Mark Leslie Lefebvre's Blog, page 41
November 9, 2018
Episode 46 – 52 Stories in 52 Weeks with Phillip McCollum
In this episode Mark interviews Phillip McCollum about an intriguing project of writing 52 stories in 52 weeks. Or, “One writer’s journey in tackling, shackling, and shooting his inner critic.”
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Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the podcast’s sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .
. . . and then a personal update which includes a push-up challenge he participated in at the 20Booksto50K conference in Vegas.
Michael Anderle instigated this challenge for a good cause, with the following companies each donating $150 to the cause
LMBPN Publishing
Kobo
Draft2Digital
BookFunnel
Reedsy
$750 USD was raised for two worthy charities in a push-up challenge between Mark and Christine Munroe from Kobo. Chrissy’s chosen charity was Children’s Book Bank and Mark’s chosen charity was First Book Canada.
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You can watch a video of the challenge (recorded by Kevin Tumlinson – fellow author and fellow Draft2Digital colleague) on Mark’s Facebook author page.
Mark thanks the companies previously mentioned for their generosity to two great children’s reading programs and then also thanks new Stark Reflections Patron, Katie Cross, for supporting the podcast via www.patreon.com/starkreflections.
In the interview Phillip and Mark talk about:
The genres that Phillip tends to write in most often
How long Phillip has been writing
Thoughts about NaNoWriMo and other similar “competitions” to help inspired writers to write
Phillip’s inspiration for the 52 stories in 52 weeks, which was derived from Ray Bradbury
The discipline involved in undertaking such an endeavor on starting each week on Monday morning and posting the story by Sunday night
The typical word count of the stories that Phillip wrote during this process
The importance of being adaptable and recognizing that you might not always reach every single goal you set
Plans that Phillip has for the stories which included 3 ebooks: 1 for writers (52 Stories in 52 Weeks) and 2 for readers (splitting them into two volumes of 26 stories: Fantastic Shorts Vol 1 and Vol 2)
Feedback that Phillip has received on the notes added to the stories
Forthcoming challenges that Phillip has in mind to keep challenging himself as a writer
Things that Phillip learned about himself as a writer by taking this challenge
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After the interview, Mark talks about the importance of challenges that impose deadlines and require a writer to actually get their butt in the chair and their hands on the keyboard. He also reminds writers of the importance of the “fail to success” theory from Dean Wesley Smith that Phillip mentions. If you try to hit a certain word count, for example, and don’t make it, instead of fretting about the missed words, focus on the words that have actually been written, or the parts of the goal that were actually accomplished.
Links of Interest:
Phillip McCollum’s website
Phillip’s Website with the full 52 Stories listed
About & Purchase Links for:
52 Stories in 52 Weeks
Fantastic Shorts (Volume 1)
Fantastic Shorts (Volume 2)
Phillip McCollum on Twitter
Findaway Voices
Draft2Digital
Kobo
Bookfunnel
Reedsy
NaNoWriMo
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey
[image error]Phillip McCollum spent 52 weeks writing 52 short stories in an effort to prove to himself that he might be cut out for this writing thing after all. He hails from Southern California where he shares living quarters with his wife, son, an old cat, and young betta fish.
Phillip describes himself as a cross-genre fanatic, especially with his writing. He digs westerns, fantasy, sci-fi, supernatural, horror, and historical fiction. He is a big fan of Homer’s epic poems, Stephen King’s chilling tales, and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essays.
When it comes to non-fiction, he loves anything involving history, science, and philosophy and says that “Biographies of amazing people kick ass, too.”
The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
November 2, 2018
Episode 45 – Co-Authoring with the Writers Behind C. K. Wiles
Mark interviews authors Kerrie Flanagan and Chuck Harrelson about the steamy romantic comedy novels they have been co-authoring under the name C.K. Wiles.
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Before the interview, Mark shares a personal update explaining why he isn’t participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, even though he loves it. He talks about how he will be using the month of November to get caught up on previous unpublished NaNoWriMo novels – in an effort he is calling NaNoComMo (National Novel Compleition Month) as well as a few other outstanding book projects he has in the works, including print and audiobook versions of two of his recent books on writing & publishing, The 7 P’s of Publishing Success and Killing It On Kobo.
