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Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

By: Mark Leslie Lefebvre
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 Perspectives and reflections on the writing and publishing life. Mark Leslie Lefebvre, a writer, bookseller, digital publishing advocate, professional speaker, and publishing consultant explores inclusive and collaborative opportunities for writers and book publishing professionals via interviews, discussions, and reflections about the industry. (Mark's personal website is www.markleslie.ca)Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License Art Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • EP 417 - Embracing Your Passion for Creativity with Artist and Author C L Fors

    EP 417 - Embracing Your Passion for Creativity with Artist and Author C L Fors
    May 23 2025
    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 anthologyEntering the contest as both a writer and an illustrator every quarter since 2016How 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 versaThe process of how illustrator winners of Writers and Illustrators of the Future are "teamed up" with a writer winnerCherrie's four-book epic science fiction series - which is a story about people re-claiming self-determinationThe graphic novel Cherrie is working on which, at first, she wasn't sure what medium it was going to emerge intoHow a lot of the skills that Cherrie initially learned about art was self-taught, before she received more formal instructionLearning the right time to make that creative jump as a creatorHow when she is in the midst of the process of creating, regardless of whether it is writing or art, Cherrie feels most aliveTaking a step back to understand if she's taking realistic stock of her time and energyThe challenge of getting sucked in to social mediaEnsuring that you're not being too hard on yourselfHow Cherrie cannot remember a time when she was not doing both art and writingPublishing 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 purchaseGetting her Masters in Publishing at Western Colorado University and continuing the program in Genre fiction to get her MFASeeing and representing herself as BOTH a writer and an illustratorUsing C L Fors for both her art and her writingLearning 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 motherAdvice that Cherrie would give her younger selfHow rejection is just a lessonWhat is next for CherrieAnd 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 AuthorCL Fors IllustratorWriters of the FutureThe Podcast Guest Playbook (co-authored with Matty Dalrymple)Writers' Federation of New Brunswick: WordSpring 2025Episodes with Kathy MacThe Lefebvre MonumentManuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)Buy Mark a CoffeePatreon for Stark ReflectionsMark's YouTube channelMark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and LibrariesThe Relaxed Author Buy eBook DirectBuy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for AuthorsAn Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & BookstoresWide for the WinMark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story)A Canadian Werewolf in New YorkStowe Away (Novella)Fear and Longing in Los AngelesFright Nights, Big CityLover's MoonHex and the CityOnly Monsters in the Building The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and AutomobilesYippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die HardMerry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 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 ...
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    1 hr
  • EP 416 - The Irony of a Woefully Inadequate Imposter Syndrome

    EP 416 - The Irony of a Woefully Inadequate Imposter Syndrome
    May 16 2025
    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 Manuscript Report. Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report. Links of Interest: Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)Buy Mark a CoffeePatreon for Stark ReflectionsMark's YouTube channelMark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and LibrariesThe Relaxed Author Buy eBook DirectBuy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for AuthorsAn Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & BookstoresWide for the WinMark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story)A Canadian Werewolf in New YorkStowe Away (Novella)Fear and Longing in Los AngelesFright Nights, Big CityLover's MoonHex and the CityOnly Monsters in the Building The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and AutomobilesYippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die HardMerry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 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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    31 mins
  • EP 415 - April Showers Bring May Reflections

    EP 415 - April Showers Bring May Reflections
    May 9 2025
    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 Manuscript Report. Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report. Links of Interest: Mark's BookFest KeynoteOne Book, One Community: Haldimand Public Library: Haunted Hamilton by Mark LeslieManuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)Buy Mark a CoffeePatreon for Stark ReflectionsMark's YouTube channelMark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and LibrariesThe Relaxed Author Buy eBook DirectBuy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for AuthorsAn Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & BookstoresWide for the WinMark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story)A Canadian Werewolf in New YorkStowe Away (Novella)Fear and Longing in Los AngelesFright Nights, Big CityLover's MoonHex and the CityOnly Monsters in the Building The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and AutomobilesYippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die HardMerry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 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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    43 mins

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