Podcast
Welcome to the Thriving Authors Podcast, where we delve into all aspects of what it takes to get your dream book out of your heart, onto the page and into the world, connecting with a wide audience of readers.
I don’t just want you to be a published author – I want you to be a THRIVING author, confidently sharing your ideas, making an impact with your words, and owning your unique voice that deserves to be heard! I’m here to guide you through the writing journey, from first draft to revision process, from mindset issues to craft questions, from finding inspiration to building a sustainable writing career!
On this podcast, you will find behind-the-scenes lessons from my own book-writing and publishing journey, interviews with successful published authors, and tips and advice you can start using today to move you forward in your writing life.
Episode 30: Interview with Kiley Roache
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 books while she was still a college student, and once got up early to look at copyedits before painting her face for a tailgate.
Episode 29: Interview with Maggie Reyes
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 to teach her clients the most effective ways to break destructive patterns and develop the mindsets and habits that make relationships thrive.
Episode 28: Interview with A.H. Kim
A.H. Ann Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to the U.S. as a young child. She was educated at Harvard College and Berkeley Law School, where she was an editor of the California Law Review. She is a practicing attorney and has served as chief of staff to the CEO and head of investor relations at a Fortune 200 company. A.H. Kim is the proud mother of two sons, a longtime cancer survivor, community volunteer, and member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto. A GOOD FAMILY is her first novel.
Episode 27: Interview with Gabi Justice
Gabi Justice is the author of Dog Girl, her young adult contemporary romance debut which just released on November 17, 2020. She is the mom to three dogs and one stray cat named Luna Buna. She lives in Florida with her husband and children. You’d be hard-pressed to find a tennis court in the state that she hasn’t visited, having three competitive junior players in the family. Gabi spent most of her adult life writing editorial copy for local magazines after graduating from the University of South Florida. Florida provides the settings for all her coming-of-age stories that highlight bullying, misjudgment, acceptance, and teen anxiety. Her main characters are goal-oriented teenage girls with a drive that can be fierce and dangerous.
Episode 26: Interview with Shana Lynn Schmidt
Shana Lynn Schmidt is the author of the award-winning memoir Over Our Hearts: a mother's journey learning to listen in, about her experience listening in to her heart during teen daughter's pregnancy and beyond. She is a licensed counselor, parenting coach, infant & early childhood mental health specialist, Conscious Discipline Certified Instructor, writer, and Nana. She lives in a small Kansas town with her husband Brian, not far from where they grew up, with their two dogs and an empty nest.
Episode 25: Interview with Hope Bolinger
Hope Bolinger is the author of the modern-day Daniel retelling trilogy, Blaze, Den, and Vision (releasing in August 2021). The YA superhero romance she co-wrote with Alyssa Roat, Dear Hero, just released from INtense Publications in September 2020. The sequel Dear Henchman is set to release in April 2021. Hope is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a graduate of Taylor University's professional writing program. More than 900 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids to HOOKED to Crosswalk.com. She writes about 250-300 articles a year. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her column "Hope's Hacks," tips and tricks to avoid writer's block, reaches 6,000+ readers weekly in the Serious Writer newsletter.
Episode 24: Interview with Samantha Vitale
Samantha Vitale has an insatiable hunger for two things: big challenges and amazing stories. When not working at her highly technical day job, she can be found devouring books or writing new ones of her own. She lives in Virginia with her husband and their two small humans. She is the author of the debut YA novel THE LADY ALCHEMIST.
Episode 23: Interview with E.K. Baer
E.K. has been writing poetry ever since she was very young. She published her first book, A Collection of Poems, when she was 10 years old. Her second collection, Down the Road, was released only a few years later in 2018. E.K. has published work in Stone Soup Magazine and is a staff writer for Youth MENSAN Magazine. Her poetry has placed in several competitions, including but not limited to the Carl Sandburg, Ventura County Writer’s Club, Lincoln Poetry, and No Place for Hate Imagine a World Without Hate writing contests. Besides writing, E.K. loves science, math, and history! She also plays the violin, piano, and sings. Traveling the world is one of her favorite things to do. E.K. enjoys spending as much time as possible with her dog Coco.
Episode 22: Interview with Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
Jennifer Lynn Alvarez is the author of two middle grade book series, each published by HarperCollins Children's Books, THE GUARDIAN HERD (a quartet) and RIDERS OF THE REALM (a trilogy). Before this, she self-published a middle grade fantasy called THE PET WASHER. She received a B.A. in English from the University of California at Berkeley. In addition to literature, she studied philosophy and sociology, and is fascinated by underdogs and power dynamics between groups of people. She is the current Literary Laureate for The Healdsburg Literary Guild. When she is not writing, you can find Jennifer galloping her little black mare through the foothills of Sonoma County or teaching free creative writing workshops to kids and adults at various branches of the local library system. She lives in Northern California with her husband, three children, and many pets!
Episode 21: Interview with Karen Strong
Karen Strong is the author of the critically acclaimed middle grade novel Just South of Home, which was selected for several Best of Year lists including Kirkus Reviews Best Books, CCBC Choices, and Bank Street Best Books. Her short fiction appears in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back and A Phoenix First Must Burn. Born and raised in the rural South, she is a graduate of the University of Georgia and an advocate of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). An avid lover of strong coffee, yellow flowers, and night skies, Karen lives in Atlanta.
