Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark Leslie Lefebvre
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Perspectives and reflections on the writing and publishing life. Mark Leslie Lefebvre, a writer, bookseller, digital publishing advocate, professional speaker, and publishing consultant explores inclusive and collaborative opportunities for writers and book publishing professionals via interviews, discussions, and reflections about the industry. (Mark's personal website is www.markleslie.ca)

  1. 3d ago

    Weeknight Writers and First Draft Fall with Dianna Gunn

    Mark interviews Canadian fantasy and horror author Dianna Gunn about Weeknight Writers and First Draft Fall. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and offers a word about this episode's sponsors. This episode is sponsored in part by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report. In their conversation, Mark and Dianna talk about: The concept of your work being your life and your life being your work Dianna lining up her teddy bears to read to and tell stories to The vast majority of the books in Dianna's house growing up that were written by old white men The genesis of the Weeknight Writers community and how it relates back to Dianna's participation in NaNoWriMo (Jokingly seeing the logo as Wee Knight Writers) The types of folks who are members of the Weeknight Writers community How ADHD can hinder some activities, but inspire incredibly powerful other ones Creating a writing community for people who had different levels of commitment in their lives The value of writing as part of a larger community of writings and feeling welcomed regardless of where a writer is on their journey How a month is usually not enough time to finish that first draft The sprint-bot that exists in the Discord that allows authors to do DIY writing sprints The concept of body-doubling How the community is an all-year thing, but with less structured events The brainstorming channel in the group The difference between the free/main community and the Premium/paid community Advise Dianna would offer other writers And more . . . After the interview Mark reflects on the value of having a writing community and others who understand you. Links of Interest: Dianna Gunn's Website Weeknight Writers First Draft Fall Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Stark Reflections articles on Substack A Book in Hand An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Stark Realities Book Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! S*****r Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises   Dianna Gunn is a Canadian fantasy and horror author who has relentlessly pursued her writing career since she first decided she wanted to be a writer at eight years old. While she started on her own, her writing accelerated when she participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time and unlocked the power of community. She has now launched a community of her own, Weeknight Writers, where writers can enjoy a variety of events and daily support.   The introductory, end, and bumper music ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and was licenced for use on this podcast.

  2. 3d ago ·  Bonus

    You Might Also Like: The Oprah Podcast

    Introducing Oprah Looks Back at Her Best Surprises from The Oprah Podcast. Follow the show: The Oprah Podcast Surprise! Oprah is looking back on some of her favorite surprises from 25 years of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah shares how when she was surprised by her idol Mary Tyler Moore it sent her into the ugly cry. The time she’ll never forget surprising Tom Cruise’s biggest fan while standing in her robe, no makeup and her hair soaking wet from the shower. More surprises include Mariah Carey’s biggest fans, the iconic car giveaway - “you get a car, you get a car” - and the moment she surprised an entire audience they were all “going to Australia!” When The Oprah Show ended in 2011 she allowed her staff to surprise her over and over again at a star-studded event at the United Center in Chicago. 00:00:00 - Oprah on loving to surprise people on The Oprah Winfrey Show 00:02:15 - Oprah was surprised by Mary Tyler Moore 00:08:14 - The Tom Cruise Surprise 00:12:49 - The Weight Loss Surprise 00:16:10 - The Will and Grace surprise 00:18:36 - The Family surprise 00:20:50 - The Mariah surprise 00:24:00 - The You Get a Car surprise 00:29:20 - The biggest fans surprise 00:33:58 - The Surprise Trip 00:39:30 - Oprah’s 25 year surprise show Follow Oprah Winfrey on Social: https://www.instagram.com/oprahpodcast/ https://www.facebook.com/oprahpodcast/ https://www.instagram.com/oprah/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/oprahwinfrey/ Listen to the full podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0tEVrfNp92a7lbjDe6GMLI https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oprah-podcast/id1782960381 DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to team@podroll.fm.

