The Write Focus

6:33 / Summer Writing Challenge / Week 12 & Interview with Jeffrey James Higgins

Thriller writer Jeffrey James Higgins turns our interview into a smooth journey without any hitches in today’s episode. Located in the DC area, he helps writers with his salon, located at Elaine’s Restaurant , the literary hub of Alexandria, VA. If you’re in that area, do check out the salon.

• Jeffrey James Higgins is a retired supervisory special agent who writes thrillers, short stories, creative nonfiction, and essays. He has wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents.
• Jeffrey received the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor. Jeffrey has been interviewed by CNN, National Geographic, and The New York Times. He’s a #1 Amazon bestselling author with numerous literary awards, including the Claymore Award, PenCraft’s Best Fiction Book, and a Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal. He has been a panelist at ThrillerFest, Killer Nashville, Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity, and other conferences.
• Black Rose Writing published his first three novels, FURIOUS, UNSEEN, and THE FOREVER GAME. Severn River Publishing acquired Jeffrey's forthcoming Nathan Burke espionage series, which will launch in June 2025. Jeffrey is an active member of the Authors Guild, The Virginia
  Writers Club, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, and the Royal Writers Secret Society. Discover Jeffrey's writing at https://JeffreyJamesHiggins.com.
• The podcast for writers can be found at Inkandescent Radio http://www.inkandescentradio.com/ .

We’re winding down the last days of the Summer Writing Challenge with a Quick Tip on Cover Considerations.

Check-In # 12 and my novella is finally on the last portion of its journey, all smooth traveling now.

Let’s begin.

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 12
• 05:15 Interview with Jeffrey James Higgins
• 36:12 Check-In #12
• 37:42 Closing

Total Run Time = 38:42

LINKS

Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2025/05/633-summer-writing-challenge-week-12.html  

 

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

6:32 / Summer Writing Challenge / Week 11 & Interview with MB Dabney

Can you see Autumn yet? I’m yearning for it, my special time of the year.

Autumn is the anniversary of this podcast, starting five years ago, and my publishing journey, 10 years ago. It’s always wonderful to me. I see no signs yet, but I’m definitely looking—even though it’s much too soon.

We can be that way with our writing: rushing toward the end, especially when we juggle multiple projects—that’s the focus of our Quick Tip this week

Our interview is with Michael Dabney, a former journalist now inspired to write about a private detective in mid-1980s Philadelphia.

• MB Dabney is a retired award-winning journalist whose writing has appeared in numerous local and national publications, including Indianapolis Monthly, the Indianapolis Business Journal, Ebony magazine, and Black Enterprise.com. He has co-edited two anthologies, and has published a number of short mystery stories.
• Michael’s latest novel, A Deadly Game: A David Blaise Mystery, is a prequel to his 2021 debut novel, An Untidy Affair. The third novel in the David Blaise series is scheduled for Fall 2025 publication. The father of two adult daughters, Michael lives in Indianapolis with his wife, Angela.

The Check-In closes the episode. Let’s begin.

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 11
• 05:35 Interview with Michael Dabney
• 37:55 Check-In # 11
• 40:20 Closing

Total Run Time = 41:21

LINKS

Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2025/08/632-summer-writing-challenge-week-11.html  

 

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

6:31 / Summer Writing Challenge / Week 10 and Interview with Delia Pitts

Into August and the last month of the Summer Writing Challenge with Week 10. Our interviews will stretch two extra weeks of September.

Delia Pitts gives us a wonderful interview with fantastic information to share.

• Born and raised in Chicago, Delia Pitts graduated from Oberlin College with a Bachelor’s degree in history. After working as a journalist, she earned a Ph.D. in African history from the University of Chicago. She is a former university administrator and U.S. diplomat.
• Her contemporary noir mystery, Trouble in Queenstown, was published by Minotaur Books in 2024. It features a Black private investigator who solves tough cases in her New Jersey hometown. The second book in this series, Death of an Ex, was published on July 15, 2025 by Minotaur Books.
• Delia is also the author of the Ross Agency Mysteries, a series set in Harlem. She has published several acclaimed short stories, including “The Killer,” which was selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021. Delia is an active member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Crime Writers of Color.
• Delia and her husband live in central New Jersey and have twin sons living in Texas. To learn more about Delia and her books visit her website, deliapitts.com.

We’re thinking Cocoons in the Quick Tip ~ it’s always wise for writers to think in metaphors, don’t you think?

My Check-In is all over the place as I’m finishing the Rough and Drafting the manuscript and working on this podcast, all at once.

Let’s begin.

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 10
• 03:51 Interview with Delia Pitts
• 36:38 Check-In # 10
• 38:39 Closing

Total Run Time = 39:40

 

LINKS

Delia’s site deliapitts.com

Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2025/08/631-summer-writing-challenge-week-10.html

 

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

6:30 / Summer Writing Challenge / Week 9 & Interview with Elle Hartford

We’ve reached the end of July, two-thirds of our Summer Writing Challenge. How are you doing on your summer goal? Share your progress in the Comments.

