DIY MFA Radio

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Lee Tobin McClain on the show! Lee is the Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of eight contemporary romances for Harlequin Love Inspired as well as twenty independently-published novels and novellas. She also recently contracted with Harlequin HQN to write three mainstream romance novels, the Safe Haven series, of which the first and second of these books, Low Country Hero and Low Country Dreams, are out now.   When Lee is not writing, she’s probably cheering on her daughter at a gymnastics meet, teaching writers in Seton Hill University’s MFA program, and probably not cleaning her house. So listen in as Lee and I chat about her amazing Safe Haven romance series and how to use your creative writing side to make marketing fun and successful. In this episode Lee and I discuss: Balancing the predictability of romance with keeping your readers in suspense. Popular fiction vs. literary fiction in MFA programs. Brainstorming techniques to help keep your story moving forward. What types of marketing you’ll have to do in indie vs. traditional publishing. How to build up your writing community, even if you’re an introvert. Plus, Lee’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/255

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of having Rob Eagar on the show! Rob is a marketing consultant and author who has coached over 600 authors and helped both fiction and nonfiction books hit the New York Times bestseller lists. He is the author of The Author’s Guide book series which includes The Author’s Guide to Email Marketing, The Author’s Guide to Write Text that Sells Books and The Author’s Guide to Marketing Books on Amazon, which will be the focus of our discussion today. Aside from talking about marketing books on Amazon, Rob will share some juicy info for how you can get access to three free eBooks to help jumpstart your book sales. I don’t know about you, but when I hear the words “free books” I’m all “yes please!” And stay tuned because toward the end of this interview we’re going to share something extra-special that Rob has cooking just for DIY MFA word nerds. So listen in because this interview is going to be AWESOME! In this episode Rob and I discuss: How mastering Amazon can increase your book sales. Exclusive vs. wide, which is the best way to sell your books? An inside look at three highly valuable marketing tools Amazon has for writers. How to craft the most persuasive marketing copy for your book. Why you need to grow your own email list, and techniques to help you do it. Plus, Rob’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/254

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Jodi Thomas on the show! Jodi is both a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 50 novels and countless short story collections. With five RITA’s to her credit, along with National Readers’ Choice Awards and Booksellers’ Best Awards, Jodi has proven her skill as a master storyteller, and in July 2006, was the 11th writer to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her latest novel The Little Tea Shop on Main, while still focusing on love, diverts slightly from the romance genre into women’s fiction. So listen in as Jodi and I chat about this amazing book and how to get so deep into your characters that both you and your readers feel that they are real people. In this episode Jodi and I discuss: Giving each viewpoint character a distinct voice. How to craft three equally weighted protagonists in one story. Creating characters that extend beyond the page for your readers. How to use supporting characters for more than just a plot twist. Painting a realistic picture on the page by “walking the land” of your story. Plus, Jodi’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/253

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Sam Sykes on the show! Sam is the author of multiple books of fantasy, including the Bring Down Heaven trilogy, the Affinity for Steel trilogy and comics such as Brave Chef Brianna. He currently lives in the United States with his two hounds and, at any given time, is probably yelling at something inanimate. Sam looks forward to being one of the sole providers of fantasy entertainment. Assuming no other authors are actually discovered in the next forty years. His latest book, Seven Blades in Black, is the start of his new fantasy series The Grave of Empires and is now available. No one can verify where he was on the night of October 17th, 2003. So on that ominous note, listen in as Sam and I chat about his awesome new book and the secrets to getting your audience emotionally invested in your story. In this episode Sam and I discuss: How to build a world that fits and impacts your characters. Leaving certain things in your world unexplained, or “The Kessel Run Principle” by Sam Sykes. The importance of creating a diversity of attitudes among your characters. Why escalation in your story is more important than balance. Trusting your readers to draw their own conclusions from your writing. Plus, Sam’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/252

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Patrice Gopo on the show! The daughter of Jamaican immigrants who was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Patrice is a personal essayist and often writes about topics of race, immigration, and belonging. Her essays have appeared in numerous publications including Catapult and The New York Times. She also has had radio commentaries appear on her local public radio station, and is the recipient of a North Carolina Arts Council Literature Fellowship. Her essay collection All the Colors We Will See was a Fall 2018 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and is available now. So listen in as Patrice and I chat about this amazing book, the personal essay form, and finding your own personal reason for why you write. In this episode Patrice and I discuss: What elevates a personal anecdote to a personal essay. Techniques to find your go-to essay form. How to overcome the fear of putting your personal stories out in the world. Balancing the responsibility you have to others and to yourself. The importance of knowing who you are as a writer. Plus, Patrice’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/251

