Florida Writer Podcast: Recent Episodes
Alison Nissen
A discussion about writing and other things with authors, editors, publishers, and industry influencers.
In this episode of the Florida Writer Podcast, Alison Nissen chats with David Ladensohn, a seasoned entrepreneur and author of a fascinating new book on an unexpected pairing: fly fishing and Leonardo da Vinci. David shares his journey from his Texas roots to summers spent in New Mexico, where his passion for fly fishing first took shape. His book offers a unique blend of stories, weaving together Leonardo's life, his groundbreaking work as a hydraulic engineer, and his remarkable understanding of river currents—skills that David imagines would have made Leonardo an exceptional fly-fishing guide.
The discussion reviews Leonardo’s many talents, from music and storytelling to his scientific curiosity, painting a vivid picture of the Renaissance genius as an engaging fishing companion. David recounts his own discovery of Leonardo's drawings related to water and fishing, which inspired him to explore their historical and practical significance. His book combines biography, fishing, research, and historical context, creating a narrative that appeals to a wide audience—not just anglers or Leonardo enthusiasts.
Fly-Fishing with Leonardo Da Vinci by David Ladensohn shares Leonardo da Vinci’s obsession with water and the fact that the artist would have made the perfect fishing guide. This book will inform and entertain anyone interested in Leonardo or fly-fishing and their unlikely intersection.
#Wolves: https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/wildlife/wolf-reintroduction-changes-ecosystem/
Alison Nissen is an author, podcaster, ghostwriter, professor, and co-founder who battles dog hair and laundry. Learn more about her at RevelCoachStory.com.
Founded in 2001, the Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization that embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our volunteers demonstrate our motto, "Writers Helping Writers," daily.
#floridawriters #amwriting #writerslife #podcast #revelcoach #writeyourbooknow
In this episode of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with prolific writer and cartoonist Ryan Estrada about the art of comic book writing, including the importance of pacing, concise storytelling, and creative challenges. Ryan shares insights from his experience co-creating Banned Book Club with his wife, Kim Hyun Sook, and illustrator Ko Hyung-Ju, a graphic novel based on Kim's real-life experiences in 1980s Korea. They also dive into the timely issue of book banning, with Banned Book Club itself being banned in several U.S. states, yet still celebrated globally in schools and libraries. Ryan discusses his research process, life in South Korea, and his diverse interests and accomplishments as a storyteller.
Ryan Estrada is an artist, author, and adventurer. His books include Banned Book Club, No Rules Tonight, Occulted, and the Student Ambassador series. He has made comics for Star Trek, Popeye, Flash Gordon, and Garfield.
He was a gator wrangler in America, an ambassador to Australia, an undocumented animator in Canada, a ghostbuster in South Korea, a Bollywood voiceover actor in India, wandered Kim Jong Il's secret tunnels to North Korea, slept on a bench in a typhoon in Japan, dug toilets in Thailand, did an accidental illegal border crossing into Burma, made road comics in Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam and The Philippines, documentaries in Colombia and Ecuador, and podcasts in Malaysia, ran with the bulls in Mexico, barely escaped being eaten by lions in Kenya, fainted atop Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, got caught in a Peruvian coca war, lived in a Costa Rican rainforest and a Panamanian volcano.
Alison Nissen is a story strategist and ghostwriter who has taught collegiate composition and literature classes for over two decades. Alison was the winner of the 2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards Unpublished Autobiography/Memoir for Resolve, Courage, Hope. Alison is passionate about helping writers find and tell their stories to change the world with authority and authenticity on the stage, in small groups, or one-on-one.
Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit; it embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our motto, “Writers Helping Writers,” is demonstrated daily by our volunteers.
On this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen welcomes Kevin M. Hall. Wondering if his kids would remember their family stories, Kevin wrote a short story for them as a Christmas gift. His grandsons’ reaction inspired him to write multiple books, blending history with memoir to capture the moments of his life in context with the world.
Kevin M. Hall joyfully adopts the titles of dad, grandpa, and papa. Residing with his wife in Rush, NY—a suburb of Rochester—he is a family man with two married children, six grandchildren, and a beloved dog named Pal.
His career spanned over 40 years in the private sector, during which he secured a US Patent, was featured in Forbes magazine, authored several white papers, and received numerous accolades for his contributions.
Now retired and contemplating his next chapter, he turned to writing. In 2022, he published his first two memoir/history books. When queried about his motivation to write, he replies, "It was the persistent curiosity of my grandchildren, always asking, 'What was it like when you were young, grandpa?'"
For his third book, he interviewed a range of fascinating individuals, sharing their extraordinary and inspiring tales—some bordering on the miraculous. One Certified Buyer comments: Have you ever been in a situation where you get a tingling sensation telling you something extraordinary is happening? This book took me through an interesting journey of some astounding stories and other smaller tales of wonder in day-to-day life.
Alison Nissen is an author, podcaster, ghostwriter, professor, and co-founder who battles dog hair and laundry. Learn more about her at RevelCoachStory.com.
Founded in 2001, the Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization that embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our volunteers demonstrate our motto, "Writers Helping Writers," daily.
#floridawriters #amwriting #writerslife #podcast #revelcoach #writeyourbooknow
In this episode of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with author Andy N, who shares insights from his diverse writing journey. Andy has penned ten full-length novels, including Changing Carriages at Birmingham, New Street, a poignant love story, and a memoir detailing his struggles with diabetes. His debut novel, Birth, explores the life of a 16-year-old aspiring artist, set in a familiar backdrop that blends fictional characters with real-life elements.
Andy also discusses his musical background, highlighting the connection between music and poetry, particularly in their rhythmic qualities. Currently, he is working on a sequel titled Death, which continues the narrative from Birth, as well as a new project called Ghosts, which delves into ghost stories and our relationship with the landscapes we inhabit. The conversation wraps up with Alison expressing gratitude for Andy's insights, making for an engaging and thoughtful discussion on the intersection of writing, music, and personal experience.
Andy N is the author of ten full-length poetry collections, the last two being 'From the Diabetic Ward Volume 1' and 'Changing carriages at Birmingham New Street' and numerous split poetry books, including 'run away with Me in 7 Words' with his wife Amanda Steel (Also known as Amanda Nicholson) He is the co-host of Chorlton Cum Hardy's always-welcoming Spoken Word Open Mic Night which meets on the 1st Thursday of each month, and he does ambient music under the name of Ocean in a Bottle (and side ambient projects such as Polly Ocean and Mandy in a Bottle). He is also the host and the creator of 'Spoken Label', a poet, writer, and artist Podcast series also, the paranormal, supernatural, and plain spooky Podcast series with his wife Amanda Nicholson 'Cloaked in the Shadows'. His official website is onewriterandhispc.blogspot.co.uk/ and he is always interested in undertaking performing / new projects. His email address is aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk
Alison Nissen is a story strategist and ghostwriter who has taught collegiate composition and literature classes for over two decades. Alison was the winner of the 2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards Unpublished Autobiography/Memoir for Resolve, Courage, Hope. Alison is passionate about helping writers find and tell their stories to change the world with authority and authenticity on the stage, in small groups, or one-on-one.
Alison has interviewed over 1500 authors, leaders, entrepreneurs, and coaches on her Florida Writer Podcast and REVEL COACH+Conversations.
Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word. Our motto, “Writers Helping Writers,” is demonstrated daily by our volunteers.
On this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Mark Crail, a debut author in his seventies who began writing during the pandemic. His first book, Tales Out of School, draws from his experiences working in Amish country. Mark has since published three more books in the series, and a novel inspired by his mother-in-law's life.
During the conversation, they explored the intersection of fiction and reality, agreeing that stories rooted in personal experiences can be just as powerful as fact. Together, these tie together and coordinate for one successful launch. Send your book into the world with gusto!
Marc Crail believes that it is far better to be lucky than good, and he claims to be the luckiest man in the world.
Professionally, Marc struggled with dyslexia but with help and persistence he became a successful teacher, principal and superintendent. That success came about with a great deal of help from family, friends, colleagues and students. He was able to earn a doctorate in Educational Administration because as he likes to say, he just kept showing up.
Personally, Marc and his wife Jayn have been married for over 45 years. They have two sons, two daughters-in-law and two grand daughters. Jayn and Marc live in Mount Dora, Florida. Marc credits his parents for reading to him and believing in him. He thanks his family for their unconditional love and patience.
"Tales Out of School" is Marc's first novel but he is currently writing a sequel titled "More Tales Out of School".Alison Nissen helps people bring words to life. As a story strategist, she works with leaders to perfect their business pitches and online presence through storytelling. Successful leaders use key storytelling points to engage their audience and gain market share because they know that good storytelling is the best form of marketing, recruiting, and fundraising.
She is an author, podcaster, ghostwriter, professor, and co-founder who battles dog hair and laundry. Learn more about her at RevelCoachStory.com.
Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our volunteers demonstrate our motto, "Writers Helping Writers," daily.
#floridawriters #amwriting #writerslife #podcast #revelcoach #writeyourbooknow
Do you treat your book as a business? On this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen interviews Ella Ritchie, the founder of Stellar Communications, a company that specializes in non-fiction book publishing, marketing, and PR for self-publishing authors. There is so much that needs to happen to create a successful book launch. Ella offers 6 quick tips for marketing (and so much more) in this episode:
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Build a buzzworthy book.
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Reach out to your circle of influence.
3, Prep your online presence.
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Navigate print and online media.
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Launch your book.
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Keep the momentum.
Together, these tie together and coordinate for one successful launch. Send your book into the world with gusto!
Ella Ritchie is the founder of Stellar Communications Houston. she delights in collaborating with consultants, editors, and ghostwriters to serve self-published nonfiction authors. Her published clients include memoirists, small and mid-sized business leaders, nonprofits, families, and international corporations.
She is known for her amicable attitude, meticulous attention to detail, and commitment to quality. When she’s not on Zoom calls with her spectacular team, you can find her scribbling strategy, sipping black coffee, and listening to jazz music.
Alison Nissen helps people bring words to life. As a story strategist, she works with leaders to perfect their business pitches and online presence through storytelling. Successful leaders use key storytelling points to engage their audience and gain market share because they know that good storytelling is the best form of marketing, recruiting, and fundraising.
She is an author, podcaster, ghostwriter, professor, and co-founder who battles dog hair and laundry. Learn more about her at RevelCoachStory.com.
Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our volunteers demonstrate our motto, "Writers Helping Writers," daily.
#floridawriters #amwriting #writerslife #podcast #revelcoach #writeyourbooknow
It’s not uncommon for people to use their emotional journey to springboard their careers into authorship. Emily Hill is no exception. In this episode of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and Emily chat about Emily’s journey from social work and ministry to becoming a published author, discussing her self-publishing strategy and her personal writing process. Emily found the writing process challenging but rewarding.
Discover some of Emily’s time management tactics, her experiences growing her following on social media, and the challenges she faces in balancing writing and marketing.
Emily spends much of her time drinking too much coffee, dabbling in guitar and piano, singing loud, laughing louder, writing, talking, cross-stitching, and watching reality TV. She is also a licensed social worker and hospice chaplain, graduating from Wesley Seminary with a Master of Divinity. Her book Everyday Epiphany intertwines personal anecdotes with Scriptural truths to offer a place where God becomes approachable for believers and seekers of all levels.
Alison Nissen helps people bring words to life. As a story strategist, she works with leaders to perfect their business pitches and online presence through storytelling. Successful leaders use key storytelling points to engage their audience and gain market share because they know that good storytelling is the best form of marketing, recruiting, and fundraising.
She is an author, podcaster, ghostwriter, professor, and co-founder who battles dog hair and laundry. Learn more about her at RevelCoachStory.com.
Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our volunteers demonstrate our motto, "Writers Helping Writers," daily.
#floridawriters #amwriting #writerslife #podcast #revelcoach
Alison Nissen and Cathy Fyock, the Biz Book Strategist, share a conversation about using books as a business strategy. Cathy explains that she works with professionals who want to write a book as a strategic move to establish themselves as thought leaders in their field. Covering the topics of crafting compelling book blurbs and author bios, benefits of self-publishing and hybrid publishing, and creative ways to find speaking opportunities.
Want a complimentary strategy session with Cathy? Visit CathyFyock.com
Cathy Fyock provides you with the intensive support you need to get your book DONE. She is the author of On Your Mark: From First Word to First Draft in Six Weeks, Blog2Book: Repurposing Content to Discover the Book You’ve Already Written, The Speaker Author: Sell More Books and Book More Speeches, and the WSJ, USA Today, and Amazon best-seller, Authority.
LA Weekly Feature Story, June 2023 - 15 Book Coaches to Watch in 2023. Founded by Cathy Fyock, the Business Book Strategist, Cathy Fyock, LLC offers one-on-one coaching, group coaching, writing retreats, and learning programs to through leaders and professionals who want to write a book as part of their business growth strategy.
She has mastered the art of getting a book on paper quickly, and then using her speaking and writing to generate revenue streams and create new business opportunities. She leads her own consulting/coaching/speaking practice and has been a member of the National Speakers Association for more than 20 years. Cathy has been a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) since 1993. Since starting her coaching business in 2014, she’s helped more nearly 200 professionals become published authors.
She has consistently used her writing skills to promote her business, build credibility, create powerful revenue streams, and establish herself as a thought-leader. While never picked for the high school newspaper or seen as a “writer” by any of her teachers, she consistently uses writing to build her business, and to help other speakers, consultants, and small business owners use writing to meet their business objectives.
Cathy helps aspiring consultants through her webinars and coaching programs, and supports small business owners, consultants and speakers in leveraging speaking and writing to build their businesses through a variety of services, including her books, webinar programs, one-on-one and group coaching programs, retreats, and consulting.
Alison Nissen helps people bring words to life. As a story strategist, she works with leaders to perfect their business pitches and online presence through storytelling. Successful leaders use key storytelling points to engage their audience and gain market share because they know that good storytelling is the best form of marketing, recruiting, and fundraising.
She is an author, podcaster, ghostwriter, professor, and co-founder who battles dog hair and laundry. Learn more about her at RevelCoachStory.com.
Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our volunteers demonstrate our motto, "Writers Helping Writers," daily.
#floridawriters #amwriting #writerslife #podcast #revelcoach
Lily Iona MacKenzie chats with Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen about her latest work, Dreaming Myself into Old Age. This hybrid memoir blends personal anecdotes with critical writing on topics such as poetry and art. Now, in her eighties, Lily is challenged by facing old age and all that comes with it. Determined to age gracefully and thoughtfully, she recognizes that working with one's inner life and dreams is key to understanding the changes that come with aging.
Lily has published reviews, interviews, short fiction, poetry, travel pieces, essays, and memoirs in over 170 American and Canadian venues. She also taught rhetoric at the University of San Francisco for over 30 years and is currently teaching creative writing at USF’s Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning. Learn more about Lily at LilyIonaMacKenzie.com
Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our volunteers demonstrate our motto, "Writers Helping Writers," daily.
Alison Nissen is an author, podcaster, ghostwriter, professor, and co-founder. Write Your Book NOW! with Alison @ RevelCoachStory.com
#floridawriters #amwriting #writerslife #podcast #revelcoach
Novelist and attorney Kyle Shoop chats with Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen about adding conflict and empathy to build characters. A number of his novels also include lyrics—as a singer and songwriter, he adds links to his books for the audience to hear the songs for that character. Instead of just reading the lyrics, Kyle recorded that song. You can click it and listen to it on YouTube or Spotify under his recordings at Guy+Guitar.
Kyle Shoop is a multi-genre author of compelling stories. His new "Senses of Love" series is a romance series that provides rewarding and inspirational stories.
Kyle also authorizes the Acea Bishop Trilogy, an action-packed fantasy series. All books in that series are now available, with Acea and the Animal Kingdom being the first book.
At a young age, Kyle was recognized for his storytelling by being awarded the first-place Gold Key award for fiction writing in Washington State. After spending several years volunteering in his wife's elementary classrooms, he was inspired to write the Acea Bishop Trilogy. He is now motivated to finish the new romance series. In addition to writing novels, Kyle is also an attorney.
Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our motto, "Writers Helping Writers," is demonstrated daily by our volunteers.
Angie Elita Newell chats with Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen about the challenges of writing about Canada's Indigenous history, Angie's modern-day colonialism experience, the significance of stories from various cultures and religious texts, and the power of shared experiences expressed through storytelling.
As a trained historian, Angie's interest lies in the oral storytelling of her indigenous elders which she passes along to the next generation as both spoken and written texts. Angie's personal history led her to use surrealism to make storytelling feel authentic.
ANGIE ELITA NEWELL belongs to the Liidlii Kue First Nation from the Dehcho, the place where two rivers meet. A trained historian, she blends a tradition of oral stories with academic history and holds university degrees in English literature, creative writing, and First Nations history with an emphasis on colonialism.
https://www.instagram.com/angieelitanewell.
Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our motto, “Writers Helping Writers,” is demonstrated daily by our volunteers.
You might be surprised to know that surgical robots are used for over one million procedures every year. In this episode, Dr. Roger Smith chats with Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen about his medical thriller series on robotic surgeons in the year 2050 and his real-life work with surgical robots over the last ten years.
His novels include an advanced AI character struggling to understand its role in society and healthcare. Roger writes about AI in his novels and experiments with current AI tools in the writing process. He will share his perspective on the controversial role that AI is playing in writing and other creative professions.
Roger’s experience spans healthcare, defense, and intelligence industries. He spent the last ten years working exclusively with surgical robots and performing experiments to determine their contributions to improving surgical performance.
Dr. Roger Smith has over 30 years of experience creating new technology solutions for large organizations. He holds two doctoral degrees and three master’s degrees that span business, computer science, and mathematics.
The first twenty years of his career addressed defense and intelligence problems and last ten years focused specifically on surgical robots in healthcare systems. Currently, he leads a consulting company focused on robotics, AI, and simulation in healthcare. He was previously a Chief Technology Officer at AdventHealth System; CTO for U.S. Army Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation; and a VP and CTO for Titan Corp. As part of this career, he published over a dozen nonfiction books on technology, business, and innovation topics.
He is currently writing fiction that explores advanced medical devices, applications of AI, and new forms of simulation in the future. These describe the technology, but more importantly, they speculate on the impacts that these might have on surgeons, patients, the healthcare system, and society.
Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our motto, “Writers Helping Writers,” is demonstrated daily by our volunteers.
Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen chats with Edward DiGangi about his memoir, A Son's Search - A Mother's Journey, a timeless story of adoption, search, discovery, and reunion set against the backdrop of the glamorous ice skating shows of the 1940s. Edward shares how his hunt for clues about his adoption opened doors to a compelling story about his birth mother, who hid her pregnancy from the world. “Like a jigsaw puzzle, every story is made up of pieces; big ones, smaller ones, pieces not easily found, tiny and hiding, essential to complete the picture.”
Edward Di Gangi is a retired customer service executive who lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina with his wife, Linda. Di Gangi was adopted at the time of his birth, and his first book, The Gift Best Given: A Memoir, recounts his late-adulthood search for the identity of his birth mother and the unexpected discoveries he made during the course of his journey.
Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
Our motto, “Writers Helping Writers,” is demonstrated daily by our volunteers.
Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen chats with legal and financial thriller author Mark Shaiken. Writing a heart-racing legal and financial thriller has exhilarating consequences. Mark Shaiken draws on his 40-year career in law to create his fictional characters. In his latest novel, Cram Down, inspired by his volunteer work with marginalized individuals, Mark explores a company that builds inner city housing for disadvantaged communities.
Mark also publishes 3 weekly essays on Medium @Markshaiken.medium.com
Mark lives with his wife Loren and their dog Emily in Denver Colorado. He schooled at Haverford College and Washburn University, and practiced commercial bankruptcy law for almost 4 decades before moving on to writing, board service, and his photography and music.
Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of "Writers Helping Writers" is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Power, Greed, and Corruption in Washington, D.C. with Steve McGuire
Steve McGuire, a retired Federal judge with a 32-year legal career in Washington, DC, joined Alison Nissen on the Florida Writer Podcast. Steve writes political thrillers inspired by his experiences in Washington. He believes that politics has always been about the same issues, but the influence of corporations and the ill-informed public have exacerbated the situation. Steve faced challenges in his writing journey, particularly in his role as a judge, when every word was scrutinized.
Today, he can share his background and knowledge from the viewpoint of fictional characters. Steve's books have a common theme of power, greed, and corruption in Washington, D.C. Although his books are fiction, they have an underlying tone that implicates today's reality.
Steve is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and had a thirty-year legal career serving as an attorney and a federal judge in Washington, D.C. Steve retired in 2008 as the Chief Judge of the Federal Trade Commission, where he received the FTC Distinguished Service Award and was honored by President George W. Bush for his service to the nation's judiciary. Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of "Writers Helping Writers" is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Insert comedy into any story by sticking to the truth but changing one part. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Tim O’Leary about his strategy to write an entirely true story, except for inserting a fictional narrator.
Tim O'Leary is a Pacific Northwest-based short story writer who has published two collections of short stories and a novel set to be released next year. His book, "The Corona Verses," explores social themes that emerged during the pandemic. Tim shared his journey into fiction writing, including his publishing and writing processes. Toward the end of the discussion, he shared his personal preferences.
Born in Billings, Montana, Tim is the author of Warriors, Workers, Whiners, & Weasels, Dick Cheney Shot Me in the Face, Men Behaving Badly, and, forthcoming, The Corona Verses, to be released in 2024. He graduated from the University of Montana and received his MFA from Pacific University. Tim and his wife Michelle and their yellow lab Pinchot split their time between the Columbia Gorge in Washington state, and Santa Ynez, California.
Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Meet Modello Brown! On this Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen chats with the multi-media artist as he shares the evolution of Hip Hop Littles. What started with writing lyrics, Modello Brown turned his songs into life lessons by writing children’s books. Today Modello is creating an immersive experience to build strong, emotionally resilient children.
Hip Hop Littles’ mission is to bring culture together little by little while focusing on teaching children that their support, positivity, and love for one another can bring tremendous value and success in life. Through different life situations and lessons, learning from one another, and honoring each other's uniqueness.
Hip Hop Littles began as an invention for the music in our souls and transitioned into expression through style. This brand is for all leaders - men, women, and children of every ethnicity. These fun musical threads are not just worn as a fashion statement, but to navigate our spirits In happiness.
Modello was raised in Englewood, Chicago IL. Starting off rough in a middle-class community that’s known as one of the most unsafe areas in the city, hard times were inevitable. With a lack of diversity, crime control, and especially job opportunities, Modello had to strive to achieve the success he has today.
Having always been interested in different forms of art, including Music, Animation, Drawing, and Painting, Modello took his passion and used it to create a better future for himself.
In 2016, as an underground Hip Hop and R&B artist, Modello ignited his dreams.
With dreams in hand, it was the hard times that gave Modello the strength that paved the way. Working as an underground artist, the realization hit; music and culture stand poles apart, even though similar souls long to be unified.
While in a recording session, Modello realized the need for togetherness. Among other things, Modello believes music to be that one force strong enough to tether communities together, and thus, Hip Hop Littles was born.
Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Enjoy this Florida Writer Podcast interview with Host Alison Nissen and Susan Shapiro Barash, who writes under the pen name Susannah Marren. Susan shared about their career as a nonfiction author, having published 13 books on gender studies and women's societal roles. They also mentioned their teaching experience in the writing department at Mary Mount Manhattan College for over 20 years.
Susan Shapiro Barash has written over a dozen nonfiction books, including Tripping the Prom Queen, You’re Grounded Forever, But First Let’s Go Shopping and A Passion for More: Affairs that Make or Break Us. For more than twenty years she taught gender studies in the Writing Department at Marymount Manhattan College and has guest taught creative nonfiction at the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. For her fiction, Between the Tides, A Palm Beach Wife, A Palm Beach Scandal, and Maribelle’s Shadow.
She has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Elle, Marie Claire, and has appeared on national television including the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC. Barash has been a guest on national radio including NPR and Sirius Radio. Speaking appearances include Credit Suisse, Bayer Diagnostics, UBS, United Way, Kravis Center and the Society of the Four Arts. Several of her titles have been optioned by Lifetime and HBO.
She has served as a literary panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts, as a judge for the International Emmys, and as Vice Chair of the Mentoring Committee of the Women’s Leadership Board at the JFK School of Government, Harvard.
Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of "Writers Helping Writers" is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Check out this Florida Writer podcast as host Alison Nissen sits down with Zachary Solomon to discuss Zachary’s debut novel, A Brutal Design. The novel, set in an experimental Socialist city, explores the themes of fascism and how it can be disguised as modernism or humanism. The title also refers to the architectural style of brutalism, which is central to the story as the protagonist, an architecture student, is fascinated by it.
Zachary C. Solomon is from Miami, Florida. He received an MFA from Brooklyn College, where he was a Truman Capote fellow. He lives with his wife, the novelist Mandy Berman, and their two children in New York’s Hudson Valley. A BRUTAL DESIGN is his first novel.
Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
How can you become more attuned to your intuition? Have you ever wondered if you can train yourself to receive psychic messages? John Russell, a professional psychic and paranormal investigator, discusses his writing journey, his latest non-fiction book about enhancing psychic abilities, and the practice of psychometry with Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen. He and Alison chat about his book 20 Ways to Increase Your Psychic Abilities and how these techniques could benefit writers.
John Russell is an internationally known professional psychic and medium. As a paranormal investigator, he has experienced over 1,000 physical supernatural manifestations. He has provided psychic readings for clients in over 40 countries. He is a popular featured guest on radio shows and podcasts, including multiple appearances on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, and filmed a TV pilot for The History Channel in which he psychically explored the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Do you read your work aloud in front of an audience? In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen sits down with Joyce Wagner to talk about public speaking. Joyce helps authors overcome their fear of public speaking with a simple philosophy: Put your audience first. The fear of freezing or making a mistake often stops people from elevating their potential book sales. Instead of focusing on yourself, treat your writing as a career—you are an employee, and your audience is your employer. Make your boss proud!
Joyce Wagner presents a workshop for writers, Reading Your Work Before an Audience. Her degree is in Speech and Performing Arts from Northeastern Illinois University and she was a founding member of the award-winning Pegasus Players in Chicago. As a writer, she has cross-trained in many genres, including short story, novel, journalism, playwriting and humor. Her novel, The French Tenor, won the gold medal for unpublished historical fiction in the 2020 Royal Palm Literary Awards. She currently lives in Gulfport with her dog, Rufus.
Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.
We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Kristy Smeriglio about using "The Garden of Earthly Delights" painting to create a psychological exploration of the human experience for her debut novel Falling into Fire.
With a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Master of Arts in Writing, Kristy merges two disciplines and realms of knowledge that are integral to the formation and transformation of the mind. The mind, to Kristy, is our ultimate power, along with our hearts. Connect the two and we propel forward immensely.
The Florida Writers Podcast is a production of the Florida Writers Association. Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit dedicated to supporting aspiring and professional writers in any genre. FWA embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word. We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Scott Davis Hendrix shared his writing process and experiences with Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen. He emphasized the importance of marinating the story in his mind before writing and discussed his journey of writing a book that started as a thought 30 years ago. Scott's first novel The Garden Spot was published in April 2022 and has been listed in the top 10 reads in Mississippi. His upcoming third novel will explore themes of abuse, family dynamics, and personal growth.
Scott Davis Hendrix is the author of two novels, The Garden Spot and its sequel, The Resting Spot. He is a lifelong resident of Mississippi.
The Florida Writers Podcast is a production of the Florida Writers Association. Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit dedicated to supporting aspiring and professional writers in any genre. FWA embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word. We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Imagine you are in a room of the best in your genre, ask these experts advice on what keeps you stuck. In this Florida Writer Podcast, renowned hypnotherapist Victoria Gallagher chats with host Alison Nissen about overcoming writers block and creating a best-selling mindset.
Reframe how you think about your Work-in-Progress: Ditch the fear, doubt, and stress, focus on the positive, trust your internal guidance to act. When we come from a feeling of inspiration, not a feeling of desperation, we can overcome the things that hold us back.
Victoria M. Gallagher is a worldwide leader in Hypnotherapy, a best-selling author, international speaker, life success coach, and renowned authority on the Law of Attraction. She has dedicated her life to empowering people all over the world to successfully live a life of liberty, aligned with their dreams through her effective meditative recordings and online courses. Through her podcast, The Power of Your Mind, she exudes her passion for inspiring listeners with influential guests in the areas of self-development, mindset, discipline & habits, entrepreneurship, wealth and relationships.
The Florida Writers Podcast is a production of the Florida Writers Association. Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit dedicated to supporting aspiring and professional writers in any genre. FWA embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word. We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Heather Leigh, PhD, a paranormal researcher and writer, discussed her journey and work on the Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen. Heather shared that her experiences with paranormal activity led her to write nonfiction books about her encounters and the history of various locations. She highlighted the importance of collecting data and using scientific tools for paranormal research. Heather also shared how writers can become involved in documentaries and films.
Heather Leigh started her journey in the paranormal field as a teenager after multiple interactions with her grandfather, who passed away many years prior. Throughout the years following, she has researched and traveled to locations to learn more about the history and paranormal claims and attempt to link the two. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Metaphysical Humanistic Science, specializing in Paranormal Science from the Institute of Metaphysical and Humanistic Science. She is a Certified Paranormal Investigator (CPI) and Certified EVP Technician (CET). Her goal is to help others take a more scientific approach to paranormal investigations and research and help everyone keep an open mind that anything in this field is possible but not always supernatural.
Heather Leigh is the founder of Exploration Paranormal, based in Southwest-Central Florida. She is a member of the International Paranormal Bureau of Investigations and Research (IBPIR) and a member of ParaNexus Anomalous Research Association. She is the Chief Administrative Officer for The Warren Legacy Foundation for Paranormal Research.
Heather Leigh is the author of Ghosts of Southern Nevada Ghost Towns, part of the Haunted America series from The History Press (release date August 22, 2022). She is writing two more books for the Haunted America series - Haunted Florida Lighthouses and Legends, Lore, and Ghosts of the Vegas Valley - to be released in Fall 2023. Additionally, she is an author of many articles and a lecturer about all things paranormal.
She hosts Exploring the Paranormal Vodcast on Facebook, YouTube, Parapost Network, and Paralanx TV (Formerly PUN TV).
Heather Leigh is also the co-host of Ghost Education 101 and The Warren Files, which also air on Facebook, YouTube, Parapost Network, and Paralanx TV. She also contributes content to Touch of Magick, a magick and paranormal podcast, and teaches classes and offers Shamanic Life Coaching through iMystic University.
Heather Leigh's paranormal team - Exploration Paranormal - was featured in Real Haunts: Ghost Towns and Real Haunts 3 (coming fall of 2022), both by Motion Picture Video.
The Florida Writers Podcast is a production of the Florida Writers Association. Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit dedicated to supporting aspiring and professional writers in any genre. FWA embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word. We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
If you had 10x the book marketing budget you have now, what would you spend it on? On this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Karina Kantas, author of 15 books and 16 International Film Festival Awards for documentary and book trailers, and discusses her company, Author Assist. Frustrated with the steep learning curve of becoming a first-time author, Karina started Author Assist to provide writers with a safe path to authorship.
Author Assist Ltd. uses a team of professionals who offer authors exclusive packages in media promotion, coaching and mentoring, and publishing. They offer guidance to help authors discover a safe route through their publishing journey, give visibility to their books, and get the book up the bestseller charts.
The Florida Writers Podcast is a production of the Florida Writers Association. Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit dedicated to supporting aspiring and professional writers in any genre. FWA embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word. We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
What is your credibility quotient with your audience? In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Michell Levy, a 2x TEDx speaker and international bestseller of over 60 books, about how authors can create a platform that connects with their target audience while promoting credibility, trust, and reliability.
Mitchell Levy is Global Credibility Expert. After interviewing 500 thought leaders on credibility, he published a 7-country international bestselling book, delivered a powerful TEDx on humanity, created courses, and created the Credibility Nation membership community to help those live, learn and surround themselves with others on the credibility journey.
He's an accomplished Entrepreneur who has created twenty businesses in Silicon Valley including four publishing companies that have published over 750 books. He's provided strategic consulting to hundreds of companies and has been the chairman of a board of a NASDAQ-listed company. Mitchell has been happily married for thirty-one years and prior to covid-19, regularly spent four weeks a year in Europe with family and friends.
The Florida Writers Podcast is a production of the Florida Writers Association. Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit dedicated to supporting aspiring and professional writers in any genre. FWA embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word. We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Curious about the mind of a Royal Palm Literary Award judge? In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and Chet Meisner chat about things that make a winning entry. Chet explains that the audience needs to know how characters feel. What experience did that have and what keeps them going? If your protagonist is sad, what type of sad are they? Show us what's in their head!
Chet Meisner calls himself a geographical mutt. Born in Wisconsin, raised in South Florida, lived briefly in Alabama, he moved back to Miami, met, and married Peri and relocated to Atlanta where we spent two and a half decades and raised three wonderful children. After ten years in Tampa, he’s now living in North Carolina.
Chet is a traditionally published author and playwright, advertising copywriter, database and data mining expert, AI enthusiast. He is a five-time RPLA Writing Competition judge, and has been awarded multiple writing recognitions.
His latest book D.I.T.T.O. is a 2019 RPLA winner and available on Amazon.
The Florida Writers Podcast is a production of the Florida Writers Association. Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit dedicated to supporting aspiring and professional writers in any genre. FWA embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word. We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
Enjoy this inspirational Florida Writers Podcast as host Alison Nissen chats with J.L. Buck Martinez, President of ACE Leadership Group, a company dedicated to inspiring and developing men and women to achieve their highest potential. Buck may have started his career as an inspirational speaker, connecting with well over 50,000 student athletes, but when he set his sights on writing about Purpose, Passion, and Conviction he put his program to personal use. As writers, we can appreciate that when we face hurdles, we have a choice to go over them or around them—but if we let them stop us, we won’t succeed.
Through ACE Leadership Group, Buck focuses on developing the character, honor and integrity of his clients. Buck is passionate about working with organizations to develop their leadership skills. He serves as life coach and executive coach to individuals in many different roles from corporate executives to professional athletes. Some of his clients include, FPL, Advanced Roofing, Athletic Coaches at all levels, Moss Construction, Keiser University, Bolay, St. Thomas University and others.
Throughout his thirty plus years as an executive in the energy industry, Buck helped mentor numerous employees and served on multiple boards throughout the state. He also serves as President and Co-Founder of a not-for-profit organization, Student ACES, dedicated to inspiring high school and college student athletes to be men and women of honor, character and integrity. Buck is passionate about investing in our youth and works countless hours serving in the capacity of teacher, mentor and coach. Since he co-founded Student ACES with his daughter, Krissy Webb. Buck has trained over 50,000 student athletes throughout Florida.
The Florida Writers Podcast is a production of the Florida Writers Association. Founded in 2001, Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit dedicated to supporting aspiring and professional writers in any genre. FWA embraces the diversity of its membership from across the state of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word. We strive to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
In this Florida Writer Podcast, we welcome founder of Everyday by the Lake Laura Gariepy who shares with host Alison Nissen her strategies to be a successful freelance writer.
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Have a clear understanding of your Why. Know the reason you wish to be a full-time freelancer.
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Begin networking as early as possible. Continually build relationships in your genre—they aren’t competitors, they are collaborators.
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Create a website to showcase your expertise and your writing skills.
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Find guest blog posts to cast a wider net.
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Don’t write for free for long. Your time is worth it. Start small and increase the price per word over time.
Laura Gariepy started writing about personal finance in early 2018 when she took a sabbatical from her career in human resources and launched a blog sharing her journey. She realized she could earn a location and schedule-independent living as a freelance writer, so she soon went all-in on self-employment. Laura loves to write about managing your money, navigating your career, and running a successful business. Her work has been featured in Fortune, USA Today, The New York Post, and many other publications. She has also earned an MBA and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology.
The Florida Writers Association strives to provide a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to help members succeed in their writing careers. Our motto of “Writers Helping Writers” is demonstrated by our volunteers in Florida and beyond.
The life of a firefighter is not for the faint of heart. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen talks with retired Fire Captain Cindie Schooner-Ball about her book Sister in a Brotherhood, Stories from My Life as a Female Firefighter. Cindie shares her journey from first responder to award-winning author and the challenges she experienced as both a firefighter and a new author.
Cindie Schooner-Ball began her career as a first responder with the fire service in the mid-80s. She recognized early on that to succeed as both a firefighter and a woman in a mostly male workplace would require perseverance, grit, and the ability to command respect.
Over her three-decade career, she pushed herself to tackle new challenges and rise into leadership positions. She became an EMT and then a paramedic, while also earning a degree in fire science. When she finally achieved the rank of captain, she was the only woman at the induction ceremony.
