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EP 417 - Embracing Your Passion for Creativity with Artist and Author C L Fors

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Release Date: 05/23/2025

EP 423 - Dear Writer: The World Needs Your Writing Now More Than Ever

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this solo episode Mark expresses his frustration, anger, and anxiety over what's happening in the world right now, and reminds himself, and listeners, about the power of writing and why the world NEEDS you and your writing now more than ever before. Link to video of Mark's Keynote for The BookFest Spring 2025. "Writer, the World Needs You: Why Your Writing Is More Important Than Ever." Links of Interest: (Mark's affiliate link) The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin...

EP 422 - Writing, Humor, and Teaching with Patrick MacPhee

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Patrick MacPhee, teacher and Writers of the Future award-winning author about his love of reading, writing, and helping to inspire students. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode's sponsor: This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to . Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report. In the interview, Mark and Patrick talk about: Patrick's experience reading Fellowship of the Rings when he was rather young and how it impacted him in a profound...

EP 421 - Some Publishing Pitfalls

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this solo episode Mark shares some audio excerpts from his book PUBLISHING PITFALLS FOR AUTHORS. This episode's sponsor: This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to . Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report. Links of Interest: (Mark's affiliate link) The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By

EP 420 - Artist and Author Collaboration with JJ McFaull

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this episode Mark interviews Jacob from the JJ McFaull is collaboration children's book Where Pumpkins Go After Halloween. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by the new book The Podcast Guest Playbook co-authored by Mark and Matty Dalrymple. Check out the book here: In the interview, Mark and Jacob talk about: Mark and Jacob talk about: How even as a kid, Jacob was making up stories Getting involved in the book industry in 2024 after initially trying to get his children's book published The...

EP 419 - Seeing The Beauty with Artist, Photographer, Graphic Designer, and Music Aficionado Stephan Gaydos

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark has a conversation with his life-long best buddy Steve Gaydos about art, beauty, photography, music, and so much more in a conversation recorded on their recent Canadian East Coast road trip. Links of Interest: (Mark's affiliate link) The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By

EP 418 - Giving Away A Million Copies of Your Book With DC Gomez

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this episode Mark interviews D.C. Gomez about her plan to give away a million copies of her best-selling and award-winning novel Death's Intern. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to . Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report. In the interview, Mark and D.C. talk about: DC being one of those kids who was into storytelling since as far back as she can remember Having a passion and background for video and screenplays The way everything changed for DC back during 9/11...

EP 417 - Embracing Your Passion for Creativity with Artist and Author C L Fors

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this episode Mark interviews author and artist C L Fors about her recent award win with Writers of the Future and her life in writing and illustration. 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 an affiliate link to . Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report. In the interview, Mark and Cherrie talk about: Cherrie's recent win as an illustrator for Writers and Illustrators of the Future for Volume 41 of the annual anthology Entering the contest...

EP 416 - The Irony of a Woefully Inadequate Imposter Syndrome

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

That pervasive feeling of self-doubt and insecurity you believe you are not deserving of your achievements and fear being exposed as a fraud known as imposter syndrome is especially common among writers and other creatives who often grapple with the vulnerability inherent in sharing their work with the world. But perhaps your imposter syndrome is actually a positive sign about your progression as a writer. That's the topic of this solo episode in which Mark reflects upon that. This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to . Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own...

EP 415 - April Showers Bring May Reflections

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this solo episode Mark shares a personal update and some reflections about writing, publishing, and some marketing ideas. This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to . Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report. Links of Interest: (Mark's affiliate link) The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By

EP 414 - Thanks for the Inspiration Nancy Kilpatrick

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this episode Mark reflects on friend, mentor, and fellow author Nancy Kilpatrick. Nancy Kilpatrick (May 6, 1946 – March 31, 2025) was a Canadian author who wrote stories in the genres of , , , , and and was perhaps best known for her vampire novels and stories. Links of Interest: (Mark's affiliate link) The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By

More Episodes

In this episode Mark interviews author and artist C L Fors about her recent award win with Writers of the Future and her life in writing and illustration.

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 an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report.

In the interview, Mark and Cherrie talk about:

Cherrie's recent win as an illustrator for Writers and Illustrators of the Future for Volume 41 of the annual anthology
Entering the contest as both a writer and an illustrator every quarter since 2016
How Cherrie can be creative in both writing and illustrating based on the same spark of inspiration. Sometimes it comes out first as a story and then later as an illustration, sometimes vice versa
The process of how illustrator winners of Writers and Illustrators of the Future are "teamed up" with a writer winner
Cherrie's four-book epic science fiction series - which is a story about people re-claiming self-determination
The graphic novel Cherrie is working on which, at first, she wasn't sure what medium it was going to emerge into
How a lot of the skills that Cherrie initially learned about art was self-taught, before she received more formal instruction
Learning the right time to make that creative jump as a creator
How when she is in the midst of the process of creating, regardless of whether it is writing or art, Cherrie feels most alive
Taking a step back to understand if she's taking realistic stock of her time and energy
The challenge of getting sucked in to social media
Ensuring that you're not being too hard on yourself
How Cherrie cannot remember a time when she was not doing both art and writing
Publishing her first work (a magazine that had her stories, poetry and art) and selling copies of it door-to-door when she was 9 years old in order to earn money to make a purchase
Getting her Masters in Publishing at Western Colorado University and continuing the program in Genre fiction to get her MFA
Seeing and representing herself as BOTH a writer and an illustrator
Using C L Fors for both her art and her writing
Learning that she has to "go with the flow" and use the time she has to approach her various tasks as an author, an illustrator, a wife, and a mother
Advice that Cherrie would give her younger self
How rejection is just a lesson
What is next for Cherrie
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a few things that were discussed including Cherrie's advice on continuing to do something once you find the thing that you love.

Links of Interest:

CL Fors lives and breathes stories in multiple mediums: the written word, illustration in watercolor, acrylic, digital, and ink, and the creation of custom jewelry and other artifacts of story. She is an artist with a myriad of interests and experiences that inform and flavor her writing and illustrating. A multipotentialite, mother, author, and adventurer, CL is a science and science-fiction enthusiast with a passion for research based sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction in general. She has at various times in her life been a film actor, military intelligence linguist in the Arabic language, a doula, childbirth educator, and student midwife for birthing, as well as a bellydancer.

Cherrie and her husband, Jason P. Crawford, founded the indie publishing house Epitome Press and together bring the work of talented authors out of the brambles and into the light of day. CL’s debut novel, Progeny is the first installment of the Primogenitor series.The second installment, Breach of Mars is available on Amazon as are the third and fourth books in the series, Crowning of Mars and Futures of Mars.

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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