Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Ashley Joanisse, a Canadian Country Singer-Songwriter who writes songs about politics, love, and life. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, welcomes new patron Krista D. Ball, thanks patrons, and reads a word from this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In his personal update, Mark shares a new StoryBundle that he is a part of, which launched on June 18, 2020, as well as a pair of videos he recently released focusing on how to pronounce his last name. In their conversation, Ashley and Mark talk about: Where Ashley's love of music first started The fact that Ashley always payed close attention to the lyrics of the songs she listened to The strong desire to write her own music rather than cover someone else's songs The little journey that Ashley kept since she was about thirteen years old, constantly jotting down poems, notes, song lyrics, and other things that inspired her Writing a chorus that might stay in the journal for several years before the lyrics for the rest of the song came to her Ashley's introduction to music in the 8th grade, and first learning how to play chords on the guitar Playing by ear - she has not yet learned how to read music The first guitar class Ashley was in where the instructor laid out a rule that nobody was allowed to play "Smoke on the Water" The very first song that Ashley nailed, which was "Outsider" by Taylor Swift How Mark learned about Ashley when she was putting out a collaborative call for people to submit video clips for a forthcoming video release Ashley's first single, "Hey Bartender!" How the song reminds Mark of a classic tune like "Piano Man" from Billy Joel The way that the music video was partially inspired by the clips Ashley received from friends and strangers How "Hey Bartender" was written and recorded two years ago and was produced about one year previously and the depression and circumstances that delayed the release The way that the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic inspired her out of the funk she had been stuck within The logistics of how Ashley created the video for "Hey Bartender" completely on her own How Ashley pulled off a video where she played two different characters (bartender and patron) in the same shot (and the way she learned how to do it) The difficulty for an artist when you put something out and you get virtually no response to the effort (something that is common for writers, musicians and other artists) (A little mix up where Mark's Google device starts playing a song) Ashley's latest song, titled "American Dream" which is a song inspired by tweets from the 45h president of the United States How this song allows her to express something she feels so intensely and how listening to the song can perhaps help others who feel the same way The way that "American Dream" is like the Arkells song "People's Champ" in that it's a powerful and catchy song, but there's an underlying meaning that some listeners might not actually pick up on How Ashley felt so strongly about releasing this song that she went out and bought professional equipment to produce it The mechanics of how Ashley recorded the song and produced the video for "American Dream" Why it's important to actually sing instead of lip syncing when you're trying to lip sync to an audio track for a music video Mark's impression of how bad the lip syncing on Grease 2 was The way that feedback from her two recent releases has further inspired her to want to continue to write and record more songs The irony of two negative things (a global pandemic and a narcissistic president who feeds on ignorance, fear, and lies) that inspired art, and got Ashley out of the depression she had been in Why Taylor Swift is a major influence on Ashley The advice that Ashley would give to her younger self And more . . . After the interview, Mark reflects on two of the things Ashley spoke about. The idea that if you stop, you'll never ever write that song that might move people, and how writing and music is a way to allow people to have a voice, to say things they are thinking and feeling about, which can empower writers/musicians and readers/listeners. Links of Interest: Ashley Joanisse Facebook Page Twitter Instagram YouTube Hey Bartender Music Video American Dream Music Video Episode 138 - Cash Flow for Creators with Michael W. Lucas Mark's Recent Videos How to Pronounce Lefebvre You Call Me Fever Music Video (Parody of Fever) Up, Up, And Away Superhero Storybundle Patreon for Stark Reflections   Ashley Joanisse is a Canadian Country Singer-Songwriter who writes songs about politics, love, and life. She is an activist for human rights, and feels that we need to take a stand against hate and injustice anytime we can! Ashley has always had an interest in music since she was a little girl and her passions remain music and writing. Ashley grew up in Mattawa, Ontario a very small that helped her to become who she is today; just a small town girl living in a lonely world.   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

