The Florida Writer Podcast: A Discussion about Writing & Other Things ... brought to you by the Florida Writers Association. Enjoy conversations with authors, editors, publishers, and industry influencers. For more information about the Florida Writers Association, visit us @ www.FloridaWriters.org
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This is your place to hear the voice behind the pages of your favorite books. Here you’ll get a feel for the person who spent hours, weeks, months, and even years to fill the pages and build a world where you can not only use yourself but possibly find yourself as well. Our gift is a glance at the human side of writing; perhaps a morsel from the author’s childhood, insight on the character to which they are most attached, or a little on the passion that fueled the topics in the book. It’s yo ...
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The Nonfiction Authors Podcast is packed with actionable advice from expert guests that help you write, finish, market, publish, promote, and profit from your books. Brought to you by the Nonfiction Authors Association, a professional organization for nonfiction authors.
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In this riveting episode of Author Express, Kathleen Basi chats with Edgar award-winning novelist Mindy McGinnis. If you’re fascinated by the balance between a cheerful personality and dark, compelling writing, Mindy’s story will captivate you. Get a glimpse into her life in a small Ohio town, marked by historical tragedies and quirky facts. Mindy’…
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On today’s episode we get to chat with Deirdre Swinden, a dark fiction author with a penchant for ghost stories. After twenty+ years as a leader in corporate communications, Dee took a leap of faith and set out to build her creative writing skills. She dove into the realms of sci-fi, horror and speculative fiction during her MFA. Her thesis novel, …
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On this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Mark Crail, a debut author in his seventies who began writing during the pandemic. His first book, Tales Out of School, draws from his experiences working in Amish country. Mark has since published three more books in the series, and a novel inspired by his mother-in-law's life. During t…
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On today’s episode, we get to chat with southern novelist Mindy Friddle, whose third book (and first domestic thriller) Her Best Self is out now from Regal House Publishing. Her Best Self includes the perspectives of a constellation of characters, including first-person point-of-view from the protagonist, a small-town matriarch, as well as third-pe…
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Once every few years, a great love story sweeps readers off their feet and becomes a runaway sensation. Amy Neff’s stunning debut The Days I Loved You Most is perfectly poised to become that next great love story for the ages. The book asks the question: Could you live without the love of your life? And centers on a couple in a coastal Connecticut …
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In today's episode, we chat with Christine Gunderson about her ten year journey to a traditional publishing deal, tenacity, and how to deal with rejection. She wrote her debut novel, Friends with Secrets, in her mini van in the school pick up line, at piano lessons, during drama rehearsals, at swim team practice, basketball practice, crew practice,…
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Do you treat your book as a business? On this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen interviews Ella Ritchie, the founder of Stellar Communications, a company that specializes in non-fiction book publishing, marketing, and PR for self-publishing authors. There is so much that needs to happen to create a successful book launch. Ella offers 6 qui…
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On today's episode, we have Casey Dembowski, the author of three award-winning romance novels, When We're Thirty, The Corey Effect, and Get A Room. Her fourth novel The First Love Myth is coming soon from Red Adept Publishing. Kirkus called her debut "absorbing and satisfying" while Midwest Book Reviews labeled Get A Room "A study in humor, irony, …
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On today's episode we will be chatting with Jenny Erlingsson, a Nigerian-American born author and speaker. After serving on the pastoral staff of a church in Huntsville, Alabama for twelve years, her family lives in a small village on the southern coast of Iceland, the land of Fire and Ice. She is married to a joyful viking and mother to four adora…
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It’s not uncommon for people to use their emotional journey to springboard their careers into authorship. Emily Hill is no exception. In this episode of the Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and Emily chat about Emily’s journey from social work and ministry to becoming a published author, discussing her self-publishing strategy and her per…
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Amy Dressler writes contemporary fiction featuring heroines who wrestle their emotional baggage while maintaining a sense of humor. How to Align the Stars, Amy's debut novel, is a feminist, body-positive spin on Much Ado About Nothing. It is the first book in the Shakespeare Project, a series in which Amy will reimagine Shakespeare's classic comedi…
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Award-winning author Pamela Stockwell was born in Texas and raised in South Carolina. In between, she lived in the Philippines and, along with her big sister, became fluent in Tagalog name-calling. She abandoned her foreign language studies at age five and went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. Pame…
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Alison Nissen and Cathy Fyock, the Biz Book Strategist, share a conversation about using books as a business strategy. Cathy explains that she works with professionals who want to write a book as a strategic move to establish themselves as thought leaders in their field. Covering the topics of crafting compelling book blurbs and author bios, benefi…
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An avid reader and writer since she was a child, Heather Osoy found her voice through literature. She wrote a number of plays, poems, short stories and even a screenplay during her formative years. The passing of a beloved family member right before the pandemic encouraged her to use that voice to publish her first novel, To Hold Oneself. She chose…
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On today’s episode we’re traveling south to Virginia to speak with Sharon Wishnow, a women’s fiction author who is more than a little obsessed with pelicans and writing about what is outside her back yard. Sharon’s writing career spans thirty years, starting as a freelance writer in the Netherlands where she established a beat in the supermarket an…
