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Hear us Roar

Hear us Roar

By: Maggie Smith
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Summary

If you're an aspiring author and want insights into what's involved in launching a book into the world, this is the podcast for you. Debut writers discuss not only the inspiration behind their book, but also their insights into the writing process, the best advice they ever got, and the joys and sometimes pitfalls they encountered on their path to publication.Maggie Smith Art Economics Literary History & Criticism Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • 318: Faye Arcand - Author of Inside Outside
    May 14 2026
    This week we talk with Faye Arcand (Inside Outside, indie published November 2024). Learn how a best-seller psychological suspense informed Faye's debut plot, how she delved into a fourteen-year-old's brain, and how having an agent didn't work out for her. Then we discuss the importance of an author website and how having a plan for marketing makes everything smoother. And don't miss her quirky secret—it's a doozy.

    Faye Arcand is the author of the award-winning psychological suspense novel INSIDE OUTSIDE. Arcand spent several years working within the criminal justice system before travelling the world. Every experience is fodder for her twisted writer brain. She's fascinated by the quirks and perspectives life presents as she peers through the lens of deviance, mental health, fear, or anything antisocial, weird, or different. When she's not eavesdropping on a conversations or observing from afar, you'll find her studying reality TV, chatting with her golden retriever Piper, or editing her upcoming thriller, Can You See Me? She lives somewhere in the wilds of British Columbia, Canada.

    To learn more about Faye, go to https://fayearcand.com/

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    36 mins
  • 317: Stephanie Claypool - Author of A Thousand Tiny Stitches
    May 7 2026
    Our guest this week is Stephanie Claypool (A Thousand Tiny Stitches, Atmosphere Press, November 2024) Here how tips about outlining from both James Patterson and J.K. Rowling were key to Stephanie's finding a new way to approach her novel, which she wrote out in narrative form and on a spreadsheet first before drafting a word. Hear why she chose a hybrid press over a small press and how she plans to write a series centered not around her characters but around the town she invented for her debut.

    Stephanie Claypool, a native of metro New York, weaves her diverse life experiences into stories that celebrate resilience and the surprising untapped capabilities that lie within us all. From London to San Diego and Annapolis, her journey eventually led her to call Pittsburgh home, where she lives with her retired Navy husband, her father, and a menagerie of beloved pets. Beyond her writing desk, Stephanie pursues passions as varied as her travels. An enthusiast of cooking and wine, fountain pens and notebooks, and fabrics and threads, her greatest joys are the simple things in life. As Vice President of Finance for the Women's Fiction Writers Association, Stephanie is an active member of the writing community. Her debut novel, A Thousand Tiny Stitches, was published in November 2024.

    To learn more about Stephanie, go to https://stephanieclaypool.com/

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    36 mins
  • 316: Zelly Ruskin - Author of Not Yours to Keep
    Apr 30 2026
    This week we talk with Zelly Ruskin (Not Yours to Keep, She Writes Press, October 2024). We delve into the 3 unrelated parts of her past—her former career, an ex-boyfriend, and her own experiences with IVF—that coalesced into the spine of her debut novel, how she put off major surgery to finish her rough draft, and how she found her way into a male man character by reading Jane Austen. Hear her cautionary tale of sending out a manuscript too early and why she used both contests and an outside PR firm to market her book.

    In her first career, Zelly was a social worker in the adoption and foster care field. From there, she owned an online retail store specializing in hand-painted children's gifts and party favors. Along the way, Zelly volunteered and raised funds for several non-profit organizations. In an alternate universe, she is probably an event planner. But once she moved to New York City, Zelly gave in to the compulsion to write women's fiction spiced with suspense about motherhood, relationships, loss and love. Her debut novel, Not Yours to Keep, published in 2024 and her second book,, One of Us Must Die ( She Writes Press) will publish in October 2026.

    When she's not devising twisty plots, Zelly loves traveling, hiking, and is passionate about and volunteers for Brain Aneurysm Awareness. Her involvement in the cause is driven by personal experiences, including surviving an unruptured brain aneurysm, the tragic loss of a family member to a rupture, and supporting a friend in their recovery.

    To learn more about Zelly, go to https://zellyruskin.com/

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    37 mins
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