Kobo Writing Life Podcast

In this episode, we welcomed PA and author assistant Jessica Rampersad, who joined us in talking about all things marketing, publicity, social media management, content creation, and more –all with indie authors as the focus! Jessica shared some insights into her work as an author assistance and offered some great tips and tricks for indie authors looking to expand their social media reach. We also discussed Jessica's journey to her author-focused career, learned more about alpha and beta reading, learned more about the services Jessica offers to indie authors, heard some great advice regarding content creation, and got into how authors can collaborate better with bookish social media presences! We were so happy to have Jessica join us on the show and can't wait to see her at the next indie author conference the KWL team attends! Visit Jessica's website to learn more.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, we were joined by USA Today and internationally best-selling author Grace Callaway, whose historical romances are steamy, exciting, and rife with mystery and intrigue. We had such a great conversation with her about writing historical romance that we're excited to share it again! In this episode, we sat down with Grace Callaway, USA Today and international best-selling author of historical romances (that are often on the steamier side, with lots of mystery and adventure). Grace's latest, Glory and the Master of Shadows, is the fourth in her series, Lady Charlotte's Society of Angels, which is, in Grace's own words, "a Victorian-era Charlie's Angels"! We were so excited to speak to Grace about Glory and the Master of Shadows (and its gorgeous cover), her other books, her journey to writing, advice on research for historical romances, and more! This is a great episode for writers and readers of historical romance, and anyone who is looking for some excellent advice on writing stories that contain many elements all at once. Thank you, Grace, for sharing your expertise! To learn more, visit Grace's website and check out Grace's books on Kobo.

In this episode, we are joined by Eliana Ramage, debut author of To the Moon and Back – a Reese's Book Club pick for 2025. To the Moon and Back is a "dazzlingly powerful story of family, ambition and belonging" wherein "one young woman's obsessive quest to become the first Cherokee astronaut irrevocably alters the fates of the people she loves most." We were so excited to have Eliana on the show to talk about her spectacular debut novel. We talked about Eliana's love of coming-of-age stories, her journey to becoming a writer, her collaborative process with her editors across the globe, the importance of research and honouring historical fact, representing character growth in a story that spans many years, the representation of Indigenous peoples in literature, Eliana's writing process, and much more! We just know you don't want to miss this amazing episode, so be sure to listen in! To learn more, visit Eliana's website.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, we were joined by USA Today best-selling author Talia Hibbert, who has written over 15 romance novels, many of which have been opted for film and television. Talia joined us on this episode to discuss her Kobo Originals novel, a holiday romance between featuring two childhood best friends and lots of holiday mishaps. Best-selling and award-winning author Talia Hibbert joins us on the podcast this week to discuss her career, her writing process, and her newest Kobo Original, Wrapped Up in You. Talia writes sexy, diverse romance and she talks about how indie publishing is more accessible for diverse authors. We also discuss how she works from initial story idea to the finished novel and where she thinks indie publishing is going next. Learn more on Talia's website and be sure to check out Talia's books on Kobo.

In this episode, we are joined by Johnny B. Truant, author of the acclaimed Fat Vampire series (which was adapted as Reginald the Vampire for the SyFy channel), the indie writer's guide Write. Publish. Repeat, and more. Johnny shares invaluable advice as we discuss his latest non-fiction title, The Artisan Author, his career, and much more. Johnny first featured on the KWL podcast back in both 2013 and 2018, which speaks to how long he has been active in the indie publishing industry! We were excited to have Johnny join us for a third time to discuss his experience in self-publishing, his advice for aspiring indie authors, and his tips for making smart business decisions. Once you're done this episode, don't forget to check out our other episodes with Johnny: Publishing Wide with Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant Mark Lefebvre in conversation with Johnny B. Truant And be sure to check out Johnny's website and browse his books on Kobo as well!

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, we were joined by best-selling author Nalini Singh, who writes in multiple genres, from romance to thrillers. This discussion focused on her experiences becoming a hybrid author, writing thrillers after a long romance-writing career, and much more. New York Times best-selling author Nalini Singh joins us on the podcast this week to talk about her long standing career as a romance author and why she decided to try her hand at writing thrillers. Nalini chats to us about her publishing journey, why she decided to give indie publishing a try and become a hybrid author, and she tells us what it was like to be included on Oprah's list of Best Romances to Read in this Lifetime. Learn more on Nalini's website and check out Nalini's books on Kobo.

