Finding an agent and publisher was easy for April Davila, an award-winning author who quit her job in 2016 to write full-time. Her debut novel, 142 Ostriches, won the WILLA Literary Awards for Women Writing the West.
In this episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner chats with April, a fourth-generation Californian who studied marine biology before being called to the written word. She honed her skills in marketing and technical writing jobs, dedicating early mornings to crafting fiction until she could finally make the transition to writing full-time. In this episode, Lynne and April discuss the lessons she learned along the way and why she pairs meditation with writing.
In this episode, Lynne and April discuss:
The inspiration behind 142 Ostriches
Handling rejection
Celebrating accolades
Being a mindful writer
Writing as a meditation
How meditation helps writers
Aligning entrepreneurship with writing
Links and Resources:
142 Ostriches
Kensington Books
Mindfulness at Berkeley
Write with Lynne
Find April Davila:
Website
If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:
Episode 96 – Jim Rajan – How to Leave Everything Behind
Episode 52 - Stacy Dockins - Journey to the Self
Episode 50 - Gautam Jain - Strengthening Intellect
Episode 47 - Linda Makowski - Quieting the Mind
Episode 18 - Amy Haimerl - Shady Ladies & Detroit Hustle
Episode 145 – CL Walters - Young Adult & New Adult Fiction from Hawaii
Episode 144 – Danny Hankner - Founding Story Unlikely
Episode 143 – Annie Cathryn - Dreams Come True: The Friendship Breakup
Episode 142 – Announcing Scotia Road Books
Episode 141 – Tom Sleigh– A Lifetime of Poetry
Episode 140 – Minda Zetlin – On ASJA, Leadership & Writing for Inc.
Episode 139 – Desiree Cooper – Being “Genre Agnostic”
Episode 138 – Sara Bennett Wealer – Connecting with YA Readers
Episode 137 – Christopher P. Locke – Breathtaking Essays & Stories
Episode 136 – Tammy Pasterick – Writing & Publishing Your Way
Episode 135 – Camille Pagan – Making Writing Your Career
Episode 134 – Andrew McDiarmid – Simply Scottish
Episode 133 – Sara Henning – Poetry about Loss & Redemption
Episode 132 – Merryn Glover – Literary Fiction about Place
Weina Dai Randel
Merle Saferstein
Rosina Lippi a.k.a. Sara Donati
Episode 128 – Becky Robinson – Building Reach for Books
Episode 127 – Ly Tran – Writing Unapologetically
Episode 126 – Indigo Willing – Skateboarding, Community & Consent
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