Opal Writers Magazine - Inside

Welcome to Coffee & Conversation

My guest is Mandy Eve-Barnett, and today we are talking about Panelist Protocol.

Mandy's newest article, Panelist Protocol, appears in the current February 2023 Opal Writers Magazine.
Visit the website at www.opalwritersmagazine.ca for more information.

Today I am pleased to be here with Naomi Lane. Naomi is a local Vancouver Island author living here in Nanaimo. I am so pleased to introduce you to her today and to have her as my December featured Author of the Month in the Opal Writers Magazine. She is the author of the book, Letters From My Dead Sister.

Naomi P Lane is a local Nanaimo, BC author and is my December featured Author of the Month in the Opal Writers Magazine. Naomi tells me about her newest book that reveals her relationship with her deceased sister who had bipolar disorder, through letters that she found.  Subscribe to the magazine: https://opalpublishing.ca/subscriptions/

Visit the Opal Publishing website: www.opalpublishing.ca 

Music Intro by: Astrometrics, Fire on the Mountain 

#books #authors #writingcommunity #bipolardisorder

BY SHEILA S HUDSON

Opal Writers Magazine | JULY 2022

You can see the links to her recommended websites in the blog post below:

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/do-you-want-to-write-a-cozy-mystery/

Fiction - by LINDA WHITE

Opal Writers Magazine | 

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.house/2020/10/16/dead-on-the-page/

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/8-tips-for-submitting-to-writing-contests/

By Mandy Eve-Barnett

Opal Writers Magazine | AUGUST 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/return-to-in-person-writing-events/

By Susan Calder, Author

Opal Writers Magazine | AUGUST 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/how-the-seasons-affect-our-writing/

by MANDY EVE-BARNETT

Opal Writers Magazine | October 2022

Today I am pleased to be here with Jennifer Gordon. Jennifer is an award-winning, Horror/Suspense author. Her book, Pretty/Ugly won the Helicon Award for Best Horror for 2022. She is my Author of the Month for November 2022.

By Sharon Leder

Opal Writers Magazine September 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/mother-and-daughter-writing-the-story-of-our-reconciliation/

By Boris Glikman

Opal Writers Magazine October 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/the-unbearable-light-ness-of-shadow/

By Cappy Hall Rearick

Opal Writers Magazine September 2022

www.opalpublishing.ca

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/september-song-for-a-butterfly/

By Susan Calder

Opal Writers Magazine October 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/attending-an-in-person-writing-convention-in-todays-world/

By Allison Gorner

Opal Writers Magazine

www.opalpublishing.ca

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.house/2021/03/01/why-your-book-needs-a-logline/

By Sheila Hudson, Author

Opal Writers Magazine October 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/begin-at-the-beginning/

By Susan Calder

Susan is a published mystery writer who lives in Calgary, Alberta.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/how-to-plan-a-memorable-book-launch/

My guest is mystery author Susan Calder.

Today we are talking about her recent trip to the Boucheron World Mystery Convention in Minneapolis.

Music Intro: Astrometrics (Fire in the Mountains) https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Astrometrics/

Calgary author, Susan Calder is with me today to chat about her recent in-person writers event at the Boucheron World Mystery Convention in Minneapolis.

You can read Susan's articles in the Opal Writers Magazines.

www.opalpublishing.ca

Music intro: Astrometrics (Fire in the Mountains) https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Astrometrics/

Today I am chatting with Lorna Schultz Nicholson author of GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE! THE JOEY MOSS STORY. 

For more information and the links to purchase/order her book, go to the Opal Writers Magazine online at www.opalpublishing.ca 

#GoodmorningsunshineJoeyMoss  #JoeyMoss #books #LornaSchultzNicholson #opalmagazines #opalwritersmagazine #authorscommunity

Music intro: Astrometrics (Fire in the Mountains) https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Astrometrics/

Too Many Choices Equals PROCRASTINATION.
It’s good to have choices but often I have so many choices for my writing that I cannot pick one.

-Liz Betz

Opal Writers Magazine | JULY 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/too-many-choices-equals-procrastination/

What happens when there are too many story ideas bombarding our brains? It can be just as debilitating as staring at that blankness.

