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EP 437 - Nerding Out Over History, Science, and Maps with Malorie Cooper

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Release Date: 10/10/2025

EP 445 - Overcoming The Self-Sabotage from Buried Trauma with Andrea Torrey Balsara

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this episode Mark interviews Andrea Torrey Balsara about her writing, her passion in inspiring joy through storytelling and energy healing, trauma, creativity and much more. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. is available now in hardcover, mass market sized paperback, and audiobook. In the interview Mark and Andrea talk about: The very serious and troubling trauma Andrea had been living with for most of her life without realizing it and how it prevented her from trying to focus and work on The sabotage that kept creeping...

EP 444 - Book Marketing Made Easy with Manuscript Report

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Florin Bulgarov, co-founder of Manuscript Report. 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 MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report. In their interview, Mark and Florin talk about: Florin's background with a PhD in A.I. and how he ended up evolving into creating the toolset of Manuscript Report How Manuscript Report was initially created as an assessment tool for publishers when going through their...

EP 443 - Strategies for Short Fiction

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

This bonus episode of the Stark Reflections Podcast is a recording of a Nov 10, 2025 live chat that Mark did with Matty Dalrymple and Angelique Fawns talking about strategies for short fiction. The conversation was based on content from Mark and Matty's 2nd Edition release of Taking the Short Tack: and Angelique's Substack. Links of Interest: (YouTube) EP 440 - EP 382 - EP 306 - (Mark's affiliate link) (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and...

EP 442 - Dear Writer You Still Need To Quit with Becca Syme

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Becca Syme about her latest project, about the journey she has been on since she launched her first Dear Writer, You Need to Quit book, and the various fiction titles she has written. Prior to the interview, Mark explains that he is at Author Nation in Vegas and that his introduction and post interview reflection were generated by ElevenLabs. Then his digital voice clone from ElevenLabs 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 their interview,...

EP 441 - A Bookstore for Indie Authors with Donovan Scherer

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews artist, author, and indie bookstore owner Donovan Scherer about his writing, his art, and his store in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin. Prior to the interview, Mark welcomes new patrons, shares recent comments, 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 their interview, Mark and Donovan talk about: Donovan background as an illustrator creating various characters, and then eventually moving on to writing middle grade chapter books Never...

EP 440 - Behind the Scenes of The Podcast Guest Playbook with Matty Dalrymple

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this episode Mark talks with Matty Dalrymple, co-author of the book The Podcast Guest Playbook which was released earlier in 2025. Prior to the interview, Mark shares recent comments, a brief 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 their interview, Mark and Matty talk about: Something that Stark Reflections listeners might not know about Matty related to getting her private pilot license Having worked aviation into at least two of her novels...

EP 439 - Rambling Reflections From The Road to Can-Con

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

On his drive to Ottawa, Ontario for the annual Can-Con (Ottawa's Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Literature Convention), Mark reflects on his experience with that conference from it's initial inception in the early 1990s along with its evolution. He also reflects on the importance of CanCon in general (Canadian Content regulations) and how it has played and continues to play an important role for Canadian musicians, artists, performers, and writers. This episode is sponsored by the 2nd Edition of the book which is co-authored by Mark and Matty Dalrymple and was released this week in October 2025 ...

EP 438 - A Personal Conversation with Malorie Cooper

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark has a personal conversation with Malorie Cooper. In this episode they talk about: The reason she and her family moved from Boston, MA and back to Canada The uniqueness of New England compared to the rest of the United States How Canada is one of the hardest countries to emigrate into Not having ever gotten American citizenship The oppression and fear of being a queer transgender person, particularly in the US How it's virtually impossible for people who aren't oppressed to understand what it's like Losing half her fan base and friends when she transitioned into the person she was always...

EP 437 - Nerding Out Over History, Science, and Maps with Malorie Cooper

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Malorie Cooper, who writes under the name M.D. Cooper, about the various things that fascinate and inspire her writing. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief 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 their interview, Mark and Malorie talk about: Meeting up in New Brunswick in the spring at a writer's conference Mal's passion about writing science-fiction and nerding out about science and history concepts Mal working with her...

EP 436 - Artisan Publishing with Blue Feathered Quill

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this episode Mark interviews Joshua Smyser and Alex Hale of Blue Feathered Quill Publishing. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, welcome a new patron (), offers 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 their interview, Mark, Alex, and Joshua talk about: Alex's background growing up an avid reader and someone who wrote music and stories, and then going back to school for linguistics in...

More Episodes

Mark interviews Malorie Cooper, who writes under the name M.D. Cooper, about the various things that fascinate and inspire her writing.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief 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 their interview, Mark and Malorie talk about:

Meeting up in New Brunswick in the spring at a writer's conference
Mal's passion about writing science-fiction and nerding out about science and history concepts
Mal working with her wife Jill on The Writing Wives - designed to help authors better market their books
Some misperceptions that authors have, such as "I'm not good at Facebook Ads"
Mal always being curious about everything, and getting story inspiration from looking at maps
How her fascination with maps led to mapping software for space maps, and an evolution into a sci-fi writer
Malorie's introduction to science fiction through the books of Anne McCaffrey
How maps can inform and inspire science fiction stories
The various struggles that Mal likes to tackle in stories she writes
Passion for history and looking at the US Naval build immediately after Pearl Harbor
The frustration Mal often has in much of science-fiction and fantasy where the world's aren't "big" enough
How Mal writes without having a story bible about the universes she has created and writes in
The way Malorie divides her time up between writing and working with authors for The Writing Wives
The long pause in writing new science fiction stories that happened shortly after 2020
Thinking back to 2016 when Mal's writing really started to take off (how the money being earned from that was better than the full-time employment work as a software developer)
The time when Mal was writing for about 14 to 16 hours a day, with her wife Jill creating a "protective bubble" around her so she could focus on writing
The experience of having two people on Patreon who have, for eight years, given Mal $50 a month
The power (and sense of accomplishment) that comes when you get to "the end"
Advice Mal would give to other writers
And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the challenge of moving from part-time to full-time writer, as well as the heart-warming fact that there are those out there who resonate with a creator's works and step up to support them in heart-warming ways.

Links of Interest:

Malorie Cooper is a science fiction author and creator of the Aeon 14 universe. She has written over one hundred books and plans to write another hundred more (at least).

Having built her career using advertising to spread awareness of her books, she’s shifted focus to helping other authors get a leg up through paid ads on a variety of platforms, as well as optimizing their product page with a focus on increasing conversions.

She and her wife now run The Writing Wives, which helps dozens of authors a month reach their marketing goals.

In addition to storytelling and writing, Malorie loves playing games of any sort, gardening, and woodworking. She shares her home with a wife who also writes, an entrepreneurial teenaged daughter, and far more cats than are strictly necessary.

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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