    You Might Also Like: The Oprah Podcast

  3. Oct 29

    Media Tie-In Novelizations with Tim Waggoner

    Mark interviews horror author Tim Waggoner about writing media tie-in novelizations of properties such as the recent Crystal Lake TV series. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, welcomes a new patron, and offers a word about this episode's sponsors. Prior to the main content, Mark reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsors. This episode is sponsored in part by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report. In their conversation, Mark and Tim talk about: The concept of Halloween tourists, from the perspective of a horror author Tim's recent novelization for the Crystal Lake TV series How in the old days novelizations were done from scripts, but that now there's also early cuts of episodes that a writer has access to The usual timelines for a writer to turn around a novelization The leeway an author writing a novelization might have with a movie script and season of a TV series How a writer gets into media/movie tie-in novelizations The value and importance of working collaboratively when doing a novelization/media tie-in How there are novelizations being done for much older/classic movies Ways that an author might be able to break in to the realm of media tie-in writing Tim's book JUST ADD WRITER about the craft and business of writing novelizations and media tie-ins Some of the unique things you can do to movie novelizations that creatively fill in some of the confusing gaps or help explain inconsistencies in the film Managing multiple deadlines in the midst of travel to writer conferences Tim's book WRITING IN THE DARK and the idea of horror coming from a place that's quite uncomfortable What other books and resources Tim would recommend for writers on helping to learn/improve the craft of writing and understand the business And more... After the interview Mark reflects on a few things Tim mentioned. Links of Interest:   Tim Waggoner's Website Just Add Writer Writing in the Dark EP 497 - A Look At The Current Publishing Landscape with Jane Friedman Stark Reflections Substack - Embracing the Right Kind of Friction Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Stark Reflections articles on Substack An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Stark Realities Book Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! S*****r Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises   Tim Waggoner's first novel came out in 2001, and since then he's published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. His articles on writing have appeared in Writer's Digest, The Writer, The Writer's Chronicle. He's the author of the acclaimed horror-writing guide Writing in the Dark, which won the Bram Stoker Award in 2021. The follow-up, Writing in the Dark: The Workbook, also won a Stoker in the same category in 2023. He won another Stoker in 2021 in the category of Short Nonfiction for his article "Speaking of Horror," and in 2017 he received the Stoker for Long Fiction for his novella The Winter Box. In addition, he's twice won the Scribe Award, given by the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and he's been a two-time finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and a one-time finalist for the Splatterpunk Award. He's served as a mentor for HWA for many years, and in 2015, he was given the organization's Mentor of the Year Award. He's also served on HWA's Lifetime Achievement Award committee several times. His fiction has received numerous Honorable Mentions in volumes of Best Horror of the Year, and he's had several stories selected for inclusion in volumes of Year's Best Hardcore Horror. His work has been translated into Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Hungarian, and Turkish. He's also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. His papers are collected by the University of Pittsburgh's Horror Studies Program.   The introductory, end, and bumper music ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and was licenced for use on this podcast.

