Podcast appearances and mentions of James A Owen

#TroyLambert #Freelancing #BooktubeTroy joins this version of the podcast for the last time. In this chat, we talk about presentation and relationships. Authors need to reach out to people, and we talk about that. We talk about authors who do it well like James A. Owen and Brandon Sanderson, and what authors can learn from that. On top of that, we talk about AI and how it will not replace human writing. I enjoy my chats with Troy. I can't wait to do this in person. Troy LambertTroy's WebsiteSupportRoadkill Rampage #4 Kickstarter - The final road trip begins here. Rodney Fyke crafts the final issue of the miniseries. We'll see who lives, and who goes to their final destinations. Written by Rodney Fyke, and edited by yours truly.  Patreon - Wondering where Just Joshing is going to go after episode 1000? It has already started. I've recorded new kinds of podcasts that are available now on the patreon. You can join in and see where the show is going months before anyone else, see episodes ahead of schedule, and interact with the podcast in whole new ways as I travel on the adventure I'm heading into. Click the link to join.ServicesAdvertising Services - Let me create your advertising for your next book or campaign. If you're a creative wondering how to create your advertising for your next project, I can create video, audio, written and graphics. Let me help you get your story, and your best story, out there.Available Now:Alice Won? - Available now. Alice escaped the asylum and pursues the Queen of Hearts to the Greek Labyrinth in the underworld, there she must engage in a game of croquet unlike any other, against Jason of the Argonauts. Illustrated by Kenzie Kats, written by yours truly.Support And Subscribe:Buy my MerchBuy Me A CoffeeNewsletterTwitchYoutube

Welcome back to Movies that Make Us. Val is still exploring Africa, so we have special guest James A. Owen back to the show to talk about the 1999 film “The Thomas Crown Affair.” James joined us previously on the “A Knight's Tale” episode. James is a best selling author and illustrator and please visit his website at http://jamesaowen.com/The Thomas Crown Affair is an updated telling of the 1968 film starring Steve McQueen. Pierce Brosnan plays Thomas Crown, a bored billionaire who steals art from a museum for the thrill of it. Renee Russo plays the insurance agent trying to catch him while they are falling in love. What are your thoughts on the film? Have you seen the original? What's your favorite Pierce Brosnan film?Did you miss the video premier of this episode? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and then click the little bell to receive notifications when we add a new video or go live.You can also follow our Facebook page so you can receive notifications for new audio or video of our episodes.As always, thank you for listening, and for now, we won't see you at the movies… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Artemis Owen is an amazing artist and brilliant author. He is known for his creator-owned comic book series "Starchild," and his fantasy series, “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” titled “Here, There be Dragons,” which I just finished reading in preparation for this very fun interview! Learn more at: jamesaowen.com/

James Artemis Owen is an amazing artist and brilliant author. He is known for his creator-owned comic book series "Starchild," and his fantasy series, “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” titled “Here, There be Dragons,” which I just finished reading in preparation for this very fun interview! Learn more at: jamesaowen.com/

Mark interviews Gama Ray Martinez about his recent novel GOD OF NEVERLAND, his writing life, and more. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares an extremely brief personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation Mark and Gama talk about: How Mark and Gama normally only see one another once per year at Superstars Writing Seminars in Colorado in Feb each year Gama always wanting to be a writer, and in school turning in stories instead of descriptive essays The first story that Gama sold, which won 2nd place in a David Farland anthology Taking several of David Farland's workshops Writing a "purple unicorn" story involving a potato based on a parody cover James A. Owen had crafted The background of the "purple unicorn" story Value that can come, both professionally and personally, from attending in person conferences like Superstars Writing Seminars The inspiration for writing God of Neverland which came from the epilogue of the original story of Peter Pan Embracing both traditional publishing and indie publishing Having support from both family and close friends The audiobook version, which took home an audio award The forthcoming sequel, Queens of Wonderland, which ties in to the classic Lewis Carroll book The GamaVerse of this series and how it will connect even more classic texts Writing with something on the TV in the background, but it having to be something that he has seen countless times Advice Gama would offer to other writers and beginning writers How Gama shoots for one plot point per 1000 words when greating a rough outline for a writing project Gama's goal to do a half-marathon in every state, and the Disney marathons he has participated in The feeling of walking into a bookstore such as Barnes and Noble and seeing your books on display And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the years of hard work and investment Gama put into his writing to get to where he is today and the important of getting that first draft DONE.   Links of Interest: Gama Ray Martinez Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast 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 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 The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   Gama Ray Martinez lives near Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife and kids. He moved there solely because he likes mountains. He collects weapons in case he ever needs to supply a medieval battalion, and he greatly resents when work or other real-life things get in the way of writing. He secretly hopes to one day slay a dragon in single combat and doesn't believe in letting pesky little things like reality stand in the way of dreams.   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 