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Lily Iona MacKenzie chats with Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen about her latest work, Dreaming Myself into Old Age. This hybrid memoir blends personal anecdotes with critical writing on topics such as poetry and art. Now, in her eighties, Lily is challenged by facing old age and all that comes with it. Determined to age gracefully and tho…
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On today’s episode we chat with Nancy Taber, an author whose stories are inspired by women’s forgotten histories, her military service, and her love of the fantastical. Nancy grew up in a military family, joined the military herself, graduated from military college, and served as a Sea King helicopter Tactical Coordinator. When she completed her se…
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Join host Shawna Rodrigues on this exciting episode of Author Express as she welcomes bestselling and award-winning authors Kimberley Woodhouse and Tracie Peterson. You'll learn about this dynamic duo's long-standing friendship and collaboration that has produced nearly 200 books. Discover intriguing facts about their hometowns and learn how a fan …
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Novelist and attorney Kyle Shoop chats with Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen about adding conflict and empathy to build characters. A number of his novels also include lyrics—as a singer and songwriter, he adds links to his books for the audience to hear the songs for that character. Instead of just reading the lyrics, Kyle recorded that s…
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After running marketing and communications campaigns for organizations like The Andy Warhol Museum, Carnegie Mellon University, and the The TriBeCa Film Festival, L.L. Kirchner ditched the corporate world and moved to India. She moved to New York City to write and teach yoga, and how she’s an award-winning screenwriter and Pushcart-nominated author…
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Angie Elita Newell chats with Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen about the challenges of writing about Canada's Indigenous history, Angie's modern-day colonialism experience, the significance of stories from various cultures and religious texts, and the power of shared experiences expressed through storytelling. As a trained historian, Angie…
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On today’s show we get to meet Margaret Johnson, who’s published by Lake Union Publishing under the pen-name Kitty Johnson. Margaret doesn’t mind whether people call her Margaret or Kitty – she answers to both names! Margaret first started writing in her twenties after finishing a Fine Art degree. Faced with an uncertain future – making money from …
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You might be surprised to know that surgical robots are used for over one million procedures every year. In this episode, Dr. Roger Smith chats with Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen about his medical thriller series on robotic surgeons in the year 2050 and his real-life work with surgical robots over the last ten years. His novels include …
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Elizabeth Goddard was an avid reader from a very young age and always longed to write, but it wasn’t until she had her first child at age 29 that she resigned from corporate America and finally answered the call of her heart. She started the long and arduous road to publication. Elizabeth chose the traditional route and attended writing conferences…
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Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen chats with Edward DiGangi about his memoir, The Gift Best Given, a son's search and mother's journey, a timeless story of adoption, search, discovery, and reunion set against the backdrop of the glamorous ice skating shows of the 1940s. Edward shares how his hunt for clues about his adoption opened doors to…
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J. Marie Rundquist believes a day isn't complete without time spent reading. Stories she loves best—to read and to write—feature characters from all walks of life who learn from one another. When she isn't writing, you'll find J. Marie exploring all the K‐12 public education world has to offer through teaching, learning, and supporting others in th…
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Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen chats with legal and financial thriller author Mark Shaiken. Writing a heart-racing legal and financial thriller has exhilarating consequences. Mark Shaiken draws on his 40-year career in law to create his fictional characters. In his latest novel, Cram Down, inspired by his volunteer work with marginalized…
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On today’s episode we get to chat with Janet Roberts, a Women’s Fiction author and poet in Pittsburgh, PA, who has a background in cybersecurity. After fifteen+ years as a global leader in cybersecurity awareness and education, Janet transitioned to full time writer and part-time consultant in 2023, to be able to chase her dream of focusing nearly …
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Suzanne Woods Fisher is known for her heartwarming Amish fiction and contemporary romance novels. where faith, community, and love take center stage. Through her enchanting storytelling, she whisks readers away to charming settings and introduces them to unforgettable characters. When she's not weaving captivating tales, Suzanne enjoys life with he…
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On today’s episode, we get to chat with Marie W. Watts, a Women’s Fiction author with one crazy back story from which she draws heavily to create her quirky, well-developed characters facing and overcoming obstacles in life. Her own journey began with what appears to be a perfectly normal middle-class childhood for the 1950s and 60s in Baytown, Tex…
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Power, Greed, and Corruption in Washington, D.C. with Steve McGuire Steve McGuire, a retired Federal judge with a 32-year legal career in Washington, DC, joined Alison Nissen on the Florida Writer Podcast. Steve writes political thrillers inspired by his experiences in Washington. He believes that politics has always been about the same issues, but…
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Growing up as the son of author and composer BB Johnson AKA Joseph Greene (Together Brothers, Across the Alley from the Alamo) DaVon and Greene (the pen name of Jonathan Greene) knew writing was in his blood. Drawn towards cartels, crime, and drugs DaVon and Greene completed his first serious undertaking in his early teens and gave it to his father…
