Dear Writer

Cathryn DeVries is an author based in the Gold Coast, Australia. Collaboratively with her daughter, Cathryn writes epic romantic fantasy. While she and her daughter have yet to embark on their publishing journey, Cathryn is looking forward to this challenge in the near future, and has recently had success with winning the Stuart and Shadow Short Story Prize. Outside of her writing life, Cathryn studied aeronautical engineering and worked in the air force for several years. Now, she is a homeschooling mum to her four children and works a side business of alpha reading, to provide other writers with concrete and actionable feedback on their manuscripts. Her many hobbies also include sewing, cooking, and playing the cello and piano. If you would like to get in touch with Cathryn about her books or alpha reading service, she is available on her website, https://eclectaperennial.com, or @_eclecta_perennial on Instagram, and Eclecta Perennial on Facebook.

This week, we discuss our experiences using social media to market our books. We talk about the platforms we use, why we chose those specific platforms, and give you our overall takeaways from the strategies we have used so far.

Shan Iyer is an author based in Auckland, New Zealand. He writes in several different genres. In non fiction, Shan explores the subject of sociology, while his fiction works include Arabian Science Fantasy and Dystopian Science Fiction. Shan is interested in the ‘what-if’s’— whether that be opening people’s minds to their current world, or examining future possibilities. Outside of his writing life, Shan channels his creativity through music, playing for a Synth Metal band as a guitarist, lyricist, and a keyboardist-in-training. To find more about Shan or purchase his books, go to https://shaniyer.com

This week we continue our discussion about writing romance. We chat about how to make romantic scenes believable and how to tackle romance in YA novels. We also share some of our experiences writing romance clichés and some of the challenges we have when writing romance/romantic scenes.

Sue Carpenter is a writer based in Auckland, New Zealand. Sue writes within a number of different genres, including YA, junior fiction, children’s fiction and she also dabbles in poetry. Sue has received a number of awards. These include: first place in the IWW Short Story competition in Sci-fi/fantasy with her story ‘Blood Protectors’; highly commended in kidslit with her story 'Lavendar Hill'; and 2nd in long fiction under her thriller penname Lee Simpson's 'Switches'. In 2023 she was a runner up in XYZ children's poetry, and in 2022 she was runner up in the National Poetry Day, Poetry at the beach and New Leaf Christmas competition. Outside of her writing life, Sue enjoys spending time at the beach, with her toes in the sand and her thoughts in the clouds.

This week we talk all things romance. We chat about how to decide whether to include romance in your novels, how romance can enhance your characters and plot, and what we think makes a good romance.

On our author spotlight section this month we welcomed Jade du Preez. Jade is a lawyer and author based in Auckland, New Zealand. She won the New Zealand Writers College Short Story Competition in 2013 and the Same Same But Different Short Fiction Contest in 2016. She recently launched her debut novel, 'Outsider' - a story of art, identity, secret diaries and legal anomalies set in Japan and New Zealand.

This week we continue our discussion about editing. We talk about whether or not to pay for proofreading, how we do our developmental edits, and share our tips for editing better (and smarter).

This week in our author spotlight we were pleased to welcome AK Nevermore. AK is an author based in New York. She writes in a number of different genres, including Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Paranormal Erotica. Outside of her writing life, AK is a Jane-of-all-trades. As a home-schooling stay-at-home mom, her primary job is looking after her kids. However, AK is also a certified chef, restores antiques and dabbles in beekeeping. Her resume includes belonging to the Authors Guild, being an RWA Chapter board member, and volunteering for numerous committees. AK’s goals are to write amazing books, and to inspire her kids and others that, just because you hear “no”, you don’t have to listen.

This week we discuss editing (I know it sounds boring but I promise it's not). We go through the three major types of editing, and give you a window into our process to help make it as painless as possible. Also, apologies in advance for the mic issues!

This fortnight we welcomed Jennifer Safrey to the show. Jennifer is a romance author based in Massachusetts. Before her life as an author, Jennifer was a copy editor at the Boston Herald. While she reflects positively on the experience, she needed a way to decompress from hearing about many real-life, tragic stories, and turned to reading. After her work day had ended, she would often be found reading romance fiction until the early hours of the morning. Eventually, Jennifer began writing romance, hoping to provide readers with a blissful escape and a happy ending. Jennifer’s books feature smart, savvy, accomplished heroines, and heroes you love to love.

This week we celebrate the release of our NEW NOVEL The Price of Pandemonium! We give you some exclusive excerpts and introduce you to our cast of characters. We also treat you to a (hilarious) reading from our first draft of The Price of Pandemonium that was written when we were teenagers!

This week, we continue our discussion about starting your writing journey. We chat about social media, when to publish your first book, and we share some of the mistakes we've made and the lessons we've learned so far.

This week, we give you part one of our guide for new authors! We talk about how we got started writing, the reasons why you might decide to start writing, and how to figure out what to write. We also discuss how start writing your first book and how get over your first bout of writers block.

This week we welcomed D.T. Powell onto the show. D.T. is a Christian writer of fantasy and science fiction, who is based in South Carolina. Since an early age she has been a keen reader, and when she was 9 years old God sent a fictional character into her life which led her on a journey of self-discovery, and to ultimately pick up her pen and begin writing. Her hobbies include hanging out with her husband and their three kitties, reading, playing pickleball, listening to music, and imagining scenes to use in future books.

This week, we talk about how to find and hone your author voice. We then delve into the intricacies of character voice and why it is important to find distinct voices to tell your story.

This week we welcomed Perrie Patterson to the author spotlight. While Perrie's five published novels feature romance as the primary genre, she also crosses into other categories within her writing, including historical fiction, young adult, and new adult genres. In her day-to-day life, Perrie and her husband, Jeff, have raised two grown children. Although they have flown the nest, Perrie keeps herself busy. She is a keen volunteer of a number of different societies and groups in her community, and is the host of The Talking Atlanta Podcast. Perrie’s goals are to write intriguing stories—the type of story you can’t put down, ones which seem to take on a life of their own, with stories that crawl off the pages and into your heart.

This episode of Dear Writer, Sarah tackles the topic of the author's writing style and voice, with part one focussing primarily on the author style. With Ashley absent due to illness, Sarah flies solo and attempts to discuss what writing style is and why it is important, the development of our own personal styles, and tips to discover or hone your unique writing style.

This fortnight we welcomed Paulette Stout to our author spotlight segment. Paulette is a contemporary women’s fiction author based in Massachusetts. Paulette was raised by a single dad in Manhattan, in a biracial/interfaith family, and she weaves this experience into her books. Her writing features diverse characters with the backdrop of New York City. Through her novels, Paulette includes a range of social issues that she feels are too often ignored by society. Paulette believes that fiction is a fantastic way to explore the lives and experiences of those different than ourselves.

This week, we continue our discussion about writing action scenes. We chat about the importance of pacing your action scenes, why action scenes are critical to character development, how to balance dialogue with action, and we give you our tips for writing compelling action sequences.