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EP 378 - Multimedia Storytelling with Dominician Gennari

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Release Date: 09/06/2024

EP 382 - From Page to Platform: How to Succeed as an Author Speaker

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

EP 381 - Showcasing Independent Bookstores, Publishers, And Authors with Andrew Snook

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Andrew Snook about his writing and editing work as well as Canadian Independent Publishers magazine, which is celebrating its first anniversary. Prior to the interview Mark welcomes new Patrons, shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor This episode is sponsored by FROM PAGE TO PLATFORM by Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn. You can learn more about the book at . In their conversation, Mark and Andrew talk about: Celebrating the first year of publishing Canadian Independent Author Andrew's first ventures self-publishing...

EP 380 - Passion Project Publishing with Brianna Wodabek

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Brianna Wodabek, Assistant Manager of Digital Marketing at HarperCollins about her lifelong love of reading, books, and writing, and her evolution in the book industry. Prior to the interview Mark welcomes new Patrons, shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor This episode is sponsored by FROM PAGE TO PLATFORM by Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn. You can learn more about the book at . In their conversation, Mark and Brianna talk about: How Brianna always loved reading and writing, but also knew that she wasn't...

EP 379 - Simplifying Your Life & Work with Dre Baldwin

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Dre Baldwin the CEO and Founder of Work On Your Game Inc. about his books and his experience helping others in finding their own paths to success. Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor This episode is sponsored by FROM PAGE TO PLATFORM by Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn. You can learn more about the book at . During the interview, Mark and Dre talk about: The importance of the simplification process as a great place to begin The 80/20 rule and the less-than-smooth ways we have of not...

EP 378 - Multimedia Storytelling with Dominician Gennari

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Dominician Gennari, a writer, storyteller, composer, and musician about his multimedia book and novella opus, The War for Ascension. Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, a word from this episode's sponsor, as well as a word about a previous episode sponsor. NEWS: Please note that the Feb/March 2025 Writers Retreat at Sea from Cruising Writers has been cancelled. During their conversation Mark and Dominician talk about: How Dominician's creative and artistic voice started with music at about the age of 13/14 Discovering...

EP 377 - Pivoting Your Publishing Dreams with Denise Massar

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Denise Massar, a writer, an adoptee, and a mom via birth and adoption about her new memoir MATCHED and the ten-year journey she took getting it published. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from a recent episode, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by . During their conversation Mark and Denise talk about: How Denise had been "big five or die" when it originally came to her publishing dream and how and why that changed over the years Some of the feedback that Denise's agent got back on submission of her memoir in...

EP 376 - Dianne Scott on Writing Historical Mysteries

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews bestselling and award-winning author Dianne Scott about her Christine Lane Mystery series which is set on Toronto Island in the 1960s. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from a recent newsletter he sent out asking writers to share their thoughts on the collective noun for a group of editors, a personal update (including the launch of his new ), and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by . During their conversation Mark and Dianne talk about: How, after writing a creative writing piece in University that was supposed to be a research...

EP 375 - One Hand Kickstarting

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark shares some behind-the-scenes insights and helpful tips offered to him for his forthcoming Kickstarter. He also loses it briefly after discovering that 40 minutes of in depth and detailed recording was lost due to a tech issue with Audacity crashing. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, welcomes a new patron, and introduces a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by . Mark's Kickstarter, coming very soon, is for the 20th Anniversary edition of his book One Hand Screaming. Links of Interest: (Preview link as of Aug...

EP 374 - WMG Publishing Editor Round Table

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this episode Mark has a round-table discussion with the seven other editors in the August 2024 WMG Publishing Anthology Workshop. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by . The WMG Publishing Anthology workshops help authors see behind-the-scenes on how editors compile and select stories for anthologies. This in-depth and in-person experience involves a panel of editors (for August 2024 it was a panel of 8 editors) debating the merits of stories written by the attending authors. In this round-table discussion, Mark chats with...

