Activated Authors
176 episodes - English - Latest episode: 20 days ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsActivated Authors is an online author community centered around principles of healthy productivity, community, and shared knowledge. Founded by international bestselling author, award-winning podcaster, and author coach, Daniel Willcocks, the group aims to help authors and creatives of all levels achieve their creative goals and thrive as part of a healthy, positive community.
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Episodes
#024: John L Monk – The importance of being unforgettable, writing through the tough stuff, and the reality behind rapid release.
February 28, 2020 00:01 - 57 minutes - 52.9 MBJohn L. Monk is the creative mind behind such series as The Jenkins Cycle, This Dark Ages, and The Chronicles of Ethan. His work has spanned the genres of science-fiction, post-apocalyptic, with his most recent venture taking him into the genre of LitRPG John lives in Virginia, USA, with his wife, Dorothy. A writer with a degree in cultural anthropology, he boldly does the dishes, roots out evil wherever it lurks, and writes his own stunts. In this episode we go deep into: What’s changed...
#023: Meg Cowley – Creating an author brand, business vs art, and making the muse your b**ch.
February 21, 2020 00:01 - 55 minutes - 53 MBMeg Cowley is a USA Today bestselling author of fantasy fiction. She lives in Yorkshire, England with her husband, son, and their two cats, Jet and Pixie. Meg loves everything fantasy, magic, and dragons, and has been a writer and artist since she could pick up a pencil. Meg works best when fuelled by Earl Grey Tea, margherita pizza, and characters who won’t do what they’re told! She’s passionate about writing sweeping fantasies with characters that could step off the page, and worlds that ...
#022: Craig Falconer – Lessons in writing Sci-Fi, modeling specific success, and quality versus quantity.
February 14, 2020 00:01 - 1 hourCraig A. Falconer is a bestselling Scottish novelist, specializing in science fiction. He has written several widely popular series in his career, including the Not Alone series, Terradox series, and the Sycamore series. In this episode we go deep into: What it feels like to win a ‘Best Dressed’ at a ceilidh Advantages of leveraging a box set Changing your mindset from minimum work to maximum output Importance of specializing in one ad platform instead of trying to juggle them all Bes...
#021: Steff Green – Doubling down on what works, engaging your readers, and setting boundaries to focus on what works for you.
February 07, 2020 00:01 - 1 hour - 55.4 MBSteff Green is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author, blogger, metalhead and heavy metal maiden living in an off-grid home on 4 acres of rural paradise in New Zealand with her cantankerous drummer husband, four cats, a menagerie of farmyard animals, and their medieval sword collection. She publishes dark fantasy and science fiction under the name S C Green, and paranormal romance as Steffanie Holmes. Her most popular books are set in the fictional English town of Crookshollow and...
#020: Katie Forrest – Time Management for Writers, the only constant is change, and the benefits of saying ‘yes'.
January 31, 2020 00:01 - 45 minutes - 43.1 MBKatie Forrest is a busy wife and special needs parent, doing her best to juggle this with her work. She runs a boutique law firm, writes cosy mystery under a pen name and is obsessed with cacti. She loves solo-travelling, is a complete time management geek, and is the author of the new non-fiction book, Time Management for Writers In this episode we go deep into: Katie’s new book, Time Management for Writers Importance of building habits Why sleep sucks How to overcome the burden of ‘do...
#019: Bruce Olav Solheim – Documenting the paranormal, serving veterans with education, and trusting the muse.
January 24, 2020 00:01 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBBruce Olav Solheim is a distinguished professor of history at Citrus College in Glendora, California. He served for six years in the US Army as a jail guard and later as a helicopter pilot. He is the founder of the Veterans Program at Citrus College and co-founded, with Manuel Martinez and Ginger De Villa-Rose, the Boots to Books transition course—the first college course in the United States designed specifically for recently returned veterans. Bruce has published eight books, one comic ...
#018: Welcome to 2020! – Goalsetting, productivity, and expectation management ft. Luke Kondor
January 17, 2020 00:01 - 45 minutes - 42.2 MBI'm BACK, baby! Welcome to the first episode of the Great Writers Share in 2020. After a 2 month hiatus, Luke Kondor joins Daniel Willcocks to discuss goal-setting for 2020, achieving your dreams, and putting yourself into action to achieve your goals. In an episode which veers off the usual format, the gents motivate and share their top tips for ensuring that 2020 kicks all the ass it can. Special thanks to: Intro vocals: Persephone Rose Show theme: Karl Hughes Become a Patron of the ...
Intermission: Going on Hiatus
November 22, 2019 14:32 - 6 minutes - 5.57 MBThis week, I sit down alone with my microphone for a public service announcement that the Great Writers Share podcast will be going on a short hiatus. This has been a decision which I have been very hesitant to make. In the full transparency of the show which I value greatly, I am currently dealing with a few monumental shifts in my own personal life which mean that my attention needs to be focused on sorting a few things out. I am currently in the process of moving out of the home I shared...
#017: Humphrey Hawksley – Going deep with research, translating journalism to novels, and the changing nature of traditional publishing.