Now retired, she loves speaking to people about her experiences as a first responder and as a woman in a male-dominated industry. She lives with her husband Mark, and her German shepherd, Chewie, in Florida.
Did you know that only 1% of LinkedIn users create content, and they get 9 billion impressions a week? In this Florida Writer Podcast, Host Alison Nissen chats with LinkedIn Content Creator Kathryn Montbriand about how writers can make LinkedIn work for them.
Kathryn Montbriand is a former Fortune 500 leader who took a career sabbatical after 10 years at a large financial institution. During this reset, she rediscovered her love for writing (it became quite clear when she noticed the hundreds of pages of reflection and journaling she had accrued).
She has a knack for making the complex simple and pulls that thread through all the creative work she does: creating leadership content, helping people refine their career stories, and even writing a book about the transition from the corporate world to the next thing.
One of her preferred places to write these days is on LinkedIn - and she is here to share with us some of her lessons learned while finding her ‘business' writing style and growing engagement on the platform.
What is your preferred social media platform? Discover why LinkedIn could be the place for you!
Co-Host of the Wild Women Who Write Take Flight Podcast, Gaby Anderson has released her debut novel. South of Happily goes beyond the usual themes of marriage, divorce, and family history. She gets down to the heart of who is Katy Kiss, an astute young woman caught in the maelstrom of betrayal, grief and self-doubt. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Gaby about her journey of coming of awareness for both the character and author.
Gaby Anderson is a first generation Hungarian-Canadian, born in Montreal, Quebec. When she was a year old, her family moved to New Jersey, then Paris, back to Canada, and finally to the U.S. where she's lived ever since.
She's married to one of her best friends from college, has two amazing daughters, and many (many) animals from the local shelters.
Her first memory of writing is from elementary school. After getting into a fight with a friend, she composed a story about turning her into a potato. Eventually the two made up, but the spark was lit, and a writer was born.
Gaby has worked in the restaurant industry, commercial and group travel, private aviation, and pharmaceutical instrumentation. She currently works in behavioral health management.
Her husband calls her a Renaissance Woman with mad-skills.
This means she can catch a softball with one hand while holding a giant turkey leg with the other.
Story collector Dr. Paul Thornton joins host Alison Nissen on the Florida Writer Podcast to chat about his writing journey and favorite pastime, cruising. He collects other people's stories and shares them in his The Joy of Cruising Trilogy.
He explains that at age 58, during an impromptu speech, he noticed the burden of his “harrowing brush with death, journey of recovery from trauma, resilience and ultimately transformation” was lifting, and his provocatively titled memoir White Man’s Disease was born.
Paul’s memoir is described as “Gripping and inspiring” and won the North Street Book Prize. He followed that up with a trilogy of creative nonfiction cruise books. Despite their very different subjects, at the heart of White Man’s Disease and The Joy of Cruising Trilogy is passion and how passionate people do wondrous things. He now shares his love with others in The Joy of Cruising Podcast.
Professional Behavioral Analyst and business consultant Steve Gavatorta shares tips on how to finish plan and finish your manuscript. In this Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen chats with Steve about writing and marketing and the importance of embracing your work’s title.
Steve Gavatorta, owner of the Steve Gavatorta Group, specializes in empowering individuals and organizations in identifying, developing, and exceeding performance goals. Steve’s had the privilege of coaching and training thousands of high performers across an array of industries. From small businesses on the move to Fortune 500 companies, Steve collaborates with organizations to build foundations, set goals, and eclipse their highest potential.
Steve is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA), a certified Myers-Briggs practitioner, and accredited to coach and train for Emotional Intelligence (EQ). He is a two-time published author, and his new book In Defense of Adversity: Turning Your Toughest Challenges Into Your Greatest Success won Richter Publishing’s Amazon Best Seller Award for 2018.
Lana McAra has discovered how to market her books with impact by embedding her life’s purpose into her stories in subtle ways—and sell books at the same time. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Lana on how you, too, can use her technique to create a bond with audiences to sell more books and make an impact by asking “what do I love” and “how can I help?”
Lana McAra is an award-winning, international best-selling author and ghostwriter of 43 titles through traditional publishing with a million books sold. She won The Christy Award for her historical novel Reaping the Whirlwind and her mystery series, Colorado, sold more than 250,000 copies. She has been teaching how to write fiction for 20 years.
Jamie Blaine and Vicky Lanzone became friends after Vicky signed up for an online marriage support site. The story unfolds when, late one night, Vicky writes that the weight is too heavy and each day is a battle to survive. She admits there are pills and the note is written. Jamie replies: Instead of ending your life, why not try changing it first? What do you really have to lose?
Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen chats with Jamie and Vicky about their woven memoir about finding hope in strange places.
Vicky Lanzone is Program Manager for Street Life Ministries in Bay Area, California. She sometimes dreams of a career as a stand-up comedian. Jamie Blaine is the author of Midnight Jesus and Mercy Never Sleeps, and his writing has been featured in publications around the world. He is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author. Raw, real, funny and ultimately redemptive, Life is Crazy & We’re All Going to Die offers a view of humanity beyond social justice, past denominations, deeper than the platforms, political causes or lines that divide us.
Writers labor diligently on their works-in-progress. But when it comes to marketing, they often throw their hands up in the air and want to quit before their message is ever shared.
Naresh Vissa, founder and CEO of Krish Media & Marketing. and host Alison Nissen chat about ways two ideas authors need to know when marketing their books:
- Direct Marketing: Delivering a message to your email list with a call to action
- Direct Messaging: Sending a text message to your target audience with a call to action
Naresh is also generously offering a FREE copy of one of his books. Simply fill out the Contact Form and let him know you learned about it on the Florida Writer Podcast. Be sure to tell him your selection:
- FIFTY SHADES OF MARKETING: Whip Your Business Into Shape & Dominate Your Competition
- PODCASTNOMICS: The Book of Podcasting... To Make You Millions.
- FROM NOBODY TO BESTSELLING AUTHOR! How to Write, Publish & Market Your Book.
Naresh Vissa is Founder & CEO of Krish Media & Marketing, Publisher of Krish Publishing, and author of the #1 bestselling books FIFTY SHADES OF MARKETING: Whip Your Business Into Shape & Dominate Your Competition and PODCASTNOMICS: The Book of Podcasting... To Make You Millions.
His latest book is FROM NOBODY TO BESTSELLING AUTHOR! How to Write, Publish & Market Your Book talks about self-publishing from ideation and writing to publishing and marketing. It walks readers through, step-by-step, how they can produce a bestselling book. It's hit #1 in a category on Amazon.
Are you up-to-date on the latest genre termonology? In this week's Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Jeffray Harrison about Magical Realism, Fabulism, Low Fantasy, and High Fantasy. What's the difference? What do you need to know?
Jeffray Harrison is a high school English teacher at a private school in South Florida, trying to squeeze writing time between work and spending time with his family, including his wife, four children, and two grandchildren. In what little spare time remains, he likes to train for triathlons and play open world video games. He has published one novel titled Thy Father’s Glass, releasing in May 2023. In addition, he has had short stories published in literary journals such as Every Day Fiction and Wilderness House Literary Review. Twitter - @mixedandblended Instagram - @mixed_and_blended Blog - www.mixedandblended.com Author website - www.jeffrayharrison.com
In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen asks Bryan Carrier about shifting genres from children's author to writing about a female boxer in the novel Rise Up! Against Domestic Violence, where the protagonist, a survivor of childhood domestic abuse, uses her boxing prowess to propel her to challenge the reigning world champion. Alison and Bryan discuss how the main character took over his plot to reveal her true motives.
A Cleveland, Ohio native, Bryan Carrier acted in leading Community Theatre roles before shifting to stage design and set building. He also wrote children's stories and historical pieces about the Vietnam Wall, Oklahoma City Bombing, and others.
Moving to Florida to escape the brutal Cleveland winters, he settled on the sunny beaches in the Tampa/Clearwater area. He has retired from the printing industry and lives with his wife and two dogs.
Bryan is the author of the children's books "Glasses for Wally," "Billie Bop's Robot, BeBop," "There's Something Fishy About My Fish," "Stinky Stella," "I Fired My Dog," and "Farty Marty."
Bryan's latest release is Rise Up! Against Domestic Violence, Books One and Two in this popular Rise Up series are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kindle.
Florida WritersCon is the premier gathering of Florida writers. Empower your writing at the 2023 Florida WritersCon! October 20-22, 2023 @ Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs
Asking "What If?" can drive your plot and characters into mysterious circumstances. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen asks Dan Petrosini how he can create twists no one sees coming. From picking up the phone to call the local sheriff’s office and keeping notes on his computer to the old Moleskin notepads, Dan likes to keep his audience on the edge of their seats by asking "What If?"
Dan is a USA Today and Amazon Best Seller who wrote his first story at the age of ten and enjoys telling a story or joke.
Dan gets his story ideas by exploring the question; What if?
In almost every situation he finds himself in, Dan starts exploring what if this or that happened? What if this person died, was hurt, or did something unusual or illegal?
Dan’s non-stop mind spin provides him with plenty of material to weave into interesting stories.
A fan of books and films that have twists and are difficult to predict, Dan crafts his stories to prevent the reader from guessing correctly. He writes each and every day, forcing the words out when necessary and has written over twenty novels to date. It’s not a matter of wanting to write, Dan simply has to.
Florida WritersCon is the premier gathering of Florida writers. Empower your writing at the 2023 Florida WritersCon! October 20-22, 2023 @ Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs
Writers are known for their struggle. We think of Poe and his addictions. Fitzgerald and his lust for romance. Or Hemmingway and his insistence of waking every day to write at least one sentence, fighting the demons that chased him. But we don’t talk much about neurodiverse writers. This week, host Alison Nissen chats with Loretta Lynne Finan about the gift of neurodiversity.
Loretta Lynne Finan is a neurodiverse writer from a long line of Irish-American yarn spinners. She lives in small town Florida with her musician husband where they spend their days puttering around with DIY home improvement projects and creating art for its own sake.
Read “Nothing But” at the Ekphrastic Review.
Sex sells. So does erotica. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Dr. J. Donna Jennings, Ph.D., a retired sex therapist and author who not only writes in this lucrative field but coaches others on how to write quality, steamy romance. Need I say more?
Dr. J. Donna Jennings, Ph.D. (she, her) is a retired sex therapist and college human sexuality professor (FSU & TCC) now an author, and editor. In her 47 th year in the sexuality field, she continues her mission to empower others to embrace their sexuality holistically. Her fiction, nonfiction and editing projects embody this belief. She is an editor for Rosy, a sexual wellness platform for women. Dr. J. hosts two podcasts, The Sexuality Space and Purple Sex & Erotic Whims. Her latest book, Purple Sex & Love Beyond Your Dreams: A Women’s Journal to Explore Your Sexual Self from Orange Blossom Publishing is out on August 15, 2023. Charlotte the Pirate Queen will be out in Sexy Strangers with Cleis Press on September 12, 2023.
Poetry is a powerful medium for emotional exploration, self-discovery, and healing. Through writing or reading, the artistic expression of pain, growth, and resilience can be transformative and nurturing to the soul. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and poet Nylda Dieppa chat about how poetry helps her make sense of life’s complicated lessons.
Nylda Dieppa is a poet, writer, facilitator, mother of five, and grandmother of six. She started dreaming of changing the world when she discovered words. Learning to read at three years old, she’s loved literature and art since. Nylda was born in Indianapolis, IN, raised in Puerto Rico, and lives in Orlando, FL with a sweet pup called Canela. She has a Master’s in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University, New Orleans, a degree in Fashion Design from Fashion Institute of Technology, and postgraduate work towards a Ph.D. in Intercultural Theology.
Dieppa is the author of Alborada: A Poetic Memoir Across Cultures, which won a Royal Palms Award from the Florida Writers Association in 2015 and a 2016 International Latino Book Award for its cover illustration inspired by Nylda’s original pastel drawing. Orange Blossom Publishing published the second, enhanced edition in May 2023, under the new title Alborada: A Cross-Cultural Memoir in Poetry. Her work has been published in Cadence, “Of Poets and Writers,” “Somos en Escrito,” “La Respuesta,” and “America” magazines. She has read her work at various venues including The Ear Club, Medgar Evers College, and The Cornelia Street Cafe in New York City, the Polasek Museum in Winter Park, Florida, and Casa Aboy in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Nylda Dieppa is the Vice-President of the Florida Writers Foundation, a literacy-promoting nonprofit. She nurtures a community of creatives reawakening society through her website nyldadieppa.com and newsletter “Word Sketches.” Alborada: A Cross-Cultural Memoir in Poetry is available at Orange Blossom Books as well as on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Memoirs are tricky; you must first expose your life’s struggles on paper, then permit the audience to see your most vulnerable moments. Now, imagine doing that and sharing your story with your ten sisters’ stories of foster care, child abuse, separation, and reunion after 43 years. In this Florida Writer Podcast, Host Alison Nissen chats with Rev. Barbara Lane about the challenge of sharing all 11 stories.
Rev. Barbara Lane integrates her life experiences of being a foster child, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, entrepreneur, speaker, child advocate, educator, ministerial counselor, and author into her writing. By sharing her own personal journey, Barbara destigmatizes the fate of child abuse survivors, leading her to write her memoir Broken Water. In addition to her twenty-five year service in private practice as a ministerial counselor, Barbara’s educational background in human development, social sciences, and family psychology with a focus on child abuse, inspires her to share her expertise on interrelated issues: the family, family separation, the foster care system, attachment and bonding, child maltreatment, relationship formation, the resilience of the human spirit, healing from trauma, and the power found in having faith in something greater than the self. When not writing, you will find Barbara enjoying nature, reading, swimming, playing sports, and people watching. She especially enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. Barbara lives in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia with her husband, Jim, who remains her childhood sweetheart.
The search for spirituality and proof of reincarnations intertwine in this Florida Writer Podcast between host Alison Nissen and Lynn Demarest chat about Lynn’s book The Soul Gene. While the novel was written 10 years ago, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, it’s more important than ever to ask yourself, is there a soul gene?
Lynn Demarest was a newspaper reporter in South Florida in the 1980s. He then became a computer programmer. The Soul Gene is his debut novel.
Experts say you should write in only one genre. But who are these experts and should we listen to them? In this Florida Writer Podcast, Mary Flynn and Host Alison Nissen chat about why tapping into and writing about all of our interests–regardless of the genre–makes us better (and happier!) writers.
Mary Flynn is an award-winning author of fiction and poetry, as well as a celebrated speaker. A highly diverse writer, Mary has medaled in nearly all of her genres. Her powerful debut novel, “Margaret Ferry,” won a gold medal in fiction, a silver medal in religion, and a silver medal in Christian writing. She is working on her third novel. Her Disney leadership book is also a silver medal winner.
A former full-time staff writer for Hallmark Cards, Mary’s observational humor has appeared in the Sunday New York Times, Newsday and other dailies and magazines. One of her award-winning short stories appears in the esteemed The Saturday Evening Post’s Anthology of Great Fiction. She was a winner in the Writer’s Digest poetry competition.
Mary was also a full-time writer and editor creating stories and comprehension exams for the leading publisher of guided reading materials used in the U.S. public school system.
During her fourteen years as an international conference speaker for Disney Institute, the second most recognized training brand in the world, Mary appeared before almost three-quarters-of-a-million people, often sharing a conference platform with names such as Malcolm Gladwell and Tony Robbins.
Mary has an on-air role as host on Salem Radio. Her books are available online and through bookstores, as well as through her website. Be sure to visit Mary at maryflynnwrites.com.
Want an inside look at the world of finance? Interested in earning massive amounts of money? As a mentor to those who wish to have 100M careers, Emmy Sobieski tells host Alison Nissen she entered the world of writing with the encouragement of her boss. She chose to turn her career experience as a top finance fund manager into something that could inspire others.
Emmy Sobieski, CFA, the author of $100M Careers, is currently COO of Performative Speaking and COO and co-founder of Competitive Storytelling, Inc. both of which help founders with world-class ideas share their stories to change the world.
Emmy previously co-managed the #1 ranked Nicholas | Applegate Global Technology Fund in 1999, up over 495%. Emmy’s institutional investing experience includes 25 years working for investment firms representing diverse strategies (aggressive growth, momentum, value), asset size (responsible for up to $6B in assets), and type (mutual funds, RIAs, insurance cos, hedge fund). Emmy is a manager and co-founder of GMR (developer of utility-grade Solar, Battery, and Wind farms), former co-founder, executive, and advisor to multiple funds and startups. Emmy is a regular panelist and keynote speaker on Web3, Privacy, Payments, ESG, and AI.
Emmy is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and has a USC MBA and a BA in Economics from UCSD. Highlights of Emmy’s athletic accomplishments during the 25 years as an institutional investor include multiple national and global rankings in dressage, culminating in 2005 with a 9th place in the US trials for the World Cup Team, Silver in the 2017 US Masters Championships in the 100-meter and 400-meter dash (50-55 year old division), 2017 AAU North American Champion Women Overall Physique Division bodybuilding, all age groups). Emmy has placed in the top 3 in her age group in both marathons and ultramarathons. Learn more at www.emmysobieski.com
After a head injury, Drew Robinson decided to turn his stress and anxiety into a play. While he never published that one, it opened the door to discovering his creative side.
Host Alison Nissen chats with light and quirky author Andrew John Robinson, a transplanted New Englander, whose first novel, Lexa and the Gordian Maze of Terra, a children’s science-fiction work, and its sequel, Lexa and the Smugglers of Cyclo, both published by Amira Press. Many of his short stories are on www.grubstreet.ca. Dragonspeak: Drew, the Boy Who Talked to Dragons is his first children’s fantasy. It was a finalist in the 2010 RPLA Royal Palm Literary Award).
He was Regional Director of Central Florida for the Florida Writers’ Association, a non-profit group dedicated to helping writers, and president of Cricket Cottage Publishing, LLC, which he sold a few years ago. He now leads the Orlando Chapter of the group. Married, he has one daughter, which is why many of his stories revolve around strong and determined women. His time travel fantasy, Worst Date, Greatest Adventure, was published by Champagne Book Group and is similar to Outlander. The sequel, Worst Date, Greatest Challenge, is coming out this year, and he is working on the final book in the trilogy. Champagne also published his teen vampire adventure book, Vampire Academia, and he makes it clear that it is not like Twilight!
