Kobo Writing Life Podcast

In this episode, we spoke with John Gaspard, author of The Popcorn Principles: A Novelist’s Guide to Learning from the Movies, an indispensable guide to implementing tips and tricks learned from film directors and film in general into your fiction writing. John is also the author of several mystery novels across two series, as well as multiple standalone novels and non-fiction titles. He also hosts two podcasts and has directed six low-budget feature films! We chatted with John about his new non-fiction title, his filmmaking experience, the times he spent interviewing well-known film directors, crafting a compelling mystery, what writers can learn from filmmakers, and so much more. Be sure to check out the "sequel" to The Popcorn Principles; John’s latest, More Popcorn Principles: Further Cinematic Storytelling Strategies for Novelists is out now! Learn more about John by visiting his website.

Halima Khatun, PR consultant and author of Priceless Publicity, shares valuable advice for indie authors. Topics include editing, book blurbs, writing a rom-com series, and garnering publicity. She discusses the influence of journalism and PR on her writing process, the cultural aspects explored in her books, the challenges and rewards of being an indie author, and her progress on book four in the secret series.

In today’s episode, we are joined by renowned indie publishing business expert, educator and author, Mark Dawson – who also happens to be a fellow podcast producer and host! Mark Dawson is the author of over twenty books across multiple series, has sold millions of copies of his titles, and is also the founder of the Self Publishing Formula and host of the Self Publishing Show podcast. Mark hardly needs an introduction – his presence in the world of self-publishing goes above and beyond, and it was great to have him join us for this episode. We spoke to Mark about his Facebook ad process, his advertising course, his newsletter and how he optimizes its reach, and what he has coming up next – including the a live conference! We had a really wonderful time and an interesting conversation with Mark – don’t forget to check out Self Publishing Formula for more resources and the associated Facebook group for a great community. Be sure to also check out Self Publishing Show Live - digital tickets are available now! You can learn more about Mark by visiting his  website, listening to the SPF Podcast, or following him on Twitter and Facebook.

In this episode, we spoke to the writing team of Jasinda and Jack Wilder (who we had the chance to meet at NINC 2022), wife and husband and parents to six kids, who write their own books as well work collaboratively. Between the two of them, they have written dozens of books, many of them best-sellers, across a multitude of genres and sub-genres. Be sure to check out their latest releases, Dirty Beasts: Chance, the latest instalment in the Dirty Beasts series, Music & Lyric, a new adult contemporary romance, and Blood Heir, a vampire romance (hinted at in this very episode!). We heard about how they balance parenthood with working as indie authors, how they utilize their newsletter to reach readers, how they use their pen name for multiple genres, and get into how the indie publishing industry has changed over the course of their ongoing career and more! Follow Jasinda Wilder on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, and Facebook, and learn more about Jasinda and Jack on their website.

In this episode, we are joined by Jessica Ward, also known as J. R. Ward. J. R. Ward is the author of the acclaimed series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood. Over 15 million copies of her novels are in print around the world and she has been published in over 25 countries globally! Her latest release as Jessica Ward is The St. Ambrose School for Girls, a coming-of-age novel described as Heathers meets The Secret History.  We were so excited to read this book and to hear more from the phenomenal author behind this new title and dozens of others. We have a great conversation about Jessica’s writing process, the evolution of her career, her new release, writing an unreliable narrator, having multiple pen names, the inspiration for The St. Ambrose School for Girls, and much, much more! For more info, check out J. R. Ward’s website and follow her on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  

In this episode, we spoke with Catherine McKenzie, USA Today best-selling author of “riveting domestic suspense,” I’ll Never Tell,  “one of 2022’s best and most-anticipated thrillers,” Please Join Us, and more! After publishing more than a dozen titles since 2010, Catherine’s latest, Have You Seen Her, is out today! We asked Catherine about her journey to becoming a writer, her previous career in law, why she believes so many lawyers are also published authors, how she plots out her psychological thrillers, what drew her to the genre in the first place, and more! Catherine also gave some great advice for those interested in wrapping their heads around the twists and turns of thrillers. Content note: this episode features brief discussions about real-world missing persons cases, murder, and suicide, and may be upsetting to some listeners. Please listen with awareness of this subject matter. Visit Catherine’s website or follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this episode, we heard from Arizona Tape, author of dozens of books across multiple series, and collaborative writer on many more! We learned about Arizona’s journey to becoming a full-time writer, heard more about her solo and her collaborative writing processes, asked after her favourite manga and anime series, and got some great advice for emerging writers. We also chatted about LGBTQ+ representation, readers seeing themselves represented in Arizona’s books, and why Arizona wanted to write books that her younger self was never able to find. We had a wonderful conversation with Arizona and can’t wait to see what she writes next! Be sure to visit Arizona's website, sign up for her author newsletter, and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

In this episode, we spoke to bestselling author Ruth Ware about her upcoming release, Zero Days, available on June 20th, 2023. Ruth’s novels have been translated into over 40 languages as well as optioned for film and TV, and she has garnered numerous bestsellers internationally. Zero Days is a tech-based, fast-paced thriller wherein the protagonist finds that there is nowhere to hide, and enemies are everywhere. We are very excited for everyone to read Ruth’s latest! We discussed Ruth’s journey to becoming a full-time writer, how she develops the plots for her thrillers, what her writing process looks like, the difference between a “twist” and a “reveal” in storytelling, and much more.  Learn more about Ruth and her work on her website, and find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

In this week’s episode, we spoke with New York Times, USA Today and #1 internationally bestselling author, Christina Lauren – which is the pen name of two authors, Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings! We are here to highlight their latest release – The True Love Experiment, available now – and to learn more about their amazing writing career. Christina and Lauren tell us about how they got started writing together, how they collaborate for reach book, how their collaborative style developed, the importance of fandom, and more. We also got a great list of recommended romance reads, and received some great advice for those writers looking to collaborate with others!  You can learn more on Christina Lauren’s website, and be sure to follow Christina Lauren on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

In this episode, we are joined by award-winning true crime writer Kerrie Droban to discuss her latest release, Aurora, and to hear more about her amazing writing career! Kerrie’s experience as a criminal and family attorney has heavily influenced her career in writing true crime narratives, and she is an expert in criminal pathology and motorcycle gangs who has written many books on both subjects. We heard about Kerrie’s journey from poetry to law to true crime writing, how reading (and even writing) true crime can aid in your fiction writing, how she ended up entering law school, how her creative interests aided her law career (and how her law career aided her writing), advice for aspiring true crime writers, and more. To learn more, visit Kerrie’s website and be sure to follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Content note: Our discussion touches on real crimes and some of the disturbing content involved in said crimes. Please listen with awareness of this subject matter.