fiction. Tina Gollings is a teacher and writer who has dabbled in a number of genres over the course of her writing career starting in 2nd grade with a submission to a school writing contest to starting a dystopian novel in college to writing a...

In Episode 3, we get to know Susie Crosby. Her latest book which came out in July of 2025 is a children's book entitled Where Is Sheep 100? - A Skip Counting Story About the Good Shepherd's Love.  Susie takes us behind the scenes with her agent, illustrator and publishing house as she moves this book from idea to finished product. We also get to hear about LIghthearted - 100 Day Devotion...

Episode 2 of Season 2 is an interview with Sonja Anderson, the author of a children's picture book entitled "A Christmas Wish for Little Dala Horse: A Saint Lucia Celebration".   This book is traditionally published through Tyndale Kids. So we walk through that process from getting an agent to signing a contract to engaging with an illustrator and much more. Sonja is a public school...

In Episode 1 of Season 2 I interview Georgia Morris the author of a memoir entitled Unfailing Love: Freedom From Abuse, Shame, And Control Of A Schizophrenic Spouse . Since this season is all about exploring the many different avenues authors take to get their books published, Georgia and I spend some time chatting about her experience going through a hybrid publishing company - both the good and...

In this the final episode of Season 1, Wendy Jo talks all things marketing....at least the things that she knows. From social media to Goodread giveaways to websites to podcast interviews - and whatever else she can think of within her realm of experience. She also gives a long range perspective on the power of simply getting your book out into the world and letting it take on a life of its own. M...

It's time to get that manuscript in shape for publishing. What does that entail? Formatting, formatting, formatting. In this episode, Wendy Jo discusses some of the elements of getting your manuscript print ready. Everything from margins, sizing,  pagination, fonts, etc. Lots of decisions and details but much satisfaction when the finished product comes out in the form of a proof copy. There...

Time to talk about the all important book cover. Yes, I know, God views us through the lens of what is going on in our hearts. But people.... well, we tend to judge things (at least initially) by the outward appearance. In this episode, we discuss the elements that will make up your cover as well as different places you can go to find cover designers. There is quite a spectrum of options both fina...

Is a rose by any other name just as sweet? Hmmm.... in Episode 12 we talk about the importance of naming your book. A short overview of our biblical naming inheritance shows we have the DNA of a very creative 'namer'. We can do this. Finding the title that settles and lands for you as well as engages your target audience is paramount. There's a big reveal in the middle of the episod...

In Episode 11, we continue our chat about audiobooks with some more specific information about the recording and editing process. Included is information about the software I use, the editing plug-in I recommend as well as discussion about ACX.com and the parameters they require for you to upload your audio files. Then I've included a little sneak preview of my upcoming audiobook recording of...