In this episode, we are joined by best-selling romance author Jennifer Probst, whose book The Marriage Bargain spent 26 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. She is the author of over 50 books, the most recent being The Reluctant Flirt, available now. Jennifer has a storied career as an businesswoman, author, speaker, and writing coach, and we were thrilled to have her join us on the show in all of her fabulousness to share some invaluable advice. We spoke to Jennifer about her career as an author, her new releases, how to find joy in your writing, how to grow your reading and writing community, how she plots her books as a lifelong pantser, and much more! Be sure to visit Jennifer's website and check out Jennifer's books on Kobo.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, we spoke to prolific indie author Dale Mayer, who has written dozes of books over the years of her successful career. We talk to her all about how dictating her books helps her write more, misconceptions about overnight success in indie publishing, how to find your own success as an indie author, and much more. Dale Mayer, USA Today bestselling author, gives advice to listeners on how to develop a long and successful career in indie publishing. She also explains how dictating her books helped her become one of KWL's most prolific authors. Be sure to visit Dale's website and check out Dale's books on Kobo.

In this episode, we were joined by USA Today best-selling author Iris Bolling, who has been self-publishing her works for the last seventeen years! Iris is the author of multiple series, including many best-selling romantic suspense series. Iris was also the producer and writer behind The Heart, a TV series that spanned for two seasons, based off her books. Further, she was the executive producer and screenwriter for Deadly Sexy, a film based on the work of Beverly Jenkins. Iris has won multiple awards for her writing and continues to expand her horizons with more film production projects. We get into how Iris’s writing career began, Iris’s love of learning, how she creates opportunities for herself (and for others), how she plots her books and develops her characters, producing her first audiobook, writing for film and television, and much more! We had a great time talking to Iris and learned a lot from her storied career. Learn more on Iris’s website and check out Iris’s books on Kobo!

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, we spoke to USA Today best-selling author of many a mystery book, Sara Rosett! Sara shared some great tips with us when it came to plotting mystery novels, marketing long-running series books (a challenge many mystery authors face), and more. Sara Rosett, USA Today bestselling author, gives her tips for plotting mystery novels, discusses the psychology of why readers choose cozy mysteries, and explains the challenges that come with marketing a long-standing series. Learn more on Sara's website and check out Sara's books on Kobo.

In this episode, we are joined by romance writer Melissa Williams, the author behind Kobo Originals’ newest hockey romance series, The Toronto Nighthawks. The second book in the series, Damsel in Defense, is available now exclusively with Kobo Originals. It was great to hear all about the process of writing a sports romance inspired by Melissa’s love of hockey and interest in exploring the complexities of fame, mental health, and more. We spoke to Melissa about she got her start as a romance author, learned more about her Kobo Originals series, heard about the ways in which the indie author community helped her growth as a writer, how she researched for her books, and much more! Don’t miss out on this energetic and insightful conversation. For more, follow Melissa on Instagram and check out the Toronto Nighthawks series on Kobo.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, we spoke to best-selling Scottish author Skye MacKinnon, whose many books are inspired by folklore and mythology, no matter the genre. We had a great conversation about incorporating elements of myth and folktales in fiction, co-writing with other authors, and much more. Skye MacKinnon is an international bestselling author who writes across multiple genres, from science fiction to fantasy to paranormal romance and even children’s books. Skye joins us on the podcast this week to discuss writing in different genres and how she manages to incorporate her love of Scottish folklore and mythology into her work, no matter what she’s writing. She also talks about her experience co-writing series with authors she admires, and why she decided to go wide. Learn more on Skye's website and check out Skye's books on Kobo.

