Writing Rural Romance Part 2: Maya Linnell, Stella Quinn & Léonie Kelsall

Something a little different this week as host Pamela Cook chats to novelist and memoir writer Kathryn Abdul-Baki about her memoir Dancing into the Light, a beautiful story of growing up between two cultures and coming to grips with grief.

Kathryn was born in Washington, DC to a Palestinian father and an American mother, and grew up in Iran, Kuwait, Beirut, and Jerusalem, where she attended Arabic, British and American schools. After working as a journalist and a features writer for an English weekly newspaper in Bahrain, she turned to writing fiction. Her published works include a collection of short stories, four novels and her recently released memoir. 

Kathryn's love of dance informs her memoir, and she chats to Pam about her writing process, bringing the story to life through the use of fiction techniques, and so much more.

Sit back, grab a cuppa, pop on your walking shoes, whatever it is that you do while you listen to rights for women and enjoy this chat with Catherine. 

Episode Chapters:
(0:00:00) - Celebrating Women's Voices With Catherine Abdul-Baki
(0:07:07) - Journey to Becoming a Writer
(0:20:45) - Expat Life in Middle East
(0:34:02) - Love of Dance and Music Inherited
(0:39:46) - Unexpected Journey

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Rae Cairns hosts a compelling interview with bestselling crime author Dervla McTiernan, who shares insights on her latest book WHAT HAPPENED TO NINA?. The conversation delves into McTiernan's writing process, the evolution of her craft from her first book to her ninth, and the thematic exploration of toxic relationships and the weaponization of media in her novel. McTiernan's personal journey, including her remarkable path to publication and her battle with a brain tumour, is also highlighted, offering an inspiring look at resilience and dedication to storytelling.

Grab a cuppa, or pop on your headphones and walking shoes and enjoy!

Episode Chapters
(01:25 - 02:47) Women's Writing Circle and Retreat Information
(07:36 - 09:06) Recognizing the Reality of Domestic Violence
(15:49 - 16:48) Character vs. Story in Writing
(18:58 - 19:51) Writing Process and Inner Voices
(27:48 - 28:43) Leveraging Social Media for Writers
(30:44 - 31:49) Contrasting Books and Building Empathy
(44:34 - 45:33) Escape Through Engaging Fiction
(52:27 - 53:43) Discovering Crime as a Genre
(56:21 - 57:25) Collaboration Between Author and Narrator
(01:08:18 - 01:03:41) Navigating Writing With Kindness and Authenticity

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Rae Cairns

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This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women on unceded Dharawal land.

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Dr Amy T. Matthews is an award-winning author, an Associate Professor in Creative Writing at Flinders University, and the co-host of the podcasts Word Docs and Love on Campus. Her most recent release, Someone Else's Bucket List, a P.S. I Love You for the digital age, is about an outgoing social media influencer who leaves crippling medical debt behind after her tragically young death from leukemia, and her final wish is for her introverted younger sister to take over her accounts and complete her bucket list while her millions of fans follow along. Perfect for fans of Josie Silver and Rebecca Serle, Amy T. Matthews’ wryly funny, bittersweet new novel puts a uniquely poignant, achingly uplifting twist on life after loss, dreams that can come true—and how a strong sister bond can be timeless.

Amy also writes under the pen name Amy Barry and has had huge success with her western romances. She also previously wrote historical romances under the name Tess LeSue.

Amy lives in Adelaide with a collection of beloved people both real and imagined, and in this episode she chats to guest host Rachael Johns about her new release, writing process and her love of the romance genre.

Grab a cuppa, pop on your headphones and enjoy this chat between two best selling romance authors.

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Rachael Johns

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Kylie Orr is an Australian author of dark and twisty contemporary fiction. Her debut novel, Someone Else's Child was published in 2022 to industry and reader acclaim.  Her new novel, The Eleventh Floor, is a page turning read about a sleep deprived first time mum and a crime she wishes she didn't witness.

In this episode Pam chats to Kylie about her experience of writing 'the second novel', pushing the 'make things worse' mantra to the limit and the importance of determination in pushing through rejections. It's a jam packed episode with an intro on Pam's experience in writing in a new point of view and new genre, and the importance of understanding your character's wants and needs.

Grab a cuppa, pop on your head phones and enjoy this chat with Kylie Orr.

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Ever wondered what it would be like to have the same name as a famous literary character?

Pam chats to best-selling Australian author Rachael Johns about her new release The Other Bridget, a fabulous contemporary romance which draws inspiration from one of the all time great rom coms, The Diary of Bridget Jones by Helen Fielding.

Rachael shares where the original idea for the story came from, how she developed a large cast of characters, the enemies to lovers trope and all ab out her librarian protagonist's love of books. She also discusses what she's learnt about writing and publishing and why she's such a passionate supporter of the romance genre.