-Mandy Eve-Barnett

Opal Writers Magazine | JULY 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/six-tips-for-taming-the-story-flood/

With already not enough time to get in all the writing needed to work on story outlines, meet book deadlines for editors, publishers, and others, why should writers add journaling to their writing schedule?

- Barbori Garnet

Opal Writers Magazine | July 2022
www.opalpublishing.ca

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/journaling-for-writers/

I’m not marketing – I’m generating mail for myself. That makes it so much easier than pressuring myself to advance my writing career.

By Liz Betz

Opal Writers Magazine | JUNE 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/marketing-steps-as-written-by-my-inside-voice/

By Donald H Roberts

Trevor Morris ran. He had no idea where he was going. All he cared about was Anna. They had boarded the train together. They were just married. She could not have died a year ago, they had only met six months before getting married. 

Opal Writers Magazine 

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/05/10/train-into-the-valley-of-madness-e8/

The night dropped down upon the valley floor like a deep dark cloud falling from the sky, and though the stars still shone bright shards of lightning streaked across the heavens like jagged swords. The wind howled like a chorus of banshees, and somewhere off down the canyon, out of the valley, steel screeched on steel and countless souls screamed in horror.

-Donald H Roberts

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

Lassiter Leeks eyed everyone like they were staring at him. His conscience was playing games and his mind, he thought was breaking. None of this was supposed to happen. He didn’t have luggage. Everything he needed would be in a SUV on the road above the Valley. It had all been arranged. Now all he had to do was make like he was going sightseeing up one of the trails and disappear into the wilderness…at least that is what it was supposed to look like.

The Train Into the Valley of Madness By Donald H Roberts

Opal Writers Magazine | February 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/02/07/train-into-the-valley-of-madness-e5/

The Train Into the Valley of Madness By Donald H Roberts

Opal Writers Magazine

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/01/02/train-into-the-valley-of-madness-episode-4/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2021/12/01/the-train-episode-3/

Mystery Fiction series

The Train Into the Valley of Madness By Donald H Roberts

Opal Writers Magazine 

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2021/11/01/the-train-episode-two/

By Donald Harry Roberts

The Train Into the Valley of Doom is a mystery series for Opal Writers Magazine.

Words, plots, characters gushed out of me yet never once did I take the time to see if the words were apt; if the plot had inner consistency; if the characters were realistic and likeable.

-Boris Glikman

Opal Writers Magazine | May 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/2022/05/17/i-wrote-the-story-of-my-life-but-never-once-did-i-stop-to-read-it/

I learned the backbone of American language from my mother, aka the Queen of Cliché. While most parents charge their offspring to “Be home by eleven o’clock sharp,” my mother quipped, “If you’re not early you’re late.”

BY CAPPY HALL REARICK

Opal Writers Magazine | June 2022

www.opalpublishing.ca

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/cliche-touche/

If you’re thinking of attending a Writer's convention, conference, or festival next year, now’s the time to start your research.

BY SUSAN CALDER

Opal Writers Magazine | JUNE 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/get-ready-for-your-next-writers-conference/

After my grandfather’s death, I helped my mother sort through her father’s trunk. Stuck inside were ration cards from the early 1900s with pencil scribbles in his familiar hand. Written no doubt during WWI by firelight and faded almost beyond recognition.

-SHEILA HUDSON

Opal Writers Magazine | June 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/grandpas-writing-legacy/

In fiction, capturing internal conflict is key to creating vibrant and believable characters.

- Allison Gorner

Opal Writers Magazine | June 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/writing-internal-conflict/

"Take this, Boris! May it serve you well," the booming voice commands. A hand, holding a shining writing implement, extends towards me.

I was all of thirteen years old when the Hand from Above bestowed the Pen of Plenty upon me.

- BORIS GLIKMAN

Opal Writers Magazine | June 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/the-pen-of-plenty/

Written by Susan Calder

Last month I attended my first in-person book launch in over two years. My friend who released her fifth novel is a pro. At our local bookstore, we enjoyed wine, cupcakes, and my friend’s presentation on the 2017 wildfire in Waterton Lakes National Park, which forms the backdrop to her fictional story.  

Opal Writers Magazine JUNE 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/why-host-a-book-launch-party/

Written by Mandy Eve Barnett

To improve our writing skill, however, we need to invest in it. There are multiple ways in which to do this.

