Tag: Podcast

Podcast: Indie Publishing is a Great News Story

Indie publishing is a great news story! I recently flew from my hometown of Traverse City, Michigan, to London to attend the London Book Fair, where my colleagues at ALLi were celebrating a decade since our founder, Orna Ross, launched the self-publishing group at 2012’s book fair. I come from a journalism background, so I did what I enjoy doing at events like this. I interviewed people. And, today, I’ll feature many of their voices about where indie publishing has been, where it is today, and where it’s going.

Above all, I think of indie publishing as a great news story, and one that I’m happy to be covering both as a member of ALLi and as a journalist. For me, the rise of indie publishing suits my personality. In my days as a business and technology reporter, if the rest of the media pack were headed one way, I’d head the opposite. That’s where the interesting stories were. Who is going against the grain? Who is innovating?

The old system of publishing is based on outdated technology and assumptions. But technology has progressed to the point where authors need not play by established rules. Independent-minded authors, or those who wish to retain control over their own work and ability to earn from it, can choose not to play the old game.

And that’s where we’ll begin, with ALLi cofounder and director Orna Ross, who talked about this shift in author attitudes that she’s witnessed over the past decade.

You can listen to the full podcast on the Alliance of Independent Authors site, or click the arrow below.

Listen to all Self-Publishing News podcasts here.

May 9, 2022
Natan Sharansky Knows What ‘Anti-Zionism’ Really Means
A screenshot from my Zoom call with Natan Sharansky.

I interviewed former Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky over on my Emet-Truth newsletter. To say that Sharansky has experience with antisemitism disguised as anti-Zionism would be an extreme understatement. As a former Soviet “Prisoner of Zion,” he spent years under torturous conditions in the gulag. He knew that when Soviet leaders began to talk about Zionism, all Jews, Zionist or not, were in trouble. When he was finally released and immigrated to Israel, he was surprised to notice the same phenomenon. That’s when he came up with what he called his “3D test” of antisemitism. They are:
- Delegitimization of Israel
- Demonization of Israel
- Double standards in judging Israel
Put them together, you can bet that what is billed as criticism of Israel is actually antisemitism. The 3Ds became the basis for widely accepted definitions of antisemitism. But the battle is still being fought, he says, not with other nations, but with Jews in America who are reluctant to be seen as equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

In this interview, Natan Sharansky and I discussed this dilemma and other areas where Israel and the Diaspora meet.

Listen to my interview with Natan Sharansky here.
January 3, 2022
Search for Birth Mother Reveals Surprises

On my podcast, I feature Sara Easterly, an adoptee who wrote a book, Searching for Mom, about her quest to find her birth mother. But, more than that, her book is a spiritual and emotional search that tries to come to terms with something experienced by many adoptees, a feeling of abandonment. Along the way, Sara learned many surprising things about her adopted mother, her birth mother, and herself.

You can listen to my interview with Sara Easterly by clicking the arrow below.

Or take a look at the entire post, and transcripts, at the Alliance of Independent Authors. Look at previous indie author podcasts here. You can listen and subscribe to all my author-interview podcasts for the Alliance of Independent Authors over here.

June 23, 2020
Phyllis Cole-Dai Writes on Human Connection

My podcast guest is Phyllis Cole-Dai, whose work spans topics as disparate as homelessness and the plight of American Indians. For Phyllis, here’s what they all have in common. She is able to totally immerse herself into these topics that tend to divide us and come back with stories about how they impact individual humans. If we see individual people, learn their stories, then maybe we can all find common ground in these divisive times.

You can listen to my interview with Phyllis Cole-Dai by clicking the arrow below.

Or take a look at the entire post, and transcripts, at the Alliance of Independent Authors. Look at previous indie author podcasts here. You can listen and subscribe to all my author-interview podcasts for the Alliance of Independent over here.

May 26, 2020
‘Friend Grief’ Books Help Deal With Loss

Victoria Noe

My podcast guest is Victoria Noe, whose experience working with AIDS patients in the 1980s prepared her to write a series of “Friend Grief” books on dealing with loss when somebody close to you dies.

What Victoria worked on was a way of making sense of her own grief for a friend. And she found that she’s not alone in needing a way to cope, or at least seeing how other people cope with grief. She came up with her series of books on ways people grieve for friends.

Victoria also has advice for other authors who tackle such serious subjects.

You can listen to my interview with Victoria Noe by clicking the arrow below.

Or take a look at the entire post, and transcripts, at the Alliance of Independent Authors. You can listen and subscribe to all my author-interview podcasts for the Alliance of Independent over here.

May 19, 2020
Indie Success With Comedy Science Fiction

My podcast guest is Scottish author Barry Hutchison, who has found great success as an indie author writing comedy science fiction and crime thrillers.

These two genres might seem to be unrelated, but to Barry it was about combining topics that interested him with a market that needed to be filled.

The result has been a successful transition from traditionally published author to indie, and he has not looked back.

You can listen to my interview with comedy science fiction writer Barry Hutchison by clicking the arrow below.

Or take a look at the entire post, and transcripts, at the Alliance of Independent Authors. You can listen and subscribe to all my author-interview podcasts for the Alliance of Independent over here.

May 17, 2020
Author in 70s Draws on Deep Well of Experience

Diana Stevan is in her 70s and is beginning to hit her stride as a prolific indie author of novels about family, love, and relationships.

Her third self-published book, called Sunflowers Under Fire, is set in WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution. It’s based on stories told to her by her mother and it’s a finalist for the 2019 Whistler Independent Book Awards, sponsored by the Writers Union of Canada.

Diana is able to draw on a wide range of experience, from working at a meat-packing plant to an actress and model—but most of all as a family counselor—to accurately portray people in difficult circumstances.

You can listen to my interview with Diana Stevan by clicking the arrow below.

Or take a look at the entire post, and transcripts, at the Alliance of Independent Authors. You can listen and subscribe to all my author-interview podcasts for the Alliance of Independent over here.

May 11, 2020
Interview With Top Indie Author Jane Davis

We don’t have very many rock stars in the indie publishing world, but a few have risen to the top with a reputation for producing wonderfully written, compelling books that stand out as great literature, no matter what label you put on it. One of them is Inspirational Indie Author Jane Davis.

Jane was recently recognized as one of the best self-published authors of the year with the new Selfie awards for her book called Smash All The Windows, which is also smashing all the preconceptions many people have about self published books.

Smash all the Windows is based on a real disaster in a football stadium in 1989. Jane discusses how fiction can help humanize big disasters, placing them in perspective while assigning what she calls “unblame.”

Read more of my interview with Jane at the Alliance of Independent Authors, or listen to the podcast below.

April 21, 2020