100 episodes

If you’re an aspiring author and want insights into what’s involved in launching a book into the world, this is the podcast for you. Maggie Smith, author and blogger, interviews debut novelists from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association discussing not only the inspiration behind their book, but also their insights into the writing process, the best advice they ever got, and the joys and sometimes pitfalls they encountered on their path to publication.

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    • Arts
    • 5.0 • 13 Ratings

If you’re an aspiring author and want insights into what’s involved in launching a book into the world, this is the podcast for you. Maggie Smith, author and blogger, interviews debut novelists from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association discussing not only the inspiration behind their book, but also their insights into the writing process, the best advice they ever got, and the joys and sometimes pitfalls they encountered on their path to publication.

    224: Roxana Trabulsi- Author, Of Mud and Honey

    224: Roxana Trabulsi- Author, Of Mud and Honey

    My guest this week is Roxana Motiwalla Trabulsi (Of Mud and Honey, Ten16 Press. January 2023). Her debut is based on her parent’s struggles in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in Yemen as the country morphed into a Communist regime, her father was jailed as a political prisoner, and her mother and siblings were placed under house arrest. We discuss the emotional toll and responsibility of writing your own family’s history and how signing with a small press proved the perfect venue to not only tell the story of a little-known country but also gave Roxana the flexibility to publish the book while her parents were still alive. She also shares serendipitous  contacts she made through her Internet research and finding the perfect editor who supported her vision.
    Born in London, United Kingdom, but raised in Dubai, Roxana now lives just outside of Boston in Massachusetts, where she writes and teaches English Literature at a school for children with learning differences. A graduate of Northeastern University, she worked as a marketing professional for an audio company for several years. She and her husband moved to Tokyo soon after they were married and have lived there twice in the last twenty years. She sits on the board of the local farmer’s market where she has not only contributed to creating a sustainable community but has also been able to bring new and diverse programs such as a self-sustainable seed library to her town. Ultimately, she revels most in her role as mum to her three children. She loves all things farmers market, travel, yoga, art and design, and of course, reading. She lives with her husband, her teenage son, and their four-year-old cockapoo.  
    To learn more about Roxana, click here.
     

    • 29 min
    223: Brynn Barineau- Author of Jaguars and Other Game

    223: Brynn Barineau- Author of Jaguars and Other Game

    This week’s guest is Brynn Barineau (Jaguars and Other Game, Orange Blossom Publishing, November 2022). After writing two YA novels that didn’t find a publisher, Brynn tried her hand at adult fiction and, writing from her then-home in South America, penned a gender-flipped three musketeers story based in 1809 Brazil when the Portuguese royal court fled Napoleon’s army and relocated to Rio. It’s filled with sword fights, diamond smuggling, court intrigue, and best of all, female friendships as three women work to exonerate their friend who’s been accused of murder. So even though Brynn grew up equating writers with rock stars, she’s become one and is already on sub for book two.
    Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Brynn Barineau has a master’s in international communication from American University and background in international education. After college, she moved to her husband’s native Rio de Janeiro with too many sweaters and not enough Portuguese. Brynn began writing as a way to process life in a new country. Her fiction is rooted in the power and possibilities of relationships across cultures. She’s now back in Atlanta rediscovering her hometown with her Brazilian-American family.
     Jaguars and Other Game is her debut novel. Kirkus Review called it an “addictive tale with drama, history and delightful protagonists,” and national best-selling author Lynn Cullen raved “this atmospheric debut had me turning the pages to cheer on the clever trio.” Jaguars and Other Game was a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards in multicultural fiction. 
    To learn more about Brynn, click here.
     
     

    • 32 min
    222: Patricia Hudson - Author of Traces

    222: Patricia Hudson - Author of Traces

    Our guest this week is Patricia Hudson (Traces, Firesign Industries, Univ of Kentucky Press, November 2022). Patricia’s historical fiction debut centers around 3 forgotten women—the wife and two daughters of Daniel Boone, the famous explorer and an early “social influencer” who gained fame for opening up the Kentucky area after the Revolutionary War. Patricia, a former free-lance writer, set out not just to record the what of these women’s lives but also the why behind their stories and to do so, joined a low-res MFA program, both to get help writing the novel but also for its networking component. We discuss what it’s like to go to market with a university press and how she’s found hand-selling to be her best marketing tool.  
    Patricia Hudson, a one-time university reference librarian, has been a freelance writer for 30 years, specializing in history and travel topics. She was a contributing editor at Americana magazine for more than a decade, and a regular contributor to Southern Living magazine. She’s the coeditor of Listen Here: Women Writing in Appalachia, and author of The Carolinas and the Appalachian States, a volume in the Smithsonian Guide to Historic America series. Her library background paved the way for her work on a variety of research projects for other writers, including Alex Haley. She lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with her husband, photographer, Sam Stapleton, and two rescue dogs.
    To learn more about Patricia, click here.

