WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast: Write a Book, Change the World with Kitty Bucholtz

EPISODE 218I Susan May Warren is back with us today to show us her new 2021 My Brilliant Writing Planner! This is my favorite planner! And this year you have four styles (and price points) to choose from. Susie May and I also talk about all kinds of time and energy management tips from our own experience and our years of teaching on that topic for writers. Whether you're a plotter or a pantser, yo...

EPISODE 217I This week's guest is Rachelle Dekker , author of the new suspense book, Nine . In addition to talking about writing and the writing life, you can hear me rave about how much I loved this book! We had such a great time talking about writing, what we learn through the process, and what themes you find yourself writing again and again. For Rachelle, it's all about identity. We talk about...

EPISODE 216I Today's guest is Bryan Litfin , author of the brand new novel, The Conqueror , an action adventure story set in the time of Constantine in the third century. When Bryan wrote that he wants to write books with the action and adventure of the Indiana Jones movies, I was hooked - I had to interview him. What follows is a fun and informative jaunt through history, research, plotting, and...

EPISODE 215E In this month's Encouraging Words episode, I talk about the idea of before and after photos in any area of our life. We see them all the time selling things like diet plans, gym memberships, and personal trainers. But can we use our imaginations to see our before and after photos for today's challenges? What will I look like in a month when I finish this book? So happy and excited and...

EPISODE 214I Today's guest is bestselling author Rachel Hauck . Her newest book, To Love a Prince , came out in August and is book one in her new True Blue Royal series. Rachel has 30+ books out, and has taught dozens of writers how to improve their craft. From this perspective, we talk about worldbuilding in stories, whether contemporary or historical, in real places or fictional ones. Since Rach...

EPISODE 213I Today's guest is debut author, Amanda Cox . Her novel, The Edge of Belonging , came out in September and completely captured my heart! Amanda tells us how, while in the process of getting an editor's attention and selling her novel, she took a story told in a single timeline and changed it to become two linked stories in their own timelines that come together in the end. She also expl...

EPISODE 212I Joining us today is bestselling romance author, Roxanne St. Claire . Rocki's latest book, Man's Best Friend , releases September 25, 2020, the day after this episode airs. If you like romance and fun and dogs, you'll love this book! Rocki started her career in traditional publishing, first with Pocket Books at Simon & Schuster, and then also writing for Harlequin, Random House, an...

EPISODE 211I Our guest today is Jennifer Graeser Dornbush , screenwriter, author, international speaker, and forensic specialist. Her father was a medical examiner with a home office, so Jennifer grew up around death. She participated in her first fatality investigation when she was eight years old, and she's been involved in writing about crime ever since. Jennifer explains how she found a crime...

EPISODE 210E Our Encouraging Words episode today is about reaching out when you need a word of encouragement. I posted on Facebook last week saying I need some encouragement and the response overwhelmed me! It made me think that we all need a reminder that there are a lot of people out there willing and ready to encourage you in whatever you're going through - if only they knew you needed it. So r...

EPISODE 209I Today's guest is Leigh Duncan , author of Hallmark's first contemporary romance series. The first two books are already available, A Simple Wedding and A Cottage Wedding , set in the town of Heart's Landing. A Waterfront Wedding will be released in April 2021. She tells us how she got started with Hallmark Publishing - and how you can, too! Sweet romance is more than just no sex. Leig...

EPISODE 208I Today's guest is Liz Johnson , author of the brand new A Dazzle of Diamonds , final book in the Georgia Coast Romance series. Liz shares her fun story about beginning to write stories at age 7 and selling her first novel at 27. We talk about the fun of research and how to find just the right elements from a research trip to add into your books. It's a great conversation with a lot of...

EPISODE 207E After eating some of the most delicious strawberries since last summer, I got to thinking about harvests - how grateful I am for the harvest of fruit in its natural season rather than that grown off-season in a greenhouse - and about the harvests in our own lives. In order to have a harvest, you need to plant. What am I planting in my life, and what will that yield in the end? In my p...