In this episode, Mark interviews Michael W. Lucas about he books he has written which range range from crime and SF thrillers to arcane tomes on how to build your own Verizon. They also chat quite a bit about Michael's latest book: Cash Flow for Creators. In the opening of the episode, Mark shares some comments from recent episodes, as well as a word from this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   Immediately prior to the interview Mark shares a personal update about his recent appearance on the overnight radio program Coast to Coast with George Noory, and all the positive results that came from that. In their conversation, Michael and Mark talk about: How writing for Michael started when he was about 4 and realized that books were created by human beings and this was something people could grow up to do The evolution of getting to full time writer via rejection notices, selling more and more things, and working on the craft Michael's start in writing writing for table top games The styles of fiction that Michael writes and where his heart is in writing The many "what ifs" that Michael enjoys, such as "What if there were Orcs in 1927 Detroit running booze across the border?" What happened to make leaving the full-time role as a writer possible, which involved a lot of watching Michael's new book for writers called CALL FLOW FOR CREATORS and why it was written out of self-defense The reality that making a living is about cashflow How evening out cashflow helps reduce the highs and lows of the typical cycle of a writer's income The importance of looking at one's lifestyle, where they live, how they want to live, when making decisions regarding the amount of money they need to make, the expenses they are willing to live with, etc The special editions that Michael does of some of his books, made specifically for his readers How, if you can do something special that speaks to your people, how Michael would encourage you to give it a try The way that Michael does his crowd-funding a little differently, using disintermediation, rather than using IndieGoGo or Kickstarter How not only are all of Michael's books published wide everywhere, but that they are all also available for sale direct The sponsorships that Michael does that includes surprises, such as a gift he will send you upon the book's publication And more . . .   After the interview, Mark reflects on a few things that Michael spoke about, including when you know your fans, you can feed them the right things that they value, and how people will support you and they WANT you to succeed - if you treat your readers well. Mark then shares details about how listeners can win a copy of Michael's book Cashflow for Creators. Links of Interest: Michael's Website Episode 137 - Action Sequences and Sex Scenes with Joshua Essoe Joshua's Kickstarter Project: Essoe's Guide to Writing: Action Sequences and Sex Scenes! Coast to Coast AM with George Noory (June 5, 2020) Patreon for Stark Reflections   Michael W Lucas has written 30-odd books, ranging from crime and SF thrillers to arcane tomes on how to build your own Verizon. His latest book is "Cash Flow for Creators."   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

Mark interviews editor Joshua Essoe who has edited for bestsellers, Piers Anthony and David Farland, for Dean Lorey, lead writer of Arrested Development, as well as numerous Writers of the Future winners, and USA Today bestsellers. Prior to the interview, Mark reads some comments from recent episodes, reveals the winner of Sacha Black's Anatomy of Prose and says a word about this episode's sponsors, the patrons of the podcast. Mark also shares a person update that includes: Work being done on his Canadian Werewolf series of books A new non-fiction writing project he will be releasing in the Fall of 2020:  Wide for the Win In their conversation, Mark and Joshua talk about: How, 11 years ago, Joshua accidentally fell into the role of editor Joshua's previous role as an old book restorer Being a book nerd since Joshua was 7 years old Asking Brandon Sanderson to read one of his stories and the generous and constructive feedback he was offered Advice from Superstars Writing Seminars that led Joshua to deciding to take on a new challenge, editing a fellow author's fantasy novel Setting a goal of editing one of David Farland's novels The difference between restoring old books and working as an editor The genres that Joshua specializes in as an editor (science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction) The importance of aligning your writing and your goals with the right editor The new book project Joshua is releasing and how he is launching it using Kickstarter The first book: Action Sequences and Sex Scenes and why Joshua is releasing that one first And more . . .   After the interview, Mark reflects on the huge success Joshua saw on his Kickstarter project within the first 6 hours and first four days and a quote from the artist James A. Owen, who designed his new non-fiction books.   