His screenplay Wiccans’ Lair was produced by PC Productions, an indie film company here in Central Florida, and he has a library of more than a dozen more running the gamut from family-friendly fantasy to rom-com and even musicals. He currently writes comedy skits for the group “The EGOs”, which are shown on YouTube and their streaming service ENV.
drwhoar@hotmail.com
Florida Writers Group
Florida Writer host Alison Nissen sits down with Nancy J. Cohen, author of 30 published works, including the cozy mystery series Bad Hair Day Mysteries. Nancy loves feedback from readers and her favorite question is when will the next book be published. Fortunately for her fans, Star Tangled Murder has just been released.
Nancy advises anyone interested in jumping into the cozy mystery market should have an amateur sleuth who lives in a distinctive location and a cast of recurring characters.
Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have been named Best Cozy Mystery by Suspense Magazine, won the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards and the RONE Award, placed first in the Chanticleer International Book Awards and third in the Arizona Literary Awards.
What is ChatGPT? How is Artificial Intelligence changing the way authors approach writing? Are you curious about how AI works or how it might affect the writing world? In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Florida Writers Association Marketing chair and Board Member Ginnye Cubel about how technology impacts writing and the business of writing.
Ginnye Lynn Cubel is a writer, marketer and coffee enthusiast located in Orlando, Florida.
She has a BA in Creative Writing from Butler University and over eight years of corporate and small business marketing experience with a focus on content, product, and email strategy. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Writers Association and is the Marketing Chair.
Master flash fiction to add another layer to your novel writing. Florida Writer Podcast guest Tara Masih and host Alison Nissen talk about how flash fiction requires authors to choose their words wisely, ultimately helping you get the scenes right.
Tara Lynn Masih is a National Jewish Book Award Finalist and winner of the Julia Ward Howe Award for Young Readers for her debut historical novel My Real Name Is Hanna. She received a finalist fiction grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, an Inspirational Woman in Literature Award, and several national book awards including an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award. How We Disappear: Novella & Stories, her latest collection, was a MILLIONS Most Anticipated Book for 2022 and called “exceptional” by Southern Literary Review.
Paranormal researcher and investigator John Russell talks with host Alison Nissen about his foray into nonfiction writing and how we can all use our muse to keep our (nonfiction) writing entertaining.
John Russell is a Psychic/Psychic Reader, a Medium, a Certified T.A.R.O.T. Master, a Paranormal Investigator, and now a published Author. Internationally known, he has provided psychic readings for clients in over 40 countries.
For over 15 years, he has been a popular featured guest, heard worldwide, on many radio shows and podcasts, including Coast to Coast AM with George Noory; The Unexplained with Howard Hughes (UK); Beyond Reality with JV Johnson; The Leak Project with Rex Bear; FATE Magazine Radio with Kat Hobson; Beyond the Darkness with David Schrader of TV's The Holzer Files; The Singularity Lab with Michael Mataluni; and many more.
In September of 2020 John released his first book, “Riding with Ghosts, Angels, and the Spirits of the Dead,” which has become an award-winning multicategory best seller, winning a Silver Award from the Non-Fiction Authors Association as well as a Bronze Medal from the Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards Contest.
In February of 2021, John released his second book, “A Knock in the Attic,” which has also become an award-winning multicategory best seller, winning a Gold Award from the Non-Fiction Authors Association.
Host Alison Nissen had the opportunity to ask, what's a Florida Western to 6x author Lee Gramling. When she thinks of Westerns, she thinks cowboys in hats, barfights, and cacti come to mind. The Florida Western has all that, but it's set in sunny Florida!
Lee Gramling is a sixth-generation Floridian who grew up hearing tales of the Florida frontier from his parents and grandparents. While living in Oklahoma, he was introduced to the novels of Louis L'Amour and realized that old Florida had all the same elements featured in "Western" action-adventure stories: cattle drives, Indian wars, outlaws, boom towns, saloon shoot-outs, and rugged individualists who knew how to survive in an untamed frontier. But so far, few writers have taken advantage of this rich environment. He decided it was high time somebody took up the slack.
"Cracker Westerns" are filled with authentic historical detail, real bad guys, upright good guys, and women who are just as strong and self-reliant as their men. But all the action takes place in early Florida, which was six-gun cattle country even wilder than the west!
Keeping track of plotlines, timelines, characters, and the thousand other things authors balance while writing a manuscript does need to be chaiotic. It needs a system. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Mark Shaiken about how he syncs his ideas morning, noon, and night (including 2:00AM!).
Mark Shaiken retired from his law practice in 2019 and authored: “And . . .Just Like That: Essays on a life before during and after the law” - a poignant and funny memoir of a not-famous lawyer tracing his unlikely path into and out of the profession to begin his “afterlife.” He then created his legal thriller series, each book steeped with history and music, and starring his star lawyer, Josephina Jillian Jones (3J) and her mentor, William Pascale. He just released his latest in the series, Unfair Discrimination.
Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen chats with historical mystery author DL Havlin about how he leads his audience on a journey with breadcrumbs to create his plot--beginning with the ending and working backward.
DL Havlin is an unretired businessman who has traveled a large portion of the world, having visited over 100 countries. In his travels, he has discovered that humans have very similar appearances, but their cultures make them as distinct as visitors from another planet.
He’s been writing for 30+ years. DL writes historical, literary, women’s mainstream, and suspense/mystery novels. He has ten books published. The latest is “The Grave With Greener Grass”, following “Turtle Point” and "Out Of Italy", the Iron Lady mystery/suspense series.
Former marketer turned memoirist Julie Ryan McGue suggests fine-tuning your marketing plan with curiosity, book club connections, and immersing yourself with your niche audience on this Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen.
JULIE RYAN Mc GUE is an American writer. Her award-winning memoir, Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belongingreleased in May 2021. It is about the five-year search that she and her twin sister undertook to find their birth relatives. On her weekly blog, “That Girl This Life,” Julie writes about finding out who you are, where you come from, and making sense of it. Her work has appeared in the Story Circle Network Journal, Brevity, Imprint, Adoption.com, Lifetime Adoption, Adoption & Beyond, and Severance Magazine. Personal essays appear in several anthologies: REAL WOMEN WRITE: Seeing Through Her Eyes, and Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis.
Julie holds a B.A. in Psychology from Indiana University, and a M. M. in Marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business, Northwestern University. She splits her time between NW Indiana and Sarasota, Florida. Julie is currently working on a second memoir and a collection of personal essays. She serves on the Board of Directors for The Center for American Family Building.
In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with forensic psychologist Phyllis Kuehnl-Walters, PhD who uses her vast knowledge of the courtroom to explore difficult characters in her true crime series about People Who Kill. Phyllis. Once a Christian devotional author, Phyllis switched genres as the result of a case she was on as an expert witness; a story she has since wanted to tell. The names, places, and events are disguised. The Christmas Slayings, published December 7, 2019, is the story of a small gang and their victims. The gang terrorized a mid-size, Ohio town the week before Christmas 1992.
She has since published two more true crime novels: Wives Who Kill and Husbands Who Kill. Kids Who Kill will be published shortly.
In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Armand Rosamilia about shifting his dead-end job to a dream job out of necessity. The pulp fiction author broke free from genre labels and followed his heart as a full-time author. He’s now free to focus on writing good stories with good characters immersed in interesting plotlines that engage the audience. Many of his stories begin on the gaming platform Twitch. Don't know about Twitch? Listen to learn more.
Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he’s not sleeping. He’s happily married to a woman who helps his career and is supportive, which is all he ever wanted in life…
He’s written over 200 stories that are currently available, including crime thrillers, supernatural thrillers, horror, zombies, contemporary fiction, nonfiction and more. His goal is to write a good story and not worry about genre labels.
He is also a successful podcaster, too!
The Mando Method Podcast with co-host Chuck Buda – talking about writing and publishing He also loves to talk in third person… because he’s really that cool.
You can find him at armandrosamilia.com for all of his information as well as random things he enjoys.
In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Armand Rosamilia about shifting his dead-end job to a dream job out of necessity. The pulp fiction author broke free from genre labels and followed his heart as a full-time author. He’s now free to focus on writing good stories with good characters immersed in interesting plotlines that engage the audience. Many of his stories begin on the gaming platform Twitch. Don't know about Twitch? Listen to learn more.
Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he’s not sleeping. He’s happily married to a woman who helps his career and is supportive, which is all he ever wanted in life…
He’s written over 200 stories that are currently available, including crime thrillers, supernatural thrillers, horror, zombies, contemporary fiction, nonfiction and more. His goal is to write a good story and not worry about genre labels.
He is also a successful podcaster, too!
The Mando Method Podcast with co-host Chuck Buda – talking about writing and publishing He also loves to talk in third person… because he’s really that cool.
You can find him at armandrosamilia.com for all of his information as well as random things he enjoys.
Diana McDonough and Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen chat about the value of a good editor and the challenges of writing non-fiction when it hits close to home. Diana McDonough is an award-winning novelist and Maryland native. She is a Ft. Myers snowbird. Diana’s first novel, Stuck in the Onesies, grew out of her experiences living outside the nation’s capital in the Maryland suburbs back in the 1960s and 70s when social issues first bubbled to the surface in the form of marches and riots. My Mother’s Apprentice is the sequel to Stuck in the Onesies and the story of the next generation, dealing with the tough issues of abortion and addiction. My Mother’s Apprentice was awarded the bronze medal by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association in 2019. Diana published her third novel, Ginger Star (historical fiction), in December, 2022 which is a prequel of Stuck in the Onesies and has the promise of a sequel. Diana is the mother of three and Grandy of fourteen. She retired from Ecolab after 26 years to pursue her writing career full time. Diana helped to initiate the Ecolab E3 women’s advocacy group for Ecolab, a Fortune 500 company. She also founded Woman to Woman Global, a non-profit that helped to scholarship and provide laptops for women, seeking to further their education all over the globe. She’s also a volunteer at a local elementary school and has a heart for special needs children (see her blog, “The Summer of Juan and Pedro” on her website).
Diana writes creative non-fiction, humor, and historical fiction. You can visit her website at www.dianamcdonough.com, sign up for her blog, and visit the Facebook page for the Stuck in the Onesies Series. Her books are available through Amazon, most national bookstores through Ingram, and local bookstores in Maryland and Delaware. The Stuck in the Onesies audiobook is available through Audible at Amazon.
Diana enjoys meeting with book clubs that feature her books whether it be in person or via Zoom. Book clubs from Ontario, Canada to Ft. Myers, Florida have found her books to be an entertaining read and also provide interesting discussion points while being a thoughtful and educational read.
Visit Florida Writers Association for more information.
One of the most common issues writers have is not having a clear vision of their ideal reader. Instead of thinking about an "avatar," focus on the hearts and minds of your audience, not the color of their eyes or where they went to high school. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and AJ Harper chat about how to serve your audience. A book is not about something; it's for someone.
AJ Harper is an editor and publishing strategist who helps authors write transformational books that enable them to build readership, grow their brand, and make a significant impact on the world. As a ghostwriter and as a developmental editor, she has worked with hundreds of authors, from newbies to New York Times bestselling authors with millions of books sold. AJ teaches her method in Top Three Book Workshop and the Must-Read Editing Workshop. She is the Head Writing Coach for Heroic Public Speaking, the premier speaker training program created by Michael and Amy Port. She is a writing partner to business author, Mike Michalowicz. Together they’ve written nine books, including Profit First. AJ is the author of Write a Must-Read: Craft a Book That Changes Lives--Including Your Own. Connect with her at ajharper.com.
Readers don't want generic and tired, and neither do literary agents. In this Florida Writers Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Allen O'Shea Literary Agent co-founder Marilyn Allen about having a great client-agent relationship, seducing readers with the X-factor, and developing fresh content from old ideas.
Marilyn Allen is a literary agent and founding partner in the Allen O'Shea Literary Agency. She has culminated 25 years of experience by doing sales and marketing for various publishing houses. She served as Associate Publisher, Director of Marketing and Senior Vice President to Harper Collins, as well as Vice President to both Penguin and Simon & Schuster. She has directed sales and marketing teams for Penguin Books, Simon & Schuster, and Avon Books.
Marilyn has had the pleasure of working with authors such as Stephen King, Ken Follett, Barbara Kingsolver, John Gray and Mary Higgins Clark, but currently represents many nonfiction authors including several New York Times bestselling writers. Her focuses are nonfiction, cooking, health, parenting, crafts, self-help, pop culture and business. She herself has co-authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Book Proposals and Query Letters (Penguin Books) with her partner Coleen O'Shea.
Imagine being a girl coming of age after the death of a dictator and the rise of democracy. In her recently debuted memoir, Promenade of Desire: A Barcelona Memoir, Isidra Mencos takes her audience on a treasure hunt as she searches for the quiet, descriptive, lyrical words to describe her extraordinary journey during a time of cultural self-discovery in Barcelona, Spain. Enjoy this Florida Writer Podcast as host Alison Nissen and Isidra chat about her journey to publication that began in Spain and flourished in California.
Originally from Spain, Isidra Mencos has lived in the US since 1992. She holds a PhD in Spanish and Latin American Contemporary Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught Spanish language, literature, culture, and creative writing for twelve years. Since she started writing creative nonfiction in English in 2016, her essays have been published in literary journals like Diálogo, Chicago Quarterly Review, The Penmen Review, Newfound, Stirring Literary Journal, The Manifest-Station and Front Porch Journal. One of her pieces was listed as Notable in the Best American Essays Anthology. Her work has also appeared in widely read online publications like Wisdom Well, WIRED, and Better After Fifty. Her debut memoir Promenade of Desire—A Barcelona Memoir came out October 11, 2022 (She Writes Press).
Recovering art gallery owner Linda Moore used her love of art to write her debut novel, Attribution which features an art historian who finds a hidden masterpiece. Host Alison Nissen and Linda chat about travel, the world of art, and the complexity of creating book covers with artwork.
Linda Moore studied art history at the Prado while a student at the University of Madrid and earned degrees from the University of California and Stanford. Her writing has appeared in numerous art journals and anthologies. She has looked at art on all continents and visited over 100 countries. She resides with her book-collecting husband in California.
Eliot Kleinberg shares how to help the audience love your writing by eliminating unnecessary words. As a former journalist turned blogger and novelist, his experience with the world of words gives us insight into how to make something sound better with host Alison Nissen.
Kleinberg, born in South Florida, spent nearly a half century in daily journalism before retiring in December 2020 after 33-1/2 years at The Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach. In addition to covering local news, he also wrote extensively about Florida and Florida history.
He has written or contributed to more than a dozen books, all focusing on Florida. They include "Black Cloud", about the great 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane; two "Weird Florida" books, and "Palm Beach Past" and "Wicked Palm Beach", collections of items from "Post Time," his weekly local history column that ran for more than two decades in the Post. “Florida Time,” covering the history of the entire state, debuted in 2019 in Gatehouse newspapers statewide.
His tenth book, Peace River, his first work of fiction, is a historical novel based at the end of the Civil War. He now is writing a series of adventures of 1920s Miami police detective Nate Moran.
Sherri Winston may have had a degree in journalism, but it was when she joined a writers group that helped her transition to full-time Middle-Grade Fiction author. Hear Sherri's inspiring story in this Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen.
Sherri Winston is the author of President of the Whole Fifth Grade, as well as my latest book, Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution, which was long-listed for a National Book Award. She also recently published her first book for early readers, Wednesday and Woof: Catastrophe along with several other books in the series.
She was born and raised in Michigan and attended Michigan State University, then much later the University of Michigan as a journalism fellow. She is the proud mama of her daughter, Kenya, and a proud aunt many times over.
Sherri Winston may have had a degree in journalism, but it was when she joined a writers group that helped her transition to full-time Middle-Grade Fiction author. Hear Sherri's inspiring story in this Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen.
Sherri Winston is the author of President of the Whole Fifth Grade, as well as my latest book, Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution, which was long-listed for a National Book Award. She also recently published her first book for early readers, Wednesday and Woof: Catastrophe along with several other books in the series.
She was born and raised in Michigan and attended Michigan State University, then much later the University of Michigan as a journalism fellow. She is the proud mama of her daughter, Kenya, and a proud aunt many times over.
So you want to earn money as a writer? Don't ignore the newspaper industry. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with newspaper veteran Nafari Morris about pitching to newspaper editors. Newspapers have changed, but they still need great content.
Nafari recommends that you:
- send a well-edited introduction
- mention your experience with the topic/subject
- have a willingness to be flexible
- don't be afraid to show your personality
- PRO-TIP: find the email of a direct contact on places like Twitter
Nafari Morris is a former journalist of 17 years, and now a freelance writer and public relations specialist. She started her journalism career at the Hartford Courant as a copy-editing intern, then joined the copy desk of the Wilmington Star-News. She began her 12-year stint with Trib Total Media in 2001, working on the copy desk for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and other publications, as an assigning editor for the hyper- local weekly newspapers and as a weekly columnist for the Trib. She was an assistant metro editor for The Ledger in Lakeland before leaving the journalism industry.
As a columnist, she earned several awards, including the Robert I. Vann Media Award for Best Column in 2011, second place in the Column category for the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors in 2013, Pennsylvania Women’s Press Association Excellence in Journalism Award for Best Column in 2013, the Association for Women in Communication’s Clarion Award for non-opinion/informative column in 2014 and the Golden Quill Award (Press Club of Western Pennsylvania for best column in 2013 and 2015.
Her work also led to local radio and television interviews, including appearances on Pittsburgh radio stations KDKA AM and WESA FM, along with WQED TV. She participated in a roundtable at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill about the future of local journalism in 2022.
Nafari’s freelance work has led to her work being published in The Washington Post, Adweek, Tennis magazine, Shondaland.com, Leaps magazine, Bello Collective, Belt Magazine, ZORA magazine and other publications. She lives in central Florida with her children, dogs and tennis racquets.
So you want to earn money as a writer? Don't ignore the newspaper industry. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with newspaper veteran Nafari Morris about pitching to newspaper editors. Newspapers have changed, but they still need great content.
Nafari recommends that you:
- send a well-edited introduction
- mention your experience with the topic/subject
- have a willingness to be flexible
- don't be afraid to show your personality
- PRO-TIP: find the email of a direct contact on places like Twitter
Nafari Morris is a former journalist of 17 years, and now a freelance writer and public relations specialist. She started her journalism career at the Hartford Courant as a copy-editing intern, then joined the copy desk of the Wilmington Star-News. She began her 12-year stint with Trib Total Media in 2001, working on the copy desk for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and other publications, as an assigning editor for the hyper- local weekly newspapers and as a weekly columnist for the Trib. She was an assistant metro editor for The Ledger in Lakeland before leaving the journalism industry.