Opal Writers Magazine - June 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/invest-in-your-writing/

Welcome! Today I am chatting with Mandy Eve-Barnett about her recent article, INVEST IN YOUR WRITING. 

Visit my website to read her articles at www.opalpublishing.ca

Join me as I have a conversation with Susan Calder, author and writer for the Opal Writers Magazine. 

Today we are discussing her latest article, Why Host a Book Launch?

You can also view this conversation on YouTube ♥

Writing Biographies For Inspiration, by SHARON LEDER

I learned that Christina Rossetti, like me, became a bolder writer when she herself wrote biographies, poetic ones called monologues. She wanted to go beyond the bounds of “women’s writing”-- romantic lyrics, nature poems, and devotional hymns.

Opal Writers Magazine, March 2022

All Rights Reserved - Opal Publishing 2014-2022

Ideas are always circling us. Like young children with butterfly nets, it is our job to catch a few and develop them into stories with strong leads, robust middles, and fabulous endings.

-SHEILA HUDSON

Opal Writers Magazine MAY 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/2022/05/24/think-like-a-writer/

So, you are a writer. Liz examines how others react you to when you tell them that you are a writer. She is witty and insightful.

LIZ BETZ

Opal Writers Magazine MAY 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://opalpublishing.ca/2022/05/26/grammar-police/

When my first novel, A Deadly Fall, was accepted by a publisher, she urged me to create an overall story arc for the whole Paula Savard Mystery Series I intended to write. I thought, that’s a great idea. J.K. Rowling outlined her seven Harry Potter books before she started the first one and that series was pretty successful.

By Susan Calder, Author

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/02/07/does-your-mystery-novel-series-need-an-overall-story-arc/

When it comes to food, Babe doesn't dare complain about my cooking. Why? Because he doesn’t do kitchens, he does football and golf. His remote control speed-clicks to ESPN. He can catch a football with one hand and he easily swings a golf club in the right direction, but so domestically challenged is he that if he applied for government assistance, he'd get it in no time.

-Cappy Hall Rearick

Opal Writers Magazine MARCH 2022

Becoming a grandmother coincided with the big five-o. I pondered what legacy I could leave my very first grandchild. 

-Sheila S Hudson

Opal Writers Magazine MARCH 2022

My latest novel, Winter’s Rage takes place in January 2020, immediately before the coronavirus pandemic. This is book # 3 of my Paula Savard Mystery Series. When I started writing the next book in the series last fall, I knew it would be set in spring, but which year would it be?

By SUSAN CALDER

Opal Writers Magazine MARCH 2022

Before we alter your evergreen content let’s first determine what is evergreen content.

-Catherine Saykaly-Stevens

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

I used to make fun of mystery novel climax scenes, where the killer has the sleuth trapped and, instead of shooting him and escaping, the bad guy explains the reasons for the murder, giving the sleuth time to capture him. This is clearly a device to inform readers rather than realistic bad guy behaviour. But when I wrote my first mystery novel, A Deadly Fall, I understood the value of this literary trope.

-Susan Calder, A Deadly Fall

Opal Writers Magazine MAY 2022

Have you ever been excited to read a book, only to find you’ve read chapter one three times and you just can’t get into it? There are dozens of reasons the writing might not grab you, but it could be as simple as the writer including too many filler words. These words creep into all kinds of writing, and can trip up your reader. But they’re easy to fix once you know where to look for them, so keep reading to find out how…

-Suzi Vadori

Opal Writers Magazine 2021

 embarked on a quest for the secret to writing success. I bought books, magazines, and sought out workshops. I became a workshop Junkie, attending whenever I could. I earned the title of Queen of the First Chapter for my multiple false starts. I knew there must be a secret that would lead me to author a best-selling novel. I kept looking and with a persistence I hadn’t applied to writing, I discovered it.

-By Linda White

Opal Writers Magazine 2021

Having fellow writers and professionals read and critique your work is a necessary step on the way to publication, but hearing all that is wrong with the words you poured your heart and soul into can feel stressful and disheartening. It doesn’t have to be this way. When you embrace the critique with resilience (the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties), a possibly stressful situation can turn into a learning opportunity and launch you onto the path to becoming a better writer.