He then thanks new Patron of the show, Mary Jo Rabe as well as the other existing patrons via www.patreon.com/starkreflections for their support, then gets side-tracked into remembering television shows like Romper Room and The Polka Dot Door, then gets onto a sidetrack about Polkaroo.
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After playing a short audio clip from The Polka Dot Door featuring the Polkaroo song, Mark manages to get back on track.
This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . .During the interview, Kerrie, Chuck and Mark talk about:
How Kerrie and Chuck first met, about ten years ago, via a developmental editing project
The support Chuck has offered in helping hold Kerrie accountable for various writing projects over the years
The strategic decisions behind the collaborative C.K. Wiles project
The origin of the psuedonym
The process of how they brainstorm, map out, outline, and write each of the novels
How Chuck uses AutoCrit’s web-based editing software (which provides automated recommendations for improving your manuscript in over 20 areas – categories like poor dialogue, use of adverbs, and relying on cliches)
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The cast and universe of characters that they have created and draw upon for each novel in this series
The interesting and unplanned story arc that is beginning to reveal itself as they were working on the third book
The logistics of how they published the C.K. Wiles books to the various retail platforms
The co-author contract/agreement that Kerrie and Chuck created regarding this author name and series
The importance of trusting one another and “having no ego” on a collaborative work – looking at the work as “ours” as it is being worked on and re-written
The different elements that Kerrie and Chuck each bring to the narrative that make it better
Plans they have for promotions and attention for this series
After the interview, Mark reflects on one of the elements that Kerrie and Chuck mentioned, which is playing off one another’s strengths. He considers teamwork and the importance of recognizing strengths and weaknesses when working with others, and even shows off the fact he is a Canadian by ruminating about hockey.
Links of Interest:
C.K. Wiles Website
C.K. Wiles Books
C.K. Wiles Twitter
C.K. Wiles Facebook
Sign up to get Book One for FREE
Kerrie Flanagan
Episode 31 – Interview with Kerrie about Writing Magazine Articles
Northern Colorado Writers Group
Findaway Voices
NaNoWriMo
Romper Room
The Polka Dot Door
Polkaroo
AutoCrit
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey
The 7 P’S Of Publishing Success
Killing It On Kobo
[image error]Kerrie Flanagan is a freelance writer with over 20 years’ experience and is the author of Guide to Magazine Article Writing. As a writing consultant, she works with writers, giving them the encouragement, support, resources and tools to find success on their writing journey. She is the author of 8 books under her label, Hot Chocolate Press.
[image error]Chuck Harrelson resides in Denver Colorado and is an active member of both the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and the Northern Colorado Writers Group. His past manuscripts won the 2014 Top of The Mountain Book Award competition, the Ballot Press Competition and one was a finalist at the 2016 San Diego Writers Conference.
The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
October 26, 2018
Episode 44 – How To Deal With A Fire-hose of Information
Having just spent six days at the WMG Business Master Class workshop in Las Vegas, Mark reflects on the overwhelming and head-spinning influx of information, insight, wisdom, ideas, inspiriation, and perspective that he had just taken in.
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In this episode, he walks through some of the ideas on how authors can process such a deluge of information and adapt the curated learnings and ideas into things that are likely to best work for them.
In his personal update, Mark mentions that he has recently launched his new book, Killing It On Kobo, but skips over that quickly, because he is more interested in figuring out a way to process all the information he has just taken in.
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This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . .
Some of the elements that Mark talks about are:
A few key things to remember before setting out to try to implement the ideas gathered
The importance of first stepping back to take a breath and get perspective
A list of questions to ask yourself when looking at all of the ideas that you have jotted down or taken in
The importance not just of deciding on something, but deciding to act on that something
The concept of EAT, FEED, DRAIN
The FOUR-D way to update a to-do list
The importance of taking responsibility for your own career
Mark then thanks new Patron to the show, Matty Dalrymple, and sends a thanks to all patrons for their ongoing support of the show via www.patreon.com/starkreflections.