EP 373 - Musings on Getting a Masters and Getting Married

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this solo episode, Mark reflects and muses on the past couple of weeks where we got his Masters in Creative Writing with a concentration on Publishing (July 26th in Gunnison, CO) and got married to his partner Liz (July 29th in New York City, NY). Prior to the interview, Mark thanks Patrons and Buy Me A Coffee buddies, welcomes new patron Jo-Ann Carson, shares comments from recent episode, and announces the winner of the mindset coaching session with Thorn Coyle. Links of Interest: Use coupon STARK20 to get 20% off The...

More Episodes

Mark interviews Dominician Gennari, a writer, storyteller, composer, and musician about his multimedia book and novella opus, The War for Ascension.

Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, a word from this episode's sponsor, as well as a word about a previous episode sponsor.

One Hand Screaming: 20 Haunting Years - Kickstarter

NEWS: Please note that the Feb/March 2025 Writers Retreat at Sea from Cruising Writers has been cancelled.

During their conversation Mark and Dominician talk about:

How Dominician's creative and artistic voice started with music at about the age of 13/14
Discovering Tolkien about six or seven years later
How, when writing, Dominician was imagining the accompanying soundtrack and the way the process became inseparable
Learning from one of the most incredible music teachers
Dominician's Italian heritage and how his family would gather in the kitchen and, while cooking together, would sing works like the music from Madame Butterfly and other classical sources
How that learning is layered and added in to the other styles and genres of music that Dominician composes and plays
The way that Richard Wagner would compose music with the elaborate use of leitmotifs (musical phrases associated with individual characters, places, ideas, or plot elements)
Dominician picking ten of the key moments in his story to hit really hard with his own compositions
The various members of the local musical community who participated in the recording
About the 2nd track, "Light of the Hydroverse"
Advice that David Farland, a mentor who worked with Dominician, offered in relation to this project
Being told by Dave Farland that Dominician reminded him of Gene Wolfe
Unpacking numerous languages in order to re-package them into the original language he created for this universe
The Kenorian greeting in the language Dominician invented which says "may serenity follow you"
Working with producers on a script adaptation of The War for Ascension but coming to irreconcilable differences that resulted in an end to that project
How Dominician connected with Dave Farland via a course he took online from Writers of the Future
Turning down what could have been millions of dollars on that cancelled Hollywood project
How people can get ahold of the accompanying soundtrack
The process that Dominician uses when writing the stories and composing the music
What's next for Dominician
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the idea of creating in the kitchen and the power of that type of collaboration, as well as the integrity to say no to a huge opportunity if it crosses the line of what is deemed as acceptible.

Links of Interest:

Dominician Gennari grew up in the rough western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in the 80's after his migrant parents fled war-torn Europe after WW2. As a young child, he would fantasise about imaginary creatures living in his backyard and he would dream of magical worlds.

As the years unfolded, Dominician's creative spirit flourished, giving birth to his mythical world, Númaria. This world, meticulously crafted, boasts a rich history and a complex ecosystem, providing the perfect backdrop for the vast timeline of his unfolding story called The War for Ascension.

Submerging himself in the fields of forbidden archaeology, esoteric wisdom, USAPs of the US government, and ancient warfare, a great awakening occurred as the veil of secrecy was lifted from his eyes. After learning humanity's obscured past was stranger than fiction, his desire to create a truthful and artistic message through fiction arose. This acquired knowledge segued into writing his epic fantasy series The War for Ascension and the sequential standalone series The Ascension Archive.

Having spent 3 years working alongside renowned Hollywood producers, Dominician garnered invaluable knowledge of screen craft and storytelling. But due to unforeseen events, he chose an alternative path to pursue his dream of writing wholesome fantasy stories.

Guided by fantasy author and genius, David Farland, Dominician is set to expand his grand mythology, The War for Ascension into a multimedia book and novella opus, along with accompanying soundtracks of epic music.

Dominician is also the producer of the epic industrial metal band Ark of Light, and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor and National Champion. He currently lives in Melbourne, Australia.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

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