Mark interviews editor Joshua Essoe about the elements of atmosphere, mood, and world-building. Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Joshua talk about: How Joshua got into being an editor twelve years ago The limitation of only being able to work 1:1 with so many clients at a time and how that led to Joshua deciding to release books (Essoe's Guides to Writing) to assist writers with some of his knowledge/experience The way Joshua divides up a typical day of work, which involves a lot of burning the midnight oil Joshua's unique way of combining two subjects into a single double-sided flip book as a special Kickstarter exclusive project The first flip book - Action Sequences / Sex Scenes The second flip book - Worldbuilding / Mood & Atmosphere The problem with trying to release a flip-book format in the traditional print book market. (Where does the bar code that's supposed to be on the "back" of the book go?) Original artwork from James A. Owen that is part of these books, and this special Kickstarter project The 6 major areas where writers usually have issues in Worldbuilding, including Info-dumping, which is also broken down into 6 types: world-building info dump the back-story info dump the technical info dump dialogue info dump thought info dump emotion info dump How Kevin J. Anderson does a great job of setting up his world in the first several pages of the Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. novels Three big things that you need to do in your world-building: broadening it, deepening it, and involving it How writers need to shackle their impulse to share too many details about their world all at once to readers A discussion of Tolkien's world-building, which involved a combination of intriguing teaser moments, but also some longer segments of info-dumping What are we talking about when we're talking about Mood and Atmosphere? How there aren't that many books in existence on the topic of mood and atmosphere The way that every aspect of your writing that can contribute to mood How atmosphere is a part of mood, but is a big enough element that it can be understood and explored on its own An excellent example of atmosphere from A Wrinkle in Time How you want to be purposeful when creating and sharing mood in your writing Some of the rewards that are going to be available in Joshua's Kickstarter And more...   After the interview, Mark reflects on a couple of things from the discussion. Links of Interest: Joshua's Website Joshua's Worldbuilding, Mood & Atmosphere Kickstarter EP 137 - Action Sequences and Sex Scenes with Joshua Essoe Kobo Writing Life Podcast - EP 76 - (Mark's first interview with Joshua) Findaway Voices The Emotion Thesaurus on the Writers Helping Writers Website Other Episodes Mentioned in this podcast EP 247 - My Mom's Influence on Me As A Writer EP 258 - June 2022 Reflective Hangout Highlight Clips   Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast 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 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 The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles   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 

Welcome to the latest edition of Movies that Make Us. This week, we discuss the 2001 film A Knight's Tale starring Heath Ledger, Alan Tudyk, Paul Bettany, and Rufus Sewell. The film follows a squire who poses as a knight and competes in tournaments and becomes friends with Geoffrey Chaucer and Edward the Black Prince. Full of pop culture nods and a 1970's soundtrack, this is a fun film that is full of heart, humor, and holds up very well. This week, we are joined by our friend James A. Owen, author of the Here, There Be Dragons book series, illustrator, comic nerd, time lord, and much more. He brings some great insight into this film and how it literally changed his stars in his professional career. What are your thoughts on the film? As always, you can reach us at podcast@moviesthatmakeus.com. Did you miss the video premier of this episode? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and then click the little bell to receive notifications when we add a new video or go live.You can also follow our Facebook page so you can receive notifications for new audio or video of our episodes. Sometimes we are even live on Facebook, so you can give us feedback right then and there. It's pretty sweet.As always, thank you for listening, and for now, we won't see you at the movies… See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

