Writes4Women Podcast

This week's episode is a solo ep featuring Writes4Women Host Pamela Cook answering listener questions on writing and publishing.

After putting a call out on social media Pam had a long list of questions to kick off the Q&A. With 23 years as a writer and 10 years as a published author, Pam has a wealth of  experience to share with other writers 

In this week's episode she answers questions on author branding, writing across genres, the importance of professional edits for indie publications, dealing with fear and overwhelm, writing process, word counts and ways to tap into your creativity.

There's more to come in future episodes but for now, grab a cuppa and pop on your headphones to find out Pam's answers to the questions of the day.

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A special On The Convo Couch episode featuring Guest Host Rachael Johns chatting to NYT best selling author Patti Callahan Henry.

Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times, Globe and Mail, and USA Today bestselling author of seventeen novels, including her newest, The Secret Book of Flora Lea. 

​She is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly online Friends and Fiction live web show and podcast. Patti also was a contributor to the monthly life lesson essay column for Parade Magazine.

​Her newest novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, is set outside Oxford in the hamlet of Binsey and was released May 2, 2023, with Simon & Schuster Atria and is available now. 

Rachael is the best selling author of eighteen plus books and a regular guest host at Writes4Women.

Grab a cuppa and join Rachael and Patti for this fun chat on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Guest host Cassie Hamer chats to Sydney based author Sandie Docker about her latest release The Red Gum River Retreat and the writing life.

Sandie writes about love, loss, family and small country towns. Her debut novel, The Kookaburra Creek Café, was released in 2018, The Cottage at Rosella Cove in 2019, The Banksia Bay Beach Shack in 202O, The Wattle Island Book Club in 2021 and her latest book, The Redgum River Retreat, was released in March, 2023. 

Cassie Hamer is the author of three Women's Fiction titles and a regular guest host on Writes4Women. Cassie's most recent novel is The Truth About Faking It., following on from the huge success of her first two releases After the Party and The End of Cuthbert Close.

In this episode Cassie chats to Sandie about the inspiration for ...Red Gum River, the characters and themes of the book, her writing process, tips for aspiring authors and her role as Director of the Northern Beaches Reader's Festival.

It's a great chat between two very accomplished authors so grab a cuppa and join Cassie and Sandie on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Guest host Rachael Johns chats to West Australian author Anthea Hodgson about her new release The War Nurses.

Rachael is a regular guest host on Writes4Women, and a best selling author of more than 18 rural romance and women's fiction titles, her most recent being The Work Wives.

Anthea’s first novel, The Drifter, was published in 2016, followed by The Cowgirl in 20018. Her recent release, The War Nurses, brings the story of the 65 nurses of the Vyner Brooke, and the victims of the Bangka Island Massacre to a broader audience. She was inspired to honour her great aunt Minnie Hodgson, who died in the massacre, along with all the amazing nurses who were bombed, imprisoned, beaten and starved during WW2, and who survived, with great dignity, courage, strength and love.

This is a fun chat between two accomplished writers which both readers and writers will love.

Grab a cuppa and join Rachael and Andrea on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Amie Kaufman is a New York Times, USA Today and internationally best selling author of science fiction and fantasy. Her multi-award winning work has been translated into over thirty languages and several of her series are currently in development for film and television. Amie lives in Melbourne and is host of the podcast Amie Kaufman on Writing. Her upcoming release is the first of a series featuring magic, romance and the clash of slumbering Gods.

Jo Riccioni is a novelist and short story writer. Her latest fantasy series, The Branded Season, is published by Pantera Press, with the first book, The Branded, out in October 2022. Its conclusion, The Rising, will be released in 2023. Jo works from her shed on Garigal land in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. When not losing herself in imaginary worlds, she teaches creative writing and sex education, but not at the same time.

In this chat Amie chats about her path to publication, the authors and books that inspired her, her writing process, self care for writers and her upcoming release The Isles of the Gods.

Grab a cuppa and settle in for Jo Riccioni and Amie Kaufman on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Guest host Meredith Jaffé chats to fiction author Emilia Hart about her debut release, Weyward.

Weaving together the stories of three women across five centuries, Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Meredith chats to Emelia about the writing of the novel, developing the themes of misogyny and female power, writing during lockdown, the power of landscape in her writing and being a graduate of the Curtis Brown Creative three month online novel writing course.

Grab a cuppa and join Meredith and Emilia on The Convo Couch.

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Thriller author Rae Cairns joins host Pamela Cook to talk about the writing of her second novel Dying To Know.

Regular listeners to the podcast will remember Rae as a Writes4Women Emerging Author from the early days of the podcast, and more recently as a guest host.

Rae writes Crime with Heart – thrillers featuring everyday people facing extraordinary circumstances. Her debut novel The Good Mother was published by Harper Collins in 2022 and Dying To Know is receiving rave reviews from early readers.

It's a standalone Sydney-based thriller and centres around a woman's determination to uncover what happened to her missing sister. In this chat Rae shares some of the amazing research that has gone into the book, the inspiration for her protagonist Geneva Leighton, her writing process and her entry into the world of traditional crime writing.