Links of Interest: Joshua Essoe's Website Joshua's Kickstarter Project: Essoe's Guide to Writing: Action Sequences and Sex Scenes! Episode 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel with Sacha Black Episode 135 - Creative Collaborations in FerroCity with Joe Scacciaferro Career Author Summit Patreon for Stark Reflections   Joshua Essoe has edited for bestsellers, Piers Anthony and David Farland, including the multi-award-winning novel, Nightingale. He's also edited for Dean Lorey, lead writer of Arrested Development, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, former director at Kobo, numerous Writers of the Future winners, USA Today bestsellers, and many other top-notch independents. He was lead editor at Urban Fantasy Magazine from 2014-2015. From 2012-2015 he recorded the weekly writing podcast Hide and Create with co-hosts Michael J. Sullivan, Diana Rowland, Jay Wells, and Debbie Viguie. You can find Joshua teaching about pitches, back cover copy, and editing every year at the Superstars Writing Seminars in CO. His approach to editing is to help you make your story the best version of itself it can be. Joshua is also a writer. He was a 2014 finalist in the Writers of the Future contest, and is in the process of releasing his first in a series of non-fiction books on editing for writers.   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

In this episode Mark interviews Brian Rathbone who is an international #1 Bestselling author on Google Play with both audiobooks and eBooks. Brian talks about the strategies and things he has learned about success in selling audiobooks, a market he has been playing in for two decades now, so he has a lot of learning to share there - as well as how he reached #1 on Google Play, a market that a lot of authors are struggling to learn and understand. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and reminds listeners of their chance to win a signed copy of Sacha Black's latest book, Anatomy of Prose, by commenting on Episode 133 as per the episode and show notes details, prior to the end of day Friday May 29, 2020. This episode is sponsored by the wonderful patrons of the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Podcast. You can learn how you can become a patron, gain access to special patron-only prizes and also receive bonus patron-only episodes of the podcast as well as other additional text and video patron content at www.patreon.com/starkreflections. In their conversation, Brian and Mark discuss: How Brian got into his writing career, and the programming career he had prior to that The day that Brian started typing the first novel one day while sitting in the Atlanta airport in 2005 and felt a change coming The various jobs and roles that Brian worked at and played over the years How Brian ended up falling into the role of helping other writers by publishing their work and creating tools to help small publishers The royalty calculation software that Brian started to develop Brian's early introduction to audio via podiobooks years before audiobooks started to be a growing option for indie authors Some of the successes that Brian has had with audio promotions using a "loss leader" model for the first book in a series How his "first free book in series" led to being ranked as the #1 downloaded free audiobook on Google Play, and the resulting sales of the rest of the series from that What happened when Brian took an entire audiobook digital box set trilogy that sold for close to $30 and making it 99 cents for a full month via a Chirp promotion The importance of including a sample at the end of an audiobook to lead the person to the next audiobook Methods and techniques that Brian has learned work really well and have helped him become a top seller on Google Play Things Brian has learned that he would tell his younger self And more After the interview, Mark reflects on a few things Brian talked about, including the unique metadata fields that different retailers might focus on or use in a different way to help prop up a book in bold new ways.   Links of Interest: Brian Rathbone's Website Brian on Twitter Episode 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel with Sacha Black Patreon for Stark Reflections Career Author Summit 20BooksVegas   #1 International bestselling fantasy author Brian Rathbone is a bit odd. After growing up training standard bred racehorses, he went to work at a nuclear plant before helping to build the Internet. When he isn't writing, Brian tells a few too many bad dragon jokes on Twitter and spends a lot of time thinking about unicorns.   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

In this episode Mark interviews Joe Scacciaferro who has been in the media and entertainment business for over 30 years, has founded and run several successful media and entertainment production and technical support companies, most noticeably FerroProductions, and is behind the collaborative platform FerroCity. Prior to the interview, Mark shares some comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In the interview Mark and Joe talk about: How story has always been important in Joe's life, and how that sometimes backfired when he was a young child The way that everything is a story, and the more that we are comfortable with story, the better we can engage with others Joe's musical background, and how story through music was one of his first loves and felt natural to him The prominence of unplanned transitions in Joe's life How it can be