My guest on the convo couch today for this Business of Writing episode is Annie Seaton. Annie is an award-winning Australian author, and her inspiration comes from the beauty of the Australian landscape that she sees around her on her many and varied travels. In 2016 Annie's novel Kakadu Sunset was shortlisted for the RWA Ruby awards, and in 2018, Whitsunday Dawn was voted book of the year in the AusRom Today Reader's Choice Awards. You can guess from the titles of these books that they are firmly rooted in the landscape, but they also have enthralling characters and riveting plots that will keep you turning the page. Annie's love of travel is clear in the settings for her romance novels, which will take you far and wide to swoon worthy destinations, and even across time.  Annie has written many books in series format, as well as stand-alones and she's managed to straddle the traditional and indie divide to become a successful hybrid author. She has a mind-boggling writing schedule and also a business in editing and graphic design. Annie  also has a release coming out very soon, Osprey Reef, which we're going to get to talk to her about as well. So sit back, grab a cuppa and join Annie and Pam on The Convo Couch.   SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Annie Seaton Website: click here Instagram: click here Facebook: click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.         Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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October Business of Writing: Annie Seaton, Being A Hybrid Author

Welcome to a very special craft of writing episode of Writes4Women featuring Sarah Winman talking about the writing of her new novel, Still Life. Before turning her hand to writing Sarah was an actress. She worked in theatre in her twenties and early thirties, but by 1992, she'd decided that she wanted to write a novel. Her highly acclaimed debut novel When God was a Rabbit, is a story about childhood eccentricity, loss, and love.  It was an international bestseller and won Sarah multiple awards, including New Writer of the Year in the Galaxy National Book Awards and the Newton First Book Award. Sarah's second novel A Year of Marvellous Ways is about the relationship between 89 year old Marvellous, who lives alone in a remote Cornish Creek and Drake, a young soldier left reeling by the second world war it's about their relationship. It was a Sunday times Top 10 best seller. Sarah's third book was Tinman, published in March, 2017 explores the triangular relationship of Ellis and Michael who've been inseparable since boyhood, and Annie who walks into their lives and changes nothing and everything.  Sarah's new novel, Still Life was published by 4th Estate in June this year. It's a heartwarming story of friendship, found family truth and beauty, set over a forty year period from 1944 and is largely set in Florence. In this episode Sarah talks about the inspiration for the novel, her writing process and the importance of trusting your creative impulses and instincts.   SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Sarah Winman Instagram: click here Facebook: click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October Craft of Writing: Trust Your Instincts with Sarah Winman

Today's episode is a combined Heart of Writing and New Release episode. My guest on the Convo Couch is Ann Shin. Ann lives in Toronto with two daughters and her partner and she's a documentary and filmmaker as well as an author. Her documentary, My Enemy, My Brother was shortlisted for a 2016 Academy Award and nominated for an Emmy. Her previous documentary, The Defector: Escape from North Korea won multiple awards for Best Documentary and Best Documentary Director and was made in conjunction with the writing of her novel, The Last Exiles. The Defector: Escape from North Korea is a heart in your mouth documentary in which Ann plays an active part. The Last Exiles is set in a part of the world many of us know nothing about. It's a portrait of a young couple in North Korea and their fight for love and freedom. Inspired by real stories of incredible bravery, it's a stunning debut about love, sacrifice and the price of liberty. Join Ann and Pam on The Convo Couch to find out more about the film, the book and what's at the heart of Ann's writing.     SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Ann Shin Website: click here Instagram: click here Facebook: click here Twitter: click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heart of Writing: The Last Exiles with Ann Shin

Today's episode is a Craft of Writing episode with Angela Ackerman, co-author of eight best-selling resource books printed in eight different languages through which she shares her passion for the writing craft. If you are a writer, you may have heard of Angela's first book, The Emotion Thesaurus, a tool which helps writers show emotions through body language and internal reactions.  The desire to help writers in new and innovative ways led to a website called one stop for writers. It's a unique site originally co-founded with Becca Puglisi and Lee Powell, the creator of Scrivener for windows, and Lena Lennox. This creative portal contains game-changing tools and resources that enable writers to craft powerful fiction. As any writer knows, conflict is the engine of fiction and Angela has a wealth of information on how we can use it to power up our writing. Angela also takes us on a tour of the onstopforwriters.com website which has a myriad of resources authors can use to create compelling characters and page-turning plots. Join Pam and Angela on The Convo Couch as they talk all about conflict.   SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Resources Find more about the book here. Sign up for a notification here. See the master list of conflict scenario entries here. One Stop for Writers: https://onestopforwriters.com/ Writers Helping Writers: https://writershelpingwriters.net/   Find Angela on: Instagram: click here Facebook: click here Twitter: click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Craft of Writing: The Conflict Thesaurus with Angela Ackerman