-Allison Gorner

Opal Writers Magazine 2021

Have you ever made a new writing goal only to find yourself getting distracted, giving up and failing? The sad fact is, that a staggering 82% of new years resolutions fail.

-Allison Gorner

Opal Writers Magazine 2020

You’ve nailed down your main character and constructed a worthy adversary and now need to flesh out the cast and people in your book. You need more characters.

-Allison Gorner

Opal Writers Magazine 2020

I didn’t finish my first book until I was on maternity leave with my third child. She’s nine now. That book was The Fountain, which became my debut novel. I’m often asked why that was the book I finished, at a time in my life when I had so much going on. The answer for me was that I finally knew wanted I wanted to say to the world with my writing.

By Suzi Vadori, Author (The Fountain)

Opal Writers Magazine 2020

Setting goals for your home office space will help you to be more focused and efficient in your writing time. 

-By Barbori Garnet

Opal Writers Magazine 2020

The characters we create don’t come into being on the first page of the manuscript, they need backstories full of brokenness, just like us. The emotional events in a character’s past will determine the decisions she makes, how she acts, and the lies she tells herself.

-Allison Gorner

Opal Writers Magazine 2020

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://wp.me/p5zZbn-Lk

The concept of “show, don’t tell” is one of the most misunderstood pieces of writing advice and one of the hardest to implement consistently in both fiction and non-fiction. 

-Suzy Vadori, Author

Opal Writers Magazine

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://wp.me/p5zZbn-Lo

In growing your network, promoting and building others to support them allows you to stand out as someone people want in their network.

-Catherine Saykaly-Stevens, The Networking Web

Opal Writers Magazine

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://wp.me/p5zZbn-Fo

By Sheila S Hudson

A humorous look at writing.

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/04/08/the-shower-muse/

By Allison Gorner

A great title and an eye-catching cover will entice readers to pick up your book (or click on the link), but the back-cover blurb is what will persuade them to read it.

Opal Writers Magazine

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/04/09/how-to-write-a-back-cover-blurb/

BY JAMES OSBORN, AUTHOR

Successful writers know that no piece of writing, be it a short story, essay, or book-length manuscript, should ever be submitted to an agent or editor until it has been critiqued by at least one other person, ideally a trusted beta reader, and best of all an editor qualified in the genre of your piece. 

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/04/11/some-thoughts-on-rejection/

by Mandy Eve-Barnett

There are four basic personality types we can use in our writing - melancholic (sad), choleric (reactive/volatile), sanguine, (upbeat) and phlegmatic (easygoing). From these basic types we can expand our characters into three-dimensional beings using traits.

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/04/15/character-traits/

By Cappy Hall Rearick

A humorous look at living during Covid-19.

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/04/18/coping-with-covid/

By Boris Glikman

I recently asked myself, 'What if our pets were to write a book analysing our behaviour from their point of view? How would they interpret and explain our actions, our drives, our fears, our desires? What kinds of insights into our own lives, our own behaviour could we gain from their perspective?'

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/04/20/investigations-of-a-21st-century-dog/

By Sharon Leder

In my household, there are two writers, my husband Milton and myself. We both write essays, fiction, and poetry. How do we know when our ideas should manifest in poems rather than fiction or essays?

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/04/22/shall-i-write-prose-or-poetry-today/

By Allison Gorner

If you belong to a writer’s group or know other writers, odds are that they will ask you to give feedback. 

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/04/23/giving-constructive-writing-feedback/

Here are 5 tips to foolproof your writing.

BY DEBBIE MCGARRY

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/04/25/fool-proof-your-writing-5-common-errors-writers-can-fix/

By Susan Calder, Author of A Deadly Fall

If you analyze Hollywood movies, you’ll notice that half-way through most films something happens to shake up the story. 

Opal Writers Magazine APRIL 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/04/26/the-novels-midpoint-reversal/

By Mandy Eve Barnett

38 Creative ways to ignite your writing Mojo!

Opal Writers Magazine MAY 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/05/03/38-creative-ways-to-ignite-your-writing-mojo/

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep... | Cappy Hall Rearick

I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord for a BOOK to take.