James and Michael interview author James A. Owen. They talk about his early career in comics, his Imaginarium Geographica series, as well as his newest Kickstarter, Illustrations and Illuminations. This episode also has the added bonus of not including a random intro by the hosts. You just get a great interview followed by one of your hosts begging for reviews, as is customary with most podcasts. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Welcome friend to Imaginings: Moments of Magic by Andrea Klassen-Koop. When I was very young, I spent all of my time reading and I so desperately wanted those stories to be real. As I grew up, I started watching Sci-Fi and fantasy shows and I wanted those to be real too. And, you know, in a way, I think they are. One of my favourite quotes is “All stories are true, but some of them never happened” by James A. Owen and it's really inspiring to me to think that humans are so creative that we have entire universes made up in the pages of a book and on the screen and that's really amazing and one of the funnest things for me is to bring these scenes to life through the power of words. So my goal with this podcast is inspiring imagination to continue modern storytelling and just take you to places that you didn't know you wanted to go. This is my way of making the world just a little bit better and a little bit more magical. So join me for a journey of wonder and imaginings.For more, or to get links to my social media, visit:imaginings.ca

Mailbag! Plus "Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus" by Orson Scott Card, and "Here, There Be Dragons" by James A. Owen. Become a Patron! www.patreon.com/dreadpennies

INCEPTION Dom Cobb is the best there is at extraction - stealing valuable secrets inside the subconscious during the mind's vulnerable dream state. His skill has made him a fugitive and cost him dearly but Now he may get a second chance if he can do the impossible inception: planting an idea rather than stealing one. But no planning or expertise can prepare him for a dangerous enemy that seems to predict his every move. Alan and Craig along with guest author James Owen (@CaveoPrincipia on twitter) discuss what is real and what is a dream, James' the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica books, metaphors of film making and the movie “Inception” on this week's Matinee Heroes! This week's episode is sponsored by Matinee Heroes presents CastOFF! The first round of playoff continues!! Last week, Randy eliminated Luke Hunsaker in Game 3 of the CastOFF Championship playoffs. This Tuesday July 28th at 9 ET / 6 PT Tracy Mangum and Bryan Guanajunto face off in final game of Round One to see who will face Randy in the Semi-Finals. The movie they'll recast: Mission impossible: Fallout! See who will win this 8 person single elimination tournament to name the best Caster on the internet. Go to twitch.tv/matineeheroes or matineeheroes.com/castoff to subscribe to the video stream. Show Notes 1:07 Craig, Alan and guest James A. Owen discuss his series of books called the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica. Head over to JamesAOwen.com and buy them NOW! 13:09 Craig, Alan and James discuss the movie "Inception" 40:26 Recasting 1:02:14 Double Feature 1:09:56 Final Thoughts 1:17:16 A preview of next week's episode "Snowpiercer" Next week, Craig and guest co-host discuss class warfare in the sci-fi thriller "Snowpiercer"

INCEPTION Dom Cobb is the best there is at extraction - stealing valuable secrets inside the subconscious during the mind's vulnerable dream state. His skill has made him a fugitive and cost him dearly but Now he may get a second chance if he can do the impossible inception: planting an idea rather than stealing one. But no planning or expertise can prepare him for a dangerous enemy that seems to predict his every move. Alan and Craig along with guest author James Owen (@CaveoPrincipia on twitter) discuss what is real and what is a dream, James’ the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica books, metaphors of film making and the movie “Inception” on this week’s Matinee Heroes! This week's episode is sponsored by Matinee Heroes presents CastOFF! The first round of playoff continues!! Last week, Randy eliminated Luke Hunsaker in Game 3 of the CastOFF Championship playoffs. This Tuesday July 28th at 9 ET / 6 PT Tracy Mangum and Bryan Guanajunto face off in final game of Round One to see who will face Randy in the Semi-Finals. The movie they’ll recast: Mission impossible: Fallout! See who will win this 8 person single elimination tournament to name the best Caster on the internet. Go to twitch.tv/matineeheroes or matineeheroes.com/castoff to subscribe to the video stream. Show Notes 1:07 Craig, Alan and guest James A. Owen discuss his series of books called the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica. Head over to JamesAOwen.com and buy them NOW! 13:09 Craig, Alan and James discuss the movie "Inception" 40:26 Recasting 1:02:14 Double Feature 1:09:56 Final Thoughts 1:17:16 A preview of next week's episode "Snowpiercer" Next week, Craig and guest co-host discuss class warfare in the sci-fi thriller "Snowpiercer"