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Patricia Davids on the show! Born and raised in Kansas, Pat was an NICU nurse for forty years, before switching careers to become an inspirational writer. She is now a USA Today best-selling author of Amish romance, enjoys playing with her dogs (who think fetch should be a twenty-four hour a day game) and happily dreaming up new stories. Her latest book, The Wish, is the first in her new romance series The Amish of Cedar Grove, and is now available. So listen in as Pat and I chat about this amazing book and how to craft a realistic and romantically charged Amish romance. In this episode Pat and I discuss: Crafting the feeling of anticipated grief within your characters. How to weave Amish culture into your romance naturally. Why you should drop your reader directly into the story and how to do it right. Adding romantic tension when your characters can’t be physical with each other. Tips and techniques to put emotion on the page internally instead of verbally. Plus, Pat’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/250

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the absolute pleasure of hosting Jon Land on the show! You may remember Jon from a previous episode where he took part in a round table interview  live from last year’s ThrillerFest along with two other bestselling thriller authors: Lisa Gardner and Karin Slaughter. Today though he’s here solo to let me pick his brain and give you his own nuggets of writing wisdom. Jon is the USA Today bestselling author of over 44 books, including the critically acclaimed and award-winning Caitlin Strong series, whose ninth installment, Strong to the Bone, won the 2017 American Book Fest Award for Mystery/Suspense. Also in the mystery genre, Jon took over writing the Murder She Wrote series in 2018 with A Date with Murder as his first entry. His latest novel, the most recent installment of his Caitlin Strong series, Strong as Steel, is available now, and his next entry in the beloved Murder She Wrote series, Murder in Red, will be released in May of 2019. So listen in as Jon and I chat about these two amazing books and the ways in which cozies and thrillers converge. In this episode Jon and I discuss: How to juggle writing two very different series at the same time. The structural elements of the thriller vs. the cozy mystery. How the scope of your world supports the character’s quest. The mechanisms used to craft a cozy thriller. Being genuine and honest with your readers. Plus, Jon’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/249

Hey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have Tiffany Reisz on the show! Tiffany is the USA Today bestselling author of the Romance Writers of America’s RITA®-winning Original Sinners series from Harlequin's Mira Books. She has also received a Lambda Award in Gay Fiction for her novel The King and two Romantic Times Editor's Choice Awards for Best Erotic Romance and Best Series Romance. Her erotic fantasy The Red—self-published under the banner 8th Circle Press—was named an NPR Best Book of the Year, a Goodreads Best Romance of the Month, and received a coveted starred review from Library Journal. Her latest book, which is set in the world of The Red, is the erotic fantasy The Rose. Tiffany lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, Andrew Shaffer (who I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with previously on the show), the New York Times Bestselling author of Hope Never Dies. She has two cats. The cats are not writers. So listen in as Tiffany and I chat about her amazing new novel, The Rose, and why embracing the delete key, no matter how many words you must trash, can be the thing that takes your book from good to great. In this episode Tiffany and I discuss: Using a framing device to craft an erotic romance. Elements to consider when writing a sex scene. How to discover your own erotic vocabulary. Finding the key that opens up your story and lets the words flow. How to know when you need to trash your existing draft and start over. Plus, Tiffany’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/248

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Janet Pocorobba on the show! Janet is a former features writer and editor at Metropolis magazine in Tokyo, whose memoirs, essays and reviews have appeared in many notable publications such as The Rumpus, The Writer, and Kyoto Journal. She is the author of the memoir, The Fourth String: A Memoir of Sensei and Me, which is now available. In the memoir Janet shows the relationship between her and her sensei in the initial years of her apprenticeship learning to play the shamisen, a three-stringed Japanese instrument. So listen in as Janet and I chat about this awesome book and how to defy writing structures both in the classroom and on the page.   In this episode Janet and I discuss: Presenting the self in relation to others in a memoir. How training in music gives you structure and form for your writing. The role absence plays in a narrative. Using the practice method to grow your craft. The relationship between the word mind and the content mind. Plus, Janet’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/247

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Rowenna Miller on the show! Rowenna is a midwestern born and raised fantasy author and has a Master's in English Film and Literature because she can't shut up about stories. She is also a historical reenactor and seamstress, specializing in the late eighteenth century, and writes fantasy shamelessly inspired by her love of history, especially the history of ordinary people. Her debut novel, Torn, released in March 2018, is the first in her The Unraveled Kingdom series, and the second book, Fray, will be available in June 2019. So listen in as Rowenna and I chat about this amazing series and constructing an intricate history inspired fantasy world. In this episode Rowenna and I discuss: Character centric world building. Different ways to play with magic in fantasy. How to layer aspects of your world naturally into the story. Pitfalls to avoid when crafting your magical system. Intertwining politics, history, and magic when building your fantasy world. Plus, Rowenna’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/246