Opal Writers Magazine MAY 2022

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2022/05/05/now-i-lay-me-down-to-sleep/

Opal Magazines introduction by Cindy DeJager, owner and creator of the Opal Magazines

I want to welcome you to the Audio Opal Magazines!

Creating the Opal Writers and Opal Rising magazines are my Passion!

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2021/12/01/humor-writing-is-serious-business/

Author: Cappy Hall Rearick

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2021/12/02/a-remembrance-of-things-imperfect-saturn/

By Boris Glikman

The Remembrance of Things Imperfect series

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2021/12/02/the-remembrance-of-things-imperfect-the-moon/

The Remembrance of Things Imperfect series, by Boris Glikman

OPAL WRITERS MAGAZINE

IMPROVE YOUR WRITING SERIES

The Art of Travel Memoir

By Wanda St. Hilaire

Books by Wanda:

Fragments of French: An Unexpected Journey of the Heart
Of Love, Life, and Journeys: Companion Poetry to Fragments of French, second edition
The Cuban Chronicles
I'm So Sorry It's Cancer: An Exceptional Guidebook for Navigating Your Way to Health and Happiness

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.house/2020/07/31/the-art-of-travel-memoir/

OPAL WRITERS MAGAZINE

IMPROVE YOUR WRITING SERIES

Kelsey Rae Barthel, Author

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.house/2020/09/11/architect-writing-outlining-a-novel/

OPAL WRITERS MAGAZINE 

IMPROVE YOUR WRITING SERIES

Suzy Vadori is a Book Coach, Editor and the award winning author of The Fountain Series (The Fountain, The West Woods, Wall of Wishes).

She writes for the Opal Writers Magazine.

OPAL WRITERS MAGAZINE

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Review of Skeletons In My Closet, by authors Dave Sweet and Sarah Graham

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.house/2020/07/27/book-review-skeletons-in-my-closet/

OPAL WRITERS MAGAZINE

IMPROVE YOUR WRITING SERIES

MANDY EVE-BARNETT

Mandy Eve-Barnett is a multi-genre author writing children’s, YA, and adult books.

Mandy writes for the Opal Writers Magazine.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2021/06/30/how-to-create-a-great-writers-blog-post/

OPAL WRITERS MAGAZINE 

IMPROVE YOUR WRITING SERIES

Mandy Eve-Barnett is a multi-genre author writing children’s, YA, and adult books, and she writes for the Opal Writers Magazine.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2021/09/07/starting-a-writer-author-blog/

OPAL WRITERS MAGAZINE

POETRY & PROSE

-Boris Glikman

The Remembrance of Things Imperfect series contains 16 individual verses, one for each planet or heavenly body.

BORIS GLIKMAN is a writer, poet and philosopher from Melbourne, Australia. His stories, poems and non-fiction articles have been published in various online and print publications, as well as being featured on national radio and other radio programs. He says: “Writing for me is a spiritual activity of the highest degree. Writing gives me the conduit to a world that is unreachable by any other means, a world that is populated by Eternal Truths, Ineffable Questions and Infinite Beauty. It is my hope that these stories of mine will allow the reader to also catch a glimpse of this universe.”

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.ca/2021/06/26/remembrance-of-things-imperfect-earth/

OPAL WRITERS MAGAZINE

IMPROVE YOUR WRITING SERIES

Suzy Vadori is a Book Coach, Editor and the award winning author of The Fountain Series (The Fountain, The West Woods, Wall of Wishes).

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.house/2020/12/30/is-your-manuscript-ready-for-readers/

OPAL WRITERS MAGAZINE

The Home Office Series

By Barbori Garnet

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.house/2021/05/10/diversifying-your-income-sources/

OPAL WRITERS MAGAZINE

POETRY & PROSE

Boris Glikman is a writer, poet and philosopher from Melbourne, Australia. His stories, poems and non-fiction articles have been published in various online and print publications, as well as being featured on national radio and other radio programs. He says: “Writing for me is a spiritual activity of the highest degree. Writing gives me the conduit to a world that is unreachable by any other means, a world that is populated by Eternal Truths, Ineffable Questions and Infinite Beauty. It is my hope that these stories of mine will allow the reader to also catch a glimpse of this universe.”

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://opalpublishing.house/2021/05/15/show-dont-tell-and-other-writing-shibboleths/