Mark interviews editor Joshua Essoe who has edited for bestsellers, Piers Anthony and David Farland, for Dean Lorey, lead writer of Arrested Development, as well as numerous Writers of the Future winners, and USA Today bestsellers. Prior to the interview, Mark reads some comments from recent episodes, reveals the winner of Sacha Black's Anatomy of Prose and says a word about this episode's sponsors, the patrons of the podcast. Mark also shares a person update that includes: Work being done on his Canadian Werewolf series of books A new non-fiction writing project he will be releasing in the Fall of 2020:  Wide for the Win In their conversation, Mark and Joshua talk about: How, 11 years ago, Joshua accidentally fell into the role of editor Joshua's previous role as an old book restorer Being a book nerd since Joshua was 7 years old Asking Brandon Sanderson to read one of his stories and the generous and constructive feedback he was offered Advice from Superstars Writing Seminars that led Joshua to deciding to take on a new challenge, editing a fellow author's fantasy novel Setting a goal of editing one of David Farland's novels The difference between restoring old books and working as an editor The genres that Joshua specializes in as an editor (science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction) The importance of aligning your writing and your goals with the right editor The new book project Joshua is releasing and how he is launching it using Kickstarter The first book: Action Sequences and Sex Scenes and why Joshua is releasing that one first And more . . .   After the interview, Mark reflects on the huge success Joshua saw on his Kickstarter project within the first 6 hours and first four days and a quote from the artist James A. Owen, who designed his new non-fiction books.   Links of Interest: Joshua Essoe's Website Joshua's Kickstarter Project: Essoe's Guide to Writing: Action Sequences and Sex Scenes! Episode 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel with Sacha Black Episode 135 - Creative Collaborations in FerroCity with Joe Scacciaferro Career Author Summit Patreon for Stark Reflections   Joshua Essoe has edited for bestsellers, Piers Anthony and David Farland, including the multi-award-winning novel, Nightingale. He's also edited for Dean Lorey, lead writer of Arrested Development, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, former director at Kobo, numerous Writers of the Future winners, USA Today bestsellers, and many other top-notch independents. He was lead editor at Urban Fantasy Magazine from 2014-2015. From 2012-2015 he recorded the weekly writing podcast Hide and Create with co-hosts Michael J. Sullivan, Diana Rowland, Jay Wells, and Debbie Viguie. You can find Joshua teaching about pitches, back cover copy, and editing every year at the Superstars Writing Seminars in CO. His approach to editing is to help you make your story the best version of itself it can be. Joshua is also a writer. He was a 2014 finalist in the Writers of the Future contest, and is in the process of releasing his first in a series of non-fiction books on editing for writers.   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

In this episode Mark shares a few tidbits from the 2020 Superstars Writing Seminars conference held in early February in Colorado Springs. Prior to the main episode content, he shares a personal update about his writing (or lack thereof) as well as a few comments from listeners from previous episodes. Just before the main topic, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices... You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In this episode, Mark discusses things that were mentioned by the following instructors/attendees of the conference during various presentations and panels. Nick Thacker Michael Anderle Brian Meeks Tara Cremin Kevin Ikenberry Rebecca Moesta James A. Owen Kevin J. Anderson Mark mentions that this is just the tip of the iceberg of the amazing content that was packed into several days for this conference. He closes by reflecting upon the Rush lyrics that opened out the episode, explaining the way Kevin Anderson had been using them to inspire writers, and what the lyrics meant to mark in the writer context. Mark closes by offering an ambassador code that people can use to get $100 off registration of Superstars Writing Seminars 2021. (MARK9776).   Links of Interest: Episode 118 - Wish I'd Known Then with Jami Albright and Sara Rosett Wish I'd Known for Writers (Podcast Website) Episode 116 - Taking the Short Tack with Matty Dalrymple Adam Croft's Online Mini Courses (Affiliate Link) (Be sure to use "STARK" coupon code to save 50%) Superstars Writing Seminars Special link to get $100 off registration for 2021 Amazing Monster Tales: Monster Road Trip A Canadian Werewolf in New York This Time Around (Free Short Story) Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections   The 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

"Snapshot" by Brandon Sanderson and "Drawing Out The Dragons" by James A. Owen.

SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE From the doomed planet of Krypton, two parents launch a spaceship carrying their infant son to earth. Here he grows up to become Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for the Metropolis Daily Planet. But with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, he battles for truth and justice and the American Way. Alan and Craig discuss the history of the podcast, a Christopher reeve and Margot kidder tribute panel from Salt Lake FanX and one of the best superhero performances on film in “Superman The Movie” on the 100th episode of Matinee Heroes. Show Notes 1:23 Alan and Craig discuss the past 100 episodes of Matinee Heroes and what to expect for the next 100! 15:28 Discussion of "Superman: The Movie" 41:22 Recasting 48:03  Double Feature 51:08   Final Thoughts 55:17 Live from the 2018 Salt Lake FanX, Craig hosted a fan panel "Superman the Movie Turns 40: A Tribute to Christopher Reeve & Margot Kidder" with Shannon Barnson, Jacob Dietz (@ThatJakeDietz on twitter), Ben Lane Hodson (@BenLaneHodson on twitter) and James A. Owen (@CaveoPrincipia on twitter) Next week we start Matinee Musical Month with an all-time classic "Singin' in the Rain"

“We are all, each and every one, unique in the Universe. And that uniqueness is what makes us valuable.”—James A. Owen Great Escape Radio Host, Jody Maberry talks with Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen and Deputy Editor of Yankee Magazine, Ian Aldrich live from the Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in Austin, Texas. Jody poses the question, “Can anyone be a travel writer?” Ian answers with a resounding “Yes!” “The idea that magazines have their set writers and aren’t open to new writers isn’t true,” says Ian. “We’re looking for good ideas and welcome the opportunity to work with new writers.” Ian shares the story of a woman who pitched Yankee Magazine an idea for a story on the Cape Cod National Seashore. “We’ve written about Cape Cod and the National Seashore many times, but this writer pitched a story about the places her husband, a park ranger and his colleagues go when they’re hiking the area.” She had no clips, had never written for Yankee Magazine but they gave her the assignment because it was a great idea… and she made the case for why she was the one to write the story. Ian shares the importance of looking at things through your unique perspective and presenting fresh ideas from places that have been written about many times. By attending a live event like the Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop, you can gain access to editors like Ian Aldrich and learn firsthand what it takes to get published in their magazines. For more information about upcoming Great Escape Publishing events, go here: https://www.greatescapepublishing.com/events/.  Or to get started at home with their online travel writing program, visit http://www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting.

Mark chats with Dana Pharant, a business owner, a speaker, an author and the host of the Inner Dominatrix Podcast, about her new book The Inner Dominatrix Guide: Become a Badass in Business. Before the interview, Mark shares a few personal updates: Misadventures of the cat and the headset cord Experience using PublishDrive Getting Sean into indie audiobooks (and a mention that this podcast is sponsored by Findaway Voices) Mark also thanks new Patrons of the show, Joanna Penn and Ellie Ashe as well as all existing patrons who support the podcast via Patreon. In their chat, Mark and Dana discuss: The back-story and where the use of "Dominatrix" comes from (Dana spent 6 years as a Dominatrix) how principles of healing were learned through that experience which Dana has been able to apply to the concept of power, space and authority that are integral to the Inner Dominatrix The intriguing parallels between the role of Dominatrix and the role of Author Where the "Badass" attitude comes from and the energy that it can put people into The way that creative people can really shrink back when it comes to the business, marketing and promoting of their work The last thing that a person who is tied up and blind-folded wants to hear The importance of leaning into being unapologetic in one's approach The energy-based concept of "practical woo" The three main principles that Dana teaches: 1) Getting you out of the "wrongness of you" 2) Connecting with and following your intuition 3) Being willing to lose it all Her forthcoming book launch (October 15th) and the early-preview launch speaking event on Sept 26th After the interview, Mark reflects about the concept that Dana mentions of "stepping into authority" and how he believes this to be important for authors. He also talks about his friend James A. Owen, who regularly reminds authors of not downplaying the importance and value of what they do.   Links of Interest: Dana Pharant: The Dominatrix's Guide to Inner Power in Business Stark Reflections Episode 30 (previous appearance by Dana): Target Markets & Relationships Episode 77 of Dana's podcast (Dana interviews Mark about the Transition in his life) Findaway Voices PublishDrive CAPS: Canadian Association of Professional Speakers Dana's CAPS Speaker Profile Mark's CAPS Speaker Profile Stark Reflections Listener Survey Patreon for Stark Reflections Sean Costello James A Owen Superstars Writing Seminars The 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