November 15, 2019 00:01 - 57 minutes - 54.6 MBHumphrey Hawksley is an author, commentator and broadcaster, who has reported on key trends, events and conflicts from all over the world. His work as a BBC foreign correspondent has taken him to crises on every continent. He was expelled from Sri Lanka, opened the BBC’s television bureau in China, was arrested in Serbia and initiated a global campaign against enslaved children in the chocolate industry. A campaign which continues today. Humphrey is the author of the acclaimed ‘Future Hist...
#016: Jon Cronshaw – Embracing the serial, using podcasts to connect with readers, and how stoicism can positively impact your writing life.
November 08, 2019 00:01 - 58 minutesJon Cronshaw is the bestselling author of such fiction titles as the ‘Wasteland' series, the ‘Ravenglass Chronicles’, ‘Blind Gambit’, and the non-fiction ’Stop Booking Around’. Jon’s titles span the genres of post-apocalyptic, epic fantasy, GameLit, and more. As a former freelance features writer, Jon has had work published in local and national newspapers across the UK, including the Metro, Yorkshire Post and the Guardian. He is also a self-confessed voracious reader, guide dog owner, ex...
#015: Sacha Black – Becoming a rebel author, owning your fears, and following your own path.
November 01, 2019 00:01 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBSacha Black has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules. She is the host of the brand-new Rebel Author podcast, and writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing. This year Sacha also began editing the advice blog and managing the Self-Publishing Advice Conference for the Alliance of Independent authors. When Sacha's not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, blogging, s...
#014: Rachael Herron – Personal branding, dominating Patreon, and prioritising your mental health to enjoy the process.
October 24, 2019 23:01 - 59 minutes - 54.2 MBRachael Herron is the internationally bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including thriller (under R.H. Herron), mainstream fiction, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction about writing. She’s a fellow podcaster and is the host of the ‘How Do You Write’ podcast, as well as the co-host of ’The Writers Well’ podcast with previous guest of the show, J Thorn. And Rachael also runs annual writer’s retreats and delivers incredible essays on the creative life to her Patrons on Patre...
#013: Michaelbrent Collings – Confessions of a Super-villain, tackling mental health, and mastering genre-hopping.
October 17, 2019 23:01 - 43 minutes - 41 MBMichaelbrent Collings is an internationally bestselling novelist, produced screenwriter, and multiple Bram Stoker Award finalist. While he is best known for horror (and is one of the most successful indie horror authors in the United States), he's also written bestselling thriller, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, humor, young adult, and middle grade works, and Western Romance. As a novelist, Michaelbrent has written dozens of bestsellers that have received critical acclaim, and he and hi...
#012: Kealan Patrick Burke – Fighting the demons, the changing world of indie, and trusting the process.
October 10, 2019 23:01 - 1 hour - 59 MBKealan Patrick Burke is a writer, cover designer, and life-long fan of the macabre. He has written five novels, over a hundred short stories, six collections, and edited four acclaimed anthologies. In 2004, Kealan was honored with the Horror Writers’ Association’s Bram Stoker Award for his novella 'The Turtle Boy', and he now also designs book covers through his design company, Elder Lemon design. In this episode we go deep into: Diagnosing what’s missing from works in progress Only deliv...
#011: Kathrin Hutson – Building a career around story, award-nominated books, and critiquing films at 10-years-old.
October 03, 2019 23:01 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBKathrin Hutson is an author of dark fantasy and sci-fi fiction, runs her own editing business, KLH CreateWorks, and is the fiction editor for the Mud Season Review, an international literary journal run by members of the Burlington Writers Workshop. Kathrin’s book ‘Sleepwater Beat’ was a sci-fi finalist in the 2019 international book awards, and her new book, ’The Summoner Thief’, will be available on October 8th of this year. In this episode we go deep into: Kathrin’s journey from 10-yea...
#010: Dakota Krout – Dominating LitRPG/GameLit fiction, switching from creator to publisher, and riding the waves of success.
September 26, 2019 23:01 - 51 minutes - 48.4 MBDakota Krout is a well-deserved king of LitRPG fiction. He has amassed literally thousands of 5 star reviews across his collective titles, and his latest release, ‘Raze’, part of the Completionist Chronicles, made it to #14 in the Amazon charts in July 2019. Following his independent success, Dakota is now also the owner of Mountaindale Press – an independent publishing company specializing in fantasy and sci-fi fiction – and a highly sought-after public speaker in the independent author ci...
#009: Jon Freeman – Writing for film, taking every opportunity, and standing out on set.
September 19, 2019 23:01 - 52 minutes - 49.5 MBJon Freeman is a writer and filmmaker who has worked on a number of blockbuster film sets in a variety of roles. His credits include production assistant on the set of the adaptation of Adam Nevil’s ’The Ritual’, and the thriller ‘Welcome to Curiosity’. He has worked as a runner and extra on a number of sets and has taxied a-listers like Billy Boyd, and worked in close proximity with Danny DeVito and Michael Keaton while on the set of Disney's ‘Dumbo’. Jon is now fiercely working on the edi...