Episode 20: Interview with Lisa Moore Ramée
Lisa Moore Ramée was born and raised in Los Angeles and now lives in the Northern California, with her husband, two kids, two obnoxious cats and more yard than she can control. She earned a BA in Speech Communications from San Francisco State and a MA in English Literature (focusing on Creative Writing) from Cal State East Bay. She worked for several years in publishing for the Walt Disney Company, first in comics, and then with licensed publishing. While there, she co-penned The Little Mermaid, Jr. Graphic Novel and the writing bug took up permanent residence. She is a devotee of Top Chef and Project Runway and often tries to work the shows in her plots. A Good Kind of Trouble, her first novel, received critical acclaim, garnering three starred reviews (PW, Kirkus and SLJ). Something to Say has received two starred reviews (Kirkus and SLJ).
Episode 19: Interview with Caitlin Horrocks
Caitlin Horrocks is author of the novel The Vexations, named one of the Ten Best Books of 2019 by the Wall Street Journal. Her story collection This Is Not Your City was a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice and a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Another story collection, Life Among the Terranauts, is forthcoming from Little, Brown in 2021. Her stories and essays appear in The New Yorker, The Best American Short Stories, The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, The Pushcart Prize, The Paris Review, Tin House, and One Story, as well as other journals and anthologies. Her awards include the Plimpton Prize and fellowships to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and the MacDowell Colony. She is on the advisory board of the Kenyon Review, where she recently served as fiction editor. She teaches at Grand Valley State University and in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her family.
Episode 18: Interview with C. Hope Clark
C. Hope Clark is the Editor of FundsforWriters, named one of the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers for the past 10 years. She is also a prolific author of The Carolina Slade Mysteries and The Edisto Island Mysteries. As a freelance writer, she’s published in The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Guide to Literary Agents, Writer’s Market, Chicken Soup, and many other trade and online publications.
Episode 17: Virtual Book Launch for THE BEST WEEK THAT NEVER HAPPENED
I'm excited to share this very special episode! My debut YA novel, The Best Week That Never Happened, was published on April 21st by Month9Books and Blackstone Audio. It is such a thrill to have it out in the world and to hear from readers who are connecting with the storyline and the characters! I held a Virtual Book Launch on April 26 and was joined by my friends Tobie Easton and Jennieke Cohen, who you might remember from episodes 2 and 3 of this podcast. I’m delighted to share our conversation with you now, as well as some behind-the-scenes tidbits about my brand new book!
Episode 16: Interview with Morris Ardoin
Morris Ardoin earned a bachelor’s in journalism from Louisiana State University and a master’s in communication from the University of Louisiana. A public relations practitioner, his work has appeared in regional, national, and international media. His blog, Parenthetically Speaking, can be found at www.morrisardoin.com. His memoir STONE MOTEL: MEMOIRS OF A CAJUN BOY is now available. He divides his time between New York City and Cornwallville, New York, where he does most of his writing.
Episode 15: Interview with Natalie Lund
Natalie Lund is the author of the young adult novels, We Speak in Storms and The Sky Above Us (forthcoming Nov. ’20). She is a former middle and high school teacher and a graduate of Purdue University’s MFA program. Natalie is a member of SCBWI and is represented by Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Literary Agency. She lives in Chicago with her spouse and a very talkative cat. You can follow her on Instagram or Twitter at @nmlund.
Episode 14: Interview with Laura Sibson
After a career in undergraduate counseling, Laura Sibson pursued an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she’s not writing in a local coffee shop, you can find her running the neighborhood streets or hiking with her dog. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and their two sons. Her debut YA novel, THE ART OF BREAKING THINGS, has received wide acclaim and was one of my favorite books of last year.
Episode 13: Interview with Farrah Penn
Farrah Penn was born and raised in a suburb in Texas that’s far from the big city, but close enough to Whataburger. She now resides in Los Angeles, CA with her gremlin dog and succulents. When she’s not writing books, she can be found writing things for BuzzFeed and sending texts that contain too many emojis. 12 STEPS TO NORMAL is her first novel.
Episode 12: Interview with Mark Gottlieb
Mark Gottlieb is a highly ranked literary agent both in overall deals and other individual categories. Using that same initiative and insight for identifying talented writers, he is actively building his own client list of authors. Mark Gottlieb is excited to work directly with authors, helping to manage and grow their careers with all of the unique resources that are available at book publishing’s leading literary agency, Trident Media Group. During his time at Trident Media Group, Mark Gottlieb has represented numerous New York Times bestselling authors, as well as award-winning authors, and has optioned and sold books to film and TV production companies. He previously ran the agency’s audiobook department, in addition to working in foreign rights. Mark Gottlieb is actively seeking submissions in all categories and genres and looking forward to bringing new and established authors to the curious minds of their future readers.
Episode 11: Interview with Tara Lynn Masih
Tara Lynn Masih has won multiple book awards in her role as editor of The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction and The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays. She is also author of Where the Dog Star Never Glows: Stories and Founding Series Editor for The Best Small Fictions annual anthology. Her award-winning fiction, poetry, and prose has been heavily anthologized. Her debut novel, My Real Name Is Hanna, won a Florida Book Award, a Foreword Book of the Year Award, a Skipping Stones Honor Award, and the Julia Ward Howe Award for Young Readers, and was recognized as a finalist in the National Jewish Book Awards.