Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

EP 464 - The Big Stories of a Memorable Memoir with Roz Morris

Mark interviews novelist, memoirist, and professional story whisperer Roz Morris about her writing life and her pivot into writing memoirs alongside her fiction. Prior to the interview Mark shares a brief personal update a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report. In the interview Mark and Roz talk about: How Roz and Mark first met at the London Book Fair in 2012 What Roz writes and the types of stories that she loves and is fascinated with Roz's journey which includes experience working in a publishing company and meeting and marrying another writer The red leather-bound VISITORS book that Roz was given and she used for notes when she went on holiday, and how her husband convinced her to put those into a book Roz's new book TURN RIGHT AT THE RAINBOW: A Diary of Househunting, Happenstance, Home The concept of a house that holds within its structure and walls all the people and stories that took place within it and how that ties in to the story of Roz and her husband's search for a new home How it's very hard to remember how you saw something for the first time The way Roz decides what stories are going to make it into a particular memoir How museums out of season can be great because of the passion that you can witness in the employees The next memoir that Roz is currently "collecting" in the background How in a novel Roz can inhabit a lot of people in different ways Advice Roz would have moving from memoir to fiction and vice versa After the interview Mark reflects on a few things Roz mentioned as well as something her advice reminded him of. He also rambles a bit longer than normal.     Links of Interest: Roz Morris Website Roz's latest book: TURN RIGHT AT THE RAINBOW Mark's Books in the Smashwords READ AN EBOOK WEEK sale Article: Publishing Wide But Shallow Article: Stretching Before The Writing Run Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup) An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises   Roz Morris is a novelist, memoirist, and professional story whisperer. She's the author of acclaimed literary novels with BIG emotional canvases, and memoirs that find meaning in unadventures. She's also a developmental editor and writing coach and has helped shape books that have sold more than four million copies—some of those from behind the scenes as a ghostwriter. She's also the creator of the Nail Your Novel series for writers and the blog of the same name. She's judged literary prizes including the Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award and Vine Leaves Press New Voices competition, and has taught masterclasses for The Guardian in London and Jane Friedman's online academy.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 463 - How to Bring Your Book Alive at an Author Event with Julie Hiner

Mark interviews author Julie Hiner about creating an unforgettable book event for a book launch. Prior to the interview Mark shares a brief personal update a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report. In the interview Mark and Julie talk about: Julie's branding as being strongly tied to the 80s and music even though she fought it at first The first book Julie published about road biking (JUST A GIRL ON A BIKE) which was the story of how she overcame a lot of fears and anxiety and the donations she makes with sales of that book The 21 switch-backs on the road biking in France that became the 21 steps in Julie's book The value of learning so much about self-publishing when Julie attender her first When Words Collide conference Julie's ongoing obsession with true crime, serial killers, and 80s metal Interacting with and interviewing Homicide Detective Dave Sweet Julie's books in the Detective Mahoney series that started with the book FINAL TRACK The original venue Julie used for her first book and the newer one she has partnered with The special VIP pre-order packages Julie makes available The way the collaboration with the musicians work, including Julie creating lyrics for the bands to adapt into songs How horror is a really safe place to explore extremely dark things Studies that show that aggressive music can help calm the brain The creepiest serial killer that came up in the research Julie did Some of the things authors should consider when looking at their branding   After the interview Mark shares about an event Julie has coming up in April 2026, and then talks about the importance of pulling out atmospheric elements from the book/story/characters/setting as well as the idea of writing with authenticity and passion.   Links of Interest: Julie Hiner's Website Stella's Scream Book Launch Just a Girl and a Bike Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup) An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises   Julie Hiner spent her childhood lost in the pages of books. The only thing that took precedence was her Walkman. She is still an 80s rocker. On a break from her career as a computer scientist, she published an inspirational book about facing fears by cycling up mountains. Julie now writes horror/suspense infused with heavy metal. She has published a serial killer series, three horror novellas, co-curated an anthology, and had short stories published. She recently had a deep-sea horror novella published by Torrid Waters of Crystal Lake Publishing. You can find her at KillersAndDemons.com serving up metal and murder.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0    