ALL about the journey Different types of collaborations that creative storytellers can work on together in music verses prose writing The critical nature of music and how it impacts a visual storytelling medium The different types of documentary projects that Joe has worked on over the years Fascinating answers you can get from some basic simple questions The critical balance of skill combined with a solid community How everything you learn is important to everything you do The way that the collaborative community of FerroCity is the culmination of Joe's entire career How the platform FerroCity helps connect the community together and learn from the way people engage with it How writers who are interested in checking it out can begin to participate in the FerroCity community and platform Why Joe says that you can't learn anything unless it's entertaining The three phases of FerroCity that are being rolled out the spring/summer of 2020 Why Mark calls this platform a type of "Field of Dreams" How a team can synergize over a single posting on a platform like this The camaraderie that comes from working alongside other team members After the interview, Mark reflects on the universal nature of storytelling, and the unimagined and unforeseen benefits that can result from creative collaboration.   Links of Interest: FerroCity Ferro Productions Episode 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel with Sacha Black Episode 97 - 10 Tips for Marketing and Making Money off Your Short Fiction The Stay Home Story Summit Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections Isolation Parody Songs (K-Tel Spoof Commercial) Spud Wars: A New Helplessness (Parody Movie Trailer) Stuck in this House here with You (Parody Music Video) Dad Joke Short: The Things We Miss Most Dad Joke Short: Dramatic Exit Dad Joke Short: Skeleton Jokes Career Author Summit Bookfunnel 20BooksVegas   Joe Scacciaferro has been in the media and entertainment business for over 30 years and has founded and run several successful media and entertainment production and technical support companies, most noticeably FerroProductions. He has been honored with 5 Emmys, 9 Emmy nominations, co-authored 15 books on the creative use of music technology, written music scores for broadcast programming, produced dozens of network sports shows / documentaries and been honored with two super bowl rings from the NY Giants for his programming efforts during the past 20 years. Joe’s creative abilities are self-evident based on the longevity and diverse successes of his career. But when asked about his single greatest professional accomplishment, he will always point to enormous career successes of his interns. He is a strong believer in creative collaboration, and networking opportunities, and he shares an exciting new project called FerroCity, which represents the culmination of his extraordinary career and life.   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

In this episode, Mark interviews Melissa Dalton Martinez, a publishing industry PR and marketing manager, marketing consultant, and media professional. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a word about this episode's sponsor (the awesome Patrons of this podcast), and a personal update. In his personal update, Mark talks about the creative collaborative projects that he and his partner Liz have been working on - parody music videos, and how a chance in perspective looking at a bowl filled with broken egg yolks resulted in an unexpected and delicious breakfast that was better than what was originally planned.   In their interview Mark and Melissa talk about: Where the show that Melissa runs "The Book Break" runs and what the content of the episodes are How Melissa helps authors get onto various different media and the coaching that she does to prepare them for their appearances Melissa's entrance into the publishing world as a PAR representative in 2003 How Melissa is one of those "one more chapter" readers at bed time Why it is easier than ever right now to get interviewed by local media The way that Melissa can spin a story off of anything, and usually creates a minimum of about five story options before she begins to pitch to a particular media outlet Advice for the best way to approach pitching to media or a podcast as a potential guest How an author should go about crafting a pitch to a media professional The importance of going with what you know, and understanding the types of shows that the media outlet you are pitching has recently released Melissa's favorite way to craft a pitch How it is the guest's job to make it easy for the host/producer of the media outlet you are pitching to The reason why it's important to create a list of questions for the media outlet you are pitching to (and sometimes, also the answers you'll provide) Why it is important, whenever you're doing an interview to act as if the interview is live Methods of sending materials, such as pictures, to the producers, ahead of the broadcast, with suggestions of where the images might best be inserted within a segment The importance of the right author photo that is appropriate and relevant for your author brand Why a high resolution image is