Links of Interest:
WMG Publishing Workshops
Findaway Voices
Dean Wesley Smith
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Kevin J. Anderson
Rebecca Moesta
David Farland
David P. Vandagriff (aka The Passive Voice)
Damon Courtney from Bookfunnel)
Christina F. York
Andrea Pearson
Donna Cook
Loren L. Coleman
T. Thorn Coyle
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey
The 7 P’S Of Publishing Success
Killing It On Kobo
[image error] The WMG Publishing Business Master Class is the premier publishing business workshop for indie writers.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling writers and renowned business and industry bloggers Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith lead this intense five days of business and publishing learning.
Industry experts will cover virtually every topic imaginable, including book production and distribution, writing productivity, audiobooks, overseas sales, contracts, bundles, and so much more.This workshop focuses on selling more books, selling subsidiary rights, indie publishing, the business of indie and hybrid, and the constant changes overwhelming us all.
Plus, networking opportunities with other industry professionals via lunches with experts, group breakfasts, and an evening hospitality suite.
The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
October 19, 2018
Episode 43 – Dave Sweet & Sarah Graham on Skeletons, Closets, and Homicide
In this episode Mark chats with Dave Sweet and Sarah Graham about their new book SKELETONS IN MY CLOSET: Life Lessons from a Homicide Detective, an unorthodox police memoir taking readers on a ride-along like no other, revealing poignant truths about life and death, and how we can all work and live together. Danger and grit pair with humour and compassion in this gripping, fresh read.
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Dave Sweet, a conservative, veteran homicide detective has teamed up with Sarah Graham, a liberal, optimistic author to write this unconventional universal life-lessons book.
Before the interview, Mark shares a personal update which includes:
Why he is pushing back the release date of his book INDIE PUBLISHING INSIDER SECRETS
Some reflections on how previous Stark Reflections podcast guest Dana Pharant turned a mistake into a win
Mark’s forthcoming trip to Las Vegas to teach at a WMG Publishing Master Class about the business of writing and publishing
This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . .
In the interview, Mark and Dave and Sarah talk about:
How Dave and Sarah first met and then decided to work on this project together
The work Dave has been doing with local area writer groups looking for insights and realistic detail related to actual police work
The dichotomy of “Homicide Cop” and “Life Lessons”
The importance that this book be optimistic and not be gratuitous in its portrayal of Dave’s experiences
The transformation that is witnessed in the various people involved in a homicide investigation and the lessons learned along the way
The early reader expectation of “more grit” and how the authors responded to that with respect for the victims and their loved ones
The decision to release this book as by Dave with Sarah rather than keeping Sarah’s name hidden like a more traditional “ghost written” book, because of the way that Sarah’s voice and influence helped to smooth out some of the rougher edges that come from Dave’s experience
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The processes and different techniques used in how they wrote this book together (actual writing, raw words, interactive presentations, phone calls)
What Dave learned about writing through this process
What television actually gets right about police work and police life
How Sarah’s experience as a writer was different than the writer/cop partnership seen on television programs like Castle
The publishing options, agent feedback and choices made for the publication of this book
The intriguing “sneak peak” preview eBook their publisher created in a “Behind the Scenes” chapbook
The comparison between when Sarah is all-consumed when working on edits and Dave is all-consumed when focusing on a case
The “Reading Guide/Study Guide” section at the end of the book
Forthcoming books in this series which will each explore courage and death
After the interview, Mark reflects on how Dave and Sarah kept working at testing out different ways of making the collaboration work, not giving up, but continuing to experiment and find new ways for the process to happen smoothly. He discusses their publishing path as well, which was a series of learnings and tweaks and changes, until they found the one that suited them best.
He considers how they applied patience, persistence, partnership and progression in their path towards publication.
Mark then thanks Patrons for their sponsorship of the show via www.patreon.com/starkreflections.
Links of Interest:
Skeletons in My Closet
Mischievous Books
WMG Publishing Workshops
Findaway Voices
Dana Pharant on Stark Reflections
Dana’s Facebook Video about mistakes & wins
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Stark Reflections Survey
The 7 P’S Of Publishing Success
Killing It On Kobo
[image error]DAVID SWEET is an active-duty homicide detective with twenty years on the job. He teaches new recruits and presents at law enforcement conferences and various community groups.