Welcome to a very special episode of Writes4Women. Last week I had the pleasure of recording this episode with Dani Vee, Claudine Tinellis, Ashley Kalagian Blunt and Allison Tait. Those of you who love to listen to writing and reading podcasts might recognize some of those names.  We were getting together to celebrate the 400th episode of the Words and Nerds podcast produced and hosted by Dani Vee. It was really such a pleasure to be able to celebrate this occasion with Dani. She's a prolific podcaster, a fabulous author, reader, and promoter of Australian writing.  Dani chose to release this episode on the anniversary week of her very, very special podcast. She also very kindly offered for us to release the episode on our own feeds, and I thought this would be a great opportunity for you to hear from myself and the other podcasters on why we do what we do, and how we do it.   Congrats to Dani! I hope you enjoy the episode.     SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   Danni Vee https://www.wordsandnerds.com/   Claudine Tinellis https://www.claudinetinellis.com/podcas   Ashley Kalagian Blunt https://ashleykalagianblunt.com/2020/06/02/launching-how-to-be-australian/ https://jamesandashley.libsyn.com/   Allison Tait https://allisontait.com/ https://allisontait.com/podcast-so-you-want-to-be-a-writer/   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women and Danni Vee for Words And Nerds           Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Podcasters Special: Celebrating 400 Episodes of Words and Nerds with Dani Vee

Welcome to another episode of Writes4Women. This one is a New Release/Business of writing episode with Jodi Gibson.  Jodi is an author of contemporary women's fiction, or as she likes to call it, fiction with all the feels. Her debut novel was The Memories We Hide, independently published in August, 2019. Her next novel, The Five Year Plan is a lighter women's fiction title and combines travel, food and romance. Jodi is a graduate of Fiona Macintosh's master class from 2017, and has worked as a freelancer in copy editing. She's an avid baker, a skill and passion evident in her latest book and an active member of the Australian writing committee. She's a return guest to the show because she's taken a different direction, not only in the style of writing that she's now doing, but also in the way that it's being published. The Five Year Plan is contemporary women’s fiction novel with a touch of humour and a lot of heart. It will appeal to readers who want to be whisked away from their day to day life and immersed in a feel-good story of food, travel, and romance. It's a fabulous story set in Bari, Italy with characters you'll be cheering for and a setting that will have you booking your next holiday. Pam chats to Jodi about the book, her author brand and the business of marketing.  SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Jodi Gibson Website: click here Instagram: click  here Facebook: click here Twitter: click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Release/Business of Writing: The Five Year Plan with Jodi Gibson

Today's episode is the September Heart of Writing episode. And my guest is Terri Connellan. Terri is a certified life coach, author, and accredited psychological type practitioner. She has a Master of Arts in language and literacy, and a successful 30 year career as a teacher and leader in adult vocational education. Terri's coaching and writing focus on creativity, personality, and self-leadership, especially for women in transition to a life with deeper purpose. She works with women globally through her creative business, Quiet Writing, encouraging deep self-understanding of body-of-work, creativity and psychological type for more wholehearted and fulfilling life. Terri supports women in writing and publishing their whole hearted stories and her new book, Wholehearted: Self-leadership for Women in Transition, is out now Join Pam and Terri on The Convo Couch as they chat about this whole community Terri is building around this idea of being wholehearted.   SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Terri Conellan Website: click here Instagram: click here Facebook: click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September Heart of Writing Episode: Living Wholeheartedly with Terri Connellan

Welcome to another episode of Writes4Women. This one is a mashup between a Heart of Writing, Craft of Writing and New Release episode featuring debut author, Hannah Bent.  Hannah's book,  When Things Are Alive They Hum has recently been released  to great critical acclaim. Hannah was born and raised in Hong Kong. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art Film and Photography at Central St. Martin's School of Art and Design in London. She undertook post-graduate study in both directing and screenwriting at the Australian Film and Television and Radio School, and has a Master's in Creative Writing from the University of Technology in Sydney. In 2013 Hannah was the recipient of the Ray Koppe Young Writers award which included a residency at Varuna, where she worked on the manuscript for When things Are Alive They Hum. She is one of the first authors to be published by a brand new publishing house set up in Sydney last year, Ultimate Press. When things Are Alive They Hum is both heart wrenching and heart warming, a beautifully written novel which draws heavily on autobiographical elements of Hannah's life and her relationship with her sister Camilla, who has Down Syndrome.  Pam chats to Hannah about the inspiration for the book, her writing process and her experiences as a debut author. SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Hannah Bent Website: click here Instagram: click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Hannah Bent Wrote a Love Letter to her Sister

In this Craft of Writing episode Pam chats to  Emily Maguire on characterisation in her latest novel Love Objects. Emily is the author of six novels, including the Stella Prize and Miles Franklin shortlisted An Isolated Incident and three non-fiction books. Emily's articles and essays on sex, feminism, culture and literature have been published widely, including in the Sydney Morning HeraldThe Australian,The Observer and The Age. Emily works as a teacher and mentor to young and emerging writers, and is 2018-19  was Writer in Residence at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, where she undertook much of the research she did for Love Objects. The Saturday Paper says this of the characterisation in Love Objects: One of the most compelling elements of this accomplished book is Maguire's ability to completely inhabit a character. There's so much great advice in this episode on how to inhabit your character's skin. Grab a cuppa and join Pam and Emily on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.   SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Emily Maguire Website: click here  Instagram: click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Characters Inside and Out with Emily Maguire