really important for television The way that professional reviews work, which ones are out there, and the options that an author has for a paid professional review Why professional reviews in spots such as Kirkus are important for library acquisition of books And more.... After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of how it is the guest's job to make it as easy on the host, on the producer, as possible. in the same way that it's the book's description's job to make it as easy as possible for the ideal reader to want to have to buy and read a book. He also talks about how, with the Covid-19 related isolation taking place, that authors have greater opportunity for various media outlets that, prior, would have only been possible with physical proximity and having to be in the studio.   Links of Interest: Melissa's Website: The Book Break Sacha Black's Podcasts Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections Isolation Parody Songs (K-Tel Spoof Commercial) Spud Wars: A New Helplessness (Parody Movie Trailer) Stuck in this House here with You (Parody Music Video)   Melissa Dalton Martinez has worked in the publishing industry on and off as a PR and marketing manager, marketing consultant, and media professional since 2000. After graduating college in 2003, Melissa has helped others grow their careers, run her own businesses, spoken at countless conferences, helped coordinate many events, worked with radio, TV, newspapers, movies, podcasts, YouTube shows, and even became the producer and host of her own TV mini-series, The Book Break. In addition to The Book Break, Melissa works as a private marketing, branding, and media consultant; a marketing expert for Eschler Editing; and a book reviewer for various media outlets.   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

Mark interviews Sacha Black about her role and brand as a Rebel Author, about her writing, her podcast, and about her books for writers on crafting heroes, villains, and prose. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, talking about recent birthday activities, a recent Star Wars parody video he created, and what that type of creation means to him as a writer. He then shares some comments from recent episodes and a word from this podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Sacha and Mark talk about: Where Sacha's "Rebel Author" brand came from, and how she has always been a bit of a rebel How, the best way to get Sacha to do something is to ask her not to do it The way that being an indie author is a bit rebellious in and of itself The thrill of being a little bit naughty How people are able to connect when you are being more authentic Being on the border of introvert/extrovert and the connection with others that Sacha values from running her podcast The appearance of confidence from the outside, and how the indie author community has allowed Sacha to regain some confidence Being very intentional about wanting to leave her full time job to become a full time writer, and the planning and staging she worked on to get there Sacha's life of being passionate about reading and writing How a character Sacha originally wrote when she was 9 years old became the protagonist in her first novel The randomness in the way that characters Sacha creates come to her The combination of terrible memory and super geek that is part of Sacha's process as a writer How she never intended to write non-fiction, but completely fell in love with it The way that an overnight 100K of hits on a series of blog posts she wrote about villains led to filling a hole in the market and a path of loving writing non-fiction How Sacha's new non-fiction title, The Anatomy of Prose, started off as a labor of love The purposeful branding on the covers of these three non-fiction books for writers and how they incorporate three core values The process of recording the audiobooks herself How Sacha and her wife have negotiated the landscape of raising a six year old and each of them getting their work done Katie Forest's book called Time Management for Writers and what she has to say about times of crisis How the hardest thing for Sacha in terms of her work-life balance is letting go of the parental guilt The challenge of finding books for a young reader whose comprehension for words has surpassed most content meant for people their age The fact that if Sacha is terrified of something she is compelled to jump right in Using made-up swear words   After the interview, Marks a few reflections about things the chat with Sacha made him think about. He also shares how listeners can win a signed copy of Sacha's latest book by commenting on this episode. (Opportunity to win ends May 29, 2020 when a random drawing of commenters will take place). He also thanks Patrons of the show and shares that Patrons will be automatically entered in a chance to win a set of Sacha's three books for writers, just by being patrons. The random draw for that will take place at the same time.   Links of Interest: Sacha Black's Website Sacha's Podcasts Sacha's Facebook Author Profile Sacha on Instagram Episode 132 - Lauding the Art of Music with Martin Popoff Episode 130 - Grace Under Pressure with Kevin J Anderson Episode 97 - 10 Tips for Marketing and Making Money off Your Short Fiction The Creative Penn - EP 487 - Writing and Selling Short Fiction with Matty Dalrymple Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's Proposal Video (Song "Liz" by Alicia Witt) Spud Wars: A New Helplessness (Parody Movie Trailer) Stuck in this House here with You (Parody Music Video)     Sacha Black is an author, rebel podcaster, speaker and developmental editor. She has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules. Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing. When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules. She lives in Hertfordshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.   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