In this week’s episode our talk is with cozy fantasy mystery writer Elle Hartford.

• Elle writes the award-winning Alchemical Tales series, a blend of cozy mystery and cozy fantasy. She has also published a spin-off series, Pomegranate Cafe Romance, and numerous short mysteries in anthologies.
• For other writers and authors looking to go “wide,” Elle is excited to offer coaching services and support. She made all the self-publishing mistakes, and you can learn from her experience! Check out her indie publishing blog at ellehartford.substack.com.
• When not writing, Elle is an active member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. As a historian and educator, she believes in the value of stories as a mirror for complicated realities. She currently lives in New Jersey with a grumpy tortoise and a three-legged cat. Find free stories and more at ellehartford.com. 

We start with a Quick Tip on creating Reader Magnets, and we conclude with our Check-In.

Let’s begin.

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 9
• 02:50 Interview with Elle Hartford
• 25:45 Check-In # 9
• 28:05 Closing

Total Run Time = 29:04

 

LINKS

Elle's website: https://ellehartford.com/

The Silver Deck Link: https://books2read.com/the-silver-deck  *The ebook is still free for new newsletter subscribers! The purchase link is for anyone interested in the special print edition.

Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2025/07/630-summer-writing-challenge-week-9.html  

 

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

6:29 / Summer Writing Challenge / Wk 8 & Interview with Paula Messina

It’s Week 8 of the Summer Writing Challenge.

Eight is symbolic of two disparate meanings: 1] almost to completion, when completion is symbolic 10, and 2] a step beyond perfection, as 7 is the perfect number.

We’re not perfect. We’re not even a step before, let alone beyond. We do try.

After a Quick Tip on the 2 Requirements for Every Story, we have our interview with writer Paula Messina. Closing, as usual, is the Check-In.

• Paula Messina grew up on the site of the Ursuline convent and school destroyed by a violent, hate-filled mob on August 11 and 12, 1834. She writes contemporary, historical, and humorous fiction and essays.
• Her work has appeared in various publications, including Black Cat Weekly, Devil’s Snare, Wolfsbane, Indelible Literary and Arts Journal, and Ovunque Siamo. She is writing a novel set in Boston’s North End during 1944. She does not own a cat.

Let’s begin.

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 8
• 04:30 Interview with Paula Messina
• 20:46 Check-In # 8
• 22:55 Closing

Total Run Time = 23:55

LINKS

Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2025/07/629-summer-writing-challenge-wk-8-and.html  

 

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

6:28 / Summer Writing Challenge / Interview with Ron Katz

Welcome to our mid-July week for the Summer Writing Challenge.

Our interview introduces Ron Katz, who brands his mysteries as The Sleuthing Silvers.

We open with a Quick Tip on Antagonists and close with a Check-In. I’m burning ahead to my goal—which is always a good place to be.

On to the episode!

• Ron Katz, a lifetime Baby Boomer, was a trial lawyer for over four decades. A Rhodes Scholar, in 2016 he was a Fellow at Stanford University’s Distinguished Careers Institute, which inspired him to start a new writing career.
• He has given a one-hour presentation, “Becoming a Mystery Writer at Age 74”, to numerous groups in person and by Zoom. For more information, visit his website https://www.thesleuthingsilvers.com 

 

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 7
• 3:30 Ron Katz’s Interview
• 18:17 Check-In # 7
• 20:18 Closing

Total Run Time = 20:52

 

LINKS

Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2025/07/628-summer-writing-challenge-interview.html  

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

6:27 / Summer Writing Challenge / Wk 6 & Interview with donalee Moulton

July 9 means we’re in the 6^th week of the Summer Writing Challenge.

Returning to us in this episode is donalee Moulton, a great writer living in one of my favorite locations, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

We open with a Quick Writing Tip on Using Twists then close with a Check-In, as usual.

donalee Moulton’s first mystery book Hung out to Die was published in 2023. A historical mystery, Conflagration!, was published in 2024. It won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). donalee has two new books coming out in 2025, Bind and Melt, the first novels in a new series, the Lotus Detective Agency.

A short story “Swan Song” was one of 21 selected for publication in Cold Canadian Crime. It was shortlisted for an Award of Excellence. Other short stories have been published in numerous anthologies and magazines. donalee’s short story “Troubled Water” was shortlisted for a 2024 Derringer Award and a 2024 Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada.

donalee is an award-winning freelance journalist. She has written articles for print and online publications across North America including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business. As well, donalee is the author of The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say and co-authored the book, Celebrity Court Cases: Trials of the Rich and Famous.

