This time on the podcast, the Writer of the Year speech by Sue Hinkin and the Independent Writer of the Year speech by Andre Gonzalez — both delivered at last weekend’s Colorado Gold conference in Denver.  First up is Sue Hinkin and at the beginning she references the news that PAL, the Published Authors League and IPAL, the Independent Published Authors League, will merge into one group to be known as Published Authors Alliance and to be led by the aforementioned Andre Gonzalez.  Apologies for the clanking dishes and glasses but there’s not much you can do about that background noise at a banquet.  And thanks to all the organizers of Colorado Gold, who put on a terrific weekend of workshops, networking, awards, keynote addresses, and much much more. Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

Writer of the Year Speeches

Jon Marcantoni is the Local Author Coordinator at Tattered Cover as well as the founder of LCG Media, a publishing and multimedia company. He is the author of five books, including the award-winning Kings of 7th Avenue. His work has appeared in Latino Rebels, Warscapes, Across the Margin, PANK Magazine, The New Engagement, Minor Literatures, 3 AM, Label Me Latino, and he has been featured in the Huffington Post, Washington Post, El Nuevo Dia in Puerto Rico, The LA Times, and NPR's Frontera series. On the podcast, Jon talks about the system he has set up to accept independently published books at the Tattered Cover.  The Tattered Cover staff will be on hand to run the bookstore at Colorado Gold, coming up in Denver from Oct. 15 - 17.  More: https://www.tatteredcover.com/local-authors Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Jon Marcantoni & The Colorado Author Program at Tattered Cover Bookstore

Andre Gonzalez is the international bestselling author of the Wealth of Time Series. He writes time-travel, thriller, and horror books after spending many years reading and studying the works of Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Keeping readers up late and their hearts pumping a bit faster than normal is his ultimate goal when cracking open one of his books. Andre is the recipient of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers 2021 Independent Writer of the Year award. When he’s not writing, you can find Andre buried underneath a long to-do list and/or his three hyper children. He and his wife are raising their family in their hometown of Denver, CO. Stay tuned after the interview for the audio version of the first chapter from Wealth of Time. More: https://andregonzalez.net/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Andre Gonzalez, 2021 Independent Writer of the Year

Tasha Christensen believes the best love stories are found in the geekiest places. When not composing tuba closet make-out scenes, she enjoys writing music, getting way too competitive about board games, and exploring the gorgeous Rocky Mountains. Tasha lives with her husband, daughters, and an overly affectionate mutt named after her favorite Stranger Things character. As You Were, her debut novel, launched in August and on the podcast she talks about getting ready for NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month, coming up in November - and a workshop she’s leading on Sept. 25 to help other writers get ready for it.  More: https://www.tashachristensen.com/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Tasha Christensen - Debut Novel "As You Were" and Prepping for NaNoWriMo

David R. Slayton grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding fantasy novels with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he lives in Denver, Colorado and write the books he always wanted to read.  His latest novel, due out in October, is Trailer Park Trickster. NOTE!  Stay tuned after the interview for the audio book version of chapter one from his first novel, White Trash Warlock.  More: https://davidrslayton.com/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

David Slayton & Trailer Park Trickster

A conversation with RMFW president Sue Duff Loeffler about the protections being put in place for the Colorado Gold conference coming up Oct. 15 - 17 in Denver. More about the conference: https://rmfw.org/conference-2021/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

RMFW President Sue Duff Loeffler - COVID Protections for Colorado Gold

Kerry Anne King (who also writes as Kerry Schafer) is a Washington Post and Amazon charts bestselling author who writes compelling and transformational stories about family and personal growth. She loves to add in mystery, humor and an undercurrent of romance, and celebrates when she succeeds in making readers both laugh and cry. Kerry Anne has been chosen as the 2020 Writer of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Association. Her most recent novel, Everything You Are, is a finalist in the Nancy Pearl Awards hosted by the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. In addition to writing, she is enthusiastic about encouraging and supporting other writers and is the host of Tell Me Your Secrets, a videocast/podcast featuring lively, informal interviews with authors and other people involved in bringing books into the world. When not absorbed in creative pursuits, you’ll find Kerry Anne hanging out with her real life Viking on their little piece of heaven in rural northeastern Washington. Kerry's latest book, Other People's Things, comes out Sept. 21. Links to books by both Kerry Anne King and Kerry Schafer: https://allthingskerry.com/ Other People’s Things, Video Trailer and buy links: https://allthingskerry.com/buy-other-peoples-things Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Kerry Anne King - "Other People's Things" and Two Workshops at Colorado Gold

Shannon Baker is author of the Kate Fox Mystery series. Set in rural Nebraska cattle country, according to a starred review in Library Journal, "Baker’s writing evokes the beauty of the Nebraska Sandhills, and her colorful cast of secondary characters adds a depth of charm." Now a resident of Tucson, Baker spent 20 years in the Nebraska Sandhills, where cattle outnumber people by more than 50:1. Shannon is proud to have been chosen Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2014 and 2017 Writer of the Year. Baker also writes the Nora Abbott mystery series, a fast-paced mix of Hopi Indian mysticism, environmental issues, and murder. The first in the series, Height of Deception, is set in Flagstaff, AZ, where she lived for several years and worked for The Grand Canyon Trust, a hotbed of environmentalists who, usually, don’t resort to murder. It was a 2013 finalist in the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards. A lover of the great outdoors, she can be found backpacking in the Rockies, traipsing to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, skiing mountains and plains, kayaking lakes, hiking, cycling, and diving whenever she gets the chance. Having the desert for a backyard is a daily thrill, bringing javelinas, rattlesnakes, zillions of birds, and spectacular sunsets every day. Arizona sunsets notwithstanding, Baker is, and always will be, a Nebraska Husker. Go Big Red. Shannon’s website: https://shannon-baker.com/ Shannon’s amazing video trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxhkI0ODZIA Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Shannon Baker - The Kate Fox Series, Structuring a Novel, and Interviewing a Renowned Mystery Writer