Grab a cuppa, pop on your headphones and enjoy this fun chat with Rachael.

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Welcome to Season 5 of Writes4Women!

In this captivating episode of Writes4Women, we sit down with acclaimed author Hannah Richell to dive into her writing journey, the challenges she's faced, and her change of direction as she takes on the psychological thriller genre in her new release The Search Party.

Hannah opens up about overcoming writer's block, the profound influence of setting in her stories, and the joy of rediscovering her passion for writing. Additionally, she discusses the impactful Richell Prize for emerging writers, sharing valuable insights and encouragement for aspiring authors. Join us for a heartfelt exploration of creativity, resilience, and the power of storytelling.

Hannah Richell’s latest novel THE SEARCH PARTY is out now!

Join Pam and Hannah on the Writes4Women Convo Couch for this fabulous chat to kick off Season 5.

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This episode produced by Pamela Cook for Writes4Women and recorded on unceded Dharawal land.

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us for a fascinating year-end discussion as we sit down with some of our favourite guest authors from 2023 who share their writing highlights, challenges and some delightful book recommendations to snuggle up with this holiday season. We celebrate 25,000 downloads of the podcast and look back on the year that was.

We believe that the best gift we can give our readers this Christmas is the love of reading, so here's to a year filled with writing, challenges, triumphs, and of course great books. Let's make a toast to the stories that make us who we are and the ones yet to be written.

Grab a cuppa - or your favourite Christmas bevvy - and join us as we celebrate the 2023 writing and podcasting year.

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Penelope Janu

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Joanna Nell

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Rachael Johns

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Maya Linell

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Jo Riccioni

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Mary Lou Stephens

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This episode produced by Pamela Cook on unceded Dharwal country.

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In this episode of Writes4Women, guest host Laura Boon facilitates a detailed conversation with debut crime author Lynne Johnson about her experience writing The Bait Trap.

Lynne writes crime with feeling, that deals with gritty social issues, like addiction. The Bait Trap draws on her own struggles with alcoholism. Lynne's characters are richly layered and her narrative delves deeply into issues around alcoholism and recovery. Lynne discusses her writing process, research methods, and the importance of resilience, determination, and diligence in getting published.

Before turning to writing full-time, Lynne was a copyright lawyer for over three decades. She now works with alcoholics and addicts in correctional facilities in Sydney and regional NSW, facilitating 12-Step meetings and taking men and women through the 12 Steps. Lynne lives in the Southern Highlands on Gundungurra and Tharawal Land, with her husband and many animals who lack boundaries. Lynne has degrees in arts, law, corporate governance and risk management.

Join Laura and Lynne on the Writes4Women Convo Couch for this insightful look into writing emotionally charged fiction that will keep readers turning the page.

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This episode produced by Pamela Cook on unceded Dharawal country.

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Nancy Cunningham is a writer from Adelaide, South Australia, who has always loved storytelling in all its forms. Novels, short stories, TV, movies, video games, songs and poetry have all inspired her to write stories in genres from historical to romance to crime and science fiction to short literary fiction.  But 20th  century historical fiction is where her writing heart really lies, especially stories involving stoic heroines of the past overcoming adversity. 

 Nancy's debut, Crossing the Bridge, has been a winner and finalist in several awards, including the prestigious Valerie Parve Award, the West Houston Emily's,  was long listed for the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Award in 2020 and the Sapphire in 2021. 

In 2020 it won the CYA All Stars Conference, unpublished adult manuscript prize,  and it's going to be out on the 1st of January. In this episode Pam chats to Nancy about her path to publication, the important roles mentors have played in developing her writing skills, entering competitions, contributing to anthologies and her debut novel.

Grab a cuppa or put on your walking shoes and enjoy this chat with Nancy Cunningham.

SHOWNOTES:

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This episode produced by Pamela Cook for Writes4Women and recorded on unceded Dharawal land.

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true

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Camille Booker is an award-winning author and creative writing teacher at the university of Wollongong. Her debut novel, What if You Fly?, a World War II historical fiction, was published by Hawkeye Publishing in 2021. It was long listed for the 2019 Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, and was runner up in the 2020 Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize. In 2022, Camille  completed the Curtis Brown Creative Six Month Novel Writing course. During which she wrote her second historical fiction novel, The Woman in the Waves. It was shortlisted for numerous prizes and won the 2023 Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize, and is going to be published by Hawkeye in 2024.  

Camille is a great example of a writer who continues to improve her craft and put herself out there, and looks for opportunities to get her books in front of publishers and readers. This is a great chat about Camille's path to publication, writing process and her determination to improve her craft.

Grab a cuppa or pop on your headphones and enjoy this episode with Camille Booker.

SHOWNOTES:

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Camille Booker

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Pamela Cook

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This episode produced by Pamela Cook for Writes4Women and recorded on unceded Dharawal land.

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.