[image error]SARAH GRAHAM was an archaeologist and Traditional Knowledge facilitator before becoming an author. She writes fiction under the pseudonym Sarah Kades, sits on the board of a local writing festival, and teaches writing workshops.
The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
RSS options for this podcast: Mark Leslie at Libsyn or Feedburner
October 12, 2018
Episode 42 – Tina Dietz on Writing, Entrepreneurship and Audio
In this week’s episode, Mark speaks with Tina Dietz who is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed speaker, audiobook publisher, podcast producer, and content marketing expert.
Prior to the interview, Mark shares a few personal updates that include the launch of his new traditionally published book Macabre Montreal, and how that book launch interfered with attending the NIGHT OF THE WRITING DEAD event in Pittsburgh that same weekend.
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This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . .
. . . and also by the Patrons of the show at www.patreon.com/starkreflections.
All patrons will find, this week, the full audio of the first chapter about PRACTICE from Mark’s forthcoming audiobook of The 7 P’s of Publishing Success.
In their conversion, Mark and Tina talk about
The link between writing/expression and entrepreneurship
How writing (particularly in print) can be an enduring format as a tangable legacy
Tina’s introduction into podcasting and audiobook production
Tina’s Forbes article “Do You Sound Like a Leader?” that focuses on the relationship between vocal qualities and how a person is viewed as a leader
Getting used to and comfortable with the sound of one’s own voice
Breathing techniques and facial exercises used for voice or singing voice
Food and drink to avoid when doing voice work (dairy and citrus, for example)
The coaching Tina does helping authors getting ready to do interviews for radio or podcasting
The difference between forms of media like television, radio and podcasting
Trends in the audiobook industry that authors might not be familiar with
The concept that anything you create needs to be an asset and not a burden
The free download that Tina has on her website that helps demystifies the audiobook process – www.launchyouraudiobook.com
Things to consider when deciding between narrating and producting an audiobook yourself or outsourcing that
How Tina’s clients often “come for the audiobooks and then stay for everything else”
The pre-interview Tina sent to Mark ahead of the podcast which made things so much easier for Mark
In the post-interview reflections, Mark talks about how Tina’s info PDF made his job as an interviewer so much easier and he also shares a link to a WORD document template that authors can download and modify so they have something similar to use for their own podcast or radio interviews.
Links of Interest:
Tina’s Website
Tina on Twitter
YouTube
Goodreads
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Night of the Writing Dead
More Information about Stark Publishing Solutions
Stark Reflections Survey
Macabre Montreal
The 7 P’S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS
[image error]Tina Dietz is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed speaker, audiobook publisher, podcast producer, and content marketing expert who has been featured on media outlets including ABC, Inc.com, Huffington Post, and Forbes. Tina’s podcast, The StartSomething Show, was named by INC magazine as one of the top 35 podcasts for entrepreneurs. Tina’s company, StartSomething Creative Business Solutions, connects leaders, entrepreneurs and experts with larger audiences, resulting in expanded influence and income. Tina divides her time between the US and Costa Rica, where she’s part of a leadership team building a conscious community called Vista Mundo.
The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
RSS options for this podcast: Mark Leslie at Libsyn or Feedburner
October 5, 2018
Episode 41 – What Happens at NINC . . .
In this solo episode, Mark reflects upon some of the things that happened at NINC and why he enjoys attending it every year.
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One of the things, of course, was that he recently became Director of Business Development for Draft2Digital.
He talks about four specific things:
NINC itself, and why it is such a great conference
The Karaoke party hosted by Draft2Digital and Findaway Voices
The cool announcements that Draft2Digital made at NINC (D2D Universes and D2D Print)
Mark’s new role as Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital
This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . .
. . . and also by the Patrons of the show at www.patreon.com/starkreflections.