So grab a cuppa, sit back and join Rae and Pam on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Debut fiction author Dianne Yarwood joins guest host Cassie Hamer on The Convo Couch to talk about Diane's novel The Wakes.

The Wakes is a bittersweet and irresistibly readable novel that perfectly blends laugh-aloud humour with poignant reflections on life and death and what really matters. It's s a book about living, drawing on Dianne's near-death experience and it's imbued with her lifelong passion for story-telling.

Dianne is a Sydney based author who took up writing after a long illness that almost claimed her life. She is currently working on her second novel.

Cassie Hamer is the author of three women's fictions titles: After the Party, The End of Cuthbert Close and The Truth About Faking It. Cassie is a regular host on Writes4Women and has a new book hitting the shelves in 2024.

Grab a cuppa and join Cassie and Dianne on the Convo Couch as they chat about writing fiction from life - and death- experience.

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Guest host, best selling historical fiction author Victoria Purnam chats to literary legend Jackie French about her new release Becoming Mrs Mulberry.

Victoria is an Australian top ten and USA Today bestselling fiction author. She is a regular guest at writers festivals, a mentor and workshop presenter across Australia, and her new book A Woman's Work is out in April 2023.

Jackie French AM is an Australian author, historian,  ecologist  and honourary wombat (part time), 2014-2015 Australian Children' Laureate and 2015 Senior Australian of the Year. Some of Jackie’s books have sold millions of copies and won over 60 awards in Australia and internationally. Others were eaten by the wombats. Jackie writes for adults, young adults, and even younger humans, on history, ecology, and she is patron of literacy programmes across Australia. Her new release Becoming Mrs Mulberry, is about the secrets we carry, those that we unearth - and those that are too dangerous to tell.

This is such a fabulous chat between two accomplished historical fiction authors with so much gold for both readers and writers.

Grab a cuppa and join Victoria and Jackie on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Join Pam on the Writes4Women Convo Couch as she chats to three authors who feature in It’s All Connected, an anthology of Feminist Fiction and Poetry published by Spinifex Press

Spinifex Press was established in March 1991 by Susan Hawthorne and Renate Klein. Over 30 years later and with well over 200 titles in print and most available as eBooks, Spinifex Press continues to produce award-winning, innovative and controversial feminist books.

Lizz Murphy, Angela Costi and Susan Midalia chat about being part of the Spinifex tribe, getting your work into anthologies, their individual writing processes and so much more - including the issue of ageism when it comes to women writers.

And as a bonus each of these talented writers shares a brief excerpt from their anthology pieces.

Check out the show notes to find out where you can find out more about Spinifex Press, grab a copy of this fabulous anthology and connect with Lizz, Susan and Angela.

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Thriller author and guest host Rae Cairns chats to debut author Kerryn Mayne about her new release Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder

Kerryn is an author, former wedding photographer, current police officer and terrible (but enthusiastic) tennis player. When not at work attempting to solve crime, she is writing about it or preparing an endless stream of snacks for her four children. Kerryn lives in the bayside suburbs of Melbourne with her husband, children and a highly suspect lovebird. She only owns 11 copies of The Hobbit (for now).

Rae Cairns writes crime with heart: thrillers featuring everyday people facing extraordinary circumstances. Her debut novel The Good Mother was shortlisted for Best Debut Crime Fiction in the 2021 Ned Kelly Awards and longlisted for the 2021 Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards. Dying to Know, Rae’s second novel, is a standalone Sydney based thriller and centres around a woman’s determination to uncover what happened to her missing sister. 

Kerryn shares the inspiration for Lenny Marks, her path to publication and more as she and Rae chat on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Best-selling author and doctor Joanna Nell, author of four novels published by Hachette, chats to award winning short story writer and doctor Fiona Robertson about the craft of short story writing.

Brisbane based writer Fiona Robertson's debut release, a short story collection titled If You Are Happy, was published in 2022 by University of Queensland Press to greater acclaim. The collection won the Glendower Award in the 202o Queensland Literary Awards, was shortlisted for the Steele Rudd Award in the 2022 Queensland Literary Awards as well as the 2018 Richell Prize. Fiona's short fiction has been published in numerous literary magazines and anthologies and shortlisted for international competitions. 

Joanna's debut was The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village, published in 2018, and her latest release is The Tea Ladies of St.Jude's Hospital. 

This is a fascinating chat between two extremely accomplished writers which also touches on their dual careers as doctors.

Grab your favourite beverage and join Joanna and Fiona on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Terri Green writes historical fiction - amongst other genres - and joins Pam on The Convo Couch to talk about her long and winding path to publication, her recent releases and the value of being in a writing group.

In 2022, Terri released the first two novels in the Sisters of the Sword Series, The Sword Master's Daughter, and An Unsuitable Pursuit. Both are set in the early 17th century, filled with feisty women, men in tights, and plenty of swordplay. There's also a dash of romance, generous lashings of intrigue, and a whole lot of girl power going on There will be a third instalment very soon.