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Michele Kwasniewski translated her career behind the scenes in entertainment into an award-winning young adult trilogy that shines a spotlight on the darker side of fame. Starting out as a set production assistant on movies such as INDEPENDENCE DAY and EVITA, Michele moved to the small screen and worked her way up the ladder to production manager, …
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Insert comedy into any story by sticking to the truth but changing one part. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Tim O’Leary about his strategy to write an entirely true story, except for inserting a fictional narrator. Tim O'Leary is a Pacific Northwest-based short story writer who has published two collections of short s…
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Jill Hannah Anderson first began writing in eighth grade when a friend gave her a large notebook with Donny Osmund on the cover. She started using it as a diary, and added several more diary notebooks over the years. She also started writing notes for stories in notebooks. Cruddy, haphazard plot ideas… but the writing bug had burrowed in. Then “lif…
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Meet Modello Brown! On this Florida Writer Podcast Host Alison Nissen chats with the multi-media artist as he shares the evolution of Hip Hop Littles. What started with writing lyrics, Modello Brown turned his songs into life lessons by writing children’s books. Today Modello is creating an immersive experience to build strong, emotionally resilien…
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Tracey's journey pursuing the right words has been both straight-forward and circuitous. She wrote nothing but the facts as a journalist and has created worlds out of pure imagination as a novelist. Either way she loves telling stories because stories are connectors that bridge our experiences and help us understand each other better. Tracey's stor…
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This week on Author Express we welcome upmarket women's fiction author Heather Dixon from outside Toronto, Canada. Heather has published three novels filled with compelling themes of family, friendship, and secrets. Discover the incredible story behind her debut novel, "Burlington," and how the setting of the book ties into a thought-provoking meta…
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On today's episode we got to chat with Erin Bartels, an award-winning author who is endlessly fascinated with why people do and say the things they do and say. Her preoccupation with human nature has led her to write character-driven novels that book clubs adore for their layered storytelling and loads of discussion starters. Whether she's delving …
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Enjoy this Florida Writer Podcast interview with Host Alison Nissen and Susan Shapiro Barash, who writes under the pen name Susannah Marren. Susan shared about their career as a nonfiction author, having published 13 books on gender studies and women's societal roles. They also mentioned their teaching experience in the writing department at Mary M…
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On today’s episode, we’ll talk with Kimberly Nixon who made quite a discovery a few years back. She found her grandmother’s felony conviction papers. She had always heard that her grandmother robbed a train in 1920s in Appalachia and her research persistence paid off. The 125-page record gave Kimberly the details about her grandmother that she had …
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Check out this Florida Writer podcast as host Alison Nissen sits down with Zachary Solomon to discuss Zachary’s debut novel, A Brutal Design. The novel, set in an experimental Socialist city, explores the themes of fascism and how it can be disguised as modernism or humanism. The title also refers to the architectural style of brutalism, which is c…
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On today’s episode, we chat with Rebecca Connolly, author of the upcoming book, Hidden Yellow Stars, as well as A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice, Under the Cover of Mercy, and over 40 romance titles. Rebecca was born in California, but grew up in the Midwest, specifically in Ohio and Indiana. She considers herself a Midwest girl, with all of the …
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How can you become more attuned to your intuition? Have you ever wondered if you can train yourself to receive psychic messages? John Russell, a professional psychic and paranormal investigator, discusses his writing journey, his latest non-fiction book about enhancing psychic abilities, and the practice of psychometry with Florida Writer Podcast H…
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Before she started writing fiction, Sara got a degree in Women’s Studies from U.C. Santa Cruz. She tried the nine-to-five life for about a nanosecond before moving to rural Virginia to become a flute-maker’s apprentice and traditional fiddle player. Some years and two babies later, she returned to school for a Masters in Nursing. A cancer survivor …
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Tamatha Cain is the award winning author of Song of the Chimney Sweep, a dual timeline women's fiction novel with not one but two mysteries (and an ending that satisfies in the most delightful way), and Only Oona, the first biographical fiction about Oona O'Neill Chaplin. After careers as a vocalist and then sugar artist and baker, she finally allo…
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Do you read your work aloud in front of an audience? In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen sits down with Joyce Wagner to talk about public speaking. Joyce helps authors overcome their fear of public speaking with a simple philosophy: Put your audience first. The fear of freezing or making a mistake often stops people from elevating th…
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In this episode of Author Express, we get the gift of meeting four authors through their conversations on the Black Writer Therapy podcast, with Ella Shawn. Get ready to hear heartfelt moments from authors like Stacy Hawkins Adams, Piper Huguley, and N.D. Jones, sharing personal experiences and the inspiration behind their powerful storytelling. Fr…
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In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen chats with Kristy Smeriglio about using "The Garden of Earthly Delights" painting to create a psychological exploration of the human experience for her debut novel Falling into Fire. With a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Master of Arts in Writing, Kristy merges two disciplines and realms of kno…
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Beth Johnson always had dreams of writing a novel, but it wasn’t until her baby son Alex was home sick one day that Beth decided: this day job is too much. "I should write a novel so I can stay home to write and take care of Alex." It was a wildly unrealistic plan that took going back to school, keeping the day job, two decades, and hundreds of rej…
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