Our guest this week is Lynne Golodner (Woman of Valor, Scotia Road Books, September 2023). Once Lynne decided to stop writing fiction “on the side” and make it her focus, she leaped in with both feet, moving from a pure pantser to a more hybrid plotter, and solidifying her author brand as “creating compelling Jewish characters” which also drives her marketing focus. We discuss how this niche informed her decision to forego traditional publishing and opt instead to form her own publishing company, then delve into juggling her different income streams like teaching and consulting to allow time for her personal goal of writing one novel per year. We close out by exploring her “curious approach” to marketing and how she keeps it fun.

Lynne Golodner is the award-winning, bestselling author of ten books and hundreds of essays and articles as well as a marketing expert, writing coach and retreat leader. After working as a journalist in New York and Washington, D.C., and earning an MFA, Lynne returned to the Midwest, where she created Your People, a marketing company with a focus on storytelling. Between 1996 and 2013, Lynne wrote eight books—two poetry collections and six nonfiction titles. Around 2020, she started writing fiction with a goal of producing a book year. Her first novel, WOMAN OF VALOR, won an honorable mention in the Eric Hoffer Award for Spiritual Fiction and her second novel, CAVE OF SECRETS, hit #1 on Amazon in Jewish fiction, gay fiction and British and Irish literature.

She has degrees from the University of Michigan, Goddard College and a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. She is the mother of four young adults and lives in Huntington Woods, Michigan.

To learn more about Lynne, click here.

This week’s guest is Delise Torres (One Tough Cookie, Alcove Press, July 2023). Described as a Latina Fleabag, Delise’s novel is both a women’s fiction and a romance and she purposely made choices in both character and venue to make it more appealing in the marketplace before she queried. We discuss the revisions both her agent and later her publisher asked for, the challenges of marketing a book when you live overseas, and how Delise benefitted from several programs WFWA offered including critique groups, the mentor program, and the annual pitch event.

Delise Torres grew up in Puerto Rico, watching telenovelas and re-enacting scenes with her Barbies. Once she outgrew her dolls, she turned to daydreaming, and it wasn’t until her late thirties when she finally put her own stories to paper, and her passion for writing was born. She has a PhD in Food Science and former work experience as a quality assurance manager in the food industry. When not writing, you can find her trying to time-manage her life, singing, reading, and streaming shows and movies. She lives in Germany with her daughter and German husband.

To learn more about Delise, click here.

Our guest this week is Kristin Kisska (The Hint of Light, Lake Union Publishing, August 2023). Listen to hear how two revisions at the tail end of the publishing process unlocked deeper meanings in her novel, how the grief in the story had to be toned down, and the thought-provoking question Kristin uses at book clubs to promote discussion. We discuss the pluses and minuses of publishing with an Amazon imprint and how placing short stories in anthologies benefitted not only her networking efforts but her learning curve about the publishing industry.

KRISTIN KISSKA used to be a finance geek, complete with her MBA and Wall Street pedigree, but now she is a self-proclaimed #SuspenseGirl. She has contributed over a dozen short suspense stories to crime and mystery anthologies. Her debut novel, The Hint of Light, was an Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel. Kristin is a Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, and James River Writers member. Kristin lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her family and their moody tabby cat, Boom. She loves hearing from friends, readers, and book clubs.

To learn more about Kristin, click here.