Terri, is a long-term member of the same writing group as Pam, now called The Inkwell. When she's not writing or doing things to other people's bodies (in a purely professional way, of course) you might find her fencing, hula hooping, playing with her gorgeous dog, Mabel, or perhaps riding her electric scooter.

Grabn a cuppa and join Pam and Terri on The Convo Couch

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Guest host Meredith Jaffé chats to Kylie Ladd about her new novel I'll Leave You With This.

Kyle is the author of seven novels, a psychologist and freelance writer.

Her novels have been published in Australia and overseas, and The Way Back, has been optioned for film.

She has also co-edited and co-authored two non-fiction books, and her essays and articles have been published in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Griffith Review, Meanjin, O Magazine, Good Medicine, Kill Your Darlings and Reader's Digest, amongst others.

Kylie holds a PhD in neuropsychology and lives in Melbourne with her husband and two children.

Meredith Jaffé is the author of four novels for adults— The Tricky Art of Forgiveness (2022), The Dressmakers of Yarrandarrah Prison (2021), The Making of Christina (2017) and The Fence (2016.) Her bestselling novel, The Dressmakers of Yarrandarrah Prison, was voted in the 2021 Booktopia Favourite Australian Book Award Top 50 and the 2022 Better Reading Top 100. She also writes for children.

She regularly facilitates at writers’ festivals and other author events. Previously, she wrote the weekly literary column for the online women’s magazine The Hoopla. Her feature articles, reviews, and opinion pieces have also appeared in the Guardian Australia, The Huffington Post, and Mamamia.

Grab your favourite beverage and join Meredith and Kylie on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Guest host Mary-Lou Stephens, chats to debut thriller author Jo Dixon about her new release The House of Now and Then.

Over ten years ago, Jo moved from suburban Brisbane to rural Tasmania. Since then, she's been wrangling an ever-growing collection of animals, bringing up two sons, and attempting to transform blackberry-infested paddocks into beautiful gardens. Now, she also writes full-time, creating twisty, suspenseful stories that feature flawed characters who've made mistakes, but who turn out to be stronger than they think.

Jo writes stories full of imperfect characters dealing with unsettling situations, and making fatal mistakes. There is intrigue and mystery, the moodiness and underlying threat of the wild environment, and provocative twists and turns.

The House of Now and Then is her debut novel with HQ Harper Collins Australia. She is now working on her second book.

Jo writes stories full of imperfect characters dealing with unsettling situations, and making fatal mistakes. There is intrigue and mystery, the moodiness and underlying threat of the wild environment, and provocative twists and turns.

Mary-Lou Stephens was is a born and bred Tasmanian. Previously an actor, singer and radio host, she received great reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (Pan Macmillan, 2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband. Her debut novel, The Last of the Apple Blossom, was published by HarperCollins (Harlequin HQ) in 2021. Her next novel will be released in February 2024.

Grab a cuppa and join Mary-Lou and Jo on the Writes4Women Convo Couch

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In this week’s episode Pam chats to Australian author and writing mentor Lisa Ireland.

Lisa has published novels across various genres, she has established herself as a thoughtful, nuanced voice in modern historical fiction and women’s fiction.

Lisa is a passionate community builder and enjoys supporting organisations that advocate for human rights and the arts—twin passions she explores in her latest novel, The One and Only Dolly Jamieson

She lives with her husband in a small town in Gippsland, Victoria. When not writing, she spends her time mentoring aspiring authors, drinking coffee, and playing minion to her incredibly spoiled dog, Lulu.

Pam and Lisa chat about the inspiration for Dolly, Lisa’s writing process, writing dual timeline narratives and the importance of not giving up.

Grab your favourite beverage and join Pam and Lisa on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Welcome to Season 4 of Writes4Women!

Today's guest really needs no introduction. New York Times best-selling author Natasha Lester has been a guest on the podcast numerous times and today she's back to discuss how she created tension in her recent release The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre.

After writing and publishing seven historical fiction titles Natasha is an expert at creating tension through plot, character and structure along with those smaller on the page details. Alix St Pierre is dual timeline historical fiction set in post-war and war-time France and is an amazing page turner. 

If you're a writer you'll pick up some fabulous writing tips from Natasha in this episode and if you're a reader you'll get a brilliant insight into a best-selling author's writing process.

Grab your favourite beverage and join Pam and Natasha on the Writes4Women Convo Couch.

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Pam celebrates 10 years of being a published author this month with a special edition of the podcast where she shares 10 important lessons gleaned from her time in the publishing industry. There may be a few bonus tips as well!

From prioritising the writing, to dealing with rejection, finding your writing tribe and everything in between, there's plenty of foo for thought for aspiring and emerging authors, and a few things that might be helpful for established authors too.

This is the final episode for 2022 so a huge thank you to everyone who has listened to the podcast, watched the videos, left reviews, shared episodes on socials and supported W4W on Patreon.

Wishing you all a joyful Christmas, plenty of downtime to catch up on reading - and podcasts - and looking forward to seeing you for more great writing chats in 2023.

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