Stark Reflections Episode 16 – Crowd-Funding and Audience Engagement with Natasha Bajema Mark interviews Natasha Bajema, a fiction author who lives in Washington, D.C. and has been an expert on national security issues for over 18 years, specializing in weapons of mass destruction (WMD), nuclear proliferation, terrorism and emerging technologies. In the introduction, Mark performs a Terrible Tongue Twister, sponsored by Findaway Voices and also goes off on a rant about how much time and energy authors waste worrying about Amazon's latest “scandal.” In the interview, Mark and Natasha discuss: Natasha's background working for the United States Department of Defence in National Security for 18 years, specializing in Weapons of Mass Destruction and how recent research into emerging technologies has inspired some of the concepts in her new trilogy The original nuclear conspiracy trilogy she had originally been working on before she followed a whim to pursue the ideas behind the novel Bionic Bug The challenge that a new writer faces when attempting to build up their audience and how Natasha faced that fear of “publishing to crickets” by engaging in crowd funding Nanowrimo and the roll it has played in her life as a writer The conversation Natasha had with Mark at the Smarter Artist Summit in Austin in the spring of 2017, and how that chat played a role in the turning point she was stuck at The Kickstarter Project that Natasha launched and her reasoning behind it The decision behind various rewards offered, including the “uber” limited edition idea Natasha was inspired about from listening to Joanna Penn's The Creative Penn podcast Where in her life as a full-time employee she finds/makes the time to write (which works out to about 10 hours per week) The book launch party at Wicked Bloom (an actual setting from a scene early in BIONIC BUG) taking place on April 18th and how she is dealing with that as an introvert Why Natasha is publishing the book, as part of a soft launch strategy, only on Kobo and the five-star reviews the book has already received there Why Natasha is going to wait much longer before releasing the books on Amazon The difficulty putting aside a huge passion project Natasha had been investing in (at least emotionally) since 2010 in order to pursue the BIONIC BUG trilogy The importance of patience and discipline in Natasha's long-term strategy as an author, and the family traits that she believes she inherited Natasha's passion with the intersection of what is technologically possible and what society will accept and adopt (such as wondering whether or not Americans will ever accept a technology like self-driving cars) The love Natasha has for the works of Michael Crichton and similar styled techno-thrillers that rely on speculation about near real-time science and technology Natasha's new podcast where she will be talking about emerging technologies similar to the things that she likes to write about and then include an excerpt from her novel as well as insights into the inspiration behind the writing of that chapter After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of the investment that Natasha made into every single decision as she gathered information for her publishing journey and the choices she made related to not looking for short-term gain, but, instead, with a focus on the long-term strategy. He reflects on how this speaks directly to advice he admires from an author friend, James A. Owen, and shares a short audio clip from James' Drawing Out The Dragons book that further illustrates this point. Mark speculates that Natasha's diligence and patience are going to lead to a greater long term success as an author and applauds her for taking this important and difficult long-term view.     Links of Interest: Natasha's website Natasha's WICKED BLOOM Podcast James A Owen's website James A Owen's Drawing Out the Dragons Findaway Voices

On site at Superstars Writing Seminars, Kobo Writing Life Director Mark Lefebvre interviews Joshua Essoe, freelance editor. In their discussion Mark and Joshua discuss: What led him to writing (the author's notes at the end of a Piers Anthony novel he had picked up at an early age) and then, more specifically, what led him into editing The role that Brandon Sanderson played, at the very first Superstars Writing Seminars in Pasadena, in launching Joshua onto the patch towards editing The editing pitch that Joshua did to David Farland, which led to Joshua editing his Award-Winning Novel Nightingale The struggle that Joshua deals with in making the time to write while having such a heavy editing workload The benefit of consultation calls between a writer and an editor when the writer is at the early stages of working on their novel The types of works that Joshua mostly works on, including the types of manuscripts he would like to see more of (horror) The process of finding an editor who is a good fit for a particular writer A look at the different types of edits that an editor can do, or that different editors specialize in The benefit to a freelance editor of working with repeat clients The most common errors that Joshua has seen that writers make (and where a good editor can help them) Reflections on the difference between American English and British English Some of Joshua's forthcoming projects including an anthology Joshua is co-creating with James A. Owen entitled Magic Makers (including stories by Terry Brooks, Piers Anthony, Peter Beagle) After the interview, Mark shares some thoughts on how an element such as a post-text authors note can serve an important part in helping a reader feel more connected with a writer.

