You all know my obsession with journalism - I’ve talked about it many times here. And in today’s episode, I get to talk to the OG of journalism.

This is a moment for me.

Neil Brown is the president of The Poynter Institute since September 2017, after serving as the editor and vice president of the Tampa Bay Times. Brown has spent four decades as a journalist, news company executive and media industry leader. He recently completed nine years as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board, the past two years as co-chair.

In case you’re not familiar with the Poynter Institute, its staff of more than 80 journalists and educators leads the nation in training journalists in craft, ethics and leadership. Poynter is now home to PolitiFact, the International Fact-Checking Network, the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership and a news literacy initiative called MediaWise. Poynter works with journalists and citizens in the U.S. and more than a dozen countries.

Neil and I cover a lot of ground. I was so excited to discuss the evolving landscape of journalism, the importance of media literacy and the challenges faced by journalists today— and he has so much wisdom to offer. He highlights the importance of rebuilding trust in journalism through responsible reporting and diverse representation.

We discuss:

• The critical role of editors and the essential traits of modern journalists

• The importance of building relationships in reporting

• The challenges faced by the press in the current political climate

• The state of fact-checking and the integration of AI in journalism

• And, my favorite - the importance of telling a good story above all else

Plus, journalism is NOT a dead career—and that’s an important message for all the would-be journalists out there listening.

If you’re a journalist, past, present or hopeful, or someone who consumes the news, this episode is for you. As a consumer, it’s especially helpful to understand how good journalism should work, and how important the work of reporters continues to be.

So what I mean is, don’t miss this episode. You can connect with Neil here and follow Poynter on Instagram and on their website.

Chapters

4:42 Introduction to Neil Brown and Poynter Institute

9:24 The Evolution of Journalism and Media Literacy

10:50 The Shift in Storytelling and Audience Engagement

23:11 Rebuilding Trust in Journalism

27:16 Defining Great Journalistic Writing

31:50 The Importance of Editors in Writing

34:54 The Role of Editors in Journalism

32:06 Traits of Modern Journalists

40:01 The Impact of Media on Justice

43:23 Press Freedom and Current Challenges

46:39 The State of Fact-Checking Today

50:46 AI's Role in Journalism

54:55 The Future of Journalism for New Graduates

How many authors do you know who love networking?

(So not raising my hand.)

Let’s face it—a lot of us are introverts, and networking events where we have to do a lot of small talk are probably right up there in popularity with a canceled publishing contract. Am I right?

What if I told you there was a better way to expand your network to create and nurture connections?

Well, there is. And my guest today is going to tell you how.

Devin Sizemore is a serial entrepreneur and the author of the book Connection Expansion, which delivers a foolproof strategy on identifying and cultivating high-value connections that can help your career or business.

He’s run a bunch of businesses—including a cat cafe!! Which of course we talk A LOT about— and he’s honed the art of networking while building those ventures. His strategies are perfect for authors looking to build their brand through meaningful connections.

We covered:

• Why you need a network, especially as an author
• How to manage your networking time effectively so it’s not taking up too many hours of your writing time
• Common mistakes in networking
• What it was like to write his first book
• And - what it was like to run a cat cafe!

And so much more. If you’re looking to get your name out there—and really, what author isn’t?—you don’t want to miss this episode.

You can find out more about Devin and buy his book here: https://devinsizemore.com/connection-expansion-book/

I love personality tests. It’s always been a thing for me—I love trying to figure out what makes me tick. And if I can find any reasonable explanation for the things I do, well, all the better!

So I’m exited to share my conversation with my guest Eric Gee, who developed his own personality test—and the results are all animal personas. Which, of course, makes it even better.

And, he wrote a book about it. So of course we talked about the writing process.

Eric has administered personality-based life coaching for more than twenty years. He built a successful education company that used his personality typing method to better the lives of more than twenty thousand students, parents, and teachers. As creator of the Youtopia Project website and the Youtopia 16 assessment, he has disseminated his method to over half a million users since the website’s creation in 2016. His coaching program has been used in companies (Hulu, Disney), universities, and over forty school districts.

We covered:

• How his personality typing works

• What some of the personas signal about who we are and how we operate

• What the types mean for your writing career

• What it was like to write the book after doing all the research and developing the test

And so much more. If you’re looking to find about who you are, this episode is definitely for you.

You can take the test here: https://youtopiaproject.com/youtopia-16-assessment-2/

And I want to know—what animal are you? Please let me know - drop me a note on Instagram

@lizmugavero.

Chapters

03:49 Introduction to Personality Typing

09:52 Understanding Eric's Personality Typing Methodology

13:13 Exploring the Animal Personality Types

23:02 Application of Personality Types in Writing

26:50 The Writing Process and Publishing Journey

29:24 Marketing and Promoting the Book

38:22 Future Projects and Aspirations

I have been waiting to share this conversation with you all - it’s a big one.

Today I’m talking to Tia Levings, the New York Times bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife, her memoir of escape from Christian Patriarchy. She writes about the realities of Christian fundamentalism, evangelical patriarchy, and religious trauma. She spends her time shining a spotlight on the realities of high-control religion and church-sanctioned domestic abuse—and if you’re not following her on social or Substack, you are missing out.

I first heard her speak on a podcast, and I was blown away by her story. And then I listened to her memoir and I couldn’t get it out of my head. So I was beyond thrilled when she agreed to come on the show.

I could’ve talked to her for hours. We covered:

• How writing her memoir helped her process her story and heal from trauma

• How she reclaimed her creativity

• What religious trauma is and how it impacts people

• How the events that happened in her world translate to the bigger world we’re living in

• Her ongoing writing, which shining a spotlight on the realities of high-control religion

and church-sanctioned domestic abuse

And so much more.