    • 34 min
    221: Kathy Maresca - Author of Porch Music

    221: Kathy Maresca - Author of Porch Music

    This week’s guest is Kathy Maresca (Porch Music, Touch Point Press, October 2022) In her debut novel, set in 1950’s Gainesville Florida, Kathy utilized stories from her Seminole family history to tap into a story of racial inequities, Southern culture, country music, and religious hypocrisy. Her research included not only books and museums, but also her own memories of working at Six Gun Territory, a local theme park, and absorbing the rhythm of Native American dances. When it came to marketing, her most effective tool turned out to be contests, where she used her awards to publicize her book. Her least effective? A blog tour which failed to correctly target her ideal reader.   
    A native Floridian, Kathy Maresca grew up with a grandmother of Seminole heritage. Kathy served in the Air Force, working at the Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel and then in special operations at Hurlburt Field, Florida. She edited for the University of Florida and taught English, journalism, and drama. While she was teaching, Kathy became ill with trigeminal neuralgia. She then earned a master’s degree, became credentialed as a rehabilitation counselor, and served as the Director of Patient Services for the Trigeminal Neurgalgia Association.
    Kathy recently finished her second novel, Sky Kiss, and is working on a prequel to Porch Music. She has been a Guardian ad Litem and has taught classes for a prison fellowship ministry. Kathy lives in North Carolina with her husband, Keith. They enjoy traveling and spending time with their toy fox terriers.
     
    To learn more about Kathy, click here.
     

    • 29 min
    220: Georgia Day - Author of Of Sand and Bone

    220: Georgia Day - Author of Of Sand and Bone

    Our guest this week is Georgia Day (Of Sand and Bone, Rhapsody Press, November 2022). Hear how a recurring nightmare, complete with a haunting, portentous image, led Georgia to the story that would eventually morph into her speculative fiction novel. Set in a unique world of undulating sand and daily life-and-death struggles, her two female protagonists set out on a journey and Georgia went on her own journey as well, creating a world where everything from the environment to the origin stories and myths to the animals that share the space had to come  from her own imagination. Her reading from this lyrical yet unsettling dystopia half-way through the interview will enchant you as will her future goal of growing Rhapsody Press as a joint co-op venture with her father, a fellow writer.
    Georgia Day holds a B.A. in Literary Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas and has dreamed of being a writer her entire life. She is an avid reader, movie buff, and travel enthusiast. Her first novel, Of Sand and Bone, was named a 2023 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in the category of Literary Fiction. She lives in the United States.
    To learn more about Georgia, click here.

    • 28 min
    219: Amy Watson - Author of Closer to Okay

    219: Amy Watson - Author of Closer to Okay

    This week’s guest is Amy Watson (Closer to Okay, Alcove Press, October 2022). Amy and I discuss clinical depression (she and her husband both live with this) and how her goal in writing her debut was to give voice to this little-understood condition and ways to cope with it. Listen for the serendipitous path that led Amy to her agent and eventually to her publisher, how her biggest marketing success came from inclusion on a book box site she didn’t even solicit, and how gratifying it’s been to hear from readers about both her book’s rawness and its authenticity.
    Amy Watson is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas. A wife, a mother to two boys, and a full-time office manager. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, baking, knitting, and watching football. Closer to Okay is her first novel.
    To learn more about Amy, click here.

    • 31 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
13 Ratings

13 Ratings

Julia Daily ,

WFWA Founders

Loved hearing from three of the charter founders of WFWA and celebrating Women's Fiction Day. Thank you, Maggie!

snowgie ,

Intriguing, informative and sticks to the point

I love this podcast. Author Maggie Smith is a thoughtful reader and a close listener. She lets the interviewees talk and keeps the conversation on track. The focus is appropriately narrow: Women authors who’ve recently published their first novel, with discussion of both the book and the journey to publication. The 28-minute bite-sized segments are both filling and nutritious and I always come away feeling inspired to write, which is my number one gauge for a good podcast about writing.

LaineyCameron ,

Top Notch- so interesting to hear how authors did it

The authors on the podcast are high quality and Maggie Smith does a great job with hosting. Always fascinating to hear how other writers did it!

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