Welcome to the August New Release Feature Author episode Mary-Lou Stephens has worked as an actor, singer, radio presenter, and music director in both commercial radio and at the ABC here in Australia. Now Mary works as a novelist. The Last of the Apple Blossom was published by Harper Collins, just a couple of weeks ago.  Young schoolteacher Catherine Turner rushes to the Huon Valley to find her family's apple orchard destroyed, her childhood home in ruins and her brother dead. Despite her father's declaration that a woman will never run the orchard, Catherine resolves to rebuild the family business. After five sons, Catherine's friend and neighbour, Annie Pearson, is overjoyed by the birth of a much longed for daughter. As Annie and her husband Dave work to repair the damage to their orchard, Dave's friend Mark pitches in, despite the fact that Annie wants him gone. Mark has moved his family to the valley to escape his life in Melbourne, but his wife has disappeared leaving chaos in her wake and their young son Charlie in Mark's care. Catherine becomes fond of Charlie, whose strange upbringing has left him shy and withdrawn. However, the growing friendship between Mark and Catherine not only scandalises the small community but threatens a secret Annie is desperate to keep hidden. Through natural disasters, personal calamities and the devastating collapse of the apple industry, Catherine, Annie and those they love battle to save their livelihoods, their families and their secrets. Mary-Lou is a fabulous supporter of Writes4Women and now a debut author guest. SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Mary Lou Stephens Website: click here Instagram: click here Facebook: click here Twitter:  click here       Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August New Release Feature Author: Mary Lou Stephens, The Last of the Apple Blossom

Welcome to the August Business of Writing edition.  Today's guest is Alka Joshi,  author of The Henna Artist and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. Born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, in India, Alka has lived in the U S since the age of nine. She spent many years working in advertising and marketing copy after being encouraged by her husband to try writing fiction. Alka took evening workshops before enrolling in an MFA program in creative writing at the age of 51. The Henna Artistt, Alka's debut novel published by Mira books, a division of Harper Collins right ot the beginning of the Covid 19 outbreak. Alka followed this release with The Secret Keeper... and she's now working on the third book in the trilogy. In just over 12 months Alka has amassed 15,000 followers on Instagram. Her posts are colorful and animated, like her book covers, and feature video interviews with fellow authors. They're  posts that make you want to click and find out more, just as her books make you want to keep reading. Join Alka and Pam on the Convo Couch as they discuss Alka's books, of course, and  the world of author branding, social media, and in particular, Instagram.   SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Alka Joshi Website: click here Instagram: click here Facebook: click here Twitter:  click here       Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ther Business of Writing: Alka Joshi on Author Branding and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur

Welcome to the August Heart of Writing Episode. Karyn Sepulveda is an author, podcast producer and creator of short, guided meditations. Through writing about characters triumphing over adversity, interviewing women about their strengths and designing meditations that help the listener tap into their own creativity, Karyn hopes to spread compassion and connection. In this episode Karyn joins Pam on The Convo Couch to discuss creativity, meditation and her new release the Women’s Circle, published by Ventura Press. Grab a cuppa and sit back and enjoy! SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Karyn Sepulveda Website: click here Instagram: click here Facebook: click here Karyn's guided meditations click here     Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finding Joy in Creativity with Karyn Sepulveda

Christine Wells writes historical fiction featuring strong, fascinating women. As a child, she never considered a career as an author because authors were 'magical beings', not flesh and blood mortals like her. Instead, Christine went into law, specialising in corporate mergers and acquisitions. She might still be a lawyer if she hadn't accepted a challenge from a friend to try her hand at writing a novel. The minute she began to weave that story, she fell in love with writing. Christine has gone on to publish 14 novels about periods ranging from Georgian England to post-world war two France including The Wife's Tale, The Traitor's Girl, The Juliet Code and now Sisters of the Resistance, She has sold over 180,000 books worldwide, and her books have been translated variously into German, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Brazilian Portuguese. Sisters of the Resistance is published by Harper Collins. In this episode Pam chats to Christine about the new book, her writing process and tips for writing a best-selling novel.   SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Christine Wells Website: click here Instagram: click here Twitter: click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July New Release Feature Author, Christine Wells, Sisters of the Resistance

A Naidoc Week special... Award-winning first nations author Claire G. Coleman chats to Kel Butler about writing speculative fiction and how writing about the future can help us understand the past and the present. Claire also talks about where she draws her inspiration from, her writing process, the shock of having such a successful debut novel, Terra Nullius, and the different reception she received for novel number two, The Old Lie. Grab a cuppa, sit back and enjoy this special rewind episode.   SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Clair G Coleman Website: click here Instagram: click here Twitter: click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.       Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Naidoc Week Rewind: Claire G. Coleman on Writing the Future to Understand the Past

Writes4Women is all about celebrating women's voices and supporting women's rights. It’s about writing the voice, reading the voice and being the voice. It's where women are invited to take up as much space as they want and we do! Every week co-hosts author, Pamela Cook and podcaster, Kel Butler interview an outstanding female, trans or non-binary author about their books, process and life. Pam and Kel follow the interview with a chat, focusing on a thread from the interview and exploring it all a little further.

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