Links of Interest:
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Draft2Digital
Short video of Mark talking to Dan and Kevin from D2D about their recent announcements
More Information about Stark Publishing Solutions
Stark Reflections Survey
NINC (Novelists Inc)
Macabre Montreal
The 7 P’S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS
The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://traffic.libsyn.com/markleslie/StarkReflections_EP041_WhatHappensatNINC.mp3
RSS options for this podcast: Mark Leslie at Libsyn or Feedburner
September 28, 2018
Episode 40 – NINC 2018
This episode’s main content features quick chats with industry folks from NINC (Novelists Inc) 2018 in St Pete, Florida. Mark shares quick hallway interviews (originally posted as Facebook Live videos on Sept 27, 2018) with:
Carlyn Robertson from BookBub
Damon Courtney from BookFunnel
Christine Munroe from Kobo Writing Life
Ricardo Fayet from Reedsy
Prior to the interview, Mark shares some personal updates, including a few activities that happened at the conference as well as prior to the conference, such as a bookstore visit to Haslam’s in downtown St. Pete, where four of the authors on the tour found their own books in the store . . .
[image error]Nathan Van Coops, Boo Walker, Mark Leslie (Lefebvre) and Ann Roth
. . . to the craft beer and brewery tour in the Haslam neighborhood that started with about fifteen people to eighteen people, but then eventually dwindled down to what might be the title of an Agatha Christie novel: AND THEN THERE WAS ONE.
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Mark also shares that his book The 7 P’s of Publishing Success is now live at all the major eBook retail sites, with the print and audiobook versions coming soon, and that the other two books in the “Stark Publishing Solutions” series should all be up for pre-order soon.
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He also mentions a comment on the previous episode which inspired him to make getting the audio version of the books a priority, and talks a bit about using Findaway Voices (the sponsor for this episode, to get the 7 P’s book distributed and into the market).
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After the interview, Mark reflects upon the learning that can happen, at all levels, at a conference like NINC and the importance of continuing to be open to learning, growing and progressing in both the craft and business of writing.
Links of Interest:
NINC (Novelists Inc)
Findaway Voices
BookBub
BookFunnel
Kobo Writing Life
Reedsy
Patreon for Stark Reflections
More Information about Stark Publishing Solutions
Stark Reflections Survey
Haslam’s Book Store
Spirits Untapped
Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores & Libraries
The 7 P’S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS
The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://traffic.libsyn.com/markleslie/StarkReflections_EP040_NINC2018.mp3
RSS options for this podcast: Mark Leslie at Libsyn or Feedburner
September 21, 2018
Episode 39 – Professionalism
In this episode, Mark shares an early audio draft of the chapter on Professionalism for his forthcoming book The 7 P’S of Publishing Success which will be released under his “Stark Publishing Solutions” imprint by the end of Sept 2018.
Prior to the audiobook excerpt, Mark shares a few personal updates which include:
Attending NINC (Novelist’s, Inc.) writer conference in St Pete, Florida, where he will be giving a talk entitled 5 CAREER KILLING ERRORS AN AUTHOR SHOULD AVOID as well as co-hosting an open discussion entitled BRAINSTORMING “THE FUTURE” FOR AUTHORS AND VENDORS
Also, while at NINC, Mark will be visiting Haslam’s Book Store which is allegedly haunted by Jack Kerouac (Mark wrote about it in his book Tomes of Terror ) as well as visiting some local breweries.
A thank you to the Patrons supporting the podcast via www.patreon.com/starkreflections
A shout-out to Rook Winters for an awesome photo of some skull plates he shared on Twitter
Thanking new folks who continue to fill-out the Stark Reflections Podcast Survey (with a mention of how the show has been modified in line with a few common comments from some previously rec’d surveys
Mark also talks about how the main content for this episode is a test/early draft for the audiobook version of his book The 7 P’s of Publishing Success and mentions the way he’ll be using Findaway Voices (the sponsor for this episode).
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Findaway Voices, (this episode’s sponsor), provides all the tools that an independent author or s mall publisher needs in order to get into the digital audiobook market.
In the main content of the episode, Mark talks about the importance of professionalism for authors and breaks it down to three main elements:
Paperwork, Contracts and Content
In Person Appearances and People Skills
Adversity and Rejection
After the main section, Mark shares the behind a behind the scenes look at how the book this chapter is taken from came to be. Both it and another book, were originally chapters in the main book he had been working on to capture the many things he has learned in his decades of experience in the bookselling and publishing industry. But these two particular chapters grew a life of their own and became unique products as part of a larger line up of titles in the Stark Publishing Solutions Imprint/Series.