As a columnist, she earned several awards, including the Robert I. Vann Media Award for Best Column in 2011, second place in the Column category for the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors in 2013, Pennsylvania Women’s Press Association Excellence in Journalism Award for Best Column in 2013, the Association for Women in Communication’s Clarion Award for non-opinion/informative column in 2014 and the Golden Quill Award (Press Club of Western Pennsylvania for best column in 2013 and 2015.
Her work also led to local radio and television interviews, including appearances on Pittsburgh radio stations KDKA AM and WESA FM, along with WQED TV. She participated in a roundtable at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill about the future of local journalism in 2022.
Nafari’s freelance work has led to her work being published in The Washington Post, Adweek, Tennis magazine, Shondaland.com, Leaps magazine, Bello Collective, Belt Magazine, ZORA magazine and other publications. She lives in central Florida with her children, dogs and tennis racquets.
The world of publishing is confusing! Listen to this conversation between the Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen and the owner of Orange Blossom Publishing Arielle Haughee who breaks down her process from the submissions through publication.
Arielle Haughee (Hoy) is a six-time RPLA-winning author and the owner of Orange Blossom Publishing. She is an editor, speaker, and writing coach, and was previously the Executive Vice President and Marketing Chair for the Florida Writers Association. She was honored with the President’s Award from FWA in 2020, and in 2021 Pling’s Party was awarded Children’s Book of the Year. Her press, Orange Blossom Publishing, publishes books about love, humor, and wellness for women and children.
Take a cue from soap operas and reality television and "Tune in Tomorrow." Inspired by her career as a soap opera critic, Randee Dawn flips the script and puts mythical creatures in charge of the soap opera industry. Enjoy this conversation with host Alison Nissen and Randee as they chat about the value of cliffhangers, writing funny, and the importance of offering effective criticism.
Randee Dawn is an author and journalist focusing on speculative fiction across the categories (science-fiction, fantasy and horror) at night, while writing entertainment and lifestyle stories during the day for publications including Today.com, NBCNews.com, Variety, The Los Angeles Times and Emmy Magazine.
You may have seen her name in other publications over the years, including Soap Opera Digest and The Boston Phoenix, E! Online, New Musical Express and Mojo.
Her first novel, Tune In Tomorrow, will be out from Solaris/Rebellion in 2022.
Take a cue from soap operas and reality television and "Tune in Tomorrow." Inspired by her career as a soap opera critic, Randee Dawn flips the script and puts mythical creatures in charge of the soap opera industry. Enjoy this conversation with host Alison Nissen and Randee as they chat about the value of cliffhangers, writing funny, and the importance of offering effective criticism.
Randee Dawn is an author and journalist focusing on speculative fiction across the categories (science-fiction, fantasy and horror) at night, while writing entertainment and lifestyle stories during the day for publications including Today.com, NBCNews.com, Variety, The Los Angeles Times and Emmy Magazine.
You may have seen her name in other publications over the years, including Soap Opera Digest and The Boston Phoenix, E! Online, New Musical Express and Mojo.
Her first novel, Tune In Tomorrow, will be out from Solaris/Rebellion in 2022.
Things have to come together for the universe to allow a project to bloom. Jaimie Engle stopped by The Florida Writer Podcast to discuss her multi-genre success with film, television, novels, and comics. In this Conversation, host Alison Nissen and Jaimie chat about how to be productive while you are waiting for your projects to be optioned.
In 2021, Jaimie made a tough decision to end her journey as a publisher and embark on a career as a screenwriter. In just 15 months, she sold her first feature-length screenplay and began writing the novelization adaptation. From dream to becoming a professionally optioned and produced woman in the film industry, Jaimie chronicles her adventures in her blog.
Meet Jaimie at the 2022 Florida WritersCon from October 28-October 30.
Things have to come together for the universe to allow a project to bloom. Jaimie Engle stopped by The Florida Writer Podcast to discuss her multi-genre success with film, television, novels, and comics. In this Conversation, host Alison Nissen and Jaimie chat about how to be productive while you are waiting for your projects to be optioned.
In 2021, Jaimie made a tough decision to end her journey as a publisher and embark on a career as a screenwriter. In just 15 months, she sold her first feature-length screenplay and began writing the novelization adaptation. From dream to becoming a professionally optioned and produced woman in the film industry, Jaimie chronicles her adventures in her blog.
Meet Jaimie at the 2022 Florida WritersCon from October 28-October 30.
In this Florida Writer Podcast episode, Gail Ghai and host Alison Nissen dive into how families provide inspiration for our literary words. Families are the first relationships we develop, they have always been a rich source for stories, vignettes and poems.
Gail Ghai is author of three poetry chapbooks and has earned a Pushcart nomination and Henry C. Frick scholarship for creative teaching. Her writing has appeared in worldwide publications including Descant, The Yearbook of American Poetry, Delhi London Quarterly, Poet Lore, JAMA, and Burning Wood Journal.
In this Florida Writer Podcast episode, Gail Ghai and host Alison Nissen dive into how families provide inspiration for our literary words. Families are the first relationships we develop, they have always been a rich source for stories, vignettes and poems.
Gail Ghai is author of three poetry chapbooks and has earned a Pushcart nomination and Henry C. Frick scholarship for creative teaching. Her writing has appeared in worldwide publications including Descant, The Yearbook of American Poetry, Delhi London Quarterly, Poet Lore, JAMA, and Burning Wood Journal.
If Quintin Tarrintino reimagined Calamity Jane, you'd have JD Jordan's acclaimed Sci-Fi Western Calamity. Enjoy this Florida Writer Podcast as host Alison Nissen asks JD where his ideas come from, what type of research he needed for his novel, and how his own experiences influence his work. JD Jordan is the award-winning author of the acclaimed scifi-western novel, Calamity: Being an Account of Calamity Jane and Her Gunslinging Green Man—and has also been featured in Creative Loafing, The Grantville Gazette, The International Journal of the Book, Newsweek, Paste, and Smashing Magazine. He is also an award-winning graphic designer, design educator, and historian with experience working with some of the biggest agencies and brands in the Southeast. JD is a member of the SFWA and is represented by The Zack Company. The Florida WritersCon: Join us for a weekend jam-packed with networking opportunities, workshops, awards, book signings, a Youth Summit, and more! Friday, October 28-Sunday, October 30.
Friday Night! Reconnect with writer friends and make new ones; network with the conference presenters. Includes hors d’oeuvres and two free cocktails or mocktails.
Would it spell the end of the world as we know it if all of Yellowstone blows? In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Sci-Fi and Memoirist Kim Conrey about Yellowstone, living with HARM OCD, and the pre-sale of her newest book, Stealing Ares.
Kim Conrey is the author of the sci-fi romance Stealing Ares, Book One in the Ares Ascending series. Kim also writes a blog about living with OCD, specifically Harm OCD, where the sufferer has terrifying, intrusive thoughts/fears of harming themselves or others. These are irrational fears but very scary to the OCD brain. Kim blog about this form of OCD at harmocdkimconrey.com She also serves as VP of Operations for the Atlanta Writers Club. In addition, she collaborates on a podcast with the Wild Women Who Write where we interview authors and industry professionals to hear their stories and gain knowledge from their journeys, with a primary goal of supporting female writers.
Do you dream of quitting your day job and writing full-time? You don't need to live in a dark place with only a candle for light and a mouse for a friend. In this episode of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Alyssa Berthiaume, who discovered she could earn a living writing! Listen to Alyssa's journey from frustrated creative to published author and discover some of the nuts and bolts she learned along the way, such as building a street team of marketers, book promotion, and working with an independent press.
Alyssa Berthiaume is a mompreneur, author, ghostwriter, and writing guide with a superpower for hearing between the lines and capturing the voice of her clients. She's the Lady Boss Owner of The Write Place, Right Time, her virtual boutique of coaching and ghostwriting services for brilliant, brave, and badass womxn ready to change the ‘effin’ world with their stories. She’s also the author of Dear Universe, I Get it Now: Letters on the Art and Journey of Being Brave and Being Me. If you can catch her away from the keyboard, she's probably drinking Maple Lattes, watching The Princess Bride for the thousandth time, solving the latest Hunt-a-Killer case, or having fun with her partner and son.
Join the Florida Writers Association for a weekend jam-packed with networking opportunities, workshops, awards, book signings, a Youth Summit, and more! Florida WritersCon 2022, Friday, October 28-30
Are you thinking about self-publishing but don't want to do it alone? Best-Selling Amazon author Dr. Emee Vida Estacio decided to turn her winning strategies into a book launching, heart-centered, online community. In this Florida Writer Podcast, Emee shares with host Alison Nissen how to build a launch team, best practices for creating a self-published audiobook, and much more. And check out Pagudpud, Emee's most beautiful place to visit!
Dr. Emee Vida Estacio helps successful entrepreneurs, therapists, coaches, consultants, bloggers, and speakers expand their reach by writing and publishing their own books on Amazon.
Her flagship course, “Self-Publishing Made Simple,” is designed to help aspiring authors take one simple step at a time to avoid analysis paralysis, so they can get on to write self-publish their books in 90 days or less, even with a full-time job and/or a busy family life.
Does that blank piece of paper scare you? Do you consistently put off working on your Work In Progress?
Learn how to turn that blank page into something that no longer has weight over you with Procrastination Coach Dr. Christine Li’s advice in this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen.
Dr. Christine Li has been working as a New York-based clinical psychologist for the past 20 years; more recently, she has been taking her work online as the “Procrastination Coach.” She helps people who are struggling with underperforming at work and at home to work smoothly and with high levels of productivity. Her unique coaching process is a blend of mindset strategy, time and emotion management tips, and a deep belief in the power we each have when we treat ourselves with love and good self-care. Dr. Li is the author of the book “5-Minute Self-Discipline Exercises: Stay Motivated, Cultivate Good Habits, and Achieve Your Goals” and the host of the podcast “Make Time for Success.” Follow Dr. Li to learn how to ditch the guilt, judgment, and self-sabotaging and unhelpful habits so that you can feel focused and fulfilled in your life!
Check out her free resources!
In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and StoryBilder founder Tanya Gough talk about the revolutionary platform that helps you move from How do I? to I did it!
StoryBilder is a writing platform that bridges the gap for new and intermediate writers. Supporting writers through flexible narrative frameworks, a library of adaptable story assets, and integrated, experiential education layer, StoryBilder is built to foster creativity no matter what or how you write. Listeners enjoy a free month by visiting StoryBilder.com/florida and using coupon code: writer Tanya Gough has been an ESL teacher, a retail store owner, a corporate digital marketer, and a freelance content strategist, intelligence researcher, and web developer. Today, she is the founder of StoryBilder, a creative writing platform for new and aspiring writers. Tanya also writes middle-grade fantasy fiction and science-infused fantasy short stories for adults.
Break free from the constraints of genre. In this interview with journalist, memoirist, novelist, songwriter and cultural archeologist photographer, Sonja Mongar and host Alison Nissen talk about the difference between academic, commercial, and blended genres and how breaking free from the norm gives the author permission to write the story that needs to be shared. Sonja Mongar teaches in the Western Connecticut State Low Residency MFA in Creative and Professional Writing.
Two Spoons of Bitter is her first novel and won the 2019 Gold Royal Palm Literary award for fiction from the Florida Writers Association as well as other awards.
Historical Fiction should immerse the audience in the rich details of the past. Author Tamatha Cain knows that to recreate the past, sometimes you need to reach out, ask questions, and talk to those who know. In this Flordia Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and Tamatha chat about her upcoming historical fiction novels Song of the Chimney Sweep and Only Oona, about the 4th wife of Charlie Chaplin.
Tamatha Cain is a former musician and bandleader. She graduated with honors from the University of North Florida with a concentration in Writing for the Entertainment Industry, and her work has appeared in national and international publications. Winner of the 2020 Royal Palm Literary Award for unpublished fiction and first place in The Experience Poetry Competition, she also writes reviews for Southern Literary Review. She is a member of WFWA and FWA. She is a wife and mother of three and lives in a hundred-year-old bungalow in North Florida, in close proximity to the historic locations found in Song of the Chimney Sweep.
Resigned to not finish her debut novel, Jennifer Farmer, under the pen name JS Farmer, completed her manuscript with the encouragement of her then 9-year-old daughter. Blue Sky Gone follows two sisters from just before 9-11 to the 20th anniversary in 2021. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Jennifer about the challenges and struggles of accurately portraying an event that is still in the hearts and minds of so many, as well as introducing the topic to the younger generations.
The secret to Catherine Drake's success is using three separate developmental editors to shape and mold her debut novel, The Treehouse on Dog River Road. In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Catherine about using developmental editors to her advantage, the power of #bookstagram influencers, and the serendipity moment of how a nearby town chose her book for their community summer read. Catherine Drake worked for many years in the land conservation field developing public outdoor recreation areas and preserving forests and farmland for future generations. After raising two daughters, she and her husband moved to Vermont where she writes and is active in the environmental community by serving on the local land trust and conservation commission. She enjoys cycling, skiing, kayaking, and hiking with her dog in the Green Mountains. Her debut novel, The Treehouse on Dog River Road, was published by She Writes Press in May 2022.
Follow her on Instagram @catherinedrakewrites
A book launch is an exciting event in every author's journey. Before you send your baby into the world, are you confident your "Amazon Relevance Score" will serve you well? In this Florida Writer Podcast, book marketing expert Penny Sansevieri shares book launching tips from networking and platform building to ads and book pricing with host Alison Nissen.
#floridawriters #floridawriterscon #amwriting #writerslife
Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. (AME) and Adjunct Professor at NYU, is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns.
Writing your novel one story at a time is the advice that helped Sally Constain write her debut novel, The Keys to Fanny. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Sally to discover how her grandmother's stories of life in Ukraine, inspired her to create characters so lifelike that she could walk in their shoes.
Sally Constain is the author of The Keys to Fanny a work of historical fiction, the chapbook Sometimes I Wonder, a collection of twelve inspiring poems on our common human experience, and Random Reflections, an anthology of essays and poems, some based on family stories. Her latest publication is a chapbook of poems written after a medical recovery, titled, Autumn Again.
Inspired by the beauty and harshness of nature, Susan Speranza embraces the Vermont landscape to develop plot, characters, and conflict. In this Florida Writer Podcast episode, host Alison Nissen chats with Susan Speranza about how language is to writing as notes are to music. Susan creates lyrical text that matches the beauty of the natural environment of her metaphysical novel, Ice Out.
Torn between keeping your book as a memoir or fictionalizing your story? Fret no longer! Consider exploring the new Autofiction genre! In this episode of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Lindsey Salatka about her autofiction novel Fish Heads and Duck Skin, embracing a new lens for the world around you, and finding your muse in real-life scenarios.
Lindsey Salatka is an author, ghost-writer, and editor. Her writing has been featured at BlogHer and in Shanghai Family Magazine, Urbanatomy: Shanghai, and Volumes 3 and 4 of Shaking the Tree: Brazen. Short. Memoir. She is on the advisory board of the San Diego Writers Festival and serves as Director of the KidsWrite! Children’s Writing Contest. You can find Lindsey on Instagram @mywhatlovelygillsyouhave, on Facebook @fishheadsandduckskin, or on Twitter @lindseysalatka
Publishing a book is exciting, finding creative ways to sell it is daunting. In this edition of the Flordia Writer Podcast, Host Alison Nissen chats with Suspenseful Women's Fiction author Kathy Nichols about finding new ways to market your book, breaking up with your agent, and managing impostor syndrome.
Katherine Nichols is a member of the Atlanta Writers Club and Sisters in Crime and has been published in ALAN reviews, Equill Atlanta Writers Club magazine, and Shout Them from the Mountaintops: Georgia Poems and Stories.
As a casual observation, conspiracy thriller author Henry Cox realized that most book clubs members are women and that many book clubs shy away from selecting thrillers as a genre. He also noticed that women enjoy reading thrillers. To entice book clubs to read his books, he suggests a wine and beer pairing based on his personal favorites. In this Florida Writer Podcast conversation, host Alison Nissen and Henry chat about zinfandels, porter beer, writing conspiracy thrillers, and Amazon. As an accidental author, Henry wrote two thriller novels: Deceit of the Soul (2020) and Deceit of the Earth (2021).
His first book was written in three weeks during March 2020, speculating about the origins of COVID 19 to fill gaps for questions not being asked or answered. Early readers were amazed that so much of the story seemed almost prophetic, as some of the media and researchers eventually began to dig a little deeper.
Discover more at Henry-Cox.com
Miami-Dade County Poetry Ambassador Nicole Tallman shares how poetry can prompt community through participation. Using the concept of the Heroic Sonnet, Nicole and other residents share their inspiration with the citizens of Miami for Poetry Month. Nicole and Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen also chat about one-line-a-day poems and how to create something beautiful by just writing one line of poetry a day. Go ahead, try it!
Writing a book is challenging. Marketing it is another thing altogether! In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Entire Productions CEO Natasha Miller about her recently released memoir Relentless and her army of promoters. Follow some of her entrepreneur tips to help move your book to the top of the best-sellers list. Natasha Miller isn’t your average CEO. She sits at the helm of Entire Productions, the go-to experience design, event, and entertainment production company in San Francisco, and has been on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America for three years in a row. Natasha’s passion and commitment to giving back drive her invariable contributions and participation with numerous charitable organizations. She is also performing as a jazz vocalist and a trained classical violinist. Natasha is a proud graduate of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and has studied entrepreneurship at the Harvard Business School and MIT and is a member of The Recording Academy (Grammys), ASCAP, SF Travel, and Meeting Professionals International (MPI). She resides in San Francisco, CA where she is a member and on the board of EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization).
Authors have a choice to write what they know at the exclusion of others--or--they can share their experiences without bias with the goal of creating characters that bridge the gap. Enjoy this conversation with Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen and thriller/suspense author Mark Shaiken.
Mark Shaiken the author of "and . . . Just Like That - Essays on a Life Before, During and After the Law" and, "Fresh Start," a legal thriller, both available on Amazon and other online and bricks and mortar book retailers. Watch for my next legal thriller, "Unfair Discrimination" due out in the Spring of 2022. Connect with me at http://markshaikenauthor.com
When fire forces you to abandon everything, it also requires you to rethink the motivation for your story. Enjoy this Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen and renowned decorator and artist Elisa Stancil Levine about self-discovery in the face of adversity.