EP 462 - Daryn Brito on Showing Up With Love, Compassion, and Empathy

Mark interviews Daryn Brito, an advocate, writer, and researcher dedicated to supporting those who have faced trauma and adversity about her work and her new book THE BECOMING: UNREPEATABLE MIRACLE, WHO ARE YOU? Prior to the interview Mark shares a brief personal update a word from this episode's sponsor, and a trigger warning for listeners. This episode is sponsored by Toronto Indie Author Conference, taking place in Toronto, ON in April 2026. In the interview, Mark and Daryn about: Mark first meeting Daryn in a class at the Waterloo Regional Police Citizen's Academy How Daryn's main goal when doing speaking engagements is to start in a way to humilify herself first to help demonstrate her humanity and put the audience at ease The importance of taking her academic study and leveraging it in a way that the average person can understand it How Daryn is currently doing two simultaneous Masters programs in preparation for her Phd The specific therapy models that Daryn is focusing on in her study The undergrad study Daryn did showing that only 3% of people who were in foster care attempt post-secondary education - this is usually due to lack of support How, growing up, school was the one area where Daryn had a sense of control, and how she focused hard in that realm Regularly being told that her heart is too big for her own good Daryn's early childhood experiences, starting with her mother's experience while pregnant with Daryn The first time of having to go to court and testify as a victim of sexual assault at the age of twelve Being a primary caregiver to younger siblings and struggling with a strong/high empathy Deciding she had finally had enough of living in a situation filled with IPV (Intimate Partner Violence) Getting involved in helping to train police officers in better understanding trauma related to IPV Initially mistrusting the police, particularly due to the environment she grew up in How the investigating detective in Daryn's case was one of the most compassionate human being Daryn had ever met in her life The deciding factor in making the police report not being about Daryn getting hurt again, but her feeling responsible for the possibility of other people getting hurt How if it weren't for Daryn's heart for others, she wouldn't be here today Doing a lot of speaking for police at the academy for those being trained in IPV (Intimate Partner Violence) The journals Daryn had always kept which helped provide the fruit for the creation of her book THE BECOMING The importance of breaking down the walls we put up, knowing that it's safe to open your heart to the world again The various groups who have purchased Daryn's group in order to help other people Choosing a release date for her book as her ex-abuser's parole hearing day as a way to make that day brighter What Daryn would say to someone who is or has faced adversity or trauma The incredible "basic needs" special housing program/project that Daryn is looking at The value of showing up with love and compassion   After the interview Mark reflects on the concepts of compassion and empathy and the importance of recognizing multiple viewpoints and environments unique to different people.   Links of Interest: Daryn Brito Website Waterloo Regional Police Flashpoint TV Series Superstars Writing Seminars Stark Reflections on Pushing for Better (Team Landing Page) CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association) Mental Health Meter What's Your Stress Index? Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup) An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises   Daryn Brito is an advocate, writer, and researcher dedicated to supporting those who have faced trauma and adversity. Through her work, she empowers individuals and strives for systemic change. What makes Daryn's journey so remarkable, is how she turns her lived experiences into transformative wisdom. So through her compelling public talks, her insightful research and her book The Becoming: unrepeatable miracle, who are you? Daryn challenges us to question who we are beneath all the labels, and invites us to step into our most authentic, fullest selves     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 461 - The Power of Stories to Instill Empathy, Resilience, Joy, and Hope with Ka-Yee Essoe