These books will be:
THE 7 P’S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS (Sept 2018)
KILLING IT ON KOBO (Oct 2018)
INDIE PUBLISHING INSIDER SECRETS (Nov 2018)
While still finalizing re-writes and edits of the books, Mark talks about the desire to get them all up for pre-order as soon as possible. He shares where people can sign up to be informed about them as well as other related “Stark Publishing / Stark Reflections” updates: www.markleslie.ca/starkpublishingsolutions
Links of Interest:
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections
More Information about Stark Publishing Solutions
Stark Reflections Survey
NINC (Novelists Inc)
Haslam’s Book Store
Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores & Libraries
Spirits Untapped Books N Beer Map
The 7 P’s of Publishing Success
The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://traffic.libsyn.com/markleslie/StarkReflections_EP039_Professionalism.mp3
RSS options for this podcast: Mark Leslie at Libsyn or Feedburner
September 14, 2018
Episode 38 – Nathan Van Coops on Writing, Flying, and Safely Landing Your Audience
In this episode, Mark interviews Nathan Van Coops who claims that he lives on a diet comprised mainly of tacos. He enjoys old planes, motorcycles, and Volkswagen’s, contends that there is such a thing as “dressy” flip-flops and is the time travel adventure series, In Times Like These, and The Skylighter Adventures. Nathan, of course, isn’t just an author, but he is also an aviator and the man behind Book Faces Live and we talk about all three things, and more.
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Prior to the interview, Mark gives a personal update that includes:
His story “Active Reader” appearing in the latest issue of Pulphouse Magazine (#3) and how that had been a long-time goal
The royalty check received from McGraw/Nelson for a short story “Almost” that is being used in a British Columbia high school curriculum
He considers how both of these “new” items are stories that were previously published and yet can still result in residual income
Mark then thanks new Stark Reflections Patron, Amy Teegan and all existing Patrons who support the show via www.patreon.com/starkreflections where additional bonus content is available to read, download, listen to and view.
In the interview, Mark and Nathan talk about:
Nathan’s latest book, THE WARP CLOCK and its tag-line “To save her future, he can’t have one.” and the stand-alone nature of this series (THE WARP CLOCK is book 4 in the series) that allows a reader to jump in at any book
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How time travel isn’t just a trope that is being used and, instead, is an integral part of the world and story, in the same way that J.K. Rowling used magic in her Harry Potter universe
The first person present tense POV that is used for the majority of these books that are told through Benjamin’s perspective
The genesis of the SKYLIGHTER adventures, based on the quiet and calm that Nathan experienced while flying a plane. He imagined the concept of what if the sky was actually as busy as the ocean?
The advice that Nathan would give to his younger self just starting writing
The branding Nathan created for his series, landing on using Damonza covers and then taking a hands-off approach to let them do what they do best
The reasoning behind why Nathan started Book Faces Live (to fill a gap in his own weekly podcast listening routine) and how he use his podcast to learn and gather information
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The fact that, unlike many writers, Nathan is an extrovert; always where and when Nathan likes to write
The deliberate placement of Benjamin from the IN TIMES LIKE THESE series in 2009
After the interview, Mark talks about the tech issue that affected the tail end of the chat, and reflects upon how Nathan handled the unexpected issue quite professionally and effectively. He reminds writers that these types of things will happen and that it is important to remember the audience is actually cheering for you and you are in this together.
Mark remembers the way Nathan thought of the reader when working on his book covers, and suggests that Nathan did the exact same thing here during the tech issue – he considered the audience and did his best to safely “land” the podcast.
The lesson? When things go wrong, take a breath, and consider the audience.
