Read and Write with Natasha

📹 Watch the interview here.Violet Lemay is a veteran when it comes to creating and illustrating children's books. She has illustrated forty-four books, six of which she also wrote. Her clients include HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, duopress, 'Magination Press, and Highlights.Her latest book, Let's Be Friends (HarperFestival/2021), won Book-Fest's first-place award for diversity in children's books.I sat with Lemay to discuss the ins and outs of creating children's books. Her tips on the creation and the publishing journey are golden. I was so inspired by this conversation that I wrote a children's book I hope to publish soon!Don't miss this valuable, inspiring conversation that will make you drop everything you're doing and sit in front of a computer to jot down the book you always wanted to write.Have a comment? Text me!Support the show📚 Writing a book and feeling stuck? Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha on Substack for practical guidance, honest conversations, and behind-the-scenes insights on finishing your book—from idea to final draft.

Ethan T. Burroughs's Messianic Reveal narrates the story of a young man who seeks to serve his country, and in so doing, he follows his instincts into a labyrinth of conspiracies. The novel launches from and connects to real events and real people: the 1979 siege of Mecca, Osama Bin Laden’s brother, Ayatollah Khomeini’s temporary residences in France and Iraq, and so on.Listen to this fascinating discussion with Burrough in which we discuss the contents of his book, that are based on real events that are not talked about often due to their sensitive political and religious nature. Burrough has dedicated much of the last two decades to exploring the Middle East and slowly unraveling its mysteries. His encounters have taken him to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories, where he has studied the history, faith, cuisine, language, and culture of the lands which continue to grab our headlines as we search for an elusive peace. He is a U.S. Army veteran and political consultant.Have a comment? Text me!Support the show📚 Writing a book and feeling stuck? Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha on Substack for practical guidance, honest conversations, and behind-the-scenes insights on finishing your book—from idea to final draft.

In this fascinating discussion, author Dr. Shahd Alshammari discusses her memoir Head Above Water, which takes us into intimate conversations on illness and society's stigmatization of disabled bodies. We discussed women's identities and bodies and the importance of discussing the human experience of illness.Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 18, Alshammari never learned to give up and continued her education until she earned her doctoral degree in 2014. Don's miss this intimate, inspiring conversation on illness and the representation of women in literature.  If you are in the US, you can purchase the book here.Have a comment? Text me!Support the show📚 Writing a book and feeling stuck? Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha on Substack for practical guidance, honest conversations, and behind-the-scenes insights on finishing your book—from idea to final draft.

Listen to my interview with author Cassie Sanchez who got the inspiration for her first novel from watching her kids play video games.After more than a year of characters arguing in her head, Sanchez finished her award-winning debut novel, Chasing the Darkness. The second book in The Darkness Trilogy, Embracing the Darkness,  was released in the fall of 2022.Find out more about Cassie Sanchez here.Have a comment? Text me!Support the show📚 Writing a book and feeling stuck? Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha on Substack for practical guidance, honest conversations, and behind-the-scenes insights on finishing your book—from idea to final draft.

Author and book marketer Karina Kantas talks about some of the mistakes authors make when they promote their books. These include:- Posting multiple times on Facebook, ending up in Facebook jail.- Constant "Buy my book" posts that everyone glosses over.Kantas suggests different techniques, such as recording a video of the author reading an excerpt from their book so that potential readers get a glimpse of the writing style.    Have a comment? Text me!Support the show📚 Writing a book and feeling stuck? Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha on Substack for practical guidance, honest conversations, and behind-the-scenes insights on finishing your book—from idea to final draft.

Emily Johnson was born in Aspen, Colorado.  In 1996,  Emily's mom, Marilyn, was diagnosed with breast and advanced ovarian cancer.  She began writing The Bird of Paradise as a life gift for her daughter.  She passed awayin 2012 leaving the novel unfinished – for Emily to complete.Hear how Emily discovered her mother's manuscript and finished it.Have a comment? Text me!Support the show📚 Writing a book and feeling stuck? Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha on Substack for practical guidance, honest conversations, and behind-the-scenes insights on finishing your book—from idea to final draft.

Listen to the shocking, heart-wrenching story of Antonio Salazar-Hobson, who was the eleventh of fourteen migrant farmworker children born in Phoenix, Arizona.  At age four, he was kidnapped by a childless, middle-aged white couple and was trafficked until the age of ten. As a teenager, Antonio met Cesar Chavez and was taken under his wing, a miracle which helped define his life. Antonio worked with Cesar over the next two decades. Antonio got a master's from Stanford in Latin American Studies as a Danforth Fellow, then went on to graduate law school from UC Davis Law School and became a labor lawyer, working with the United Farmworkers and large international unions for the past thirty years. He is the author of the memoir Antonio, We Know You.********************************************Connect with me:🐦 Twitter  https://twitter.com/NatashaTynesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashatynes...📸 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/natasha.tynes/💌  My newsletter: https://thestorytellerquest.com/🌐  Website: https://www.natashatynes.com/Have a comment? Text me!Support the show📚 Writing a book and feeling stuck? Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha on Substack for practical guidance, honest conversations, and behind-the-scenes insights on finishing your book—from idea to final draft.

Hear the story of Sarah Humphreys, who achieved what many writers struggle to do: Find an agent and get a publishing deal when she was only 15 years old.You can get her book Cold Stone  here.********************************************Connect with me:🐦 Twitter  https://twitter.com/NatashaTynesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashatynes...📸 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/natasha.tynes/💌  My newsletter: https://thestorytellerquest.com/🌐  Website: https://www.natashatynes.com/👩🏻‍🏫 Sign up for my "Get published cohort.Have a comment? Text me!Support the show📚 Writing a book and feeling stuck? Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha on Substack for practical guidance, honest conversations, and behind-the-scenes insights on finishing your book—from idea to final draft.

Author Gabi justice delves into teen anxiety and bullying in 'Dog Girl'.📚 You can get Dog Girl  here. *********************************************************************************Connect with me:🐦 Twitter  https://twitter.com/NatashaTynesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashatynes...📸 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/natasha.tynes/💌  My newsletter: https://thestorytellerquest.com/🌐  Website: https://www.natashatynes.com/👩🏻‍🏫 Sign up for my "Get published cohort.Have a comment? Text me!Support the show📚 Writing a book and feeling stuck? Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha on Substack for practical guidance, honest conversations, and behind-the-scenes insights on finishing your book—from idea to final draft.

 📹 ** Watch the interview on YouTube**Canadian author Sam Thiara who wrote the memoir Lost and Found, in which he traces his family's roots in India, believes everyone should write their autobiography. Do you agree? Have you started working on your autobiography yet?📚 You can get Sam Thiara's book here. *********************************************************************************Connect with me:🐦 Twitter  https://twitter.com/NatashaTynesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashatynes...📸 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/natasha.tynes/💌  My newsletter: https://thestorytellerquest.com/🌐  Website: https://www.natashatynes.com/👩🏻‍🏫 Sign up for my "Get published cohort.Have a comment? Text me!Support the show📚 Writing a book and feeling stuck? Subscribe to Read and Write with Natasha on Substack for practical guidance, honest conversations, and behind-the-scenes insights on finishing your book—from idea to final draft.