First Cup of Coffee – August 12, 2025

I’m going to WorldCon this week and will have copies of Never the Roses with me! Also: baby authors, midlist authors, writing full-time, ups and downs of the industry, and trying to coattail success.



First Cup of Coffee – November 25, 2024

On Yog’s Law – that money must flow to the creator – and why paying a company to publish your books is a terrible idea. Also, why your creativity will beat “AI” and how you can make a living as a creator.



First Cup of Coffee – September 2, 2024

The role of luck/serendipity in publishing success, how it’s not who you know, but how you can know people. Also, the problems at NaNoWriMo, and why I believe being a writer and the process of writing is more important than having generated a book.



First Cup of Coffee – July 3, 2023

Creativity and vacations/holidays, moving from writing as a hobby to a career, taking your mental health seriously, maintaining writing productivity, meeting deadlines, and methods for aggressively filling the well.



First Cup of Coffee – June 30, 2023

Tough love talk on how our families and the people who love us most can be the biggest obstacles to getting that writing time. Related: wants and needs, the difference between them and how other people try to tell what ours are.



First Cup of Coffee – June 26, 2023

How I’m getting better at balance, increasing my wordcount, getting business done, and having more time to relax! Also, using AI “tools” as a writer and examining the whole point of being a creative in the first place.



First Cup of Coffee – February 6, 2023

About the evolution of recognizing oneself as a writer, claiming the name, and other steps newbies can take to move from the furtive phase of writing to feeling confident in that skin. Also, it’s FaRoFeb!



First Cup of Coffee – November 11, 2022

I’m back to regular (mostly) podcasting, catching you all up on my activities, talking a bit about voice – how to recognize it and what it means – and asking for input on this midwinter holiday fantasy romance novella.



First Cup of Coffee – October 7, 2022

Some straight talk about group anthologies: what works, what doesn’t, why doing it for that USAT Bestseller badge isn’t worth it, and something I didn’t know before. Also, the perils of survivorship bias and how to transcend it.