Thriving Authors Podcast

Multi-award winning YA author Melanie Hooyenga writes about strong teen girls learning to find their way in the world. Her time travel series, The Flicker Effect , tells the story of Biz, a 17-year old who uses sunlight to travel back to yesterday, and her sports romance series, The Rules Series , follows three girls in Boulder, Colorado who navigate their struggles with life and love while skiing...

I am delighted to share a brand new episode of Overflowing Bookshelves, featuring my sweet friend @authorcoricooper, who is one of the most inspiring people I know. Her joy about the writing life is contagious and her positive attitude will inspire you to approach your own creative process with renewed energy. Grab a cup of tea or a sweet treat and enjoy! Cori Cooper is an Arizona Mountain girl (n...

Lenore Stutznegger is the author of the award-winning debut novel BLUE SHADOWS FALL. She grew up running barefoot in the woods of Mechanicsville, Virginia with a dog at her side, five crazy siblings, and creative parents. She learned from a young age to hone her talents in art, trust in her voice, and compete for the most marshmallows in Lucky Charms. She graduated from Brigham Young University in...

Johannah Davies (JD) Spero’s writing career took off when her first release, Catcher’s Keeper, was a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013. Since then, she’s found similar success with her young adult fantasy Forte series, winning recognition from National Indie Excellence Award (2014, 2016) and Adirondack Literary Award — Best Book of Children’s Literature (2015). Her novel Boy...

This is a special episode: a recording of my virtual book launch for my new novel Thanks, Carissa, For Ruining My Life ! My amazing sister & librarian extraordinaire Allyson McAuley chatted with me about the ten years it took to bring this book into the world, crafting multidimensional characters, giving yourself permission to write and read a variety of genres, planning out book structure, an...

Lisa Czarina Michaud is a novelist and translator. Her debut novel, SLANTED & DISENCHANTED, came out last year to rave reviews. Born and raised in Chelsea before a family relocation to Long Island, she has been writing her New York stories her entire life. Wanting to see the left coast, she attended The Evergreen State College before stumbling through adulthood in Hollywood, then back east to...

Author and Certified Coach Cynthia Morris is the founder of Original Impulse, helping people become the writers they’ve always wanted to be. Cynthia has published seven non-fiction books and a Paris historical novel. Her most recent book is The Busy Woman’s Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book . She speaks globally on writing and the creative process and leads retreats, and hosts the podcast Stu...

Before becoming a writer Elizabeth was a waitress, a pollster, an Avon lady, and an opera singer. Her stories and essays have appeared in The Idaho Review , The Rumpus , StorySouth , PANK , and elsewhere, and have received numerous Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. She is the Interviews Editor at The Rumpus , as well as a regular contributor to Ploughshares Blog . Her first novel, MO...

Ethel Rohan is the author of In the Event of Contact, winner of the Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize (2021). Her debut novel The Weight of Him (St. Martin's Press and Atlantic Books, 2017) was an Amazon, Bustle, KOBO, and San Francisco Chronicle Best Book, and was shortlisted for the Reading Women Award. She is also the author of the story collections Goodnight Nobody and Cut Through the Bone, t...

Rebecca Prenevost is the author of The Mom Walks series: Starting in Fifth, Getting Crushed, and Catching Up. Never in a million years did Rebecca think she’d be a writer. But she was looking for fiction books that reflected her everyday struggles of parenting tween girls, and she couldn’t find them. She wanted something light, heart-warming, and relatable. So she tried writing one, and she had a...

Shanthi Sekaran's most recent novel, The Samosa Rebellion, was written for 8-13 year olds, but it's definitely the kind of book adults can get into, too. (I LOVED it!) Her most recent adult novel, Lucky Boy (Putnam/Penguin), was named an IndieNext Great Read and an NPR Best Book of 2017. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Salon.com, LA Review of Books and Huffington Post. When sh...

Elise Arsenault is the amazingly talented voice actor who narrated the audiobook of my novel The Best Week That Never Happened . She is a classically trained actor, singer, and voice-over artist. She has worked throughout the country with various regional theaters, including Merrimack Rep, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Ivoryton Playhouse, Imagination Stage, and the Discovery Theater at the S...