  4. Oct 24

    EP 497 - A Look At The Current Publishing Landscape with Jane Friedman

    In this episode Mark interviews Jane Friedman in a discussion about the current landscape of traditional and self-publishing. Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episodes sponsors. This episode is sponsored in part by The 2026 Novel Writing Storybundle. Learn more about this limited-time offer (which ends at the end of November 2026) at https://storybundle.com/writing In their conversation, Mark and Jane talk about: How highly Mark recommends Jane's book THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER (2nd Edition What it was like revisiting the book for a second edition, including reorganizing the entire structure of the book Where Jane thinks the industry has been moving recently, including authors being able to reach more readers directly via things like direct sales How a lot of the MFA Writing programs have such a heavy focus on traditional publishing Some of the trends and stories that Jane has been thinking about recently (mid October 2026) A recent ethics change made by the AALA (Literary Agents Association) The power imbalance between the author and the publisher combined with so much effort being spent to try to please the agent, who is also the middleman between those two How the contests at Writer's Digest were a profit center where more and more contests made Jane very uncomfortable Agents who run their own publishing companies, which is becoming more popular lately The publishing/literary landscape in a post-BEA (Book Expo America) world Winter Institute, the new conference that helps replace BEA that ABA (American Booksellers Association) created The new Simon and Schuster digital-first branding: Simon Stream Some of the publishers who are doing dynamic and innovative new experiments with rights splitting and digital publishing Publisher concerns over cannibalization of print book sales from eBooks and audiobooks Thoughts on the impact of AI on the overall industry And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on Jane's discomfort about when certain publishing players roles slide into a bit of a grey area. Links of Interest:   Jane Friedman's Website EP 496 - Communal Storytelling with Author and Actor Jamie Flanagan Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Stark Reflections articles on Substack An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Stark Realities Book Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! S*****r Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises   Jane Friedman has spent her entire career in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals. Her latest book, THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER SECOND EDITION (University of Chicago Press), received a starred review from Library Journal.   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

  5. Oct 23 ·  Bonus

    Prompt for Episode 500: I Want to Hear YOUR Reflections

    This is a special betweenisode (and yes, I borrowed that term from Joanna Penn) to let you know that I want to hear YOUR thoughts, your reflections, and, ideally, in your voice, for inclusion in episode 500 of the Stark Reflections Podcast. Use this link for a handy form you can use. Form for Recording a Comment You can, also, if you prefer, share your thoughts and reflections right here. Thanks, in advance for your reflections, and thanks for listening.

  6. Oct 16

    Communal Storytelling with Author and Actor Jamie Flanagan

    In this episode Mark interviews actor and Bram Stoker Award–winning writer Jamie Flanagan about their work on the 2026 Carrie television series, various other scriptwriting and acting projects, their short stories, novels, and editing. Prior to the interview Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episodes sponsors. This episode is sponsored in part by The 2026 Novel Writing Storybundle. Learn more about this limited-time offer (which ends at the end of November 2026) at https://storybundle.com/writing In their conversation, Mark and Jamie talk about: Talk about: How Jamie got into theatre because they had a crush on someone, and how that led to falling in love with communal storytelling Becoming a cardiac ultra-sound technologist and doing that for a few years Jamie's brother Mike Flanagan beginning to gain some traction in the film production he'd been doing and inviting Jamie to be a part of it (Absentia, Oculus, Hell House, Bly, which Mike did in order to be able to make Midnight Mass) The various roles that Jamie has played in different films and TV shows over the years Writing screenplays between patients Loving a novel (Veniss Underground by Jeff Vandermere) so much that they adapted it into a feature film script adaptation for it Getting pulled into the writer's room for Bly Manor Losing count of the number of scripts written based on existing IP projects Not having the rights to scripts that you write for projects that don't get picked up How the "green lights" happening when a script gets picked up, it's rare How most screenwriters usually have backup jobs The way the writing room works for a television series The special flower-shaped craft that a former partner of Jamie had made for them out of one of their children's picture books Adaptation being the sincerest form of flattery A short story ("Moira") Jamie had published in an anthology (Shadows in the Stacks) and it's fascinating history, including a very special audio production of it that includes a brilliant score How one of the few conversations you can have in entertainment is via theatre The live show that absolutely floored Jamie and how it hit them at the right time in the right way The recent series adaptation of Carrie where Jamie is one of the script writers on this Mike Flanagan project The way Mike pitched the idea to King, and how a similar thing happened when he pitched the Doctor Sleep adaptation A novel that Jamie has coming out in 2027 The Views from the Overlook Stephen King-authorized The Shining anthology that Jamie is editing (and that Mark sold a story "The Scraps of Lives" to Jamie's children's book reprint that's being released in a new edition in 2027 The short stories Jamie has coming out in several anthologies in the next couple of years And more . . .   After the interview Mark reflects on three of the things they discussed and it includes a few additional personal insights and updates, including the story behind Mark's first in person meeting with Jamie and how it was a powerful, life-altering experience. Links of Interest: Jamie Flanagan's Website Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Stark Reflections articles on Substack An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Stark Realities Book Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! S*****r Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises Jamie Flanagan (they/them) is an actor and Bram Stoker Award–winning writer. Screenwriting credits include Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass (WGA nomination, Original Long Form), The Midnight Club, and The Fall of the House of Usher; AMC Shudder's Creepshow; Peacock's Hysteria!; and Amazon's adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie. They've appeared on regional stages with the Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Theater J, and Off-Broadway in New York Theatre Workshop's production of columbinus (Drama League nomination). Film/Television roles include appearances in House of Cards, Hysteria!, The Haunting of Hill House, The Midnight Club, Doctor Sleep, and others. Their debut novel, Deserters, is due to be published in summer of 2027 by SAGA press. They're represented by WME, Echo Lake, and the Tobias Literary Agency. Member: HWA, SAG-AFTRA, WGA-East. 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

