Romancing the Story: Writing Romance, Storytelling, and Book Structure Sarah Gamez

"....Whenever you are going to write disability or anytime you're going to write outside of your lived experience, first you have to ask yourself: Do you already platform and support this community?"

As a romance writer with a disability, Melissa Whitney writes fantastic HEAs for non-typical protagonists - who have disabilities and neurodivergences. In the discussion, we explore the nuances of creating authentic characters with disabilities and how to write with empathy and accuracy while bringing depth to the writing.

Connect with Melissa:
https://www.melissawhitneywrites.com/
Instagram: @Melissa_WhitneyAuthor
TikTok: @melissasuewhitney
Facebook: Melissa Whitney Author
Twitter: @SteamingPlot81
Threads: @melissa_whitneyauthor

Find "In the Hello and In the Goodbye" on Amazon:
https://amzn.to/4bhmOUc

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The YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPcGXevs2NQk3Ab9OD66zuQ

Support the Show:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/romancethestory

Find me below:
Twitter - @RomancetheStory
Instagram - @RomancetheStory
Facebook - @RomancetheStory

Music:
Strawberry Flavor Love by Daystar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMi0dxVgqvo 
Support the Show.

"...I certainly hope that (this book) reaches the people who do, for one reason or another, feel that the world has just been so unfair to them and why can't it pick on somebody else for once..."

After both her parents died, Courtney penned those tragedies into a debut book, When Happily Ever After Fails. In the book, she proves all tragedies can be rewritten, and happiness can bloom where you least expect it. We chat revising a happily ever after doesn’t have to be an “all or nothing” mentality and mingling dark and light elements of life is more fact than fiction.

Connect with Courtney:
https://www.courtneydeane.com/
YouTube: @CourtneyDeane
Instragram: @authorcourtneydeane
TikTok: @courtneydeane
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/authorcourtneydeane/
Substack: https://substack.com/@courtneydeane

Find When Happily Ever After Fails on Amazon:
https://amzn.to/3Jdi0D0

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The YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPcGXevs2NQk3Ab9OD66zuQ

Support the Show:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/romancethestory

Find me below:
Twitter - @RomancetheStory
Instagram - @RomancetheStory
Facebook - @RomancetheStory

Music:
Strawberry Flavor Love by Daystar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMi0dxVgqvo 
Support the Show.

"...as we're solving problems in our own stories, we're creating problems for the other stories that (Lark and Catrina) had to work in... It made for some really creative outcomes." - Lucy Limon

As critique partners and writers with complementary strengths, romance authors Lark Green, Lucy Limon, and Catrina Bell devised a plan for a holiday novella series where a one author took a different book. We chat how their masterful coordination, thorough world-building, and developmental courtesy helped them stay on track to release the series, even in the midst of last-minute fixes and edits.

Connect with Lark Green:
https://www.authorlarkgreen.com/
Instagram: @authorlarkgreen
Facebook: @authorlarkgreen
Goodreads: Lark Green

Connect with Lucy Limon:
https://www.lucylimon.com/
Instagram: @lucylimon.books
BookBub: @LucyLimon_books
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/45367606.Lucy_Lim_n

Connect with Catrina Bell:
linktr.ee/catrinabell
Instagram: @catrinabell
Twitter: @catrinabellxoxo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catrinabellwrites

Find Horned Up for the Holidays on Amazon:
https://amzn.to/4aQJefx

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Lark's Other Episode:

Ep 45 - Writing while Working Full-Time with Lark Green
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1064368/12159925

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Other Media Mentioned:

Sweet Monster Treats Series
https://amzn.to/3SaS7cy

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The YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPcGXevs2NQk3Ab9OD66zuQ

Support the Show:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/romancethestory

Find me below:
Twitter - @RomancetheStory
Instagram - @RomancetheStory
Facebook - @RomancetheStory

Music:
Strawberry Flavor Love by Daystar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMi0dxVgqvo 
Support the Show.

"They always say start your book on a day that's different. That's called an inciting incident. That's what I try to do naturally. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't."

A decade into writing her Highlander series, USA Today Bestselling Author C.A. Szarek has built a large cast of interconnected books, and her unorthodox method continues to have no hard and fast rules of writing. We chat about how she gets reacquainted with her books after a period of time away from writing in the world and as an important idea with any writer, how the overall pantsing way of writing her books works best for her.