Stephanie Kane  is a lawyer and award-winning author of seven crime novels. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she came to Colorado as a freshman at The University of Colorado. A second-degree black belt, she owned and ran a karate studio in Boulder. After becoming a corporate partner at a top Denver law firm, she quit to do criminal defense work. She lives in Denver with her husband and two black cats. Stephanie’s legal thrillers starring defense lawyer Jackie Flowers have won the Colorado Book Award for Mystery and two Colorado Authors League Awards for Genre Fiction. She belongs to Mystery Writers of America, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and the Colorado Authors League. Stephanie has a new mystery being published in October, Object Lessons, and a true crime story being published in 2022, True Crime Redux.   Stephanie’s story about the true crime book, and her connection to the murder it’s about, is one of the most unusual stories you’ll hear. But she also transforms what she learned into lessons for fiction writers, too.   More about Stephanie: https://www.writerkane.com/author Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Stephanie Kane - Two New Books, Two Workshops at Colorado Gold

Award winning author Claire L. Fishback lives in Morrison, Colorado with her loving husband and their pit bull mix. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, drawing, and adding to her bone collection, though she would rather be stretched out on the couch with a good book (or poking dead things with sticks).  Claire’s new book, The Gorging of Souls, publishes on Thursday, Aug. 19.  Link to Claire’s books on her website: www.clairelfishback.com/books Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Claire Fishback & The Gorging of Souls

Gail Carriger writes comedies of manners mixed with paranormal romance (and sexy urban fantasy as G. L. Carriger). Her steampunk books include the Parasol Protectorate, Custard Protocol, Supernatural Society, and Delightfully Deadly series for adults, and the Finishing School series for young adults. Gail is published in many languages and has over a dozen NYT bestsellers. She was once an archaeologist and is overly fond of shoes, octopuses, and tea. Gail is also a keynote speaker at the Colorado Gold. conference in October and is a teaching a master class about her writing guide, The Heroine's Journey.  More: https://gailcarriger.com/ Subscribe here to Gail's newsletter: The Chirrup!  Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

2021 Colorado Gold Keynote Speaker Gail Carriger

Kathleen Donnelly is a K-9 handler for Sherlock Hounds Detection Canines—a Colorado based private narcotics K-9 company. In 2015, she was the recipient of the Lisa Jackson scholarship to attend Killer Nashville. In 2017, her novel was a Killer Nashville Claymore Top 20 Finalist. In 2018, Kathleen placed second in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s Colorado Gold Contest. Her debut romantic suspense, Chasing Justice, published by Carina Press, will be released in June of 2022. She lives in Berthoud, CO with her husband and all their four-legged friends.  Follow Kathleen on Facebook: Kathleen Donnelly Mayger and Sherlock Hounds Detection Canines, LLC Instagram: kathleendonnelly20 Twitter: @KatK9writer   Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/    

Kathleen Donnelly & Chasing Justice

Novelist and writing coach John DeDakis is a former editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."  DeDakis is the author of five mystery-suspense novels. His fourth novel, Bullet in the Chamber, was the winner of Reviewers Choice, Foreword INDIES, and Feathered Quill book awards.  In his most recent novel, Fake, protagonist Lark Chadwick is a White House correspondent trying to walk the line between personal feelings and dispassionate objectivity in the era of “fake news” and #MeToo. Fake earned Honorable Mention for the Reviewers Choice Award and was a Finalist for Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Award.   DeDakis, a former White House correspondent, is a manuscript editor, and regularly teaches novel writing online and at literary centers, writers’ conferences, and bookstores around the country and abroad. He is also a jazz drummer. DeDakis will be a keynote speaker at Colorado Gold in Denver (Oct. 15 to 17) and is also teaching a master class.  More at: https://johndedakis.com/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

2021 Colorado Gold Keynote Speaker John DeDakis

Kerry Schafer writes fantasy and paranormal mysteries featuring fun supernatural chills, dark humor, and quirky characters. In addition to writing, she is enthusiastic about encouraging and supporting other writers as a mindset coach and speaker. When not absorbed in creative pursuits, you'll find Kerry hanging out with her real-life Viking on their little piece of heaven in rural northeastern Washington. She also writes bestselling family dramas as Kerry Anne King. Although Kerry continues to publish traditionally through Lake Union as Kerry Anne King, she is publishing her latest Kerry Schafer novel, "Dead Before Dinner," by herself.   You can find out more at her website at www.allthingskerry.com Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Kerry Schafer & Going Indie With "Dead Before Dinner"

Ashley Wyrick is the owner and chief editor of Status Quill, an editing firm she founded in 2015. With over seven years of experience in the traditional industry and more as a freelancer, she is passionate about culture rattling literature. Ashley is one of the master class teachers at the Colorado Gold conference in October. She’s teaching a three-hour class called “Queries: Simple, Solid, Striking.” More about Ashley's business here: http://www.statusquill.com/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Ashley Wyrick & Writing Query Letters that are "Simple, Solid, Striking"

Interviews with fiction writers, teachers, and members of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (RMFW). Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization dedicated to supporting, encouraging, and educating writers seeking publication in commercial fiction.

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Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

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