Links of Interest:
Nathan’s Website
Book Faces Live
Nathan’s Interview with Mark (Episode 37)
Pulphouse #3 (featuring Mark’s story “Active Reader”)
Damonza (Book Cover Services)
Findaway Voices
Stark Reflections on Patreon
Stark Reflections Listener Survey
[image error]Nathan Van Coops lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, on a diet comprised mainly of tacos. He enjoys old planes, motorcycles, and Volkswagens; and contends that there is such a thing as “dressy” flip-flops. He is the author of the time travel adventure series, In Times Like These, and The Skylighter Adventures. Nathan also teaches writing and publishing classes with Keep St. Pete Lit.
Nathan has had a career in aviation for over 20 years. When he’s not up in the air, he’s working on the next book. If you keep reading, he’ll keep writing.
The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://traffic.libsyn.com/markleslie/StarkReflections_EP038_NathanVanCoops_OnWritingFlyingandSafeLandings.mp3
RSS options for this podcast: Mark Leslie at Libsyn or Feedburner
September 7, 2018
Episode 37 – The Inner Dominatrix on Being a Badass in Business
Mark chats with Dana Pharant, a business owner, a speaker, an author and the host of the Inner Dominatrix Podcast, about her new book The Inner Dominatrix Guide: Become a Badass in Business.
Before the interview, Mark shares a few personal updates:
Misadventures of the cat and the headset cord
Experience using PublishDrive after hearing an interview with Kinga on The Creative Penn Podcast
See details & screenshots about why PublishDrive is awesome
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Getting Sean Costello into indie audiobooks (and a mention that this podcast is sponsored by Findaway Voices)
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Findaway Voices provides
all the tools that an independent author or s
mall publisher needs in order to get into the digital audiobook market. From audiobook production to distribution, and with the bonus of being able to set and control your audiobook pricing.
Mark also thanks new Patrons of the show, Joanna Penn and Ellie Ashe as well as all existing patrons who support the podcast via Patreon.
In their chat, Mark and Dana discuss:
The back-story and where the use of “Dominatrix” comes from (Dana spent 6 years as a Dominatrix) how principles of healing were learned through that experience which Dana has been able to apply to the concept of power, space and authority that are integral to the Inner Dominatrix
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The intriguing parallels between the role of Dominatrix and the role of Author
Where the “Badass” attitude comes from and the energy that it can put people into
The way that creative people can really shrink back when it comes to the business, marketing and promoting of their work
The last thing that a person who is tied up and blind-folded wants to hear
The importance of leaning into being unapologetic in one’s approach
The energy-based concept of “practical woo”
The three main principles that Dana teaches: 1) Getting you out of the “wrongness of you” 2) Connecting with and following your intuition 3) Being willing to lose it all
Her forthcoming book launch (October 15th) and the early-preview launch speaking event on Sept 26th
After the interview, Mark reflects about the concept that Dana mentions of “stepping into authority” and how he believes this to be important for authors. He also talks about his friend James A. Owen, who regularly reminds authors of not downplaying the importance and value of what they do.
Links of Interest:
Dana Pharant: The Dominatrix’s Guide to Inner Power in Business
Dana’s new book: The Inner Dominatrix Guide: Become a Badass in Business
Stark Reflections Episode 30 (previous appearance by Dana): Target Markets & Relationships
Episode 77 of Dana’s podcast (Dana interviews Mark about the Transition in his life)
Findaway Voices
CAPS: Canadian Association of Professional Speakers
Dana’s CAPS Speaker Profile
Mark’s CAPS Speaker Profile
Stark Reflections Listener Survey
Patreon for Stark Reflections
Register for a PublishDrive Account
The Creative Penn Podcast Episode 391 – PublishDrive
Why PublishDrive is Awesome
Sean Costello
James A Owen
Superstars Writing Seminars
[image error]Dana Pharant is a business owner, a speaker, and author and the host of the Inner Dominatrix Podcast where she shares insights into how people can be the leader in their business, by owning that space, by becoming the dominatrix in your business. As Dana says: “Dominatrix energy is feminine energy—a totally different kind of power. You simply stand and state your position. You don’t try to justify it; you don’t second-guess yourself. When you step into your dominatrix energy and surrender into the present moment, you can see the bigger picture and scout out what needs to be done. And that will take your business to an entirely new level of success. You’ll be a superstar, handling everything with ease!”
The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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