How do you get your great ideas on the page? Let find out how the professional writers do!   Panelists: Gini Koch Joe Nassise James A. Owen Tom Leveen Bruce C. Davis   Help support the show and chat more at Patreon.com/cppn

Kobo Writing Life director Mark Lefebvre recently attended the 2015 Superstars Writing Seminars (Teaching you the business of being a writer) in Colorado Springs, CO. During the conference, he had a chance to interview several of the faculty and guest lecturers. Presented here is Mark's interview with Superstars Faculty member James A. Owen a comic book illustrator, publisher and writer who is best known for the comic book series Starchild and the The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica novels. Highlights from the discussion include: How Owen got to know Kevin J. Anderson and was first invited to be a guest instructor of Superstars Writing Seminars and that led to a permanent Faculty position The collaboration that Owen is working on with with Kevin The regular Standing Ovation that Owen's "Drawing out the Dragons" talk receives The speaking that Owen has done in Middle Grade schools, Art Schools and for Corporations Mark pauses to express the wonder he feels whenever Owen gives a talk, harking on how James is an example of one of the ultimate types of oral storyteller The mixture of storyteller and artist and how Owen self-identifies as a "Comic Guy" The manner by which the story beautifully derives from the words and pictures coming together How Owen puts the needs of others, of those he meets, those he works with, those who look to him for advice first Owen's perspective on how all of us are born into this world without prejudice, without hate, without anger; but how some can become conditioned to that. The shewing of things into a positive light is a choice James makes as a way to perceive a life in an attempt to return to the more natural state Owen's roll at Superstars in terms of a question he asks, which is "How can I serve you?" The philosophy of deciding to make things happen or allowing things to happen to you and the manner by which Owen embraces that at all turns Being in the depths of despair, and how Owen had posted publicly regarding where he had been and the demons he had been struggling with the previous year, his public posting of it and how, in the middle of it, he still had to do the "Drawing Out the Dragons" presentation on an empty gas tank Owen's belief in the attendees of the Superstars Writing Seminars and how he knew that they all had his back and would not let him down The difficulty most people have in not surfacing those personal struggles in believing that we won't be listened to and that we will be judged for our struggle.  Which is why Owen is so open about that An intriguing depression-help line discussion that Owen was involved in when he'd been struggling with his own demons A moment when a story Owen shares is so emotional that interviewer Lefebvre is overcome with emotion and is rendered speechless Advice for writers: How no writer ever wrote a great book without first having finished it. Finish it and then it can be made better Owen's next projects:  The Fool's Hollow novels (the novel versions of the stories told in Starchild) and The Hundred. Mark then discusses the importance of drawing attention to mental health issues such as depression, which can affect writers and other creative types, outlining the need to discuss these things openly in an understanding way, rather than trying to blame those who suffer from mental health issues.  He mentions online resources that might help in Canada (Healthy Minds Canada), the US (Mental Health America) and the UK (Mental Health Foundation)  

We talked to James A. Owen at Phoenix ComiCon last weekend. James is the founder and executive director of Coppervale International, an art and design studio that also published the periodicals International Studio and Argosy, develops television and film projects, and is redesigning an entire town in Arizona, among other ventures. James has written and illustrated two dozen StarChild comics, the award-winning MythWorld series of novels (published in Germany and France),  the bestselling series, The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, the inspirational nonfiction book Drawing out the Dragons, and more.  More than a million copies of his publications are in print, and are sold all over the world. James began his career in publishing approximately two years before he was old enough to get a driver’s license, and was the youngest publisher ever to be an exhibitor at the San Diego Comicon. He founded Taliesin Press in 1992, both writing and illustrating the company’s debut publication, a Dickensian comic book titled StarChild.