In this episode Mark interviews Ka-Yee Essoe about the power of stories to instil empathy, resilience, joy, and hope, based on her experiences in the academic world, in research, in teaching, and in writing an epic fantasy novel. Prior to the interview Mark shares a brief personal update and word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Toronto Indie Author Conference, taking place in Toronto, ON in April 2026. In the interview, Mark and Ka-Yee talk about: Mark and Ka-Yee's connection to Joshua EssoeKa-Yee's background with two different careers in academia Studying how to help people learn therapeutic techniques better Starting her creative writing journey in 2021 How this story (that became the first of a trilogy she is writing) started to unfold in her head as dialogue 128,000 words of the first draft coming out in about 2 months of writing Ka-Yee's move into an academic teaching role, which is something she's always wanted to do One of the classes that Ka-Yee co-teaches for writers HEXACO - the six-dimension personality test Some of the opposite-character writing exercises that derive from this test Debunking Myers-Briggs because it's not as science-based Ka-Yee's desire to help writers to write who has some sort of disability Helping students understand what therapy looks like and how to depict that relationship Techniques on how to learn memory enhancement How to evaluate routines and your process as a writer The problem with getting into a habit of doing things a certain way and missing out on how to make it better Ka-Yee not realizing she had ADHD until she was an adult The side-effect of suffering from long Covid The concept of deliberate rest Applying the scientific principle to writing an epic fantasy novel How people tend to have two different careers in their life The Kickstarter that Ka-Yee is running for her new book SHAZZWICK OF LAND VOL1: Time Becomes Relevant Aaron Fors as the talented narrator for the audiobook version What Ka-Yee's book is about How she sees the world differently now that she has written this novel   After the interview Mark shares a few reflections inspired by the interview. Notes from Ka-Yee as mentioned in the interview: Guidance I provided students to create their own weekly evaluation on their writing process Before you begin, I encourage you to take stalk of your current process. What's your goal, what's your why, what works/doesn't, how often do you write, what resources do you need -- not what you WANT it to be, but what it is now. Then create a survey using the guideline below. Answer the questions now as your baseline, then check in every week (ideally on the same day), revise the questions as you go.  There is no wrong way to do this. These can be any format as you see fit, or a combination of. You can make the questions open-ended, some form of rating scales (e.g., rate from 0 to 10, or 1 = Completely Disagree to 5 = Complete Agree), multiple choice, or fill in the blanks.  Just don't get too attached, you should be adjusting these as your process evolves or as life encroaches.  Ask yourself 6-10 (ish) questions 1-3 questions on what you did in the past week: e.g., did you change/stick with your process? did try something new? how did it go? were you able to stick to it? 2-3 questions on how "productive" or "successful" you are--but remember, every one's measure of success is different. E.g., how much did you write? how good were the writing? how brave were you in sharing your work with others? how zen you were about taking feedback. 2-3 questions on how you are flourishing vs languishing: e.g., do I have mental space to do OTHER things I love? Did I spend time with people who matter to me? Did I feel my life has purpose, joy, satisfaction, and meaning? Last question: ask yourself something that gets to the "why" of your creative endeavour. WHY did you write this week? Did you remember to keep your eyes on that which drives you and keeps you up at night when you forget it. That which makes your writing something that you must do. (okay, then the last last question: do I need to revise these questions for next week?)  The most important thing is: again, update these questions as you go. This needs to be a living document, otherwise you aren't giving yourself room to grow and learn.    Links of Interest: Snow Quill Press The Novel: Shazzwick of Land, Vol. 1: Time Becomes Relevant Kickstarter for Shazzwick of Land Vol 1 HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised (by Drs. Lee and Ashton (2009, 2018)) HEXACO is a 6-factor personality test that measures personality across six dimensions: Honesty-humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness. There's also a bonus trait, Altruism, that pools from subscales within the 6 larger traits.  The Big Five Personality Inventory (by Goldberg (1992)) The Big Five is probably the most widely used personality test in psychology. It measures personality across five dimensions, often forming the acronym of OCEAN or CANEO: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Episode 137 - Action Sequences and Sex Scenes with Joshua Essoe Episode 260 - Mood, Atmosphere, and Worldbuilding with Joshua Essoe Superstars Writing Seminars Stark Reflections on Pushing for Better (Team Landing Page) CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association) Mental Health Meter What's Your Stress Index? Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup) An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises   Ka-Yee Essoe, Ph.D. (Psychology, UCLA; Psychiatry Postdoc, Johns Hopkins Medicine) is an assistant professor at a small, public university at rural Maine. As a cognitive neuroscientist specialising in learning enhancement, she understands the power of stories to instil empathy, resilience, joy, and hope. She began writing novels to do just that. As an East Asian immigrant who enjoys many intercultural friendships, rich cultural diversity permeates the worlds and conflicts she crafts in her epic fantasy novels with integral love-story threads. Drawing on her personal experience and 10+ years mentoring others to navigate anxiety, disabilities, abuse, discrimination, trauma, and grief, her stories follow characters facing these struggles to encourage readers through their journeys and growth.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 460 - Rambling Reflections From The Road: You Are Loved

In this short solo episode Mark shares a "Rambling Reflection From The Road" while at Superstars Writing Seminars talking about the important signals that seemed to come at the right time: Your feelings are valid Your opinions matter You are irreplaceable Your best is enough It's okay to take a break You are loved   Links of Interest: EP 459 - Creating Experiences in Art and Story with Tanya Hales Superstars Writing Seminars James A. - Everything is Signal Stark Reflections on Pushing for Better (Team Landing Page) CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association) Mental Health Meter What's Your Stress Index? Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup) An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0