Elisa Stancil Levine spent her childhood in a canyon on the American River, upstream from the site of the California gold rush. She left school at sixteen and as a single mother in Sacramento earned a degree in library science and studied creative writing. Working with partners she remodeled sixteen historic houses and was home and garden editor and feature writer for Sacramento Magazine. At thirty-six she founded Stancil Studios, an award-winning, nationwide decorative finishes company in San Francisco.
Raegen Pietrucha's Head of a Gorgon is a narrative in poems that reimagines the myth of Medusa, transporting this ancient tale of sexual violence into contemporary times and examining it through a survivor-centric, feminist lens. Listen to the Florida Writer Podcast episode with host Alison Nissen as she and Raegen talk about this dark tale.
Raegen Pietrucha writes, edits, and consults on professional and creative bases. She received her M.F.A. from Bowling Green State University, where she served on the staff of Mid-American Review. Her debut poetry collection, Head of a Gorgon, is forthcoming with Vegetarian Alcoholic Press in 2022; her poetry chapbook, An Animal I Can't Name, won the 2015 Two of Cups Press competition; and she has a memoir in progress. Her creative work has also been published in Cimarron Review, Puerto del Sol, and other magazines. Visit her at http://raegenmp.wordpress.com.
In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen talks with JM Tompkins, the Atlanta Self-Publishing Conference Chair about some simple strategies for writers from proof of concept to outsourcing to marketing. The nuts and bolts of writing is tricky but with help, very rewarding.
J. M. Tompkins started her own publishing company and began focusing on her true passions. As an author, she first published at the age of sixteen, had a popular poetry blog, published in several magazines, and began working on what would become the Habitual Humanity Series in 2012. She finally took the plunge in 2019 to begin publishing her books.
The Atlanta Self-Publishing Conference brings to you professionals from both the foundations of business and craft to help you unlock the secrets of success.
We all have ideas for stories, but if our inner critic has a say, our stories might stay trapped forever. In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Cooper Levey-Baker, author of the new dystopian book Dead Fish Wind about how he turned a 3-minute free-writing exercise into a novel...after he calmed his inner critic.
Cooper Levey-Baker is a writer and journalist. His fiction has appeared in the Sierra Nevada Review and Burrow Press's Fantastic Floridas series, and his journalism has won multiple awards from the Florida Magazine Association and the Florida Society of Professional Journalists. Dead Fish Wind is his first novel.
On this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Tamian Wood about the 3 biggest mistakes Do-It-Yourselfers make when designing their own books covers. Listen, learn, and enjoy--and check out her beautiful creations at BeyondDesignBooks.com Tamian Wood has been creating book covers that sell for over 25 years. Her cover design clients include several publishing houses and a growing number of independent authors.
As a digital artist, she specializes in melding art, photography and special effects together to create a unique, custom cover for each project. She also creates beautiful interior design, layout and formatting for her cover design clients. Tamian works in a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction genres, including fantasy, sci-fi, YA, historical fiction, literary fiction, murder/mystery, horror, self-help, spiritual, business and metaphysical topics, to name a few.
In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, Push-Cart nominated poet John Davis Jr and host Alison Nissen discuss how he explores the dark secrets of the Dozier School for Boys in his latest book The Places That Hold. John Davis Jr. is the author of Hard Inheritance(Five Oaks Press, 2016),Middle Class American Proverb(Negative Capability Press, 2014)and two other books of poetry. He has been nominated multiple times for the Pushcart Prize, and he holds an MFA from the University of Tampa. His writings are published in literary journals throughout the South and around the world. He teaches English and Literature in the Tampa Bay area. You can find his profile from Poets and Writers magazine here: http://www.pw.org/content/john_davis
Raegen Pietrucha's Head of a Gorgon is a narrative in poems that reimagines the myth of Medusa, transporting this ancient tale of sexual violence into contemporary times and examining it through a survivor-centric, feminist lens. Listen to the Florida Writer Podcast episode with host Alison Nissen as she and Raegen talk about this dark tale.
In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, Push-Cart nominated poet John Davis Jr and host Alison Nissen discuss how he explores the dark secrets of the Dozier School for Boys in his latest book The Places That Hold. John Davis Jr. is the author of Hard Inheritance(Five Oaks Press, 2016),Middle Class American Proverb(Negative Capability Press, 2014)and two other books of poetry. He has been nominated multiple times for the Pushcart Prize, and he holds an MFA from the University of Tampa. His writings are published in literary journals throughout the South and around the world. He teaches English and Literature in the Tampa Bay area. You can find his profile from Poets and Writers magazine here: http://www.pw.org/content/john_davis
From Clown College to MFA, Victoria Dym uses the principles of improvisation to tap into the emotions needed to bring a work in progress to life. In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen, Victoria shares with us how the simple words of "Yes, and" help authors write deeper, more meaningful content.
Victoria Dym is a graduate of Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Clown College with a degree in Humility, a Bachelor of Arts, in Philosophy, from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Masters of Fine Arts, Creative Writing-Poetry from Carlow University. Her two poetry chapbooks, Class Clown, and When the Walls Cave In were published by Finishing Line Press in 2015 and 2018. Ms. Dym was cast for the Risk! Live from Orlando storytelling show and her story, One Shot was selected for the podcast. Her short story, The Linzer Torte was published in The Scribe Magazine, January 2020 issue. Victoria is currently submitting her full-length poetry manuscript, The Hatchet Sun, and two new chapbooks, Shaving the Yak, and There Are No Dogs on Mars, and Other Sermons from the Dog Chapel for publication. She lives in Tampa Florida, where she hosts the Annual October Haiku Challenge, teaches poetry, storytelling, and facilitates Laughter Yoga workshops for Cano Health Wellness Center. Victoria is the co-founder of The Metanoia Retreat for Writers, Well-Being and Right Whales to be held on Amelia Island, Earth Day, 2022 and is currently accepting submissions at metanoiaretreat@gmail.com.
Fear of getting "it" wrong forced new author David Rabin to research and connect with subject matter experts to make sure he gets it right in his first published novel. In this episode of the Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen, David reveals the lessons learned during his pivot from fact-based trial law to creative writing.
David Rabin’s debut novel, IN DANGER OF JUDGMENT, is a crime thriller set in 1980s Chicago, and will be published by Black Rose Writing in August of this year. David was born in Chicago and raised in its Lakeview neighborhood, where much of his novel is set. He later moved to Atlanta, where he worked as a trial lawyer for thirty-three years. Now retired, he writes crime fiction, runs a competitive shooting program, and competes in rifle sports. He can be contacted through his Facebook page: @DavidRabinAuthor.
When author Susan Sands sits down to write her romance novels, she doesn’t just bring characters to life, she uses PLACE as a catalyst to shape character motivation and in the process allows the setting to have a mind of its own.
In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen interviews self-described late bloomer, Susan Sands who began writing her first novel at age forty. She compares her challenging journey to publication as “raising another child—a difficult one.”
Susan has published five southern, contemporary women’s fiction novels, with another four coming in 2022. She describes her humorous small-town stories as fun, romantic, and filled with big family love. Susan also writes authentic place-as-a-character southern fiction with a humorous voice in addition to her Alabama series.
Susan has three grown children and lives with her dentist husband in Roswell, GA. She has a degree in elementary education, is a member of the Atlanta Writer’s Club, Womens Fiction Writers of America (WFWA), and the Broadleaf Writers Association. She participates in book festivals, book clubs, and writer’s conferences around the South. Susan is the recipient of the 2017 Georgia Author of the Year award for romance.
Imagine building a world in a place that history forgot to bring to life that which would otherwise not be remembered. In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen, Alison talks about worldbuilding with George Weinstein. George begins with place, then layers, one at a time, the setting, dialogue, senses, to build a topography that is vivid and lush.
George Weinstein is the author of the suspense thriller Watch What You Say; the Southern historical novelHardscrabble Road; the Southern mystery Aftermath; the novel of forgotten U.S. history The Five Destinies of Carlos Moreno; and the contemporary romance The Caretaker. His work also has been published in Writer’s Digest and in regional and national anthologies, including A Cup of Comfort for Writers. George is also the Executive Director and twice-former President of the Atlanta Writers Club and has managed the Atlanta Writers Conference for more than a decade, helping more than three thousand writers on their quest for publication.
Using few words to say a lot is how suspense/thriller novelist Liz Lazarus writes her kill-scenes. In one novel, it's only 5 words. Enjoy this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast as host Alison Nissen and Liz chat about leaving more to the imagination to build tension, finding mentors to help your writing journey, and using real-life stories to create villains.
Liz Lazarus graduated from The Georgia Institute of Technology with an engineering degree and Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management with an MBA. Liz initially ignored the calling to become a novelist until her first book wouldn’t leave her alone. She has since published 3 novels, Free of Malice, drawn from Liz’s own experience; Plea for Justice; and Shades of Silence.
For more information about liz, visit her website at lizlazarus.com
Before you write your book, ask yourself 2questions:
- Who is the ONE person who needs to read this book?
- Why do they need to read it NOW?
Dr. Cindy Childress and Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen discuss the important questions of audience, book type, and first chapters when writing non-fiction. Using her years of experience, Dr. Cindy helps clients find their voice and rhythm and superpower as authors. Unsure if you have an author superpower? Check out her simple quiz @ CindyChildress.com
Dr. Cindy, The Expert’s Ghostwriter, is a ghostwriter and book editor for entrepreneurs that want to write books that make money and make an impact. Her business, Childress Business Communication, took gold in two categories with the International Business Awards 2021: Company of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year in Business or Professional Services. Her clients go on to achieve bestseller status, give TEDx Talks, win book awards, and more. She holds a Ph. D. in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and is a foster mom for dogs and cats with Citizens for Animal Protection in Houston.
The secret to writing self-help books? Life Experience! Helping people get in touch with their emotions is song-writer turned best-selling course creator and author Mary Joye's passion. On this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and Mary chat about how you can't fake your emotions, but you can avoid burnout by checking your motives. If you are doing too much for too many, you'll risk becoming overwhelmed.
Mary Joye, a solution-focused therapist who works most often with trauma, grief, and life-changing events to help those in need process change. Discover more at https://www.winterhavencounseling.com/
Want to give a gift to a writer in your life? Give the gift of a book review. Sweet romance and non-fiction author Kerry Evelyn shares how book reviews and a journal help keep her going when she's struggling to finish that Work-in-Progress in this Florida Writer Podcast conversation with host Alison Nissen.
Kerry Evelyn is the author of the Crane’s Cove series, #sweetresortromance set in Coastal Maine, a Guest Author for the Cat’s Paw Cove series, and several short stories that span multiple genres. Kerry received a Bachelor of Science in Education and Sociology from Bridgewater State University in 2000. A native of the Massachusetts SouthCoast, she changed her latitude and now calls the Orlando area home. Kerry loves God, books, cats, traveling, taking selfies, sweet drinks, and escaping into her imagination. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, Facebook @KerryEvelynAuthor, Instagram @KerryEvelynAuthor, and Twitter @theKerryEvelyn. Visit KerryEvelyn.com to subscribe to her newsletter and learn more!
What happens when someone who is addicted to books decides to write a memoir? He gets naked. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and bestselling author Mark Scarbrough discuss how to make a story compelling for the audience by getting nakedly honest.
Mark Scarbrough is the author of more than 30 cookbooks, has made countless national television appearances cooking up a storm and laughs, and hosts three successful podcasts. But behind all the food, spotlights, and fun lies a deeper story told in his new memoir Bookmarked: How the Great Works of Western Literature Fucked Up My Life*. Mark has been searching for something his entire life. Whether it’s his birth mother, true love, his purpose, or his sexual identity, Mark has been on a constant quest to find out who he really is, with the great Western texts as his steadfast companions. As a boy with his head constantly in a book, desperate to discover new worlds, he can hardly distinguish between their plots and his own reality.
John Chaplick's fundamental writing principle is that each story should take the reader on an intriguing journey to a new and different place with unique characters facing unexpected obstacles. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and John chat about learning to climb the metaphorical writing mountain and mastering the character arc through perseverance.
John Chaplick, BA, MBA CPA, CBA is a member of the Florida Writers Association and leader of two Tampa, Florida writing groups. John Chaplick has written four award-winning fiction adventure novels in mystery, women’s fiction, and thriller/suspense genres.
Publicist turned author Katie Schnack stops by the Florida Writer Podcast to chat with host Alison Nissen about giving birth to a book and raising it from idea to market.
Katie Schnack is the author of The Gap Decade: When You're Technically An Adult But Really Don't Feel Like it Yet, a quirky and honest chronicle about the awkward realities of living in that gap between adolescence and adulthood. Katie writes because she loves making people laugh and feel less alone. KatieSchnack.com
Does each of your characters have enough motivation to be the antagonist? Take a tip of mystery novelist Shannon Work, and make sure all the characters can be found guilty...then work backward from there. In this conversation with Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen, Shannon shares her techniques to ensure the audience remains guessing whodunit throughout the entire novel.
Shannon Work grew up in Del Rio, Texas. She graduated from Texas A&M University, earning an undergraduate degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Land Economics and Real Estate.
Most of her working life has been spent developing real estate, earning a national Best in America Living Award for one of her developments. Shannon and her husband split their time between Houston, Texas, and Telluride, Colorado. shannonwork.com
After reaching 350 Amazon Reviews for his Devil's Bookkeeper series, Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen chats with Literary Fiction and Children's author Mark Newhouse about writing about hard things, self-promotion, social media, and the Florida Writers Association Youth group.
Mark Newhouse's journey begins when he was born in Germany after his parents were freed from Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Their nightmare inspired THE DEVIL'S BOOKKEEPERS, a gripping story of love and survival in the ghetto his parents miraculously survived. Visit Mark at NewhouseCreativeGroup.com
Writing Non-Fiction is HARD! You are writing your book to share something with the world. Start with what is easy then build that muscle. You can't run a marathon on the first day of training. In this edition of The Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen and non-fiction ghostwriter & book coach Chrissy Das, Alison and Chrissy chat about non-fiction blogging, ghostwriting, and flexing a "writer's muscle."
Chrissy Das is the lead ghostwriter and founder of (i)nvisible writer, a content marketing company that services creative professionals who want to find their voice and use their words to increase their revenue to positively impact their local and global community. Chrissy brings 10 years in the publishing industry, working with indie publishers and self-published authors who have a clear message to share with the business world. Clients count on Chrissy and her team to help them create short-form content like blog posts and branded newsletters and long-form content like white papers and books.
Writers often dive into research. In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Wendy Samford, author of the upcoming book The First Wrinkle about adults who were raised in the foster care system in the United States. Wendy believes there's a whole lot more good than bad in the world and we can find a way to be a part of the change in the hidden epidemic we call abuse.
Wendy Samford's book "The First Wrinkle" is the follow-up book to "Bloom Where Planted” showcasing stories of individuals who were raised in foster care and the experiences of those who work diligently to repair this broken system. Discover more at WSamford.com
How do you become immortal? Be a student in Ann Brooks's 3rd-grade class. Psychological Thriller author Ann Brooks has branched into the territory of Young Adult Fantasy inspired by her students. When they discovered she was an author, they wanted in--of course, they aren't quite YA readers yet, but in a few short years, they will discover themselves on the page. Listen to the whole story in this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison Nissen.
Ann Brooks grew up in a small town off the Gulf Coast of Florida, where she cultivated a passion for the water. She completed her Bachelors in Psychology at the University of Florida. She worked in social work for a few years, before making a career change to early elementary education. She has taught for over thirteen years.
#FloridaWriters #AlisonNissen #AnnBrooksAuthor
Mystery writers think differently. When they walk to the beach, they consider multiple ways a body or two might wash up on a beach. In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with 2019 RPLA Mystery and Suspense Writer of the Year JC Gatlin. Discover his process for plotting and avoiding writer's block and some lessons on creating your own book tour, the 2021 edition.
Award-winning author JC Gatlin lives in Tampa, Florida and has written six mystery-suspense novels set in the Sunshine State. His novel H_NGM_N: Murder is the Word was honored by the Florida Writers Association with its coveted Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Mystery / Crime Fiction in 2019. A year before that, 21 Dares went to Number One on Amazon’s Mystery Suspense and Top Young Adult charts. The novel was also a semi-finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards. #FloridaWriters #Writers Life
Curious about #PitchWars and #PitMad on Twitter? Don't know what it is or want to learn more? In this week's edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Sarah Nicolas about these Twitter events along with Sarah's top 4 things every writer's website needs and how to create spectacular book covers. Sarah Nicolas is a recovering mechanical engineer, library event planner, and author who lives in Orlando. Sarah writes YA novels as Sarah Nicolas and romance under the name Aria Kane. Sarah has published both traditionally and independently, and has also worked in the publishing industry as an editorial intern, editorial assistant, publicist, publicity director, cover artist, and art director. Sarah is the current Board Treasurer and Agent Liaison for Pitch Wars and the host/producer of PubTalk Live, AgentChat Live, and Queries, Qualms, & Quirks. When not writing, Sarah can be found playing volleyball or listening to audiobooks Sarah is a contributor for Book Riot and is represented by Rebecca Podos of Rees Literary Agency.
Check out the upcoming Pitch Wars & PitMad Schedule:
- September 11-25, 2021: Pitch Wars Mentor Wishlist Blog Hop
- September 26, 2021 (midnight EDT): Mentee Submission Window Opens
- September 30, 2021 (10PM EDT): Mentee Submission Window Closes
- November 6, 2021: Pitch Wars Mentees Announced
- December 2, 2021: #PitMad Twitter Pitch Party (8AM – 8PM EST)
- February 9-14, 2022: Agent Showcase
- February 9: Adult entries are live on the Pitch Wars site
- February 10: MG entries are live on the Pitch Wars site
- February 11: YA entries are live on the Pitch Wars site
- March 3, 2022: #PitMad Twitter Pitch Party (8AM – 8PM EST)
What do you do when you look at the bookshelves and don't see any books that "speak to you?" You write them! In this episode of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with MJ Fievre about her self-empowerment books for black girls and young adults: The Badass Black Girl series.
