Whether you sketch out your characters and know everything about them before you begin writing or learn about your characters as you write, it's important that they be compelling and individualistic. Prolific crime writer Vicki Delany joins us for Episode 70 to discuss things we can do to ensure that the casts of characters with tell our stories through are interesting and help us achieve our story goals.

Vicki Delany's website: http://vickidelany.com/
Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/
J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com

We all carry with us the wounds and trauma and scars that are, along with the good things we've experienced, integral to the people we've become. The same is true for your characters. While their story begins with the first words you put on the page, their backstory precedes your novel . Janet S. Fox joins us to talk about how to use your characters' backstories to develop and shape them into the person your readers experience.

Janet S. Fox's website: https://janetsfox.com/
Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/
J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com

You work really hard to make sure you suspense and mystery novels have enough twists and turns to keep your reader guessing about how things will turn out. Samantha Skal joins us this week to talk about things you need to do to make sure you have twists that work, and don't fall into traps.

Samantha Skal's website: https://www.samanthaskal.com/
Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/
J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com

Kyla Zhao wrote her debut novel, The Fraud Squad (link), with no expectations and no pressure. But as it came out with media attention and fanfare, she was writing her second novel in the midst of promoting the first and had to learn to juggle the dueling responsibilities of introducing one novel to the world while writing the next, Valley Verified (link).

Kyla also talks about how the pandemic lockdown in 2020 directly resulted in her authoring her first book, and how she manages her author career alongside a burgeoning job in the tech industry.

Kyla Zhao's website: https://kylazhao.com/
Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/
J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com

For Episode 66, intellectual property lawyer Jodé Millman joins us to talk about what legal right we have for the written works we create. She helps distinguish between copyright and trademark laws, and what kinds of works fall under each category. She also takes about steps you can take to protect your work.

Jodé Millman's website: https://jodemillman.com/
Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/
J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

Lynne Golodner is a Jewish woman telling Jewish stories. She focuses her marketing efforts and community building on reaching Jewish readers. She is not excluding anyone, but she knows who her core audience is. She knows who will most closely identify with the books she is writing. And she is using her energy and efforts to draw in the people most likely to support her work.

Lynne Golodner's website: https://lynnegolodner.com/
Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/
J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

Author Yasmin Angoe joins us for an inspiring conversation about perseverance and purpose. J. W. Judge's high school football coach referred to perseverance as stick-to-it-tiveness, a quality that all writers need to cultivate. Of equal (or possibly greater) importance is knowing why you are endeavoring to do your creative work. Listen to this refreshing conversation, and walk away with encouragement to keep carrying on with your creative work.

Yasmin Angoe's website: https://yasminangoe.com/
Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/
J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

For Episode 63, Kimberly G. Giarratano joins us to talk about writing mystery novels in a four-act structure. Giarratano gives insights into using Scrivener to set up your story templates and even gives ideas to panters/non-plotters/discovery writers about applying structure after drafting to make sure your novel has the appropriate pacing and hits the right plot points.

Kimberly G. Giarratano's website: https://www.kimberlyggiarratano.com/
Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com
J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/