You can find out more about her here: https://tialevings.com/

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

I’m delighted to welcome my friend and fellow mystery author Carolyn Wilkins to the show today.

Carolyn is a writer, musician, and a psychic medium. I got to meet her many years ago in the Boston mystery writing world, and she’s a lovely person and a talented writer. I’ve used her services as a medium and can tell you she’s the real deal. And she’s now got a brand new series coming out soon about - you guessed it - a psychic medium.

In the episode we talk about the span of her creative life, from music to memoir writing to murder mysteries, her exploration of mediumship, and the challenges of portraying psychic experiences in fiction.

We talked about:

• Her experience writing about her personal history

• Transitioning to fiction for greater creative freedom and exploration.

• How she kept her creativity alive through exploring different genres

• The importance of persistence

• Why you just have to keep moving forward

And so much more.

I love talking with Carolyn - and I think you’ll love meeting her.

You can find out more about her here: https://www.carolynwilkins.com/

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

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Chapters

03:28 Introduction to Carolyn Marie Wilkins

10:02 Exploring the Transition to Fiction

14:26 Writing About Mediumship and Musicians

32:41 The Writing Journey

38:21 Finding an Agent and Building Relationships

46:08 Navigating Deadlines and Perfectionism

51:12 Advice for Aspiring Writers

Today on Get Writing, I’m welcoming a new friend to the podcast - author Adele Royce.

She’s a romance author turned thriller writer and she has a fun story to tell—she took her years working as an advertising and PR exec on the Las Vegas strip and turned the experiences into her latest novel, Summer’s Blood.

It’s a thriller that tackles not only murder, but family dysfunction and workplace conflict - two themes that I also love to not only read about, but add into my own books!

Adele holds a BA in English from Arizona State University, where she graduated magna cum laude. Her published novels include Camera Ready, Princess Smile, and For Position Only, which was a BookLife by Publishers Weekly Editor’s Pick. She is currently working on the sequel to Summer's Blood featuring the next generation of the Keller/Van Ness family, as well as Deadly Sins, a collection of short stories.

We covered the entire writer’s journey - from finding her way to writing, the pivot from romance books to thrillers, her process and her publishing journey.

We talked about:

• Why she pivoted from romance to thriller - and her newfound delight in killing people (in

books only of course!)

• Her experiences doing PR in Las Vegas and how they shaped her work

• Her publishing journey, from small press to self-published

• How she gets past writer’s block

And so much more.

Adele was a delight - I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I do!

You can find more about Adele here: https://adeleroyce.com/

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and

publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

We all know the publishing industry can be complicated.

It’s also pretty mysterious, even for those of us steeped in it. And sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough conversations about the realities of it—not to discourage us, but to encourage transparency and also to share experiences so we can all be educated and feel, well, less alone.

So today, I invited my friend Daryl Wood Gerber back to the podcast to take about ALL the things.

Daryl’s been here before, but in case you need a refresher, she is is the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling author of of The Fairy Garden Mysteries, featuring a fairy garden shop owner in charming Carmel, California, The French Bistro Mysteries, featuring a former chef who is now an up-and-coming bistro owner in Napa Valley, and The Cookbook Nook Mysteries, featuring an admitted foodie and owner of a cookbook store in picturesque coastal California.

Under the pen name Avery Aames, Daryl writes the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling The Cheese Shop Mysteries set in fictional Providence, Ohio. Daryl also writes suspense novels, including the Aspen Adams books and several standalones.

We cover:

• The importance of persistence

• How to write a killer proposal

• Why resilience and persistence is a critical skill in this line of work

• Creating and sustaining an author brand

And so much more.

I hope this conversation provides some insight, and more importantly, some inspiration to stay

the course.

You can find more about Daryl here: https://darylwoodgerber.com/

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and

publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

Episode 100? How in the world?

Thanks for sticking around to celebrate this milestone with me - I am so excited to be going into year three of podcasting. I’ve gotten to talk to so many amazing writers, and my 100th episode is no different.

I am delighted to welcome an author I truly admire - Faye Snowden - to the podcast this week.

Faye is the award-winning author of noir mysteries, poems and short stories. Her novels include The Savior, Fatal Justice, and A Killing Fire, a dark, southern gothic tale featuring homicide detective Raven Burns. A Killing Fire is first in a four-part series. The sequel, A Killing Rain (June, 2022), was long listed for the CWA Gold Dagger award, and won gold in the 2022 Foreword INDIES awards. CrimeReads named it one of the best southern gothic crime fiction novels of 2022.

Faye started out writing romantic suspense before transitioning to Southern Gothic mysteries, and we talk about her whole journey to get here, as well as her publishing story.

We cover:

• How she started writing by reimagining TV shows and books

• The personal inspiration behind Detective Raven Burns

• The “roller coaster ride” of publishing

• How she structures her writing life

• The influence the South has had on her work

• Imposter syndrome, and why all writers—even the most successful ones—have it

And so much more.

Faye is lovely - and she’s also an inspiration to all writers. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

You can find more about Faye here: https://www.fayesnowden.com/

Want more writing inspo? I have answers to all your burning questions about writing and

publishing. Download my Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Mystery.

I’m on IG @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

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Chapters

03:40 Introduction to Faye Snowden and Her Journey

07:54 Transition from Romantic Suspense to Southern Gothic Mysteries

11:24 The Publishing Journey: Challenges and Triumphs

19:39 Balancing Writing with Day Job and Family Life

24:47 Creating Detective Raven Burns: Inspiration and Setting

26:54 Exploring the Gothic Elements of Louisiana

28:46 Themes Evil and Human Nature

33:45 The Art of Plotting vs. Pantsing in Writing

36:57 Diversity in Publishing: Progress or Setback?

40:11 The Role of Organizations in Supporting Diverse Voices

43:36 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome as a Writer