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What Were You Thinking?

What Were You Thinking?

By Dana Goldstein

A podcast that invites authors to share the evolution of their books from the "What If" musings to the words on the page.
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Episode 1: Predicting a pandemic - Christina Sweeney-Baird, The End of Men

What Were You Thinking?May 29, 2021

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24:19
Season 4, Episode 6: Managing the Big Debut - Vanessa Chan, The Storm We Made

Season 4, Episode 6: Managing the Big Debut - Vanessa Chan, The Storm We Made

When Vanessa Chan left her job at Facebook to get her MFA, she had no idea how to write a novel. From a throwaway homework assignment, the first stirrings of the novel she would write emerged. The Storm We Made went to auction, with 11 houses vying for the debut novel. It's not the typical journey, but it makes for a great conversation.

Mar 19, 202446:19
Season 4, Episode 5: Finding the Right Words with Award-Winning Literary Translator Susan Ouriou

Season 4, Episode 5: Finding the Right Words with Award-Winning Literary Translator Susan Ouriou

I had no idea how complicated translation a novel cou;d be. A ward-winning translator Susan Ouriou set me straight. It takes a level of dedication, experience and knowledge to esentially re-write a book from a langugage you;ve learned inot your mother tongue. Susan Ouriou does it so well, she has earned the Governor General's Award and was appointed a Chevalier in France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Find Susan and her work at any of the following websites:

https://www.attlc-ltac.org/en/translator/susan-ouriou-en/

https://wordswithoutborders.org/contributors/view/susan-ouriou/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Ouriou

https://www.fitzhenry.ca/susan-ouriou

https://www.reddeerpress.com/susan-ouriou

Mar 05, 202447:25
Season 4, Episode 4: From editor to accomplished writer - Barbara Joan Scott, The Taste of Hunger
Feb 20, 202450:54
Season 4, Episode 3: Finding your way through practice - Robin Van Eck, Rough
Feb 06, 202450:06
Season 4, Episode 2: A wild career path - Karma Brown, What Wild Women Do
Jan 23, 202441:24
Season 4, Episode 1: Writing the coolest puberty book - Gina Loveless, Puberty is Gross, but also Really Awesome
Jan 09, 202447:31
Season 3, Episode 22: Healing through poetry - Jamie Louise Madigan, Lipstick Stains & Coffee Cups

Season 3, Episode 22: Healing through poetry - Jamie Louise Madigan, Lipstick Stains & Coffee Cups

To learn more and order the book, visit https://www.jamielouisemadigan.com/.

Jan 02, 202448:22
Season 3, Episode 23: WWYT Host Dana Goldstein on This Is Not Your Average Book Club
Dec 12, 202301:14:45
Season 3, Episode 21: Being the voice for the independents - Andrew Snook, Canadian Independent Publishers
Nov 14, 202349:06
Season 3, Episode 20: Killing it with novellas - Brian Asman, Man Fuck This House
Oct 31, 202344:43
Season 3, Epsiode 19: The Dark Side of Yoga - Joelle Tamraz, The Secret Practice
Oct 17, 202344:16
Season 3, Episode 18: Selling Short (Stories) - Kate Doyle, I Meant it Once

Season 3, Episode 18: Selling Short (Stories) - Kate Doyle, I Meant it Once

Selling a collection of short stories is hard, but for a debut author to be able to it is astonishing. Kate Doyle managed to to exactly that with her debut, I Meant it Once.

Oct 03, 202343:60
Season 3, Episode 17: The challenging world of Picture Books - Pauline Thompson, Hooray for DNA

Season 3, Episode 17: The challenging world of Picture Books - Pauline Thompson, Hooray for DNA

I'm a bit of a science geek, so I was keenly interested in Pauline's debut book about DNA. It's a fun picture about the core of who we are, scientifically speaking.