MJ Fievre is the bestselling author of the Badass Black Girl series which addresses issues of concern for Black girls and young women. The seminal title, Badass Black Girl, released in 2020, has reached the top-ten bestselling spot in three categories on Amazon’s rankings for the U.S. and the U.K. Empowered Black Girl (2021) raises awareness and provides insight on issues Black girls and women encounter in society while empowering them to take action through self-discovery and activism.
https://www.badassblackgirl.com/
Hear an interesting lyric? Have an earworm stuck in your head? Try using CJ Juliao's technique of crafting a story around music. In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with CJ about how his characters evolve as he has in both his writing and personal life.
CJ Juliao has always been someone lost in his imagination. Where others around him are usually grounded in reality, his mind constantly wanders to various worlds and universes that live within his mind. Visit @Fallen_Chaos_Writing on Instagram to discover more.
E.J. Wenstrom, author of FWA's 2016 Florida Writer Published Book of the Year for MUD is at it again with a new Young Adult dystopian world. In this Florida Writer Podcast episode, host Alison Nissen and E.J. discuss the messiness of world-building and the satisfaction of getting it right by sticking with it, using Beta readers, multiple revisions, and encouraging rejections.
E.J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including Royal Palm Literary Awards’ Book of the Year, Mud, the first novel in her Chronicles of the Third Realm War series, and the young adult dystopian novel Departures. When she isn’t writing fiction, E. J. Wenstrom is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the FANTASY+GIRL Podcast.
Building your platform and gathering reviews are taxing, but often writers find writing the back cover blurb to be the most challenging. In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Silver Grove Publication's Marketing Manager Jennifer Quick about how to get out of your head and think like a consumer.
Jennifer Quick is the Social Media and Marketing Manager for Silver Grove Publications. Silver Grove Publications strives to combat the unfairness in traditional publishing houses and the stigma around independent publishing methods by providing a comfortable middle ground between both worlds: higher royalty rates for the authors with no upfront cost to authors. Silver Grove Publications
Don't be shy! In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen speaks with Vince Warnock, author of Chasing the Insights, on digital marketing, overcoming imposter syndrome, and growing your tribe. As both a marketing expert and published author, Vince helps us discover ways to build a team that will champion our book.
Vince Warnock is an award-winning marketer, author, marketing strategist and a sought-after public speaker. Vince is a Fearless50 recipient, a program that recognizes the top 50 marketers in the world who are driving bold, fearless marketing and digital transformation. Discover more at ChasingtheInsights.com
Want to write a screenplay but don't know how to get started? Do you want to be taken seriously as a screenwriter? Should you publish a novel before selling your screenplay? Discover the answers to these questions and more as Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen chats with screenplay writer and award-winning author Jennie Jarvis about screenwriting and more!
Jennie Jarvis is an award-winning author, story consultant, and college educator. Her work appeared in Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Florida Writer, Bad Apple Zine, Qu Literary Magazine, and more. Her textbook, Crafting the Character Arc: A Practical Guide to Character Creation and Development, is used in creative writing classes worldwide. Find her @JarvisWrites
Jose Pablo Iriarte’s short story success lies in his ability to create texture from memories. In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Jose about his new position of Director-at-Large for the Science Fiction Writers of America and how to build layers of quality prose by combining past experiences and today’s emotions.
José Pablo Iriarte is a Cuban-American writer, high school math teacher, and parent of two. Their fiction can be found in magazines such as Uncanny, Lightspeed, and Strange Horizons, and has been nominated for the Nebula Award, longlisted for the Otherwise Award, and reprinted in various Year's Best compilations. José currently serves as Director-at-Large for SFWA. Learn more at www.labyrinthrat.com, or look for José on twitter @labyrinthrat.
In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with poet Andy N about how he used his creativity to overcome dyspraxia by focusing on the benefits of writing poetry and ambient music.
Andy N is the author of five poetry collections, the most recent being Haiku of Life and an ambient musician recording under the name Ocean in a Bottle. He also hosts the podcasts Spoken Label, Reading in Bed, Wrestle Up and the Koll, the Andy and Amanda show to name but a few.
Discover more at OneWriterandHisPC.blogspot.com
Ocean in a Bottle is at: oceaninabottle.bandcamp.com
The Sunday Tribune is at: https://www.thesundaytribune.com/
Jimi Fritz's newest book Confessions of an Ethical drug Dealer is a psychedelic travelogue and memoir that takes creative non-fiction to a whole other level. Jimi's advice: write the stories you want to write and edit along the way.
Jimi Fritz is a filmmaker, musician, writer, entrepreneur, roustabout, and trick cyclist extraordinaire. He’s written two feature-length screenplays, numerous articles, and a non-fiction book about rave culture.
Want to write a novel but feel the overpowering weight of its commitment? Consider using Bill Cook’s logic of writing the literary equivalent of a bag of potato chips--one more chip, one more chapter.
William J. Cook is the author of The Driftwood Mysteries (3 novels and 1 short story) set on the Oregon coast. The latest in the series, Dungeness and Dragons, was published during the pandemic in April 2020. He has also written two volumes of short stories, and is busy completing a third which he hopes to publish by the end of the summer. It's entitled Before Our House Fell into the Ocean: Stories of Love and Death. https://authorwilliamcook.com/
There's no secret formula to finding agent representation. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Elle Ire about publishing, strong protagonists, and how she generates fresh ideas.
Elle Ire writes science fiction featuring kick-ass women who fall in love with each other. Her first novel, Vicious Circle, released from Torquere Press in November, 2015, and was rereleased in January, 2020, by DSP Publications. The novels in her Storm Fronts series, Threadbare, Patchwork, and Woven, were released in 2019 and 2020 by DSP Publications. Look for The Dead Things trilogy and Reel to Real Love coming soon. Her work is represented by Naomi Davis at the Bookends Literary Agency.
No longer do you need to worry about Plotting or Pantsing your next book! In this week's Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with the Plottr team of Cameron Sutter (creator) and Ryan Zee (marketer) about how writers can outline their books with this easy-to-use program. Plottr offers drag & drop visual timelines to help you create eye-pleasing plots that are built to help you outline better and faster.
Plottr.com
Using your own experiences is a great way to create immersive settings. In this Florida Writer Podcast episode, Nancy Nau Sullivan gives her unique spin on how to find authenticity in settings.
Nancy is a writer of memoir, mystery, and a novel about a woman who teaches in a boys’ prison. The novel, THE BOYS OF ALPHA BLOCK, was published in April. SAVING TUNA STREET, the first in a mystery series is nominated for best mystery of 2020 at Foreword Reviews. Second in the series, TROUBLE DOWN MEXICO WAY, launches June 29, 2021. Nancy promises to take her amateur sleuth, Blanche Murninghan, to Vietnam next, then Ireland, Argentina, and Spain. Her memoir, THE LAST CADILLAC, won two Eric Hoffer awards in 2016.
A former newspaper journalist, Nancy taught English in Argentina, in the Peace Corps in Mexico, and at a boys’ prison in Florida. Nancy lives in Northwest Indiana and, often, anywhere near water. Find Nancy at www.nancynausullivan.com.
Building strong, multi-dimensional characters for young adult literature is Ian Dawson's specialty. To make characters believable, give them the confidence to take on challenges and enough fear and doubt in themselves that they struggle.
Ian Dawson is an author, playwright and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. He has a Bachelor of Arts in dramatic art from The University of California Davis and a master’s in screenwriting from Cal State Northridge. His first novel, The Field, was released in 2018 and went on to become a Readers’ Favorite Book Award Finalist. The Field was based on Ian’s own experience of being abducted and held captive when he was only 13 years old.
When author Diana McDonough began to tapdance around the subject of racism in her novel Stuck in the Onesies, she realized that facing the challenging topic head-on was not only more authentic to her characters, but to her own voice as a writer.
Diana's first novel, Stuck in the Onesies grew out of her experiences living outside the nation’s capital in the 1960s and 70s when social issues first bubbled to the surface. My Mother’s Apprentice is the sequel to Stuck in the Onesies and the story of the next generation. It was awarded the bronze medal by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association in 2019.
Diana writes creative non-fiction, humor, and historical fiction. You can visit her website at dianamcdonough.com, sign up for her blog, and visit Facebook pages for both books.
The challenge: Time. The solution: send your family away for a week each summer. Author Ann Brooks manages to take a writing vacation each summer by sending her kids and husband out of town. With just a simple plot outline, Ann finishes her rough draft in a few days. Her first published novel, A Lost Woman, is a story of loss, family secrets, and hopeful redemption. This domestic suspense, with an unexpected twist, will have the reader rethinking their notions of love, family, and motherhood.
By day Ann works with children in an elementary school nurturing her love for writing by night, she labors to create a balanced life of work, family, and reaching for her dream of being a writer.
AnnBrooksAuthor.com
The challenge to writing authentic intercultural fiction is not only conducting massive amounts of research but finding individuals who will help you decipher how you address sensitive topics. Author Hannah Edington Tekle talks with Florida Writer Podcast host Alison Nissen about the challenges of finding sensitivity readers who help ensure her work's credibility and sincerity.
Hannah Edington Tekle uses fiction to illuminate life in developing nations and to show the multi-dimensional elements of foreign aid, charity, and economic empowerment in a way that both educates and entertains. In addition to her own work, Hannah has worked as a ghostwriter for over three years and written 70+ novels, as well as quite a few books on business topics for CEOs, thought leaders, and branded finance personalities. She had also written a number of novellas and books on the topic of income generation and how-to guides. Among these, she has had multiple books on the Amazon genre bestseller list as well as many number one new releases.
hannahedingtontekle.com
Building a house and creating a character--and turning a house into a character with speculative fiction is Ian Kirkpatrick's specialty. Join host Alison Nissen as she uncovers Ian's simple plotting techniques, creative website name, and desire to build a community of writers.
Ian Kirkpatrick is a speculative and satirical author with interesting credentials: an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa and a BA in Theater from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She's lived in a high desert, the frozen tundra, and the subtropics, so, she's got most extreme climates covered. The things she writes can be as dramatically different as the places she's lived, though she tends toward black comedy, satire, and different forms of speculative fiction. She's written novels, short stories, stage plays, and screenplays. She's fairly obsessed with the good and evil in humans, contrast, and the absurdity that is people. SteakhouseBooks.com
Words, sounds, and images are the foundation of emotional storytelling. Experiencing an immersive story is the foundation of Stasha Boyd's writing to create a comprehensive whole, and ultimately, rich connection for audiences and her clients--museums, exhibits, parks, and more.
An audio description consultant and scriptwriter Stasha specializes in audio description program design; access consulting as it relates to space, operations, and visitor experience of the blind and visually impaired community; and staff training regarding working with and serving blind, low-vis, Deaf/deaf, and hard-of-hearing visitors. Discover more @QMediaProductions.com
When the perfect title reveals itself, an author must act. McKenzie Cassidy used his own life as a jumping point to build an unreliable character caught in the web of his father's lies--discovered at his father's funeral in the book Here Lies a Father.
McKenzie is a writer, journalist, marketer, and professor living in Fort Myers, Florida. His work has appeared in the anthology Walk Hand in Hand into Extinction: Stories Inspired by True Detective, Flash Fiction Magazine, Florida Weekly, and in multiple newspapers throughout southwest Florida. He holds an MFA from Wilkes University and is a regular blogger for the Florida Writers Association. Here Lies a Father is his first novel. Learn more at mckenziecassidy.com.
Is a disability something that is subjective or is it objective? Is a diagnosis opinion or fact? The Final Fence: Sophomores in the Saddle authored by Marc O'Brien takes a creative and honest look into a life filled with support due to well meaning individuals that think before they speak.
In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Marc O'Brien about growing up with a disability that led to a career in writing.
austinmacauley.com/author/obrien-marc
Jean Morciglio has experience writing and publishing literary essays, short stories, and research papers for industry journals and colleges, most recently publishing creative non-fiction in the Story Circle Network Journal and the Florida Odet Literary Journal. She is co-author and originator of Like Finding Water in the Desert, an anthology of autobiographical stories about women with Latin roots. A certified autobiography instructor, Jean now helps writers craft the stories of their past and present selves, teaching guided life story writing. Bloomingdale Library is part of the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative.
Ideas come from everywhere. In this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen sits down with author Tom Lee to chat about how writing a series of tongue-in-cheek emails and the encouragement of friends led to a love of writing.
How can brackets help you write faster and more efficiently? Discover Kristin Durfee’s writing and editing process of search and find in this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast with host Alison NIssen. From overcoming a learning deficiency in third grade to becoming a published author, Kristin believes that books help transport and heal us and give us a window to a world other than our own. Kristin’s primary hope? That her audience will pull out a cozy blanket, make a warm mug of tea, and enjoy her books! Kristin’s book Mass was released March 23, 2021. Visit KristinDurfee.com for more information.
Listen to this edition of the Florida Writer Podcast as host Alison Nissen and guest Mike Lutz discuss the untapped market of writing audio descriptions for museums, sporting events, movies, and more.
Mike Lutz is the author of the Blovel “Skimming Thru Life.” A Blogging Novel found on his website skimmingthrulife.com.
Michael J. Polelle is the author of The Mithras Conspiracy (M.J. Polelle: Lido Press: 2019), a history-based novel in the mystery category popularized by Dan Brown. This debut novel was a 2020 finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards and the Eric Hoffer Book Awards. It also received this year an Honor Medallion from IndieBRAG, LLC.
www.mjpolelle.com
When Louis K. Lowy sits down to write, he doesn't select a genre, it selects him. A former firefighter, he is the recipient of the Florida Individual Artist Award and his most recent novel The Second Life of Eddie Coyne won the President's Book Award Winner for the Florida Author's and Publisher's Association. For more information about Louis, visit LouisKLowy.com.
Accomplished author Jenna Mather has achieved more during high school than most writers dream about. Having already completed two novels; won several achievement awards including the prestigious Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Award for her short story "Fluorescent Freedom"; and been published in magazines and journals, Jenna offers advice about plot outlining, the value of backing up your work (thanks to her feisty feline), and how writing what you don't already know helps you discover more about empathy and the people around you. JennaMather.com
Michael Jordan’s debut novel, The Company of Demons, was awarded Silver in the 2019 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Competition, published thriller/suspense category, the Gold Medal in the 2018 Florida Book Awards Popular Fiction category, and was the winner of the National Indie Excellence Awards in Crime Fiction. In 2020, he was awarded the Gold in the Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Competition, unpublished thriller/suspense category, for his WWII thriller, A Desperate Race.
In addition to writing, Michael practiced law for many years in Cleveland, Ohio, and has long been selected to Best Lawyers in America and Ohio Super Lawyers. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, summa cum laudeand Phi Beta Kappa, and from the George Washington University Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review.
What do tap dancing, marching music, and grammar have in common? Found out in this edition of The Florida Writer Podcast with guest Arlene Miller--Grammar Diva and author of 12 books! Arlene writes and publishes grammar books, produces a weekly blog post, provides copyediting, services, and presents grammar talks and workshops. Discover more at bigwords101.com
A 20-year passion project has created a book for spiritual healing for all people. When Paul Wheelhouse began to teach a World Religions course in 2009 at a local community college, he had already begun writing Global Prayers for All People, his first published (self-published) book in 2010. In the spring of 2013, he completed Human Dignity: Faith and Spirit. He has since published the most comprehensive devotional guidebook dedicated to the Holy Land.
Find ways to make your story different. Shutta Crum is the author of several middle-grade novels and many picture books, poems, and magazine articles. THUNDER-BOOMER! was an ALA and a Smithsonian “Notable Book.” MINE! was reviewed by the N.Y. Times as “a delightful example of the drama and emotion that a nearly wordless book can convey.” Her books have made Bank Street College lists as well as state award lists. WHEN YOU GET HERE, a collection of poems for adults, won a gold medal from the Royal Palm Literary Awards, 2020 (FL). And a second gold medal was awarded for an unpublished manuscript titled: SHORTIES: Short Poems and Their Forms from Around the World. In 2005 she was invited to read at the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. In 2010 she presented to children at the Dept. of Defense schools throughout Japan More info: www.shutta.com.
New writers often struggle with staying on track. Author Geralyn Vilar shares suggest using Scrivener to keep on track, finding the pace you need to make daily progress, and not to worry about the small details in the beginning.
Geralyn Vilar's first novel, One Spring Day was published on March 12, 2020 and is available through Amazon.com. For more information about Geralyn, visit GeralynVilarAuthor.com.
Have your characters ever taken on a life of their own, as if by magic? Romance writer McKenna Dean shares how her characters steal the scene--as if they have control of a Ouija Board. In this episode of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and McKenna discuss strong characters and McKenna's favorite place to bring characters to life.
McKenna Dean has been an actress, a vet tech, a singer, a teacher, a biologist, and a dog trainer. She’s worked in a genetics lab, at the stockyard, behind the scenes as a props manager, and at a pizza parlor slinging dough. Finally, she realized all these jobs were just a preparation for what she really wanted to be: a writer.
She lives on a small farm in North Carolina with her family, as well as the assorted dogs, cats, and various livestock.
She likes putting her characters in hot water to see how strong they are. Like tea bags, only sexier.
http://mckennadeanromance.com/
Journalist turned novelist Gail Hulnick shares her struggles with writing loglines and book blurbs, the difference between creating fact-based stories and fiction, and her favorite amusement park ride with host Alison Nissen in this edition of The Florida Writer Podcast.
Gail Hunick moved to Cape Coral with her husband in 2019. Prior to that, she lived in Savannah, Georgia for five and a half years, and prior to that,she was in Vancouver, Canada. Her background includes many years as a broadcast journalist and as a business consultant. In addition to fiction, she writes and publishes travel books. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, watching movies, walking beaches, taking photographs, and chatting with other readers and writers. She does an occasional email newsletter and would love to connect with your listeners that way. Signup is on her writer site, at www.gailhulnick.com
When we have better ideas for better decisions, we achieve what our hearts desire. On this edition of The Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Dr. Pamela Grey about her book Power Your Decisions Self-Study Workbook, her inspiration, and who Dr. Grey would like to meet living or dead.
Dr. Pamela Grey is the author of Power Your Decisions Self-Study Workbook. Also a speaker, educator, and philanthropist, Dr. Grey established the Advancing Mind Foundation in 2015. The foundation promotes universal truths and principles as taught by the greats of the New Thought movement, while supporting education and nonprofit organizations throughout the United States and abroad.
Lucy Forsting has been a practicing psychotherapist in Wisconsin and Florida for over thirty years. In addition, she is a Reiki Master and currently host of the Synergy Connection Radio Show.