EPISODE 206I Today's guest is Quinton Litchfield, pastor of C3 Church in Malmö, Sweden, and 2-time burnout survivor. Quinton talks freely about how he hit the wall, and things we can do if we find ourselves approaching the same point. He reminds us that no one is going to thank us for working so hard that we burn out. Some periods of life require sacrifice of time and energy, but when that sacrifi...

EPISODE 205I Today's guest is Melissa Kosci , co-author of the new suspense book, A Dream Within a Dream , cowritten with Mike Nappa . Melissa tells us how she came to be cowriter of a series that already had two books in it, and what it was like to help finish telling the story. (I read book one of the Coffey & Hill series, Annabel Lee , and didn't realize A Dream Within a Dream was the end o...

EPISODE 204E In this weird world we live in with a pandemic going on around us, restrictions on our movements coming and going, and too many terrible things happening and crowding the news, it can be really difficult to find balance in your life. I share my own experiences and what I've been doing to try to keep practicing living a more balanced life. I hope it encourages you as you do the same.

EPISODE 203I In today's episode, we hear from Jeremy Dronfield , author of The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz , and many other titles. Jeremy tells us how he got involved with writing this story, the research he did, how he had to work to convince the survivors to trust him with their story, and the path to publishing the book - twice. Along the way, he gives us a lot of writing tips a...

EPISODE 202I Today's guest is Susie Finkbeiner , author of the new novel, Stories That Bind Us . We have an interesting discussion on when writing can be a healthy escape for us, and when it's an avoidance tactic keeping us from dealing with our own issues. Writing is a great way to process life, and we want to help our readers do the same. Susie talks about the difference between vulnerability an...

EPISODE 201E I read this amazing book last year called The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben about how trees that are connected to each other can help and protect each other through their connections, and how a single tree off by itself doesn't have the same protections. There are so many hidden things happening in people, too. We can have a tiny effect on a lot of people, and those effects...

EPISODE 200!! Today’s guest is the wonderful Joanna Penn , author, podcaster, speaker, and all-around lovely lady! When I asked myself who, in my wildest happy dreams, I would like to be a guest on my 200th episode, Joanna was my first thought. And lucky me, she said yes! :-D I asked Joanna to start by taking us on a quick tour of her journey, how she started, how she learned about publishing, and...

EPISODE 199I Today's guest is first-time author, Sue Reynolds . In her debut book, The Athlete Inside , Sue tells how at age 60 she lost 200 pounds and began her journey toward finishing sixth at the World Triathlon Championship. She tells us how one day her "why" changed - that she stopped thinking about her weight in terms of others' expectations of her, but in terms of her changing expectations...

EPISODE 198 Today's guest is the multi-bestselling humorous women's fiction author, Kristan Higgins. Her newest book, Always the Last to Know , releases on June 9, 2020. Kristan's books tend to be funny and heart-warming, with gut-wrenching difficulties, laugh-out-loud moments, and immensely satisfactory endings. Interviewing her was a very similar experience. She talks about getting started, how...

EPISODE 197I Today’s guest is the lovely DiAnn Mills , bestselling author of the brand new romantic suspense novel, Airborne . The story of that novel coming out now is one of several great ones DiAnn tells during the interview. She starts with the story of how her husband challenged her to stop saying she was going to write a book some day and just do it . She quit her job, studied the how-to boo...

EPISODE 196 Our guest today is Bethany Turner , author of the hilarious new Hadley Beckett's Next Dish . If you like romantic comedies, or if you love celebrity chefs and their cooking shows, you'll love this book! Bethany and I talk a lot and laugh a lot , but there's a lot of little things to pick up and consider for your own writing. For instance, you may be wondering when to use popular cultur...

EPISODE 195E In this Encouraging Words episode, I talk about how even though right now we are forced to stay at home and keep away from each other when we're out, we are still part of the larger body of humanity. We are connected even if we feel it less than ever. We are finding new-normal ways of doing things together, and some of those just might be great things we can continue in the future whe...

EPISODE 194 We hear a lot about being authentic, our true selves, but what does that mean? I think of my heart as both strong and vulnerable, something that is big enough to share with others but also often in danger of being hurt. So I have a protective fence around my heart, but the type of fencing used changes. Do you have a tall steel fence around your heart? A big hedge? A split-rail fence? (...