Sep 19, 202340:31
Season 3, Episode 16: Making the right call - Heather Marshall, Looking for Jane
Sep 05, 202348:53
Season 3, Episode 15: Teaching kids through middle grade novels - Colleen Nelson, The Umbrella House

Season 3, Episode 15: Teaching kids through middle grade novels - Colleen Nelson, The Umbrella House

Colleen Nelson is the author of 18 books, primarily young adult and middle grade (with one non-fiction in the bunch). Her books have earned many accolades and awards, the latest being The Forest of Reading's Silver Birch Award (2023, for The Undercover Book List). In this episode we chat about writing for middle grade, her process, and getting the right ending.

Watch the Forest of Reading announcement here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1659213838636531712

Jul 25, 202344:43
Season 3, Episode 14: The independent journey - Carissa Hyde, Georgia Peach
Jul 11, 202346:51
Season 3, Episode 13: Making a splash with middle grade fantasy - Melissa Ruth Rotert, Sue B and the Ridders
Jun 27, 202338:10
Season 3, Episode 12: Updates from some past guests
Jun 13, 202314:39
Season 3, Episode 11: Breaking into Prison - Phyllis Taylor, The Prison Lady

Season 3, Episode 11: Breaking into Prison - Phyllis Taylor, The Prison Lady

No one thinks they'll ever go to prison, and that was certainly the case for Phyllis Taylor, author of The Prison Lady. When she was fired from her job at a law firm, Phyllis was stunned. Her 30-year career had come to a complete stop. But a friend forced her to come to an Oprah event, an action that would lead Phyllis to a new career behind bars: helping prisoners develop important life skills.

May 30, 202351:13
Season 3, Episode 10: From Self-published to Traditional and back again - S.M. Freedman, Blood Atonement

Season 3, Episode 10: From Self-published to Traditional and back again - S.M. Freedman, Blood Atonement

S.M. Freedman's author journey has been anything but typical. She self-published her first book, then was approached by a publisher who wanted to publish that book. She went back to the drawing board for rewrites and revisions. After she wrote the sequel, she self-published again. Her next novels were traditionally published, but S.M. learned so many lessons - about writing, publishing, and persevering.

May 16, 202352:06
Season 3, Episode 9: Writing, writing all the time - Ali Bryan, Coq
May 02, 202301:13:04
Season 3, Episode 8: The mother of all Book Clubs - Karen Sokoloff, TINYabc
Apr 18, 202353:58
Season 3, Episode 7: Making Middle Grade Non-Fiction Fun for Everyone - Nora Nickum, Superpod
Apr 04, 202343:43
Season 3, Episode 6: Living the Fantasy, From Self-published to the New York Times bestseller list - Travis Baldree, Legends & Lattes
Mar 21, 202342:15
Season 3, Episode 5 - An Unconventional Story of Grief - Chelsea Wakelyn, What Remains of Elsie Jane

Season 3, Episode 5 - An Unconventional Story of Grief - Chelsea Wakelyn, What Remains of Elsie Jane

Chelsea Wakelyn's debut novel, What Remains of Elsie Jane is not your typical story about loss. When Elsie Jane's husband Sam dies unexpectedly, Elsie does not pretend to be okay. She doesn't acquiesce to the needs of others. She completely falls apart, turning to Craigslist to find a way back to the life she once knew.


Mar 07, 202347:48
Season 3, Episode 4: Building a long-lasting career as an author - Eric Walters, author of 130+ books for kids and teens
Feb 21, 202301:00:03
Season 3, Episode 3: Writing Literary Fiction as Therapy - Jennifer Savran Kelly, Endpapers
Feb 07, 202355:41
Season 3, Episode 2: Finding your own way to publishing - Genalea Barker, Life After
Jan 24, 202353:16
Season 3, Episode 1: My Independent Author Journey - My interview with Joelle Tamraz

Season 3, Episode 1: My Independent Author Journey - My interview with Joelle Tamraz

Last year, I was interviewed by Joelle Tamraz for her YouTube channel, Elevating Voices in Memoir and Fiction. It was a candid conversation about my own journey as a hybrid author (both independently published and traditionally published). Listen in as I share my experiences, the planning (or lack thereof), the ups and downs and why I chose the self-publishing route for my memoirs.

