Who wudda thunk it?
OK, not good writing from someone purporting to be a writer, I get it. But I’m still wrapping my head around being the subject of a podcast! True, I offered myself up to be interviewed, but I kept expecting the host to yell, “FRAUD!” I imagined him catching me impersonating an author because I truly don’t know what I’m doing! Sssshhhh…
All of my shock and relief aside (shock that he didn’t call me out as an imposter and relief that the interview turned out so well), now it’s my job to promote the final product and hope that someone will actually listen to it.
Donnie Lansdale is a professional voice-over personality with a well-established recording studio in Arizona. His weekly podcasts (www.everydayauthors.com, search The Author’s Voice) focus on interviewing published authors about the art of writing and the challenges of publishing. He interviews 2-4 authors every month, and the diversity of his subjects is fascinating. For example, I’m a brand-new writer—my first novel will be released in August—but he also interviews authors who have published multiple times over. Sometimes books are self-published, other times they’re produced by traditional or hybrid presses. He welcomes everyone and leads his guests through unique, writer-specific questions. The conversation is comfortable and fun; I felt like we were having a cuppa on his living room couch, not Zooming across state lines.
And then—just when I thought it couldn’t get any more professional—Donnie edits the hour-long chat into a podcast-friendly 35-minute broadcast: perfect for any stationary bike or elliptical workout! He also removes the guest’s “ums” and “uuhs” so we sound clever and smooth. I wish he could follow me around in my daily life and revise my speech when I go off-track!
So, if you’re interested, my interview with Donnie is now available to listen to for FREE at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2317481/14724182
It’ll also be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Overcast.fm, and Castro.fm
Thank you for your on-going support and readership. Feel free to pass along my website info to anyone you know who might enjoy following along as we push toward August 22 when “Forks & Knives” will officially be released.
Final update: My book cover has been finalized by my publisher—see the BOOKS page on this website, and…………..I’ve been told the book will be available within a week for PRE-ORDERS! Follow me on Facebook or Instagram for a 15% promo code!
Have a great day…
Made with love by structure & heart studios
"Forks & Knives" was born as part of a long journal entry, a cathartic release. In 2003, despite being happily married to my second husband, insomnia visited me regularly. My brain pushed and pulled, working through hurtful and confusing memories that defined the rocky journey of my first marriage and its ultimate demise. The finished document sat inside my computer, unread, for seventeen years.
When I retired in 2021, I revisited the document, hesitantly. “Is this worth reworking into a novel? Would anyone care about this?” I asked my best friend, my husband Stephen, to read it. Bonus for me: He taught American literature for more than twenty-five years (!), so I knew I could trust his opinion. Happily, he confirmed, “Yes, it’s good. You should work on it.” Then he introduced me to Brian Kaufman (www.authorbriankaufman.com) and Penpointers, the Northern Colorado writer’s group that Stephen had belonged to years before I met him. Over the next year and a half, my self-focused monologue transformed into a work of fiction that would appeal to people outside my immediate circle of friends and family. At least that’s my hope.
Whenever I mention what this book is about, I'm invariably met with, "Yeah, my mom was a drinker," or "My son was sober for a while, but . . ." There are millions of stories like mine out there -- people who have loved/lived with alcoholics/addicts and struggled to hold on through the pain. But there are ways we can help and support those we love without losing ourselves. This novel alone can't help those still working through those dark days, but maybe some of the resources here can play a role.