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 6
• 04:46 Interview with donalee Moulton

The Wide Set of Writing Challenges / Repeating Challenges / Challenges when Writing in Different Genres / Developing a Second Skin / Conflicting Feedback / Acquiring Objective Distance / New Releases in a Series

• 29:17 Check-In # 6
• 33:18 Closing

Total Run Time = 34:17

 

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

6:26 / Summer Writing Challenge / Week 5 & Interview with Karen Grose

Midsummer brings us to July, and we start July with an interview of Toronto writer Karen Grose.

Before the interview, we have a Quick Writing Tip: Don’t completely panic when characters take over the story. It’s then that we cede control of the story to them.

After our interview, we close with the 5^th Check-In.

We’re early days still for our writing challenge and the novella that I’ve chosen to write.

Share your successes and problems AND solutions in the Comments.

Karen Grose’s debut novel, The Dime Box, was selected by Amnesty International for its 2021 Book Club. The Chinese language version, retitled as The Lost Daughters, was published by Sharp Point Press, Taiwan, in 2023. Karen’s second and third novels are Flat Out Lies and All June Left Behind.

Karen has flash, poems and short stories in journals and anthologies, both in print and online. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters-in-Crime-Toronto and National, and the #thrillsandchills writing group. Track her down on X: @kgrose2, IG: karengrosewrites, FB or at www.karengrose.ca

 

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 5
• 03:18 Interview with Karen Grose

Her Writing / Revising based on Themes / Using Writers’ Groups / Paying it Forward / Newest Release

• 21:40 Check-In # 5
• 24:50 Closing

Total Run Time = 26:00

 

LINKS

Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2025/07/626-summer-writing-challenge-wk-5-and.html  

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

6:25 / Summer Writing Challenge / Interview with Judy Penz Sheluk

The Summer Writing Challenge enters the 4^th week of June with a slight tiptoe into July.

How is your challenge progressing? Share your goal and project, problems and solutions, and successes in the Comment Section.

Our interview this week is with Judy Penz Sheluk. As a Quick Tip, I chatter about writing a coherent story. We finish with the Check-in.

A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the bestselling author of two mystery series: The Glass Dolphin Mysteries and Marketville Mysteries. Her short crime fiction appears in several collections, including the Superior Shores Anthologies, which she also edited.

 With a passion for understanding the ins and outs of all aspects of publishing, Judy is the founder and owner of Superior Shores Press, which she established in February 2018. 

 Judy has also written two how-to guides to publishing. Finding Your Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide was the Winner of the 2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Nonfiction. Finding Your Path to Publication also won First Place in the Prescriptive/Informative Nonfiction category of the 12th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-book Awards (to be announced May 2025). The follow-up to that book, Self-publishing: The Ins & Outs of Going Indie, provides an insider’s insight into the world of self-publishing. 

 Judy is a member of International Thriller Writers, Inc., the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she served on the Board of Directors, most recently as Chair.

 She lives in Northern Ontario, Canada, with her husband, Mike, and their golden retriever, Enzo. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com. 

Here we go.

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 4
• 04:20 Interview with Judy Penz Sheluk

Challenges with health and attending Killer Nashville / Challenges with a Publishing Closing / Challenges with Self-Publishing / Writing Short Chapters / Killing the Darlings / Judy’s Newest Release

• 29:15 Check-In # 4
• 32:05 Closing

Total Run Time = 32:44

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

6:24 / Summer Writing Challenge / Week 3 & Interview with Al Sirois

Welcome to our third week of June and our third week of the Summer Writing Challenge.

How is your challenge going? Share your progress in the Comments, and hit the LIKE button whenever you enjoy an episode.

Our interview this week is with veteran writer Al Sirois, based in North Carolina although he began writing in his home state of Connecticutt.

We’ll conclude this episode with our check-in.

However, first is our third Quick Tip. We’ve started our idea, and we’ve prepped the background. Now we must consider the 3 Cornerstones of Story.

Sirois’ Bio~

I am a writer, ghostwriter, developmental editor & graphic artist. I sold my first story in 1973. I’ve appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Fantastic, Amazing Stories, and online at Electric Spec, Mystery Weekly, Every Day Fiction and Flash Fiction Online, et al. My first book was a children's book, DINOSAUR DRESS UP, from William Morrow in 1992. My story “In the Conservatory” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. I have also ghostwritten more than a dozen works of science fiction and fantasy, as well as memoirs and cozy mysteries. In June 2024, Regal House Press published MURDER IN MENNEFER, the first volume of my YA trilogy set in ancient Egypt. The second volume, IMHOTEP AND THE QUEST FOR KUSH, will be published in June of 2025. My first self-published book, BEFORE BAKER STREET, is now available from Amazon. I live in North Carolina with my wife, novelist Grace Marcus.

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip #3
• 03:40 Interview with Al Sirois

His Challenge View / Pantstering vs. Plotting / Using Life Experiences / Outlining / Juggling Projects / Freelancing since 2009 / Collaborating / Benefit of Change

• 27:55 Check-in #3
• 30:28 Closing

Total Run Time = 31:28

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)