Mark interviews Martin Popoff about his latest book ANTHEM: Rush in the 70's as well as a lifetime of passion writing about music. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and some comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In their conversation, Martin and Mark talk about: Martin's introduction to music when he was six or seven years old Turning people into metal-heads when Martin was working at a record store about the age of fifteen How people learned about music and records prior to the internet How Martin's love and passion for music evoled into life of writing about music, which he started to do full time in 2000 Martin's first book, which was a self-published book of a collection of record reviews, which later got picked up by a traditional publisher in 1997 Writing 9 or 10 music books per year The style of music review that Martin prefers to write The importance of talking about and lauding the art of the entire music production when writing a book about musicians and their work The interesting nature of the narrative of the story of a band and the narrative of a band's concept album How Martin values letting the band speak for themselves in the books he writes about them, relying on actual quotes from lengthy interviews, rather than blatantly injecting his own theory into the narrative The different listening experiences of listening to a full album start to finish from a vinyl LP and listening to it in custom single song chunks in a digital era The recent collaborative Canadian multi-location/self-isolation version of "Lean on Me" from Canada Strong Martin's original 2003 Rush biography: Contents Under Pressure which is now out of date and out of print How the desire to write a single comprehensive updated book about Rush resulted in well over 350,000 words and 3 volumes. Anthem: Rush in the 70s. (May 202) Limelight: Rush in the 80s (Oct 2020) Drive: Rush in the 90s (In the End) (Spring 2021) The use of interview footage from Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage Something that surprised Martin in writing these volumes How there is nobody who sounds like Rush and that are, in many ways, their own unique genre in music What a good gate-way Rush song might be for someone who doesn't think their music is accessible Martin's Podcast: History in Five Songs What music Martin listens to when he is writing   After the interview, Mark reflects on the volume of publishing Martin has done, which is atypical for a traditionally published author; he also reflects on the dynamic nature of the relationship and flexibility he has with his publisher.   Links of Interest: Martin Popoff's Website Martin's Podcast: History in Five Songs Episode 130 - Grace Under Pressure with Kevin J Anderson Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections   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

In this solo "thanks for the inspiration" episode, Mark reflects on how Todd Anderson was an important colleague whose influence, mentorship, and leadership resulted in a critical shift in his career. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update, some comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.     Links of Interest: The FISH Philosophy of Customer Service Episode 130 - Grace Under Pressure with Kevin J Anderson Mark's Audiobooks (on sale) at Nook The 7 P's of Publishing Success Evasion Campus Chills Anthology Campus Chills Book Launches Espresso Book Machine / On Demand Books Examining Alternative Futures for Publishing Tell Me About The Early Days of Self Publishing Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections     Thanks for the Inspiration is a type of show that appears from time to time in the regular schedule for this podcast. As writers, we often absorb elements from the world, the places, and the people around us. We observe, we ask questions, we speculative, we listen, we watch, we feel, and we write so much of that down which gets re-integrated, like some sort of sausage creation, into the stories and words and worlds we share with our readers. Thanks for the Inspiration episodes are an attempt to acknowledge and say thanks to the people, places, and things that have helped to either feed the muse, or perhaps just to feed the very soul and makeup of the writer behind that writing.   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