  7. Oct 9

    A Live Chat with Juliette N. Banks

    Mark interviews Juliette N. Banks via a chat that was livestreamed to YouTube on Thursday October 7, 2026 at 7 PM Eastern. You can watch the video here: https://youtube.com/live/uGxilXgnAuw?feature=share Links of Interest: Juliette N. Banks Website A Book in Hand (Main Weblink with Kickstarter link on it - for late pledges) Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Stark Reflections articles on Substack An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Stark Realities Book Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! S*****r Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises   Juliette N. Banks is an international bestselling romance author who has taken the romance world by storm. She writes both contemporary and paranormal page-turning romances with hot alpha heroes you'll fall in love with. Juliette has a vast background in consumer marketing and was previously published with Random House. When she's not writing and publishing monthly, or coaching other authors, she's either at the beach or playing with her Maine Coon kitty   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

  8. Oct 2

    Whales, Comic Books, Horror, and the Power of Community with Angela Yuriko Smith

    Mark interviews Angela Yuriko Smith, a two-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author, editor, educator, and publisher. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, welcomes a new patron, and offers a word about this episode's sponsors. This episode is sponsored in part by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report. In their conversation, Mark and Angela talk about: The origin of the term "The Halloween People" for the HWA StokerCon conference Creating a huge "save the whales" message using rocks How a quote from a comic book first got Angela into writing Angela's start in writing doing articles and non-fiction and newspaper writing The situation that led to Angela taking over Space & Time magazine How important it is to put positivity into the world Winning a Bram Stoker Award for her "accidental" poetry Angela's first experience with critiques from a writing group Helping a woman publish her husbands poetry and what an honor it was for Angela Not really having an idea of what she's doing most of the time How Space & Time works for submissions for writers and their search for flash fiction The way that the Substack ties back into the printed magazine The story behind Authortunities The value of community Advise Angela has for other writers After the interview Mark reflects on the power of community, the power of words, and the power that fear of judgement can hold over us. Links of Interest: Angela's Main Website: Authortunitiespress.com The Expat Life Article (Randy Green) A Book in Hand (Main Weblink with Kickstarter link on it - for late pledges) Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Mark's YouTube channel ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) Stark Reflections articles on Substack An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Stark Realities Book Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building Once Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard Merry Christmas! S*****r Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises   Angela Yuriko Smith is a two-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author, editor, educator, and publisher. She leads Space & Time and is the founder of Authortunities, a creative ecosystem helping writers create meaningful work, build sustainable creative lives, and shape the worlds they want to inhabit. She believes the world is a work in progress. Writers are here to shape what comes next.   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

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About

Perspectives and reflections on the writing and publishing life. Mark Leslie Lefebvre, a writer, bookseller, digital publishing advocate, professional speaker, and publishing consultant explores inclusive and collaborative opportunities for writers and book publishing professionals via interviews, discussions, and reflections about the industry. (Mark's personal website is www.markleslie.ca)

Information

  • Creator
    Mark Leslie Lefebvre
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    502
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License
  • Show Website
    Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

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