Joan Steinau Lester is an award-winning commentator, columnist, and author of critically acclaimed books, including Mama's Child and Black, White, Other . Her writing has appeared in such publications as USA Today, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Cosmopolitan, and Huffington Post. Her latest book Loving Before Loving: A Marriage in Black and White  chronicles her...

Ruth Mitchell is the author of the award-winning novel Deleted , described as "Inception meets 50 First Dates." She was born and raised in Salt Lake City and grew up writing plays for the neighborhood kids and “exploring” the woods near her home. In high school, she founded a Dead Poets’ Society, as well as successfully campaigning to make the school’s all-male service club accept female students....

Rachel grew up in the middle of a wheat field where she found plenty of time to read and dream. Her mom paid her a dollar per classic novel she read so, in a quest to amass a small fortune, Rachel read over 200 classic novels before junior high. After dabbling with writing novels and stage plays, she ran to the BYU bookstore for her first job. She sat behind the register, voraciously reading Shann...

This episode is sponsored by Patreon supporter Michael Swaidan. Thank you, Michael!! Emma Dhesi writes contemporary Women’s Fiction. She began writing seriously while a stay at home mom with 3 children under five years of age. She needed something for herself and for her future. By changing her mindset, being consistent and developing confidence, Emma has gone from having a collection of handwritt...

Holli H.L. Anderson has a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing—which has nothing to do with writing, except maybe by adding some pretty descriptive injury scenes to her books. She discovered her joy of writing during a very trying period in her life when escaping into make-believe saved her. She enjoys reading any book she gets her hands on, but has a particular love for anything fantasy. Holli can't deci...

As a thriving professional in the tech industry, Sonya Judd's life was interrupted by a premature baby and spontaneous twins less than a year later. Having three children born within a year of each other, often referred to as Irish triplets, she speaks and writes about becoming your best you when life throws you curveballs. She studied Finance and Economics at NYU and Columbia, and works as a busi...

Katya Cengel is an author and freelance writer. Her work has appeared in New York Times Magazine, Marie Claire, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post among other publications. She has reported from North and Central America, Europe, Asia and Africa and was based in the former Soviet Union for half a decade. She is the author of Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) 2020 winner an...

Mary Potter Kenyon graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Psychology, and is a certified grief counselor. She is the Program Coordinator for the Shalom Spirituality Center. Mary is widely published in magazines, newspapers, and anthologies, including ten Chicken Soup books. She conducts writing workshops and does public speaking on the topics of writing, utilizing your creativ...

Emily Grabatin  is the author of the book DARE TO DECIDE: Discovering Peace, Clarity and Courage at Life's Crossroads . Through coaching, writing and leadership development, she helps individuals recognize who they are, uncover what makes them feel alive, and streamline their focus so they can flourish. Through seasons of restlessness, burnout and wandering even while working in her dream job...

This episode is a bit different! I was recently invited to be a guest speaker for the Writers' Society at the University College of London to answer questions about my writing journey. Our conversation was so fruitful and interesting that I asked for their permission to share part of it with you. Hope you enjoy this glimpse into my writing life! Dallas Woodburn published her first book,  Ther...

Kelli Warner is the author of NOT WITH THE BAND and THE MOMENT WE FELL: humorous and relatable young adult and contemporary romance novels, the kind of stories that get your insides so wound up in an ooey-gooey mess that you forget about the un-fun stuff in life. She's passionate for a good cup of coffee (even a bad one on a desperate day), enjoying time with friends and family, and spending lazy...

Kiley Roache is the author of FRAT GIRL and THE DATING GAME, two young adult novels published by Inkyard Press, a division of HarperCollins. Kiley grew up in the suburbs outside Chicago, and has been writing since the 7th grade. She signed with a literary agent days before graduating high school. She is a graduate of Stanford University where she studied Political Science. She authored both her bo...

Maggie Reyes is the author of the Questions for Couples Journal , and is also a blogger and podcast host. She is a Life Coach and Modern Marriage Mentor who specializes in helping driven, ambitious women create the marriages of their dreams. Her innovative, playful and practical approach to love and marriage takes the principles of cognitive psychology and luxury hospitality service and uses them...