In this episode, we are joined by Canadian editor and writer Amanda Lewis, whose non-fiction book Tracking Giants chronicles her journey trying to visit every “champion” tree in her home province of British Columbia. Tracking Giants soon turns into an exploration of creativity on the way, and the book includes reflections on being a writer and a creative overall. Amanda’s perspectives on writing and editing as both an author and editor are invaluable, and we were so excited to host her on the show. We spoke to Amanda about her career as an editor, how indie authors can build successful relationships with their editors, heard some advice on editing specifically for self-published authors, learn more about the process behind writing Tracking Giants, how to tackle constructive criticism as an author, and more! To learn more, visit Amanda's website.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, we spoke to writer and director of the Alliance of Independet Authors, Orna Ross! Orna joined us to talk about having a global approach to book sales, making business desicions that can expand your writing career, and much more. Novelist, poet, and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors Orna Ross joins us on the podcast this week to discuss taking a global approach to your indie publishing business. Orna talks about what business decisions authors should consider and how to get into the right mindset before going global, and she gives us some great advice for new and veteran authors alike. To learn more, visit Orna's website.

In this episode, we are joined by best-selling romance author Lexi Blake! Lexi is the author of over 100 books and has been in the indie author and self-publishing space for well over a decade now. As a result, she has lots of advice to share to her fellow indie authors in this episode. Lexi’s popular books include the Masters and Mercenaries series, the Park Avenue Promise series, and more. Here latest, Spy With Me, is book five in the Masters and Mercenaries: New Recruits series. We were honoured to have Lexi on the show as our guest and delighted to hear some great advice from her. We talked about Lexi’s history in indie publishing, the challenges she’s faced as an indie author, and get some insight into her publishing and promotional strategies. We also got to hear some great advice for indie authors at all stages of their career! Don’t miss this opportunity to listen and learn from an expert like Lexi. Visit Lexi’s website to learn more and check out Lexi’s books on Kobo.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. This episode featuring Brenna Aubrey is all about translations and how to find success in a foreign language market. Brenna had great advice about being a globally conscious author, translation rights, and more! Breakout star in France, Italy and Germany, Brenna Aubrey gives listeners tips on translations. She advises on how to decide if translations are right for you, how much money an author should budget for translations, picking which market to target and selecting which backlist titles to translate. Brenna also discusses how she fell into her niche (writing “geek romance”) and why ultimately, she decided on self-publishing rather than traditional publishing. To learn more, visit Brenna's website.

In this episode, we are joined by Canadian author Noreen Nanja, whose debut romance novel, The Summers Between Us, was published this year via Penguin Random House. The Summers Between Us is a dual timeline second-chance romance set in Canadian cottage country and is the perfect read for these late summer days—or anytime of year! We had a wonderful time reading this novel (and chatting with Noreen, of course) about all things writing, editing, and developing your debut novel. Noreen spoke to us about how she got her start as an author, her experience being an author’s mentee, writing a dual timeline romance, working with an editor, and much more! Learn more on Noreen’s website and grab a copy of The Summers Between Us on Kobo!

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. Today, we're bringing you a recording of a live Q&A event with Maria Fesz, team lead of collection development at OverDrive! This Q&A is full of great information on how to get your books onto those (digital) library shelves. In this episode, we spoke to Maria Fesz, who is team lead of collection development at OverDrive. Kobo and OverDrive are companies with a combined passion for readers and reading and by working together, we have developed a way to make it easy for KWL authors to opt their titles directly into OverDrive’s library marketplace. This conversation consisted of great conversation and plenty of helpful information, including: Check out OverDrive's website to learn more.

In this episode, we were joined by USA Today and New York Times best-selling historical romance author, Erica Ridley! Erica is a full-time author who publishes through both traditional publishers alongside her own self-published books. Erica has written dozens of books across multiple series and in many different sub-genres, with some of her best-sellers include the Dukes of War series, the Rogues to Riches series, and many more. We talked to Erica about how she went from working in advertising to being a full-time writer, her experience as a hybrid author, what genres she likes to write in and why, researching for her historical novels, her marketing strategies and how she uses her newsletter, her YA novel debut, and much more! We had a great time talking to Erica and she has lots of amazing advice to share in this episode. For more information, visit Erica's website and check out her books on Kobo.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. Today, we're bringing you a great conversation about writing dark romance with best-selling author Autumn Jones Lake. We loved chatting to Autumn about all things motorcycle romance and the misconceptions about being an author writing in this sub-genre! USA Today bestselling author,Autumn Jones Lake explains the misconceptions associated with motorcycle romance, how she plots her Lost Kings MC series (fifteen books and counting!) and shares her tips for aspiring romance writers. In this episode: Learn more on Autumn's website and check out her books on Kobo.