In this episode Mark interviews author Kevin J. Anderson about dictating his first drafts, about adapting to change in the publishing industry and about writing through personal tragedy, grief, and trauma. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and goes into detail about the challenges he has faced with not being able to focus or write in the past several weeks, falling behind in several writing deadlines. But he talks about how he has continued to be creative, and that creators will always create. He shares a writing warm-up practice he has started again - writing parody lyrics to songs and poetry. He then shares the experience of doing that recently and collaborating with Liz, the opening and closing voice of the podcast, and his fiance. He shares the music video they created on Easter Sunday and how working on that project has reinvigorated his own creative spirit and energy; particularly as a reminder for the fact that the world needs writers, and the smiles this parody song and video have inspired is an example of why writers do what they do. Mark then shares the audio for the song as well as the fact he will be teaching an online class on April 22nd in a series from Jane Friedman. After the song, Mark shares listener comments from recent episodes and then offers a word from this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Kevin talk about: Finally getting around to this interview, as it's something they've been meaning to do for years, and are finally getting to How Kevin has always been a dictator when it comes to his writing, dictating while taking long walks or hikes in the Colorado mountains The fact that Kevin can still do his regular writing during these self-isolation times the same way he always has The importance of trying dictation for more than just a short time, or once or twice, paralleling it to the way writers have learned typing and keyboarding skills Tips for getting started in dictation, such as using dictation for a brainstorming session Keeping so many different book projects that are in different stages (as a hybrid author with multiple traditional and indie-publishing projects on the go) How Kevin's first published novel has much of the RUSH album "Grade Under Pressure" woven into it, and how that book is what ultimately connected Kevin to RUSH drummer and lyricist, Neil Peart The thirty-plus year relationship that Kevin had with Neil Peart and the co-authoring they have done together How the recent Drumbeats project of Kevin and Neil's first collaboration is being re-released in a special limited edition print run Managing writing through times of loss, grief, stress and anxiety How the new Dune film, and the paperback release of one of Kevin's traditionally published books are being affected and delayed by Covid-19 The masters in publishing program that Kevin is teaching for Western Colorado University and the publishing projects that the students are working on for that How Superstars Writing Seminars originated with Kevin, his wife Rebecca Moesta, Brandon Sanderson, David Farland, and Eric Flint getting together to figure out the changes in the publishing industry about twelve years ago And more . . . After the interview, Mark reflects on how he and Kevin had kept putting off doing this interview for years, and the parallel to how Kevin and Neil had always put the Drumbeats special edition project on the back burner. He talks about other projects and things he'd continued to put off, and what thinking about that inspires. Mark then shares an opportunity for listeners to win one of two copies of Kevin's book. A book for writers (On Being a Dictator) and the special limited edition book (Drumbeats). Commenters and Patrons will be entered in a draw for the prizes which will be done after midnight Eastern time on Friday May 1, 2020. Links of Interest: Kevin J. Anderson's Website WordFire Press Kevin in Twitter Superstars Writing Seminars Steve Otis - Artist Mark's Audiobooks (on sale) at Nook The 7 P's of Publishing Success Evasion Jane Friedman's Online Class: Creating Income and Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction Episode 114 - Thanks for the Inspiration, Neil Peart Episode 125 -Simplifying, Streamlining, and Organizing with Janice Savage Episode 128 - Healthy Home Workspaces with Roland Denzel Episode 129 - Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections   Kevin J. Anderson has published more than 165 books, 56 of which have been national or international bestsellers. He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes, as well as unique steampunk fantasy novels Clockwork Angels and Clockwork Lives, written with legendary rock drummer Neil Peart, based on the concept album by the band Rush. Kevin's original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series, the Terra Incognita fantasy trilogy, the Saga of Shadows trilogy, and his humorous horror series featuring Dan Shamble, Zombie PI. He has edited numerous anthologies, written comics and games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs. Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta are the publishers of WordFire Press. His most recent novels are Stake, Kill Zone, and Spine of the Dragon.   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