Visit my Substack page.

Jan 10, 202335:17
Season 2, Episode 23: Talking to the dead with Jennie Ogilvie, Inside My Head
Dec 13, 202242:26
Season 2, Episode 22: The Holiday Recommendation Episode
Nov 29, 202222:39
Season 2, Episode 21: Writing for different genres - Kirsten Miller, The Change

Season 2, Episode 21: Writing for different genres - Kirsten Miller, The Change

Kirsten Miller has written for Middle Grade and Young Adult, but her latest novel, The Change, pushed her out of her comfort zone and into the adult market, specifically, the older, menopausal one.

Nov 15, 202248:26
Season 2, Episode 20: Carving your own &*$#ING path - James Fell, On This Day in History, Sh!t Went Down
Nov 01, 202201:02:27
Season 2, Episode 19: Finding my people - The Clopen Effect Interview
Oct 18, 202201:16:49
Season 2, Episode 18: Crushing hearts in the YA space - Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light
Oct 04, 202247:54
Season 2, Episode 17: Rom Com is One Size Fits All - Jenny L. Howe, The Make-Up Test
Sep 20, 202248:59
Season 2, Episode 16: Getting dirty with Grit Lit - Kelly J Ford, Real Bad Things
Sep 06, 202248:18
Summer Replay Series: Season 2, Episode 8: Five Hundred Million Years in the longest Squid Game ever - Danna Staaf, Monarchs of the Sea
Aug 30, 202249:23
Summer Replay Series: Season 1, Episode 13: Murder and Mayhem in the...church office? - All is Well with Katherine Walker
Aug 16, 202236:10
Summer Replay Series: Season 1, Episode 6: Representing Culture - Brittney Morris, Slay
Aug 02, 202224:18
Season 2, Episode 15: Characters to warm your heart - Clare Pooley, Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting
Jul 19, 202245:50
Season 2, Episode 14: Southern charm reflected in prose - Beth Duke, It All Comes Back to You
Jul 05, 202243:14
Season 2, Episode 13: The dark side of Young Adult - Kelly DeVos, Go Hunt Me
Jun 21, 202241:35
Season 2, Episode 12: Going from public service to published author - Pat Duckworth, Menopause Mind the Gap.
Jun 07, 202236:20
Season 2, Episode 11: Baring it all in memoir - Marci Warhaft, The Good Stripper
May 24, 202237:43
Season 2, Episode 10: Having Fun with Chaos - Christine Kilbourne, The Limitless Sky
May 10, 202239:41
Season 2, Episode 9: Taking the Shot - H.N. Khan, Wrong Side of the Court
Apr 26, 202233:25
Season 2, Episode 8: Five Hundred Million Years in the longest Squid Game ever - Danna Staaf, Monarchs of the Sea
Apr 12, 202248:11
Season 2, Episode 7: Enviromance, Rom Com and Cursed Books - Jennifer Sommersby/Eliza Gordon, Welcome to Planet Laura

Season 2, Episode 7: Enviromance, Rom Com and Cursed Books - Jennifer Sommersby/Eliza Gordon, Welcome to Planet Laura

Jennifer Sommersby started writing rom-coms (romantic comedies) under the pseudonym of Eliza Gordon as she was in the waiting game of edits/revisions/publication for a young adult novel. She has penned 8 books under that name, the latest a three-part series - Planet Lara. Welcome to Planet Lara is an enviromance - environmental romance - with excellent characters (I hated Lara for most of the book) and incidents that keep you turning pages.

In this episode, we talk about Jennifer's author journey, writing unlikeable characters and writing under a pseudonym.
Check out all the quirk that is Eliza Gordon.
Read about Sleight and Scheme (the Undoing, in Canada) on this website.
Learn more about your host, Dana Goldstein.
Support the podcast on Patreon.
Mar 29, 202227:11
Season 2, Episode 6: Non-fiction that's hard to swallow - Mary Boone, Bugs for Breakfast
Mar 15, 202241:09