Libsyn Directory

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

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Release Date: 10/10/2025

EP 454 - Finding Surprising Success Publishing Kids' Books with Darcy Pattison

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews award-winning author Darcy Pattison about publishing childrens' books. In their conversation, Mark and Darcy talk about: Darcy's background on getting into being an author of children's book The 70 books Darcy has written in the past 13 years The number of different illustrators Darcy has worked with over the years The Moments in Science picture books Darcy has written with along with the specific illustrator who has worked on a dozen of those titles with her The books for authors Darcy is releasing in January 2026 that collect details about the current state of publishing for...

EP 453 - Celebrating Eight Years, 452 Episodes and One Simple Truth

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark reflects on the anniversary of the first episode of this podcast, which took place on Jan 5, 2018. Links of Interest: EP 001 - Substack Article: (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) (AI Voice Generation - 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 452 - Accounting for Murphy's Law when Setting Realistic Goals

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this solo episode Mark outlines a dozen tips to consider when setting realistic goals. Links of Interest: EP 451 - Draft2Digital Self Publishing Insiders - Jan 1, 2026 Episode () (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) (AI Voice Generation - 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 451 - Messages to Readers

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this solo episode Mark shares a couple of recent messages to readers in the hopes that it inspired other authors with ideas of the types of things that their readers might find interesting. The two examples are: 1) Mark's introduction to his recent collection of stupid dad jokes (and how that can tie to the use of making the local community the "hero" or "focus" 2) Mark's recent author newsletter with a gift for readers and the story that updates recent changes to an ongoing series he's writing Links of Interest: (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) (AI Voice Generation -...

EP 450 - The Life of a Mercenary Writer with Jarrett Mazza

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Jarrett Mazza about his action/thriller novels and his mercenary-style approach to writing. 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 Jarrett talk about: Jarrett's origins and how he got into writing Starting off writing comic books and short stories How Jarrett considers himself a "mercenary" writer Jarrett's love of fiction within the...

EP 449 - The Myth of "Upload Your Book And They Will Come"

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this solo episode, Mark reads from that he recently shared on the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Substack page. This is be Part 2 of a two-part series of episodes. (See ) Prior to the main content of this episode, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by The 7 P's of Publishing Success by Mark Leslie Lefebvre, which you can download in eBook and/or Audiobook format for free at . Links of Interest: Article: EP 446 - EP 445 - (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to...

EP 448 - When Your Writing Gets Rejected A Gazillion Times

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this solo episode, Mark reads from that he recently shared on the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Substack page. This will be Part 1 of a two-part series of episodes. Prior to the main content of this episode, Mark shares a personal update, a comment from a recent episode, and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by The 7 P's of Publishing Success by Mark Leslie Lefebvre, which you can download in eBook and/or Audiobook format for free at . Links of Interest: Article: EP 445 - (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) (AI Voice...

EP 447 - The Future of Hybrid Publishing with J.D. Barker

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews J.D. Barker about his writing and publishing journey and his many collaborations over the years, including with James Patterson, and the unique publishing and distribution collaboration with Simon & Schuster that combines the best of the self-publishing and the traditional publishing worlds. 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 J.D....

EP 446 - Exercising Multiple Creative Outlets with Artist, Author, and Musician Meaghan Smith

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Meaghan Smith about the new children's book IT SNOWED that she wrote and illustrated, which was inspired by her popular holiday song of the same name. This Juno-Award winning singer-songwriter shares her many creative passions for music, writing, and art. Prior to the interview, Mark shares 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 Meaghan talk about: The origin of Meaghan's song "It Snowed" and how...

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...

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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