The Adventures of Miss Twiggs and Company is her first book and integrates her love of children and animals with her desire to help all people create happy and rewarding lives.
theadventuresofmisstwiggsandcompany.com
Sarah Penner is the debut author of THE LOST APOTHECARY, forthcoming in March 2021 from Park Row Books/HarperCollins. The Lost Apothecary will be available in the US, UK, Canada, and translated in eleven territories worldwide. She and her husband live in St. Petersburg, Florida with their miniature dachshund, Zoe. To learn more, visit SarahPenner.com.
Elizabeth Randall writes historical ghost stories. She is an English teacher working in Central Florida. Her first book applied her accumulated knowledge and experience as an educator to enable all teachers to employ successful education strategies that keep students and teachers aligned with common goals and outcomes for learning.
She also is a freelance writer, most recently with Education Week, Salon, and Public School Montessorian.
Kate Zarczynski practiced law at Jones Day in Chicago before making the decision to stay home with her three children, relocated to a small beach town, and wrote a novel as a love letter to female friendship. Kate says this is her first novel she feels confident in publishing! She wrote a novel in law school that was garbage and has stewed on being a writer for the twenty years since then but life got in the way.
Kathryn Gordon is the co-author of Relationship GRIT with her husband, bestselling author, Jon Gordon. In Relationship Grit, the Gordons reveal what brought them together, what kept them together through difficult times, and what continues to sustain their love and passion for one another to this day. This interview highlights the struggles of working together and the bond it can create.
jongordon.com/books/relationship-grit/
Named for the famous fictional mystery writer Jessica Fletcher, Jessica Baker picked up a pen when she was in elementary school and never set it down. Jessica lives in sunny Central Florida and is a member of the National Sisters in Crime. When she's not writing, she freelances as a camera assistant in film which provides plenty of inspiration for her stories. Website: www.jessicabakerauthor.com
Tara Lynn Masih is a National Jewish Book Award Finalist and winner of the Julia Ward Howe Award for Young Readers for her debut novel My Real Name Is Hanna. Her anthologies include The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction and The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays. Where the Dog Star Never Glows is her collection of long and very short stories. She founded the Intercultural Essay Prize in 2006 and The Best Small Fictions series in 2015. Tara received a finalist fiction grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, an Inspirational Woman in Literature Award, and several national book awards including an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for her role as an editor. She lives in St. Augustine, Florida. TaraMasih.com
Barista by day, romance novelist by night: When not writing fiction, Dr. Seuss-like poetry (for adults) or song lyrics, Barbara Meyers disguises herself behind a green apron and works part-time for a world-wide coffee company.
Her novels are a mix of comedy, suspense, and spice and often feature a displaced child. For more information visit BarbaraMeyers.com
Chrysa Keenon has always loved stories—both reading and writing them. Her degree from Taylor University’s acclaimed Professional Writing program helped her learn a thing or two about the craft, and she set her sights on working in the publishing industry. Chrysa kickstarted her career by interning with GenZ Publishing and The Seymour Agency. By day, she works in editorial for a prominent bridal magazine. By night, she is a literary agent at the Cyle Young Literary Elite agency, helping writers achieve their publishing dreams, one book at a time. She has over 500 published bylines in both fiction and nonfiction. Awards for her work include 1st Place in Sci-Fi/Fantasy for the Blue Seal Award. You can learn more about her at chrysakeenon.com.
Brian Petkash’s award-winning stories have appeared in Midwestern Gothic and Southword, among other publications. Mistakes by the Lake, a collection of Cleveland-centric stories published by Madville Publishing, is out now. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Brian currently lives in Tampa, Florida, where he remains an avid fan of Cleveland sports.
https://brianpetkash.com
Suzanne Lynn has been in radio for the last 25 years. She was an on-air personality on Z88.3 in Central Florida for eight years before leaving to run her digital media company, Triangle Media. She is passionate about helping authors create branded interview-style videos so they can sell more books. She currently hosts her own show on a Central Florida radio station that reaches 500,000 listeners. Every Monday noon - 1pm, you can hear authors share about their books on her show, Triangle Spotlight. Visit TriangleMedia.biz to discover more.
Jerome Bailey Jr. is a master storyteller who shifts thinking, perception, attitudes, and behaviors. He uses creative content, video production, compelling written works, poetry, sermons, speeches, and service to others to tell transformational stories that build dynamic, trustworthy and leading brands. jeromebaileyjr.com
Alyssa Jennette graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Illustration. As a result, she has unique insight and expertise when it comes to design-heavy or illustrated works. Alyssa finds joy in shaping stories alongside the author and delights in building long-term partnerships. Alyssa joined Stonesong in June 2015 and represents children’s and adult fiction and picture books, graphic novels, and select pop-culture nonfiction.
Best selling author Marc Ritorto is the father of 4 daughters including author Kristina Ritorto. He is a musician, writer, martial artist, and the host of the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) podcast called The Marc The Shark MMA Show.
He started writing books for fun in 2018, releasing his first self-published book The Cabal on Amazon in 2019.
Visit ritortofamilybooks.com
Janine Watkins traded in her career as a field engineer at NYC's LaGuardia Airport to become an author, fitness instructor, and world traveler. Janine's hope is that the Sonder Lives' saga will instill in all of its readers the curiosity about what our world would look like if we were 100% responsible for ourselves in our pursuit of happiness.
For more information about Janine, visit her at https://www.subscribepage.com/sonderlives
Lawrence Knorr has been involved with book publishing since 2000. Lawrence’s 30+ year career in information technology has prepared him well for the “Age of Content” – the era of eBooks, data integration, eCommerce, and networks. Lawrence is the author or co-author of over twenty books. He is also an award-winning digital artist. Lawrence often speaks or is a panelist at numerous writers' conferences and book fairs. For more information, visit SunburyPress.com.
Michael Farrell was drawn into the world of writing by his childhood dreams and the stories in his head that he wishes to bring to life. He loves Psychology, fantasy worlds, and stories about the wonders of life. He is a black belt in tae kwon do and has practiced the art for ten years. He also has a background in tumbling. Currently, he has two works in progress that he hopes to publish in the near future.
Visit @mike_scrivo on Instagram
Teresa Edmond-Sargeant’s short stories have appeared in several publications including the Demonic Anthology series, "Thrill of the Hunt: Buried Alive," and 121 Words. She’s releasing her first short story collection in late 2020. Teresa is also an art/culture/history junkie, shopping enthusiast, and church and community volunteer. She loves her husband and their daughters, who they are raising to be confident and compassionate women.
Mark Newhouse’s novel The Devil’s Bookkeepers 1, about the Holocaust ghetto his parents miraculously survived, won the Gold Medal Historical Fiction and top honor, Best Published Book of the Year from the Florida Writers Association. Mark is a Retired NY teacher, New York State Reading Association Teacher of the Year, and is now the Chairperson of the Florida Writers Association Youth Program, and an FWA Director. Please visit his author page on Amazon or www.newhousecreativegroup.com for more information.
Nancy Christie is an award-winning author of the literary short fiction collection Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories, and three non-fiction books: Rut-Busting for Authors, Rut-Busting Book for Writers, and The Gift of Change. Peripheral Vision and Other Stories was recently released by Unsolicited Press.
Nancy is also the founder of Celebrate Short Fiction Day, a day to honor the short story in all its forms and lengths—from micro-fiction to novellas, slice-of-life to traditional plot-driven tales—and those writers of short fiction, who strive to tell a tale within the confines of this specific literary form.
Visit NancyChristie.com
After 35+ years of operations for various businesses (including her own), Melody pursued her dream of someday writing a novel. Having written for business publications, local magazines and even publishing a poem, Chemo’s not for Sissies, during treatment after her first cancer diagnosis, it was time to finish the novel that was started many years ago. When she started writing “Facade: Things Aren’t Always as they Appear," she had no idea where her characters were going to take her. "The Unbroken Series" was born.
Melody lives with her husband in her native home state Florida. She’s blessed to be alive today after two cancer diagnoses and enjoys watching her grandchildren grow up something she doesn’t take for granted.
Michael David Anderson is the author of the Teddy Dormer novels, Teddy and Wake, their companion piece Desynchrony, and the haunted house novel In the House of Wolves. He possesses degrees in both Psychology and English. He was born in East Tennessee in 1985 and currently resides in Orlando, Florida with his fiancée Christine.
www.michaeldavidanderson.com @shadeofmidnight on Twitter
@michaeldavidanderson on Instagram
John W. Bateman was the first person in his family to leave the fly-over states in more than 200 years. It didn't last. John writes and looks for stories in the Deep South. His work has appeared in The Santa Fe Writer's Project Quarterly, OneNewEngland, Glitterwolf Magazine, Huffington Post, TIMBER, Nately's, as well as on the silver screen. He has a secret addiction to glitter and, contrary to his southern roots, does NOT like sweet tea.
John is a recipient of a 2018 Emerging Filmmaker Grant from the Mississippi Film Alliance. His first novel, Who Killed Buster Sparkle?, was released June 12, 2019, by Unsolicited Press and has appeared on the weekly Top 10 Mississippi Reads list nearly a dozen times. He'd really like for you to buy a copy so that his mother isn't his only fan.
@JohnWBateman
Pop Culture Poets Wilnona and Jade are considered one of the 20 Iconic Authors according to Every Writer’s Resource. They are the founders of The Inspirational Women in Literature Media and Journalism Awards, the Thoughtful Book Festival and Thoughtful Book Awards, the magazine 25 Hottest Indie Authors, Artist & Advocates, and the And I Thought Literary Magazine.
Together, they have written 11 books and participated in over 700 interviews around the world.
Visit them at andwethought.com
Al Pessin is an award-winning journalist, author and playwright. Kensington will publish his first novel, Sandblast, on March 31, 2020. The first of the Task Force Epsilon thrillers, Sandblast was a top-five finisher in the Unpublished Book of the Year competition at the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards and a shortlist selection for the 2017 Bosque Fiction Prize.
Sandblast is the story of an Afghan-American U.S. Army lieutenant who goes undercover inside the Taliban to find the new global terrorism mastermind, and his boss, a woman at the Pentagon with West Point and two combat tours behind her, who has to fight the top brass and even the president to keep her agent alive and his mission on track. The first sequel, Blowback, will be published in the spring of 2021, with a second sequel scheduled for a year later.
New York Times Bestselling author Tom Straw (Richard Castle) said, “Al Pessin escorts you through thrills and chaos, writing with the sure hand of authority. This guy knows his stuff.”
He lives in Delray Beach, FL with his wife Audrey and their precocious Labrador Rory. Contact Al through www.alpessin.com.
Award-winning author Bria Burton lives in St. Petersburg with her husband, her son, and two pets. Her fiction has appeared in over twenty anthologies and magazines. She has independently published two inspirational novellas: Little Angel Helper, a 2016 Royal Palm Literary Award winner, and The Running Girls. In 2019, Her Midnight Ride won an RPLA in the published novelette category. While she writes, her dog and cat do their best to distract her, which is why they star in her family-friendly short story collection and podcast, Lance & Ringo Tails. At St. Pete Running Company, she's a blogger and customer service manager. She's also a member of the Alvarium Experiment, a by-invitation-only consortium of outstanding authors who collaborated on The Prometheus Saga, The Prometheus Saga 2, Return to Earth, and The Masters Reimagined anthologies.
Jeremy A. Harper spent much of his youth traveling up and down the east coast of the United States with his family before settling in Delaware. There he served in the Delaware Army National Guard and attended Wesley College, where he met his fiancée, Sky West. He later graduated and received a B.A. in Media Arts. His debut novel Mourning Sky: Evan’s Story was self-published in the summer of 2019 and pulls from his various experiences with love and loss. He currently resides in Florida, living with his fiancée and Trixie the cat.
Racquel Henry is a Trinidadian writer and editor with an MFA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is also a part-time English Professor, a founding editor at Black Fox Literary Magazine, and owns the writing studio, Writer's Atelier, in Winter Park, Florida.
The mission of Writer’s Atelier is to encourage writers to have the confidence to believe in their writing while they also work to improve it.
#FloridaWriters #HallmarkChannel #WritersAtelier
After receiving a BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College, Kaitlyn refused to leave the concept of nightly homework behind. As well as being an associate agent for Corvisiero Literary Agency, she is also a freelance editor at her own company, K. Johnson Editorial, and has worked as a copyeditor for academic publisher codeMantra, a YA editor for Accent Press, and a Conference Assistant for GrubStreet, Boston. She has written various articles for Writer's Digest and has had a flash fiction story published in the anthology A Box of Stars Beneath the Bed.
For #mswl listings and writerly life thoughts, feel free to check out her MSWL profile or Twitter or take a look at her visual #MSWL Pinterest.
J.W. Garrett has been writing in one form or another since she was a teenager. She currently lives in Florida with her family but loves the mountains of Virginia where she was born. Her writings include YA fantasy as well as short stories. Since completing Remeon’s Quest-Earth Year 1930, the prequel in her YA fantasy series, Realms of Chaos, she has been hard at work on the next in the series, scheduled to release June 2020. When she’s not hanging out with her characters, her favorite activities are reading, running and spending time with family.
Website: www.jwgarrett.com
Mark is a private banker, historian, and avid outdoorsman. A North Florida native he has always been drawn to the rivers, estuaries and secluded forests that define the natural beauty of Florida’s First Coast. He currently resides with his wife and three children in St. Johns Florida. #FloridaWriters #AmWriting
MarkAlanGriffis.com
Award-winning author Melody Dean Dimick creates vivid wordscapes of the Adirondacks, Vermont, and Florida in her books. Dimick, the winner of three Royal Palm Literary Awards from the Florida Writers Association.
Melody is the current president of the Florida Writers Foundation—a not-for-profit organization fighting to eliminate illiteracy. She is also a member of the Florida Writers Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Florida Authors and Publishers Association, the Daytona Writers Guild, and the Florida State Poets Association.
As an educator, Wendy Samford, Ph.D. has a background in business and education and wrote her first book “Out of the Dark: A Direction for Change in Education” which led to a second book, “Creating a Culture of Support for Teacher Leaders: A Vision for Change and Hope.”
Recently, she felt called to write a book about her daughter-in-law and her life growing up in the “system” of foster care, group homes, and lock-up facilities. The book, “Bloom Where Planted” by Winifred Grace and Ava McCarthy (pseudonyms), is filled with sadness and humor, defeat and tenacity, neglect and perseverance. Bloom Where Planted won Silver in Published Catch-all category and Gold in the LBGTQ+ category in the 2019 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Discover more at BloomWherePlantedBook.com.
E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters and purple hair dye. She is an award-winning speculative fiction author of the Chronicles of the Third Realm War series, starting with FWA’s 2016 Book of the Year Mud (City Owl Press). She is also a platforming expert with 12+ years’ experience at PR firms and has served as a regular contributor to leading blogs including The Write Life, DIYMFA and BookRiot. She loves to address readers and authors alike. She has presented solo and on panels at everything from writer’s association chapters to comic cons to top-tier conferences. E.J. was the Florida Writers Association 2017 Person of Renown. Visit her @ www.EJWenstrom.com
Janice Heck, coauthor of Triumph Over Terror and ADHD: You've Got My Attention with Bob Ossler, is a retired educator. In her free time, she writes for, edits, and publishes a community newsletter; sings in the Margate Community Church choir; and collects old grammar books just for the heck of it. She loves travel, photography, cats, writing, blogging, blogging challenges, and life-long learning. Connect with her @janiceheck on Twitter, Janice Hall Heck on Facebook, and website www.TriumphOverTerror.com.
Wanda Luthman is a multi-award-winning author who resides in sunny Florida. She has an extensive background in counseling from children to adults. She has published 8 books to date. She lives with her two adorable Yorkies. Her daughter, like Little Birdie--a character in one of her books, has left the nest and lives in another state. Wanda enjoys swimming, jogging, and swimming so she can afford her chocolate habit! www.wandaluthman.wordpress.com
Jan Little is a retired English instructor/journalist who writes poetry, short stories, and a fantasy series. Adelaide Literary Journalpublished a poem; New Millennium Writings and Beyond Borders, International, has awarded her an honorable mention in poetry contests. She is a member of the Florida Writers Association and lives in Orlando, Florida.
Visit her at RJTripp.com
Life isn’t always pretty, but at the end of the day, family, friends, laughter and a glass of wine are usually enough to improve the view. Janet Franks Little brings this same realistic optimism to her contemporary women’s fiction. Written with candor, humor, and depth, her stories confront real-life issues faced by women today: divorce, infidelity, family, body image, social expectations, and, of course, romance and relationships.
She is the author of three wise, witty, and heartwarming books: Worth Her Weight, Estate of the Heart and Glass Promises, and is currently working on a new series.
janetfrankslittle.com
Rod Martinez is the author of middle-grade and young adult speculative, mystery, adventure and paranormal novels. Rod believes writing a story is like sitting in front of a stage and watching the performers. He has a basic idea of the story-line, but the characters take over and he becomes their tool. Yes, he is a serious pantser.
Rod also is a fervent believer in sparking the writing bug in children; he does book talks every year in elementary and middle schools to keep the fire burning in future writers.
Visit Rod at RodMartinez.us or @AuthorRodMartinez on Facebook
Born in Kodiak, Alaska, John Satterlee is the author of Eternal Love and Life published by Christian Faith Publishing. John lives and works in Orlando with his wife Gloria and their sons 17 and 9 who are both on Autism Spectrum. For more information about John, visit him on Facebook at John Satterlee Author.
Donna M. Gray-Banks is the Founder and Director of the F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival which is one of the largest book festivals held in Volusia/Flagler Counties in Florida. The Festival began in 2011 and the City of Daytona Beach began sponsorship of the Festival in 2012. Gray-Banks is also the host of a weekly radio show “A F.R.E.S.H. Conversation” on Joy 106.3 fm Daytona Beach, every Monday night from 8-9 p.m. Gray-Banks is the author of a very successful trilogy, “Ila’s Diamonds I, II, and III”. She is currently working on her IV novel “The House That Jack Built”.
Jessica Williams lives in Central Florida (University of Alabama Alumni). She is a reporter/writer for The Hernando Sun (Hernando County, FL), Contributor for Citrus County Life Magazine (Citrus County, FL), and Journalist/Contributor for Celebrations Magazine (Walt Disney World) and Memory Well (Washington, D.C.). She also supports authors as a Contributor for Southern Literary Review (southernlitreview.com). Contact Jessica on Facebook @ Jessica Williams