by Bethany | May 22, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
That’s right! You heard us correctly, the Porchlight Podcast will now be fully folded under author Bethany Hegedus’ Courage to Create Series. Listen to this quick episode to find out exactly what that means! Don’t worry listeners, we still full intend to provide you with author interviews, literary life talks, and more.
Next week we will be back with our regular programming which includes and in-depth interview with award winning author Kathi Appelt.
You can also read more about the change on The Writing Barn Blog.
by Bethany | May 15, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
Do you have great expectations about writing and publishing and how much time your literary life should take? Are you constantly disappointed because your literary life isn’t meeting those high standards?
In the tenth episode of Bethany Hegedus’ Courage to Create series, she discusses how we can free ourselves from unrealistic expectations and focus on small steps rather than huge milestones. She reminds us that there are no shortcuts in having a writing career nor is there one specific path to follow. We each create that path for ourselves.
Bethany advises us to stop letting time matter and instead to embrace where we are now in our literary lives and look at where we want to go because that’s all we can control. She even walks listeners through the three act plot structure of the literary life: apprentice years, early career, and mastery. Listen today for insights and inspiration to let yourself realize that the time it takes is the time it takes.
by Bethany | May 8, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
In this episode of The Porchlight Podcast, Bethany interviews Charlotte Sullivan Wild whose debut picture book is THE AMAZING IDEA OF YOU, illustrated by Mary Lundquist (Bloomsbury, 2019).
Charlotte has served as the Regional Advisor for the Southwest Texas chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators; founding host of the Picture Book Salon of San Antonio, Texas; and bookseller at The Twig Book Shop. She previously taught children’s literature for nearly two decades, volunteered in public and school libraries, and interviewed children’s authors for Write On! Radio (KFAI).
In this episode of The Porchlight, Bethany extends a welcome to author-hood to Charlotte who says one of her greatest joys is reading to kids, and now she gets to read them her own words! For eleven years, Charlotte worked to master writing, and seven of those years she spent working extensively on picture books. She and Bethany discuss the speed of the writing process and how greatly it can vary from project to project plus how important it is that the publishing market be ready for certain subjects. They seek to define author voice and how publishing is more and more often blurring the lines among genres, usually to the delight of readers. Charlotte gives a shout out to three of her favorite picture books: ALL AROUND US, THE SOUND OF SILENCE, and THIS IS MY EYE. The interview concludes with Charlotte explaining how both the magic and the math of story and structure enchant her and inform her work. For more about Charlotte, visit https://charlotteswild.com/
by Bethany | May 1, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
Bethany Hegedus is back with episode 9 in her Courage to Create series.
This is Bethany’s most personal and forthright talk yet where she discusses how to create from personal pain and your unhealed places and how she herself has done this numerous times in her career.
Delving deeply into the messiness of life, Bethany monologues on the struggle of good vs. great writing, allowing ourselves to have breakdowns, and examining what we are looking to heal from in our own life and how that shows up in our work.
She talks about writers who have influenced her, namely Laurie Halse Anderson and the power of her new, revealing memoir SHOUT, which Bethany also reads aloud from. Tune in today and be inspired as Bethany bravely shares her personal pain to help listeners tap into, use, and heal from their own. Do not miss this lovely and moving episode!
by Bethany | Apr 24, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
On this episode of The Porchlight, Bethany interviews her friend and fellow author, Lynne Kelly. As a former special education teacher and now a sign-language interpreter, Lynne has always loved words.
She also loves animals, and they have been the catalyst for her debut middle grade novel, CHAINED, as well as her latest book, SONG FOR A WHALE, which Publishers Weekly called “a finely crafted novel.” Lynne lives near Houston, Texas with her adorable dog, Holly. You can find Lynne online at lynnekellybooks.com and on Twitter @lynnekelly.
During the interview, Bethany and Lynne discuss the importance of feeling heard and the longing for connection and community that is a universal feeling and also one of the themes of SONG FOR A WHALE. To help all children feel seen and heard, Lynn does school visits and has spoken at both schools for hearing children and those for the deaf community, who have been delighted to see themselves represented in Iris, the main character in Lynne’s book. To make sure her novel was authentic, Lynne worked with two sensitivity readers who helped her best convey the deaf experience.
One of these readers also came up with the book’s fitting tag line, “Make waves about something.” In the episode, Lynne also discusses how she works with her agent, Molly O’Neill, and the background that led them to one another.
Sam Bond Photography
Bethany and Lynne delve into the benefits of critique groups and the importance of fostering relationships with other industry professionals at conferences and workshops. Enjoy this episode of The Porchlight today!
Lynne Kelly has always loved reading, and fell in love with children’s literature all over again when she worked as a special education teacher. Her career as a sign language interpreter has taken her everywhere from classrooms to hospitals to Alaskan cruises. She lives near Houston, Texas with her adorable dog, Holly. Song For a Whale is her second novel. Find her online at lynnekellybooks.com and on Twitter @lynnekelly.
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