#008: Ramy Vance – Building a story from novel to series, lessons learned from teaching story, and targeting the right readers with ads.
September 12, 2019 23:01 - 55 minutes - 51.9 MBRamy Vance is a Canadian who lives in Edinburgh with his wife, three-year-old and imaginary dog. He writes kickass Urban Fantasy thrillers set in the GoneGod World (and elsewhere) and has recently dipped his toes into the LitRPG genre with the Midden3ard series, co-written with Michael Anderle. Ramy was also the main events coordinator of the 20Books Edinburgh conference, and his greatest aspirations are writing more stories and finally get that real dog so he can have an excuse to go on l...
#007: J. Thorn – The ’Three Story Method’, systematisation, and finding what works for you.
September 05, 2019 23:01 - 57 minutes - 53.8 MBJ Thorn is a top 100 author in Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Adventure and Fantasy. He’s one of the lead hosts of The Career Author Podcast, alongside Zach Bohannon, and the Writer’s Well podcast, alongside Rachel Herron, as well as a certified StoryGrid editor, writing coach, a part-time radio host and musician. J is the indie king of collaboration, and now co-runs his publishing company, Molten Universe Media, alongside Zach. Through this company they publish post-apocalyptic fiction, and h...
#006: John Crinan – Getting the words in, building the habit, and building a network through podcasting.
August 29, 2019 23:01 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBJohn Crinan is a writer and podcaster who hails from the rolling hills of Scotland and migrated down to the cobbled smoky streets of London. His work has regularly been featured on The Other Stories podcast, and his new show, The John Crinan podcast, sees John catting with new creators about their work, craft and the difficult business of making stuff and getting shit done. In this episode we go deep into: Why John switched up the rolling hills of Scotland for the smoky streets of London ...
#005: Alison Ingleby – Hitting the USA Today Bestseller list, publishing anthologies, and why you should write what you love.
August 22, 2019 23:01 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBAlison Ingleby is a USA Today bestselling author of sci-fi and fantasy fiction. She loves writing cross-genre books featuring complex characters, twisting plots and fast-paced action with a dash of romance. When not writing, Alison enjoys reading, drinking tea and spending time outdoors. She lives in Yorkshire, England, but her heart loiters by the sea in north-west Scotland. In this episode we dive deep into: What does Alison get out of going to writing conferences and events Why having...
#004: Martha Carr – Creating universes, trusting the process, and engaging your readers.
August 15, 2019 23:01 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBMartha Carr is the Amazon bestselling author and co-author of over 100 Urban Fantasy titles, all created in the last 2-3 years. She is the co-creator of the Oriceran universe, a universe containing collaborations with: Sarah Noffke, A.L. Knorr, as well as last week's guest of the show, Michael Anderle, to name a few, creating titles which have dominated the top of the Amazon charts. Martha is also a regular speaker at many of the 20Booksto50k events across the world, a former New York jour...
#003: Alex C Gates – Making the leap to full-time, writing horror, and riding the BookBub wave.
August 08, 2019 23:01 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBAlex C Gates is a loving husband, skilled educator, true Gryffindor, dragon-slayer, wizard of the highest order, defender of the realm, Cowboys fan, and connoisseur of cheap beer. He spent four years at California State University studying literature, watching football, and day drinking before obtaining a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Southern California. At the time of recording this interview, his latest horror novel, The Demon of Decay, was a current bestselling Ama...
#002: Michael Anderle – Publishers vs creators, the growth of collaboration, and the future of independent publishing.
August 01, 2019 23:01 - 1 hour - 62.1 MBMichael Anderle is the Amazon bestselling author of over 27 series, 4 story universes, and 160 audio books. Of which all of these have been published by his independent publishing company, LMBPN, in the last 3 years. His leading series, 'The Kurtherian Gambit' houses almost 200 books, with collaborations from a multitude of bestselling and leading independent authors, and spans across several genres including; science-fiction, space opera, fantasy, and post-apocalyptia. His Facebook group, 2...
#001: Luke Kondor – Award-winning films, journalling, and experimental creativity on a shoestring budget.
July 25, 2019 23:01 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBLuke Kondor is a podcaster, comic creator, filmmaker, and bestselling author. His short film ‘Keith’ – a film made with no ideas, no money, and no camera – went on to win the best low-budget short film at the London Film Festival and has since been played the world over. His work with Hawk & Cleaver’s ’The Other Stories’ podcast has brought in over 3 million downloads internationally, and he has dabbled in post apocalyptic fiction, bringing the immensely weird and wonderful ‘El Marvo’ to lif...
#000 Welcome to the Great Writers Share podcast
July 22, 2019 19:29 - 8 minutes - 4.14 MBAnd we're live! Welcome to the Great Writers Share podcast, a show which breaks down the strategies, productivity habits and mindsets behind some of the most successful and up-and-coming authors around. In this episode I give the full overview on what the podcast is, why it has found its way onto your podcast feed, who exactly I am, and what to expect over the coming weeks. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.