Connect with C.A. Szarek:
http://www.caszarek.com/
Twitter - @caszarek
Instagram - @caszarek
Facebook - @caszarek

Find C.A. Szarek's books on Amazon:
https://amzn.to/3PMXw6m

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C.A. Szarek's Other Episode:

Ep 35 - Highlander Time-Travel Trope and Writing with C.A. Szarek
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1064368/11426240

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Other Authors Mentioned:
 
Cherry Adair:
https://amzn.to/46eWfM7

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The YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPcGXevs2NQk3Ab9OD66zuQ

Support the Show:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/romancethestory

Find me below:
Twitter - @RomancetheStory
Instagram - @RomancetheStory
Facebook - @RomancetheStory

Music:
Strawberry Flavor Love by Daystar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMi0dxVgqvo 
Support the Show.

"We need to see writer's block in a different way. It's really not the enemy, but...it's a sign. And usually, it's that your body and your mind are telling you something is off..."

Author and writing coach, Dr. Nicole Janz, helps creatives use their writing voice with breakthroughs on writer's block and procrastination. Straightforward and detailed, we chat about what causes procrastination and how to approach writer's block in a way that is conducive and keeps your story moving forward.

The Write Habit: The Undated Annual Planner and Workbook for Busy Writers
https://amzn.to/47moyJN

Connect with Dr. Nicole
nicolejanz.com
www.thewritehabitplanner.com
Medium:  https://janz-is-writing.medium.com/
Twitter/X:  @camwritinghub
Instragram: @janz.is.writing
Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/710181483039162
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolejanz/

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Media Mentioned:
 
The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer by Steven Kotler
https://amzn.to/3QtF43w

The Art of Impossible Flow Chart
https://www.nbforum.com/newsroom/blog/steven-kotler-the-art-of-impossible/

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NaNoWriMo Episodes:

Ep 15 - Brianstorming, Writing Research, and NaNoWriMo with Kraken Editing
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1064368/9509081

Ep 41 - Novel Prep and Starting NaNoWriMo with Shayla Raquel
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1064368/11633960

Ep 46 - Trope Thesaurus Romance Edition with Jennifer Hilt
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1064368/12191020

Ep 37 - Top Tropes in Romance Writing with Aimee Walker
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1064368/11519577

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The YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPcGXevs2NQk3Ab9OD66zuQ

Support the Show:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/romancethestory

Find me below:
Twitter - @RomancetheStory
Instagram - @RomancetheStory
Facebook - @RomancetheStory

Music:
Strawberry Flavor Love by Daystar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMi0dxVgqvo 
Support the Show.

"(Not) to dive into the core fear...that we're unrelatable that people will not communicate with us...and I think that's one of those things you see get demonstrated with monsters in the history of storytelling."

Romance Author Kate Prior fell into writing Monster Romance by accident and now, has three books to show for her Claws and Cubicles series. We discuss writing creatures as an allegory for differences in ourselves and reader's interest in an otherworld romance where Monsters are love interests.

Surprisingly, there's a lot of DnD talk too!
 
Claws and Cubicles Series
https://amzn.to/46CDJyz

Connect with Kate
https://kate-prior.com/
Instagram: @bykateprior
Twitter/X: @byKatePrior
TikTok: @bykateprior
Facebook: Kate's Priory of Paranormal Romance
GoodReads: Author Kate Prior

Romance Writer's Therapy Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/romance-writers-therapy/id1595202492

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Media Mentioned:

Shoshana Rain (Fantasy Romance)
https://amzn.to/3QqM7KH

Desirée M. Niccoli (Siren/Mermaid Romance)
https://amzn.to/46WoW1h

Frankenstein (1931 Movie)
https://amzn.to/4958o99

Strange Love by Ann Aguirre
https://amzn.to/491nzAi


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The YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPcGXevs2NQk3Ab9OD66zuQ

Support the Show:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/romancethestory

Find me below:
Twitter - @RomancetheStory
Instagram - @RomancetheStory
Facebook - @RomancetheStory

Music:
Strawberry Flavor Love by Daystar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMi0dxVgqvo 


Support the Show.